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As software gets bigger and bigger, more and more programs need gigabytes of memory. When you add in big operating system updates and big video files, it’s easy for your best external hard drives for Mac to run out of memory.
The best external hard drives for Mac can quickly give you access to your files at home or on the go, while also keeping them safe and easy to get to. But it’s not always easy to find the right one because there are so many options all trying to get your money.
With the best external hard drives for Mac, you don’t have to put big files that slow down your iMac, MacBook, or Mac Mini. Instead, you can move everything to a device outside of your computer that you can use whenever you want.
Best External Hard Drives for Mac Comparison Table
| Name | Genre | Modes | Dimension | Weight | Prices | Official Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LaCie Mobile Drive 2022 | External HDD | USB-C | 94 x 118 x 11mm | 100g | $99.99 (2TB) | Visit Website |
| Buffalo MiniStation | External HDD | USB 3.0 | 76 x 115 x 16mm | 165g | $79.99 (2TB) | Visit Website |
| SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 | External SSD | USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 | 113.5 x 62 x 10.2mm | 115g | $429.99 (2TB) | Visit Website |
| Samsung T7 Portable SSD (2TB) | External SSD | USB 3.2 | 85 x 57 x 8mm | 58g | $339.99 (2TB) | Visit Website |
| Seagate Backup Plus For Mac | External HDD | USB 3.0 | 114.5 x 76 x 20.35mm | 246g | $109.99 (2TB) | Visit Website |
| Lacie Portable SSD | External SSD | USB-C | 79 x 94 x 9mm | 100g | $209.99 (1TB) | Visit Website |
| SanDisk Professional G-Drive SSD | External SSD | Thunderbolt 3 | 118 x 88 x 14.8mm | 300g | $799.99 (2TB) | Visit Website |
| Adata SD700 External SSD | External SSD | USB 3.1 | 83 x 83 x 13.9mm | 100g | $119.99 (256GB) | Visit Website |
LaCie Mobile Drive 2022
| Feature | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB |
| Interface | USB-C |
| Max. Read Speed | Up to 540MB/s |
| Dimensions | 86 x 128 x 10 mm |
| Weight | 100g |
| Compatibility | Mac, Windows, USB-C and USB 3.0 compatible |
| Durability | Shock-resistant and drop-resistant up to 1.5m (4.9ft) |
The best external hard drives for Mac is LaCie Mobile Drive was already on our list of the best hard drives for Mac users, and a new version for 2022 just came out. A few online stores still sell the old version, which is easy to spot because of its sharp, angular design.
The new 2022 Mobile Drive, on the other hand, follows Apple’s current design trend by having a slim, rectangular shape with smooth, rounded corners. The LaCie logo is now in the middle, instead of being off to one side as it used to be.
The Good
- There are ways to store a lot of things.
- The design is strong enough to handle drops and shocks.
- Slim and small sizes make it easy to carry.
The Bad
- Compared to other drives on the market, it has a slow write speed.
- No Thunderbolt option for connecting.
Buffalo MiniStation
| Feature | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1TB, 2TB, 3TB, 4TB |
| Interface | USB 3.0 |
| Max. Read Speed | Up to 5Gbps |
| Dimensions | 19.3 x 81 x 130 mm |
| Weight | 230g |
| Compatibility | Mac and Windows |
| Durability | Shock-resistant and drop-resistant up to 1.2m (4ft) |
This is the best external hard drives for Mac if you want to use the Thunderbolt port. It works twice as fast as regular USB 3.0 drives. It still uses a traditional hard drive instead of an SSD. There is also a USB 3.0 port for connecting to computers that don’t have a Thunderbolt port.
This external hard drive is strong, easy to carry, and nice to look at. It comes in a clean white color that goes well with Macbooks and works with Time Machine. Even though it is set up for Macs, the Buffalo MiniStation only has one Thunderbolt port.
The Good
- There are ways to store a lot of things.
- Design that can withstand shocks and falls
- Small and light make it easy to carry.
The Bad
- Read and write speeds aren’t as fast as with other drives on the market.
SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2
| Feature | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB |
| Interface | USB-C |
| Max. Read Speed | Up to 2000MB/s |
| Dimensions | 8.85 x 55 x 110 mm |
| Weight | 79g |
| Compatibility | Mac and Windows |
| Durability | Shock-resistant and IP55-rated water and dust-resistant |
Strictly speaking, this isn’t a device that stays on your desk. Instead, it’s a portable storage solution. However, there’s no reason why it couldn’t be used instead of a larger external desktop hard drive.
Most best external hard drives for Mac your data on older, slower mechanical hard disk drives, but the Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 is built around a super-fast NVMe SSD. This is connected to your Mac through a short-lived USB connection called USB 3.2 Gen 2×2.
The Good
- Very fast speeds for reading and writing
- The design is sturdy and can withstand drops, water, and dust. It is also small and light, making it easy to carry.
The Bad
- Compared to other drives on the market, it’s pretty pricey. There aren’t many options for how much space it can hold.
Samsung T7 Portable SSD (2TB)
| Feature | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB |
| Interface | USB-C |
| Max. Read Speed | Up to 1050MB/s |
| Dimensions | 57.3 x 85 x 8 mm |
| Weight | 58g |
| Compatibility | Mac, Windows, and Android devices |
| Durability | Shock-resistant and drop-resistant up to 2m (6.6ft) |
This small, compact SSD drive from Samsung comes with both a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A cable, so you can use it with your MacBook or Mac. The best external hard drives for Mac, it moves very quickly.
SSDs are usually much faster than HDDs, so this is our pick if you need speed. With speeds of up to 1,050 MB/s for reading and 1,000 MB/s for writing, there is more than enough speed and power to transfer any file.
The Good
- There are ways to store a lot of things.
- Very fast speeds for reading and writing
- The design is strong enough to handle drops and shocks.
The Bad
- Compared to other drives on the market, it’s pretty pricey.
- No Thunderbolt option for connecting.
Seagate Backup Plus For Mac
| Feature | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 5TB |
| Interface | USB 3.0 |
| Max. Read Speed | Up to 120MB/s |
| Dimensions | 78 x 114.5 x 20.35 mm |
| Weight | 270g |
| Compatibility | Mac and Windows |
| Durability | N/A |
The Seagate Backup Plus for Mac is the best external hard drives for Mac and the closest competitor to the WD My Passport for Mac. The Seagate Backup Plus for Mac comes in sizes from 1TB to 5TB.
It also comes with a USB 2.0 adapter cable for older Macs and connectors for USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt. The Seagate Backup Plus for Mac also comes with the Seagate Dashboard backup software, but we found it to be too big and hard to use to customize backups.
The Good
- There are ways to store a lot of things.
- Both Macs and Windows can use it.
- When compared to other drives on the market, the price is fair.
The Bad
- Read and write speeds aren’t as fast as with other drives on the market.
- Compared to other portable drives, this one is big and heavy.
Lacie Portable SSD
| Feature | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB |
| Interface | USB-C |
| Max. Read Speed | Up to 540MB/s |
| Dimensions | 79 x 94 x 9.4 mm |
| Weight | 100g |
| Compatibility | Mac, Windows, and USB-C compatible devices |
| Durability | Shock-resistant and drop-resistant up to 2m (6.6ft) |
It’s hard to go wrong with a LaCie drive. The high-end brand has been making best external hard drives for Mac for a long time, and even though they often cost more per gigabyte than other models, the extra money is usually worth it.
The name of this external hard drive for Mac pretty much tells you everything you need to know about it: it has super-fast SSD technology, it’s made by Lacie, and it’s portable, so you don’t need a separate power brick to take it anywhere.
The Good
- Fast times to read and write
- The design is strong enough to handle drops and shocks.
- Small and light make it easy to carry.
The Bad
- There aren’t many ways to store things.
- Compared to other drives on the market, it’s pretty pricey.
SanDisk Professional G-Drive SSD
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB |
| Interface | USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 |
| Max. Read Speed | Up to 2800MB/s |
| Dimensions | 12.5 x 96 x 140 mm |
| Weight | 500g |
| Compatibility | Mac and Windows |
| Durability | N/A |
The SanDisk brand of Western Digital has made best external hard drives for Mac that is both very durable and very fast. It looks great, with a black metal case and grille and a grey interior that can be seen. Even up to 1,000lbs can’t break it.
Second, it definitely moves quickly! It can read at 1050MBps and write at 1000Mbps, which is second only to the latest Thunderbolt technology. It also stays cool for a long time because it has an aluminum core.
The Good
- Very fast speeds for reading and writing
- There are ways to store a lot of things.
- Thunderbolt 3 is a way to connect.
The Bad
- Compared to other drives on the market, it’s pretty pricey.
- Compared to other portable drives, this one is big and heavy.
Adata SD700 External SSD
| Feature | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Interface | USB 3.0 |
| Max. Read Speed | Up to 440MB/s |
| Dimensions | 84 x 84 x 13.9 mm |
| Weight | 100g |
| Compatibility | Mac and Windows |
| Durability | IP68-rated water and dust-resistant, shock-resistant and drop-resistant up to 1.5m (4.9ft) |
In general, best external hard drives for Mac can take more abuse than hard drives because they don’t have the moving parts that are usually the weak points of HDDs. It can stay dry for up to 30 minutes and has an IP68 rating, which means that dust, dirt, and sand won’t hurt it.
So, it’s great if you like to work on the beach or are always dropping things that you shouldn’t. The starting capacity isn’t very big, and the write speeds aren’t as fast as the Samsung SSDs on our list.
The Good
- Extreme environments can be handled by a design that is resistant to water and dust.
- It can take shocks and falls of up to 1.5m without breaking. (4.9ft)
- Small and light make it easy to carry.
The Bad
- Compared to other drives on the market, read and write speeds aren’t as fast. There aren’t as many storage options.
FAQs
What is the most stable external hard drive?
- WD Elements Portable Drive.
- Seagate Portable Drive.
- Maxone 500GB Ultra Slim Drive.
- Toshiba Canvio Basics Portable Drive.
- Silicon Power Portable Drive.
Will a separate hard drive make my Mac go faster?
All of them stay together in one “App” file. Using this to our advantage, we can move all of our large apps and support files to an external drive to free up space on the built-in drive and, in short, speed up your system.
Does a Mac work with any external hard drives?
You can connect an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a USB drive, or a Flash memory card to your Mac using a Thunderbolt, USB, or USB-C cable, or you can connect it wirelessly using Bluetooth technology.