The Best External SSD You Can Buy in 2024

You can travel, store, and create a backup of your files using any portable hard drive, SSD, or flash drive. But it's crucial to get the greatest external hard drive or SSD for your storage needs. A portable hard drive or SSD is a multifunctional storage device that can dump data from your DSLR or drone while in the field, transfer large files (or many little ones) between PCs, Macs, and phones, and back up your irreplaceable data.

As SSD technology became more common and affordable (best gaming laptops use SSDs instead of HDDs), more portable external solutions became available for purchase. Below, we've picked the best external SSD drives based on performance, price, and form factor.

1. Samsung X5 Portable SSD - Thunderbolt 3

Product’s Specifications

• Digital Storage Capacity: 2 TB

• Compatible Devices: Laptop, Desktop, Television

• Brand: SAMSUNG

• Series: Samsung X5

• Specific Uses For Product: Business, personal

• Connectivity Technology: Thunderbolt, SATA

• Hard Disk Size: 2 TB

• Form Factor: Portable

Product’s Highlights

The first SSD I recommend is the Samsung X5 SSD that comes with Thunderbolt 3 for the speeds you'd normally expect to see on internal SSDs.

At its core, the X5 is also an NVMe SSD, but it's almost twice as fast as other NVMe SSDs.

Pros

• Bandwidth 40Gbps

• Read speed up to 2,800MB/s

• Write Speed: 2300

Cons

• Thunderbolt 3 port required

• Expensive

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2. Lexar SL200

Product’s Specifications

• Digital Storage Capacity: 512 GB

• Hard Disk Interface: Solid State

• Brand: Lexar

• Series: SL200

• Connectivity Technology: USB

• Hard Disk Size: 512 GB

• Form Factor: Portable

• Read Speed: 550 Megabytes Per Second

• Write Speed: 400 Megabytes Per Second

• Cache Size: 512

Product’s Highlights

The Lexar SL100 Pro comes in a small, portable package that makes it easy to carry.

In addition, this SSD integrates many connections so that you will be able to use the SSD without any adapters.

Pros

• Very light weight only about 69g

• Having USB Type-C port to connect

• Sleek, slimline styling with a premium finish

• Durable, portable design—resists harsh temperatures and vibration

Cons

• Speed limited

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3. Crucial X8

Product’s Specifications

• Digital Storage Capacity: 1 TB

• Compatible Devices: Laptop, Gaming Console, Desktop, Tablet, Smartphone

• Hard Disk Interface: USB 3.2

• Brand: Crucial

• Series: X8

• Specific Uses For Product: Multimedia, Personal, Gaming

• Connectivity Technology: USB

• Hard Disk Form Factor: 2.5 Inches

• Hard Disk Size: 1 TB

• Form Factor: Portable

Product’s Highlights

When it comes to storage devices, Crucial is one of the most well-known brands.

You've probably heard of Crucial if you've been looking for sticks of RAM, SSDs, or internal hard drives for your tower PC. 

Crucial's X8 is a portable external SSD that uses NVMe instead of SATA and is claimed to support 1050MB/s read/write speeds.

Pros

• Compact, portable design

• Durable construction with aluminum core

• Shockproof and anti-vibration

• Resistant to drops from heights up to 7.5 feet

Cons

• High input USB standard

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4. SanDisk Extreme PRO

Product’s Specifications

• Digital Storage Capacity: 2 TB

• Compatible Devices: Type-C Tablet, Laptop, Desktop, Type-C Smartphone

• Hard Disk Interface: USB 3.2

• Brand: SanDisk

• Series: SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD

• Connectivity Technology: USB

• Hard Disk Size: 2 TB

• Form Factor: Portable

• Read Speed: 2000 Megabytes Per Second

Product’s Highlights

SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD is definitely the solution for those who need a more rugged storage for their data from accidental drops and possible exposure to water and dust.

Pros

• Solid design

• IP55 rating for water and dust resistance

• A core that resists shock and is also protected against vibrations

Cons

• Supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 only

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5. Samsung T5

Product’s Specifications

• Digital Storage Capacity:   1 TB

• Compatible Devices: Smartphone

• Hard Disk Interface: USB 3.0

• Brand: SAMSUNG

• Series: Samsung T5

• Specific Uses For Product: Personal, gaming, business

• Connectivity Technology:   USB

• Hard Disk Size: 1 TB

• Form Factor:   Portable

• Read Speed:   540

Product’s Highlights

Another SSD that you might consider buying for your storage needs is the Samsung T5 Portable SSD. 

This is one that we use at the Beebom office a lot for our video team's storage requirements, and it's been solidly tested.

Pros

• Metal case and quite durable

• Compact size

• Highly secure data

Cons

• Read/write speed of only 540MB/s

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1. Should I buy an external SSD NMVe or SATA?

In terms of performance, your choice is between a drive based on a SATA interface with a bridge to USB, or an NVMe interface, which is based on a USB bridge. The SATA-based USB Type-C drive peaks at around 540MB/s, while the NVMe option boosts the ante to a maximum of 2GB/s.

To get that top speed, you need a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port with 20Gbps capability. That's relatively rare on PCs and laptops and isn't available on any console, including the new Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X. Instead, you'll find most of the fast USB ports. All heights reach 10Gbps.

2. What kind of NAND flash should I use?

Interface specification is not the only determining factor when it comes to performance.

Features such as controller specification, type and quality of NAND flash used are also important, although it is hard to determine the finer details.

Many manufacturers are reluctant to quote full specifications. For example, drives with four-level QLC NAND memory will tend to have worse base performance than those with three-layer TLC memory.

While there are many different external hard drives and external storage devices, our experts will give you the best external SSD.

So, if you are looking for an external storage device, whatever your specific needs are, one of the options above will be the right choice for you.