The best external hard drives of 2025: Expert tested

The SL500 breaks the mildew with its measurement. It is skinny, gentle, and roughly the dimensions of a bank card at solely 4.8mm thick. The strong aluminum unibody building matches comfortably within the palm of your hand and slips unobtrusively right into a pocket. I like this drive, and it is grow to be my go-to day-to-day drive that lives in my laptop computer bag. 

Evaluation: Lexar SL500 Portable SSD with Magnetic Set

The design not solely protects the drive from bumps and scrapes but additionally does a improbable job of dissipating warmth. The SL500 can be quick, able to reaching as much as 2,000MB/s learn and 1,800MB/s write speeds, making it simple to maneuver giant recordsdata. Efficiency on Macs and different programs that do not assist USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 could also be considerably decrease. 

If you happen to’re in search of a skinny, gentle drive that permits you to file ProRes video in your iPhone 15 Professional/Professional Max, the Lexar SL500 is unquestionably value a glance. Plus, it may possibly simply slip right into a pocket or bag.

If you happen to plan on utilizing this together with your iPhone, then I extremely advocate that you simply seize the SL500 drive with the Magnetic Set, which comes with a MagSafe-compatible case.

Lexar SL500 options: USB-C and USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface | 1TB to 4TB capacities | 256-bit AES software program encryption | 2.5-inch type issue | 5-year restricted guarantee

A standard mistake I usually see is individuals buying the biggest, bulkiest exterior onerous drive they’ll discover beneath the impression that it is the greatest answer for his or her wants. Later, they discover themselves with an enormous, noisy gadget that occupies an excessive amount of desk area and is inconvenient to hold to the workplace or on the highway.

This is the reason I like to recommend the WD My Passport Extremely to those that want a compact, easy-to-use onerous drive for a couple of vital recordsdata, knowledge switch between programs, or journey.

Through the years, I’ve advisable this drive to dozens of individuals, from dwelling customers in want of a backup answer to beginner photographers and videographers dealing with disk area limitations. Everybody who has bought one has reported being happy with their selection.

Two key options set this drive aside. It contains WD Backup software program for PCs, which simplifies and optimizes the backup course of, and it presents built-in 256-bit AES {hardware} encryption, guaranteeing that knowledge on the drive is safe.

Given the strong fame of the WD model and the standard of their onerous drives, I’ve little concern about untimely knowledge loss.

WD My Passport Extremely options: USB-C and USB 3.1 interface | 1TB to 5TB capacities | 256-bit AES {hardware} encryption | 2.5-inch type issue | 3-year restricted guarantee

There are tons of sturdy safe storage drives (SSDs) however drives that shield your knowledge from the weather in addition to cybercriminals are uncommon. Whereas many of the knowledge I’ve is simply pictures and video that I’ve captured with my digital camera and drone, and I am not anxious about it falling into unsuitable palms. However I do produce other knowledge that I need to maintain safe, and that is the place an encrypted drive comes into play. 

iStorage DiskAshur Professional 3 is an exterior drive that James Bond would really feel assured utilizing to maintain his secrets and techniques locked away. The drive has been licensed to FIPS 140-2 Stage 2 requirements, serving to organizations adjust to knowledge laws comparable to GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and TAA. It makes use of AES-XTS 256-bit {hardware} encryption, that means all knowledge on the drive is at all times encrypted, and the drive has its personal keypad for passcode entry so there isn’t any software program to put in on the host pc.

Evaluation: iStorage DiskAshur Pro 3 

The DiskAshur Professional 3 additionally encompasses a wear-resistant, backlit alphanumeric keypad for coming into an 8- to 64-character passcode. This keypad is essential as a result of it prevents attackers from utilizing put on patterns to guess the code. If somebody tries to brute-force the passcode, the drive has sturdy countermeasures. 

The drive can be constructed to face up to bodily tampering. Accessing the interior parts requires bodily breaking the enclosure. Even then, each inside part is encased in layers of sturdy epoxy resin. This makes it just about not possible to entry the parts with out irreparably damaging them.

Moreover, the drive is sealed in opposition to the weather and rated IP56 for mud and water resistance. This implies the gadget is protected in opposition to dangerous mud and powerful jets of water from all instructions.

iStroage DiskAshur Professional 3 options: USB 2.0/3.0 interface | 500GB to 2TB capacities | 2.5-inch type issue | 3-year restricted guarantee 

That is the go-to selection for individuals who require an unlimited quantity of storage with out the additional {hardware} and setup complexities of a NAS (Network Attached Storage) system. With capacities starting from 4 to 22 terabytes, the WD Digital Components is ideal for even essentially the most demanding knowledge hogs.

Nevertheless, do not assume that top capability interprets to a excessive price ticket. The price of the 24TB model breaks right down to an affordable $23 per terabyte. This makes it a perfect answer for people who handle or work with giant media recordsdata, particularly movies. It is a common selection amongst drone pilots who do intensive filming.

Additionally: The best NAS devices

I personally relied on comparable drives for a few years earlier than my storage wants grew and I transitioned to a NAS system. All through all these years, these drives by no means failed me. They persistently carried out nicely till I required much more storage capability.

The one draw back I’ve observed is that the drive could be quite noisy. In my case, this was partly on account of me working a number of drives on my desk concurrently, however even a single drive could be removed from silent by itself.

WD Digital Components options: USB 2.0/3.0 interface | 4TB to 24TB capacities | 3.5-inch type issue | 2-year restricted guarantee 

The draw back to many moveable SSDs is that they can not address even a bit of little bit of water or mud. That signifies that they like an air-conditioned workplace over a dusty truck or a moist tent. The extra I am concerned in out of doors images and videography with drones, the extra I want moveable storage that does not thoughts getting moist and soiled. 

Not the Essential X10! This drive is constructed for journey. Every thing is encased in a matte blue polymer enclosure measuring simply 65 by 50 mm and 10 mm thick, and the entire drive weighs simply 32 grams, and it options IP65 rain and mud score and drop resistance as much as 9.8 toes (3 meters), this drive is ideally suited to endure the hardest environments.

There’s even a useful lanyard gap to maintain the drive shut handy. The drive is so small you may connect it to a keyring.  

The X10 is an SSD with capacities starting from 1TB to 8TB and connects by way of USB-C. It presents sequential learn speeds as much as 2,100 MB/s and sequential write speeds as much as 2,100 MB/s, twice what its predecessor, the X9, was able to hitting.

Essential X10 options: USB 3.2 Gen-2 2×2 interface | 1TB to 8TB capacities | 3-year restricted guarantee 

That is the best budget-friendly selection for these in search of simplicity with out the excessive value. It is a easy drive that may be simply related to a system as wanted. It is solely barely bigger than the two.5-inch onerous drives present in laptops, making it one of many smallest and lightest exterior drives out there.

This drive is completely suited to people who handle small quantities of knowledge, comparable to college students or dwelling customers seeking to again up important recordsdata.

Moreover, this drive comes from Toshiba, a producer identified for its wonderful monitor file. Toshiba’s drives are famend for his or her reliability, and you’ll anticipate years of reliable service from this mannequin.

Toshiba Canvio Fundamentals options: USB 2.0/3.0 interface | 1TB to 4TB capacities | 2.5-inch type issue | 1-year restricted guarantee 

If you happen to’re anxious about knowledge loss, then that is the exterior onerous drive for you. Why? As a result of it takes an everyday exterior onerous drive and provides a second drive. This second drive can be utilized in one in every of two methods:

• It may be used alongside the primary drive, doubling the unit’s capability.
• It may be used as a redundant backup of the primary drive in a RAID array. This manner, if one drive fails or the information is corrupted, the information stays secure on the opposite.

And I must say this clearly: Drive failure is uncommon, nevertheless it occurs, particularly once you’re transferring lots of knowledge. That is the sort of factor you may do if you’re processing high-definition video, for instance. In case you have irreplaceable knowledge, then an exterior onerous drive like this is a crucial a part of the answer for stopping knowledge loss.

WD My E-book Duo options: USB 3.2 interface | 8TB to 44TB capacities | 3.5-inch type issue | 3-year restricted guarantee