Greatest Exterior SSD For Mac 2024-2025

We preferred the sturdy little XS2000 drive that Kingston launched again in 2022, however it was fairly costly and used a model of USB generally known as USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, which isn’t absolutely supported on the Mac in the intervening time. Drives that use ‘Gen 2×2’ will nonetheless work with a Mac, however the Mac received’t get the complete velocity that the drive is able to. Nevertheless, Kingston has now launched a extra reasonably priced mannequin known as the XS1000. It is a extra typical USB-C drive, utilizing normal USB 3.2 Gen 2, so it’s a great, reasonably priced choice for Mac customers who simply need a compact, light-weight backup drive.

The XS1000 is among the smallest and lightest SSDs that we’ve seen to date – in truth, it appears to be like extra like just a little USB thumb drive, somewhat than a high-capacity backup drive. It measures simply 13.5mm thick, 32.5mm large and 69.5mm lengthy, and weighs solely 28.7g, so you may simply slip it into your shirt or trouser pocket while you’re touring. It’s not fairly as rugged because the dearer XS2000 – which had an IP55 ranking for water and dirt resistance – however the plastic and metallic casing feels sturdy sufficient to deal with just a few knocks while you’re touring, and Kingston supplies a five-year guarantee as effectively.

It’s very competitively priced too, costing $84.99/£74.99 with 1TB of storage, or $109.99/£99.99 with 2TB. The drive’s USB interface supplies a quoted write velocity of 1000MBs, whereas the learn velocity is barely larger at 1050MB/s. It didn’t fairly match these speeds in our checks, however its write velocity of 875MB/s and browse velocity of 950MB/s will nonetheless be superb for routine back-ups with Time Machine. Our solely criticism is that Kingston solely features a USB-A-to-USB-C cable with the XS1000, so that you’ll want to purchase an adaptor or a brand new cable in case your Mac solely has USB-C. Skilled customers may favor a quicker drive, or a extra rugged design, however should you simply need an reasonably priced backup drive that may go touring with you then the XS1000 is nice worth for cash.

Many moveable drives use a regular USB-C port for connecting to a Mac or PC, however SanDisk’s Professional-G40 opts for a high-speed Thunderbolt 3 port to supply most efficiency for skilled customers who have to work with massive video and graphics information (and, in fact, it’s backward-compatible with USB-C as effectively).

The Professional-G40 was first launched in 2022, and was already on our listing of the perfect SSD drives for Mac, however this present mannequin supplies each improved efficiency and better capability in your work information. The design hasn’t modified although, with a compact, moveable drive that measures simply 12mm thick, 58mm large and 111mm lengthy. It weighs simply over 120g – relying on the capability you select – so you may slip it right into a jacket pocket or right into a carrying case alongside your MacBook with no bother in any respect. The drive can also be extraordinarily robust, with a sturdy metallic case that’s rated IP68 – one of many highest scores attainable – for resistance to water, mud and different particles. Western Digital, which now owns the SanDisk model, additionally claims that the drive can survive drops from a top of 3m, and might stand up to crushing stress of as much as 4000lbs. The drive even features a five-year guarantee as effectively.

The 2022 model of the Professional-G40 supplied learn and write speeds of 2700MB/s and 1900MB/s respectively when utilizing the Thunderbolt cable included within the field, however the present mannequin is rated at 3000MB/s for learn and 2500MB/s for write speeds. Our checks confirmed it to be completely spot-on for write efficiency, constantly hitting 2500MB/s. The learn efficiency didn’t fairly hit the quoted 3000MB/s, settling at simply over 27000MB/s, however that’s nonetheless far quicker than most USB-C drives, and supplies the type of efficiency that skilled customers want for backing up their work information.

That mixture of excessive efficiency and ultra-rugged design does imply that the Professional-G40 is kind of a bit dearer than many USB-C drives, so it’s in all probability overkill should you simply want an reasonably priced moveable drive for backing up private information. Nevertheless, skilled customers will likely be happy to search out that the worth of the Professional-G40 has been diminished lately, with the 1TB mannequin now costing $299.99/£294.99, whereas the 2TB model is $449.99/£441.99. And, as talked about, there’s a brand new 4TB model to supply further capability, priced at $699.99/£687.99.

We usually manage opinions of moveable drives and desktop drives individually, however the brand new SanDisk Professional Blade is a modular SSD storage system that may be very a lot designed for skilled and inventive customers, and lets you swap between moveable and desktop modes as required.

You can begin by shopping for the Professional Blade SSD Magazine, which is a solid-state storage module that’s out there in 1TB, 2TB or 4TB sizes (the 1TB was discounted from $179.99 to $119.99 on the time of our evaluation). The SSD Magazine is pre-formatted in APFS format for Mac customers, and is hard sufficient to resist being dropped from a top of three meters or 9.8 foot, and stand up to 4000lb (1814kg) crush stress, making it superb for outside use. Nevertheless, the SSD Magazine modules can’t hook up with a pc on their very own, so SanDisk supplies two choices for moveable and desktop use.

For moveable use you should buy the Professional Blade Transport, which is a compact case for the SSD Magazine, and is provided with a USB-C port for connecting to your Mac. The Transport measures simply 130.4mm lengthy, 71.5mm large and 16mm thick, so you may simply slip it into your pocket or a carrying case similar to every other moveable drive. It’s additionally attainable to attach the Transport to a digicam that has a USB-C interface so that you could report high-res video somewhat than having to hold a lot of smaller SD reminiscence playing cards.

While you get again to the workplace you even have the choice of inserting the SSD Magazine modules into the Professional Blade Station ($499.99/£490.99). This desktop storage system doesn’t embrace any built-in storage of its personal, however it has 4 slots that will let you insert SSD Magazine modules (not included) offering as much as 16TB of high-speed solid-state storage. The Professional Blade Station has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, with one used to attach your Mac, whereas the opposite port can be utilized to daisy-chain extra storage gadgets if required. The Professional Blade Station is pretty costly – on condition that it doesn’t embrace any storage of its personal – however it provides you the choice of making a high-speed, high-capacity SSD storage system to be used in your workplace, while additionally having the ability to take away the person SSD Magazine modules and use them as moveable drives at any time when that you must.

Western Digital – which owns SanDisk nowadays – claims that the Professional Blade Station can present learn and write speeds of 3000MB/s and 2600MB/s respectively. Our checks truly recorded a learn velocity of 2600MB/s and write velocity of 2300MB/s, however that’s nonetheless one of many quickest SSD drives we’ve ever seen, making it a great choice for artistic customers who want a quick storage system that they will use each within the workplace and on the highway.

The LaCie Transportable SSD is an choice for individuals who don’t want James Bond ranges of safety. Accessible with 500GB, 1TB or 2TB of storage, the Transportable SSD has a brand new design in comparison with its predecessor. Somewhat than sharply angular corners and edges of the now discontinued LaCie Cell SSD, the compact Transportable SSD has easily spherical corners – maybe following Apple’s current fetish for rounded corners on icons in Huge Sur and Monterey.

It’s smaller and lighter than earlier drives from LaCie too, measuring simply 0.4in/10.6mm thick, 1.9in/50mm large, and 3in/80mm lengthy, and it weighs a mere 1.5oz/45g, so it’s superb for carrying round along with your MacBook or iPad while you’re touring.

The drive has a single USB-C interface, and features a USB-C cable, however the low value signifies that there are not any added extras, comparable to an adaptor for older Macs which have USB-A (3.2) connectors.

LaCie hasn’t minimize every other corners, although. The Transportable SSD has a strong, sturdy design that ought to be capable to deal with just a few bumps in a backpack or briefcase, and it performs very effectively too.

LaCie quotes learn and write speeds of 1000MB/s, however repeated checks with the BlackMagic velocity check app confirmed the Transportable SSD comfortably cruising alongside at round 1,300MB/s with no bother in any respect.

That mixture of velocity, compact design and aggressive pricing makes the Transportable SSD a fantastic choice for anybody that wants a conveyable backup drive for his or her Mac or iPad.

Learn our full evaluation.

The light-weight, compact design of solid-state drives makes them a fantastic choice should you want a conveyable back-up drive to make use of along with your MacBook while you’re touring. Nevertheless, moveable SSDs do are likely to have restricted storage capability, usually with a most of simply 1TB or 2TB. In distinction, the SanDisk Desk Drive supplies each high-speed SSD efficiency and excessive capability too, beginning with a minimal of 4TB for $379.99/£359.99. If that’s not sufficient then you may as well step as much as 8TB, for $699.99/£663.99.

Because the identify suggests, the Desk Drive may be very a lot designed for desktop use in an workplace, and it’s bigger than most typical SSDs, standing 40.2mm excessive and 99.2mm on both sides, and weighing 268g. The drive itself continues to be small and lightweight sufficient to slide right into a backpack or touring bag alongside along with your MacBook, however it does require a mains energy provide as effectively, so this isn’t a drive that’s going to go away the workplace fairly often (we did attempt to energy it via a USB-C port on our MacBook Professional, however that didn’t work).

It’s additionally just a little disappointing that the Desk Drive simply has a single USB-C port for knowledge switch. At this value, a few further ports would have been a helpful bonus, particularly for MacBook fashions that solely have a few USB-C ports of their very own.

We didn’t have any complaints concerning the Desk Drive’s efficiency, although. SanDisk quotes a velocity of 1GB/s, though the outcomes we acquired had been nearer to 925MB/s and 910MB/s for write and browse speeds respectively. That’s not as quick as some high-end SSDs which are designed for skilled customers – comparable to SanDisk’s personal Professional Blade system – however it’s nonetheless rather a lot quicker than a traditional laborious drive, and the Desk Drive will likely be an excellent choice for individuals who merely want a quick backup drive that gives loads of storage for pictures, movies and work information.

Seagate’s OneTouch laborious drives are a well-liked selection with many customers. The OneTouch SSD is the smallest and lightest moveable drive we’ve ever seen and is offered in black, silver or blue.

When sitting flat on the desk it measures simply 2in/50mm large, 2.7in/70mm deep and a mere 0.4in/10.6mm thick. And it weighs solely 2.6oz/74g, so you may simply slip it into your pocket and carry it round along with your laptop computer or iPad while you’re touring. It’s sturdily constructed too, with Seagate claiming that it may stand up to being dropped from a top of 6.5 foot/2m.

The OneTouch drive has a USB-C interface, however Seagate consists of each USB-C and USB-A cables so that you could use it with most Macs and PCs straight out of the field.

It really works with Apple’s Time Machine for computerized backups, however Seagate additionally consists of its personal ToolKit app, which has a ‘sync’ choice for backing up particular folders. The drive additionally features a one-year free subscription to the Mylio photo-organizer app, and 4 months with Adobe’s CC Images plan, usually $9.99/£9.98 a month on an annual plan (learn our information to getting the perfect deal on Adobe Artistic Cloud).

The drive is offered with 500GB, 1TB or 2TB of storage, so it supplies loads of room for backing up massive libraries of pictures, movies or music. It doesn’t fairly match Seagate’s quoted velocity of 1GB/s, however it recorded learn and write speeds of 835MB/s and 915MB/s respectively in our checks, which nonetheless put it among the many quickest solid-state drives that we’ve examined lately. And, with its ridiculously mild and compact design, the OneTouch will likely be superb for backing up all of your essential information while you’re on the transfer.

The Adata SE920 Exterior SSD is a high-performance USB4 SSD for individuals who want fast knowledge switch speeds. 

It combines passive and energetic cooling with a compact metallic housing for passive cooling, and a micro-fan with openings for energetic cooling. The consumer can truly activate the fan by urgent on the housing. 

If you’re engaged on a undertaking comparable to a video or picture edit, or one other job that would require quite a lot of drive entry over a time frame, then swap on the fan. The remainder of the time you may in all probability depart it. 

The SE920 is primarily designed for Home windows customers, evident from the formatting within the NTFS file system and the backup software program for Home windows, however this shouldn’t be an issue for knowledgeable Mac customers. The SE920 is shortly reformatted in APFS utilizing the macOS Disk Utility.

Information switch charges measured with Aja System Take a look at Lite had been spectacular. The SE920 achieved 2992MBps for writes and 3161 MBps for reads. Information charges are secure over an extended interval and the thermal design works completely.

All this comes at a great value. We advocate the SE920 to any content material creator.

LaCie’s Rugged drives have been widespread with Mac customers for a few years, because of their mixture of high-performance and that now-familiar orange sleeve that helps to maintain the drive secure while you’re working open air. Nevertheless, the Rugged vary has largely used typical laborious drives up to now, that are slower than the newest solid-state drives, in addition to being greater and heavier. Welcome the Rugged Professional SSD, which is primarily geared toward artistic customers.

The Rugged SSD vary begins at round $180/£180 for a mannequin with 500GB storage, however we had been capable of evaluation the SSD Professional, which stands out from the remainder of the vary with its matte-black sleeve. It’s fairly costly, costing $419/£249.99 with 1TB of storage, and a hefty $739.99/£379.99 for the 2TB mannequin and $1,049.99/£999.99 for 4TB, however it justifies that value with an excellent harder design and the newest, super-fast solid-state drives designed for skilled video work. (U.Ok. costs dropped in 2024 however US costs don’t appear to have adopted swimsuit. Fortunately you will get good offers at varied resellers).

Switching to a solid-state drive signifies that the SSD Professional is now the smallest mannequin within the Rugged vary, measuring simply 3.8in/98mm lengthy, 2.5in/65mm large and 0.6in/17mm thick. It solely weighs 100g/3.5oz, so you may simply slip it into your pocket or bag while you’re touring and barely even discover that it’s there.

Regardless of its compact design, that new black sleeve is severely robust and rated IP67 for resistance to water and dirt, permitting it to outlive in 3.2 foot/1m of water for as much as half-hour. It will probably deal with being dropped from a top of 9.8 foot/3m, and might even resist the burden of a two-tonne automobile driving over it. It features a five-year guarantee in case something does go incorrect, which incorporates one go to to LaCie’s data-recovery labs if that you must retrieve essential knowledge.

The Rugged SSD Professional consists of only a single Thunderbolt 3/USB-C interface, however most of its excessive value is all the way down to the usage of the newest NVMe solid-state drives, which offer prime efficiency for high-end video purposes, comparable to enhancing 8K or super-slow-motion video information (which might be monumental, as they shoot at as much as 240 frames per second on the newest iPhones). The drive didn’t disappoint, recording constant write speeds of 1780MB/s, and an excellent quicker 2480MB/s for learn speeds – with each figures leaving nearly each different SSD drive we’ve ever examined trailing in its wake. And, when backing up our iTunes music library, the Rugged SSD Professional blew us away by backing up 5GB of music information in simply 5 seconds – look away for a few seconds and also you’ll miss it!

After all, not everybody will want that type of efficiency – particularly at this value – however should you work with high-res video and wish a quick, robust drive for outside work then the Rugged SSD Professional is in a category of its personal.

LaCie’s Rugged vary of laborious drives and SSDs has lengthy been widespread with individuals who want a sturdy back-up drive that may deal with tough climate and situations when working open air. The Rugged drives have at all times tended to be somewhat massive and ponderous, although – just like the Rugged SSD Professional (under) – so LaCie has now produced a extra compact choice within the type of the brand new Rugged Mini SSD.

As you may anticipate, the Rugged Mini appears to be like very very similar to its rugged kin, with LaCie’s distinctive vibrant orange rubber sleeve serving to to maintain the drive secure. However, in fact, it’s rather a lot smaller than earlier fashions, measuring simply 17.3mm thick, 66.9mm large, 105mm lengthy. It solely weighs 114g as effectively, so you may simply slip it right into a jacket pocket or backpack while you’re touring.

Regardless of that compact design, the Rugged Mini continues to be robust sufficient to deal with some tough remedy. It’s rated IP54 for water and dirt resistance, so it ought to be capable to deal with life open air should you’re engaged on location for a photo- or video shoot. And, because of that rubber sleeve, it may deal with drops of as much as 3m and even survive being pushed over by a 1-tonne truck. And if that’s not robust sufficient, the drive comes with a three-year guarantee that features LaCie’s Rescue Information Restoration Service, to assist restore any misplaced knowledge.

The drive’s USB-C port will work with any Mac or PC that additionally has USB-C or Thunderbolt. However, like quite a lot of drives that we’ve seen lately, it makes use of a model of USB generally known as USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, which isn’t absolutely supported by Macs in the intervening time. Which means Macs received’t be capable to get the complete 2000MB/s speeds supported by that interface, and our checks confirmed this, recording write and browse speeds of 900MB/s and 970MB/s respectively. We’ve seen stronger efficiency from some rival drives, however these speeds must be completely satisfactory for routine backups while you’re on the highway, and the sturdy design of the Rugged Mini makes it a great choice for individuals who want a drive that they will use open air regularly.

Pricing is just a little complicated, although. Within the US, the Rugged Mini prices $84.99/£74.99 (1TB), $109.99/£99.99 (2TB), and $159.99/£149.99 (4TB). We’ve seen a lot decrease costs from Amazon and different on-line retailers, so it’s positively value buying round earlier than shopping for.

Western Digital’s Passport drives have at all times supplied moveable, light-weight designs, and the My Passport SSD combines compact design with sturdy efficiency and extra security measures.

Accessible in a wide range of colours, the My Passport SSD supplies as much as 4TB of solid-state storage, though the 1TB mannequin that we evaluation right here prices $74.99/£94.99.

The drive measures simply 0.35in/9mm thick, and weighs 1.6oz/46g, so it’s sufficiently small to slide right into a jacket pocket while you’re on the transfer. Nevertheless, it’s additionally robust sufficient to outlive being dropped from a top of two metres.

The drive is provided with a USB-C interface, however WD features a USB-C cable and a USB-A adaptor with the drive, so you may nonetheless use it with older Macs that don’t have USB-C. The solid-state drive supplies good efficiency too, recording a write velocity of 935MB/s and browse velocity of 908MB/s, making it a fantastic choice for backing up your essential information on the transfer.

It’s safe too, as WD’s Discovery app lets you set a password for the drive so as preserve your information secure. There’s a second app as effectively, known as WD Unlocker, which is constructed into the drive itself, and lets you enter the password so that you could use the drive with one other Mac or PC if that you must.

When the drive was first launched there have been complaints that the WD apps hadn’t been correctly up to date to 64-bit code for the newest variations of the macOS, however we examined the drive with our workplace Macs and didn’t encounter any issues.

Learn a full evaluation over on our sister website Tech Advisor.

SanDisk has been making a push for the skilled market with a few of its current merchandise, however it’s additionally well-known for merely offering good worth for cash with merchandise such because the SanDisk Transportable SSD. In truth, the Transportable SSD is so low cost that SanDisk doesn’t even trouble promoting a 500GB mannequin on its site, leaping straight as much as 1TB for a really aggressive $101.99/£104.99, whereas even the 2TB mannequin prices simply effectively beneath $200/£200.

The Transportable SSD lives as much as its identify too, because it measures simply 10mm thick, 47mm large and 97mm lengthy, so you may slip it right into a jacket or perhaps a shirt pocket and barely even discover that it’s there. The light-weight plastic case doesn’t really feel fairly as sturdy as we would have preferred, {and professional} customers who work open air rather a lot may favor a drive with a extra rugged design. Nevertheless, SanDisk states that it may survive being dropped from a top of two metres, and there’s a helpful little rubber hook on one nook to assist preserve it secure, so it ought to be capable to survive normal day-to-day use while you’re out and about along with your laptop computer. The one oddity is that the drive has a USB-C interface, however SanDisk solely supplies a USB-C-to-USB-A cable, so that you’ll want your individual adaptor or cable in case your Mac or PC solely has USB-C ports.

It’s not the quickest solid-state drive round and, to be sincere, even SanDisk’s  quoted velocity of 520MB/s appears just a little optimistic. The drive’s write efficiency was just a little erratic, however averaged round 300MB/s, whereas learn efficiency was larger and extra constant at 430MB/s. Once more, skilled customers may favor a quicker drive in the event that they’ve acquired deadlines looming, however the Transportable SSD continues to be rather a lot quicker than a traditional laborious drive, and it’s a great choice for anybody that simply desires a light-weight, reasonably priced back-up drive for his or her Mac.

There are three variations of Samsung’s T7. The usual T7 is a compact, light-weight SSD that appears similar to the outdated T5 – though it boasts larger efficiency, so be sure to examine the mannequin numbers earlier than shopping for. We examined the T7 Defend, which is a extra rugged mannequin, wrapped in a sturdy rubber sleeve designed for outside use. Each of these fashions can use Samsung’s Transportable SSD app so as to add password safety in your information, however there’s additionally a 3rd mannequin known as the T7 Contact that has a built-in fingerprint sensor for further safety and comfort.

Accessible in black, blue or silver, the T7 Defend prices $129/£110 with 1TB of storage, however we’re seeing nice reductions now it’s been out some time. It has a USB-C interface for connecting to your Mac, however Samsung features a USB-C cable and a USB-A adaptor so that you could use it with older Macs which have USB-A. The rugged protecting sleeve signifies that it’s just a little bigger than the opposite T7 fashions, measuring 0.5in/13mm thick, 2.3in/59mm large and three.4in/88mm lengthy, and weighing 3.4oz/98g. Even so, it’s nonetheless sufficiently small to slide right into a jacket pocket or backpack with no bother in any respect, and many individuals will recognize the additional safety that it presents.

The T7 Defend is rated IP65 for water- and dust-resistance, and Samsung claims that the shock-resistant rubber sleeve can survive drops from a top of three meters.

It’s a great performer too. Samsung quotes learn and write speeds of 1,000MB/s, however our checks with the Blackmagic disk device truly recorded a learn velocity of 1,780MB/s, and a write velocity of 1,300MB/s, which makes the T7 Defend a fantastic backup choice for individuals who have to work open air with their laptop computer.

The OWC Specific 1M2’s cooling fins alone account for round half of the general top of this exterior SSD. The aluminum housing is kind of massive at 5.2 by 2.8 by 0.9 inches (13.2 by 7.1 by 2.3 centimeters) and the very high-quality metallic housing additionally has sufficiently massive rubber surfaces on the underside.

To check for velocity, we used two benchmarks, Aja System Take a look at Lite and Blackmagicdesign Disk Pace Take a look at. The outcomes are spectacular: 2736MBps (write) and 2980MBps (learn) in Aja System Take a look at Lite. The values with Blackmagicdesign Disk Pace Take a look at had been round 100MBps larger–it cracked the 3000 MBps mark within the learn check.