Best External Hard Drives 2026

by Anonymous

The Samsung T7 Shield is a portable SSD that transfers files at over 1,000 MB/s, survives three-meter drops, and fits in your pocket. The WD My Passport is the reliable workhorse for backups with hardware encryption and up to 5TB of storage at a reasonable price. The SanDisk Extreme Pro is the fastest portable SSD we've tested with 2,000 MB/s reads. The Seagate Backup Plus Slim is the cheapest way to get 2TB of portable storage. SSDs are worth the premium if speed matters to you.

Samsung T7 Shield 2TB

$160
price
Portable SSD
type
1,050 MB/s
read speed
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB-C)
interface
IP65, 3m drop-proof
durability
AES 256-bit hardware
encryption

WD My Passport 5TB

$130
price
Portable HDD
type
120 MB/s
read speed
USB 3.0 (USB-A)
interface
Shock-resistant
durability
AES 256-bit hardware
encryption

SanDisk Extreme Pro 2TB

$190
price
Portable SSD
type
2,000 MB/s
read speed
USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (USB-C)
interface
IP55, 2m drop-proof
durability
AES 256-bit hardware
encryption

Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB

$65
price
Portable HDD
type
120 MB/s
read speed
USB 3.0 (USB-A)
interface
Basic
durability
Software (Toolkit)
encryption

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