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The best Portable SSDs are a quick and easy way to add storage to your favourite devices that don’t have enough space. There are a lot of clever things you can do with cloud storage, but in many cases, it’s not as good as traditional storage. Having a lot of storage space in a drive that fits in your pocket is very useful, and for some users, it may be a must-have.
There are a lot of portable hard disc drives and much faster SSD to choose from. When buying a portable SSD, you should usually pay attention to the speed of the drive, the type of connection, the capacity, the price, and how long it will last. Here are some of the best portable SSDs on the market right now to help you choose the right one.
Best Portable SSDs
Seagate Fast Portable SSD
Specifications
| Item Weight | 2.89 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 3.7 x 3.11 x 0.35 inches |
| Hardware Platform | PC, Mac |
| Flash Memory Size | 500 GB |
| Power Source | USB powered |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. |
| Manufacturer | Seagate |
Seagate is a well-known name in storage, and with the Seagate Fast SSD, it has brought its impressive experience to the portable SSD market. This external SSD is only 9mm thick and has a footprint of 94 x 79mm, which is very small. This means you can easily put it in your pocket and carry it with you.
At 82 grammes, it is also very light and small, but not as small as the My Passport SSD. Best of all, it’s cheap, and prices are likely to go down. It works well, is small, has a nice design, and comes with a three-year warranty. If you want the best portable SSD for a low price, you should think about the Seagate Fast SSD.
Pros
- Aggressive cost per gigabyte at all capacities.
- Attractive design.
- Comes with USB-C and USB-A cables.
- Decent read/write speeds for the price.
Cons
- Interface is only USB 3.0.
- Short cable length
Samsung X5 Portable SSD
Specifications
| Item Weight | 5.3 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 4.7 x 0.8 x 2.4 inches |
| Hardware Platform | Windows 7 or higher; Mac OS 10.9 or higher: Android KitKat or higher |
| Series | Samsung X5 |
| Flash Memory Size | 1 TB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung Electronics DAV |
If speed is the most important thing to you and money is (almost) not an issue, the best portable SSD for you is the Samsung X5 Portable SSD. It has a Thunderbolt 3 port that lets you take full advantage of the brilliant Samsung 970 Evo NVMe SSD’s very fast speeds. But that pure commitment to speed costs something.
First, this is an expensive external SSD, so there’s the cost. It’s also bigger and bulkier than the Samsung T3 and Samsung T5, which are also on this list. The device is 150g, which is three times as heavy as the Samsung T5, and it is 116 x 60 x 18mm, which makes it more portable than tiny.
Pros
- Exceptional performance
- Hardware encryption
- Thunderbolt 3 interface
- Sequential read and write performance
Cons
- DTG tech affects performance
- Expensive
- Not compact or waterproof
ADATA SE800 Portable SSD
Specifications
| Item Weight | 1.41 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 2.86 x 1.73 x 0.48 inches |
| Hardware Platform | PC |
| Series | SE800 |
| Flash Memory Size | 1 TB |
| Manufacturer | ADATA |
| Country of Origin | Taiwan |
The ADATA SE800 is expensive per gigabyte, but it is worth the money. The 2.8-by-1.7-inch shirt-pocket SSD is fast and almost impossible to break. It has an IP68 rating, which means it is dustproof and waterproof. This brushed aluminium beauty comes with two cables so it can be plugged into both USB Type-A and USB Type-C ports without an adapter or dongle.
The cables might be a little short for desktop use, though. If you never take your laptop outside, you might not need a drive that can handle rainy days and falls from four feet, but it’s nice to know that the SE800 gives your data extra protection. Unless you’re on a tight budget, this sleek SSD is hard to beat.
Pros
- Small, light, and fast.
- Highly durable.
- Reasonable cost per gigabyte.
- USB-C and USB-A cables included.
Cons
- The provided cables are on the short side.
Crucial X8 1TB Portable SSD
Specifications
| Item Weight | 3.53 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 4.33 x 0.45 x 2.09 inches |
| Hardware Platform | PC, Linux, Mac |
| Series | X8 |
| Flash Memory Size | 1 TB |
| Manufacturer | Crucial, a brand of Micron |
| Country of Origin | Thailand |
At 16.5 cents per gigabyte, the 1TB Crucial X8 is a pocket SSD that almost anyone can buy. It’s not ruggedized in the sense that it’s waterproof or dustproof, but it can handle a shock of 1,500 Gs and a 7.5-foot drop onto a carpeted floor if you’re playing catch with your photos and videos.
You’ll be a thin layer of goo, but you can take comfort in the fact that your data is fine as your last thought. The X8 is a simple SSD that doesn’t come with a backup software utility or a data access light. Instead, it comes with a USB Type-C to A adapter instead of two separate cables. But it works quickly and costs a reasonable amount.
Pros
- Small and sturdy.
- Stylish all-metal chassis with rubberized ends.
- Attractive cost per gigabyte.
- Solid performance.
- Includes a USB-C cable and USB-C-to-USB-A adapter.
Cons
- No activity light.
- No backup utility.
SanDisk Professional G-Drive SSD
Specifications
| Item Weight | 7 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 3.74 x 1.97 x 0.59 inches |
| Hardware Platform | Mac |
| Series | G-Drive SSD |
| Flash Memory Size | 2 TB |
| Manufacturer | Western Digital |
| Country of Origin | China |
This SSD’s ruggedized design is what makes it stand out. It can withstand a 3-meter drop and 1000lb of crushing force, and the outside is rated IP67 to keep out dust and moisture. Even with this extra protection on the outside, the drive is only slightly bigger than the WD My Passport SSD that isn’t ruggedized. Its dimensions are 95mm x 50mm x 14.5mm.
Inside the hardened shell is a fast SSD that SanDisk says can move data at up to 560MB/s, which is impressive. The drive connects with a modern USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port, but it also comes with a Type-A adapter so that it can work with older computers. We couldn’t quite match the drive’s claimed maximum transfer speed of 560MB/s.
Pros
- High (IP67) rating for water and dust resistance
- Crush- and drop-resistant
- Mac Time Machine backup-compatible
- Includes both Mac and Windows software for 256-bit AES encryption
- Fast folder transfers
Cons
- A bit pricey for a USB 3.2 Gen 2 SSD
- Must be reformatted to work with a Windows PC
Lexar SL200 Portable SSD
Specifications
| Item Weight | 1.44 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 3.39 x 2.36 x 0.37 inches |
| Series | SL200 |
| Flash Memory Size | 1 TB |
| Manufacturer | Lexar International |
| Hard Drive Interface | Solid State |
| Country of Origin | China |
Lexar is known for making high-quality memory cards and card readers, but it also has a few portable SSDs. The SL200 is its newest product, and at 86 x 60 x 9.5mm, it is easy to carry around. The build quality feels solid, and the matte silver finish makes it look like it belongs next to other modern laptops.
Lexar says that its fastest read/write speeds are 550/400MB/s, which is about average for an SSD that isn’t an NVMe SSD. When reading and writing a single large video file, we clocked the drive at a maximum of 448/289MB/s, which is a best-case real-world speed scenario. Any SSD will slow down when transferring a lot of small image files, but the SL200 still managed a good read/write speed of 384/267MB/s.
Pros
- Compact and lightweight
- Moderately priced
- Comes with cables for both USB-C and USB-A ports
- 256-bit AES encryption
Cons
- Lacks NVMe level performance
- Relatively short warranty
SanDisk Pro-G40 SSD
Specifications
| Item Weight | 4.3 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 4.36 x 2.28 x 0.47 inches |
| Series | SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 SSD |
| Flash Memory Size | 1 TB |
| Hard Drive Interface | USB 3.0 |
| Manufacturer | Western Digital Technologies, Inc. |
| Country of Origin | Malaysia |
The SanDisk Pro-G40 is a great portable SSD that can be used for many things. It has both Thunderbolt 3 and USB modes, so it will work with a wide range of devices, but you may need an adapter or cable to go from Type-C to Type-A. Overall performance is good, writing performance is great, and your overall experience should be fast all the time.
The hardware on which the drive is built is a bit old, but it is a mature platform that works great for a portable solution. The metal and rubber case is also a plus because it keeps the drive cool and keeps most environmental hazards away from it. The price is the worst thing about the Pro-G40.
Pros
- Excellent all-around performance
- Class-leading sustained write performance
- Rugged, aesthetically-pleasing design
- Extremely rugged
- Handsome design
Cons
- High cost per gigabyte
- Tricky to reformat for Windows use
- Slower over a USB-C connection
LaCie Rugged RAID Pro
Specifications
| Item Weight | 1.06 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 3.58 x 1.18 x 5.51 inches |
| Hardware Platform | PC, Mac |
| Series | Rugged Raid |
| Flash Memory Size | 4 TB |
| Hard Drive Interface | USB 1.1 |
| Hard Drive Rotational Speed | 5400 RPM |
| Manufacturer | Lacie |
The price of LaCie’s Rugged RAID Pro isn’t too high when you consider where it fits in the market and how much peace of mind data redundancy gives you. LaCie gives you a free month of all Adobe apps, which is worth $79.49 (£61). Even better, the drive comes with free data recovery protection for three years. This service can sometimes cost a lot of money.
If you’re a creative professional looking for an external HDD, check out this one. There aren’t that many rivals: Most other HDD solutions are much bigger, and flash-based SSDs don’t yet offer the same capacity or value-adds at similar prices. The LaCie Rugged RAID Pro 4TB has a unique mix of features and accessories that make it easy to use and a great travel companion.
Pros
- olid sequential performance
- Rugged build
- Data recovery service free within the warranty period
- Easy-to-use and effective software suite
Cons
- Price
- Uses wall power for systems without Thunderbolt 3 / USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C
FAQs
Which external SSD is best?
- SanDisk Pro-G40 SSD
- WD My Passport
- SanDisk Extreme Pro v2
- LaCie Rugged RAID Pro
- Samsung T7 Touch
Are portable SSD worth it?
When it comes to moving files, portable SSDs are three to six times faster than portable hard drives or desktop external drives. They’re also safer, smaller, and more durable. They run cooler and use less power. They cost more money, though.
How do I choose a portable SSD?
Here are some things to think about when picking an external SSD for your laptop:
- Durability
- Capacity
- Speed
- Compatibility
- Security
Is external SSD as fast as internal?
Internal SSDs are much faster at reading and writing than external SSDs because there are fewer things that slow them down.