When it comes to extremely fast, secure and durable storage, as well as portable storage, you absolutely must get a portable SSD. These are the fastest and best options, even if they are slightly more expensive than traditional external hard drives.
External SSDs have many advantages, first and foremost the incredible write and read speeds of the drive.
This means that everything that needs to be read (or written) on the hard drive itself happens much faster – up to 10 times faster than traditional hard drives.
External SSDs are lighter, smaller and more durable than traditional external hard drives, which generally have a shorter lifespan. SSDs handle drops and bumps much better than hard drives because they have no moving parts.
If you are looking to invest in a great SSD this year, we have what you need! We have reviewed a large number of external SSDs and selected the best of them. And now we are here to share with you our list of the best external SSDs for silver in 2021.
In other words: We don’t forget the budget – so don’t expect a list of products that cost thousands of dollars. No, you can find cheap external SSDs that are very, very good. You’ll see them all on our list.
The main difference with the more expensive models is the amount of storage they offer. But don’t worry, we still found an SSD with more storage – our minimum is 1TB.
Moreover, if you want more memory than the products recommended below, you can also get it as most of them have higher capacity.
So, without further ado, let’s check out the best external SSDs in 2021 below! Below is a list of the cheapest and most expensive products at the time of writing.
Note to self: Our blog receives commissions for purchases made through the links in this article.
If you don’t want to read our detailed analyses of each recommended SSD, simply refer to the table below and choose the SSD that best suits your needs:
Now let’s get into the details and find out why each of these portable SSDs made it onto our list!
SanDisk Extreme Portable External SSD
Best budget option
At the time of writing, this is the cheapest external DSS on the list. But that doesn’t make it a bad choice, quite the opposite!
It is currently the best-selling external DSS on Amazon. With a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on over 11,600 reviews, it’s clear that everyone loves him.
Even better, you’re getting a next-generation SSD, which makes the current Amazon reviews you’ll see (or at least most of them) questionable.
The speed of this drive is now amazing, from about 400 MB/s to 1000 MB/s in read and write. It’s incredibly fast!
It is also extremely safe. It is very small and its robust construction makes it resistant to dust and moisture. It also withstands impacts, including falls from heights of up to 2 meters.
It also offers password protection so your stored data is always safe.
The model we recommend offers a decent storage capacity: 1TB at a very low price. But if you want more, you can always get the upgraded 2TB version, which is just a bit more expensive.
It is small, light and has a very nice design. It has a USB C-type cable and a USB A-type adapter that works with older computers and ports.
Note, however, that the data transfer speed will be slower if you’re not using USB Type C – so make sure the device you want to use it with also has this slot.
This external SSD not only works on PC and Mac computers, but also on modern consoles like the Xbox and PlayStation as extra storage. It is also ideal for those who are constantly on the go.
With all of this in mind, we’re confident that the SanDisk Extreme Portable External SSD is the perfect choice for the 1TB drive that won us the Best Budget Award.
Click here to learn more about Amazon.
Fast Sea Barracuda SSD
The Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD is very similar to the previous recommendation and is charming and reliable. Thanks to the USB 3.0 technology, it reaches incredible speeds of up to 540 MB per second.
Based on our test results, we can expect an average read/write speed of about 450 MB/s. You can also get the advertised speeds, but even if you don’t, you get an incredibly fast portable drive for the money.
It has a beautiful design and is also equipped with a green LED strip that makes it truly unique.
It is very thin and light, but must be handled more carefully than the previous product because it is not durable. But that’s not a problem: SSDs are generally even more durable than conventional hard drives.
Our recommended model also offers 1TB of storage. It connects to your computer with a USB-C cable, but also has an included USB Type A adapter for maximum compatibility.
(As a reminder, higher speeds require a USB-C port, as older USB ports cannot handle higher data rates).
It also has Seagate’s own backup and mirroring software if you want to use automatic backups and not do everything yourself. We prefer him to have full control, but it’s still a good option to have around.
All in all, this is a high-quality and robust external SSD with a very good design that literally makes it shine. Very good value for money if you are on a tight budget.
Click here to learn more and get yours.
WD My PassportExternal SSD
We are now taking the next step on the storage front and testing the first affordable external SSD that offers 2TB of storage.
You will love this baby (it is very handsome in my opinion), even though it tends to get a little hot when used for a long time. But with its dimensions of 3.94 inches by 2.17 inches, it certainly has a lot under the hood.
In addition to its impressive storage capacity of 2TB, it has an incredible data transfer rate of up to 1,050 megabytes per second (read and write).
Although we managed to achieve these maximum speeds, we can say that on average you can expect a write speed of around 850 MB/s and a read speed of 910 MB/s. Absolutely incredible!
WD My Passport is also shock and vibration resistant, and is drop-proof to 2 meters. It also provides extra security for your files with password-protected 256-bit AES hardware encryption.
It uses a USB Type C cable, but also comes with a Type A adapter in case you don’t have a Type C port on the device you want to use it with.
All in all, it’s a very nice external SSD that offers plenty of storage space, next generation transfer speeds and a durable product, all wrapped up in a very nice design.
Click here to see the price on Amazon.
Samsung T7 Touch SSD – Editor’s Choice
It’s our first choice! An external SSD that works perfectly and replaces the equally large Samsung T5 (which was our first choice in the past).
It is perfect when it comes to transfer speed, value for money, storage, security…. Basically, anything you want. Also a very cute minimalist design.
Keep in mind that it has an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon alone, based on over 1700 comments. Oh, so many happy customers!
Compact and very light, Samsung’s external SSD is highly portable despite its impressive 2TB capacity and incredible read and write speeds of up to 1050 MB/s.
With write speeds of around 900 MB/s when writing and 1000 MB/s when reading, we passed the various tests well.
It features a Type C to Type C cable and a Type C to Type A adapter, making it backwards compatible with older devices (but with significantly slower data transfer rates).
It is shock resistant and can withstand drops up to 2 meters. It has a nice LED status indicator, but it also has increased security for your files. It offers not only password protection, but also fingerprint protection.
As I said, I consider this the best option for you this year, even if it is the most expensive option on our list. It’s still quite expensive and very, very good.
Click here to find out more and check the price
Conclusion
These are the external SSD drives we recommend, all of which are economical, as well as products that offer incredible speed, durability and beautiful design. Whatever you choose, you will be satisfied with your choice.
If you haven’t decided yet, remember that the best option in our opinion is the Samsung T7 with 2TB of storage.
If you have a smaller budget, choose the 1 TB SanDisk Extreme.
If you’re interested in internal SSDs for your computer or laptop, click here to see our top recommendations!
Related Tags:
best external ssd for gaming, samsung t5 ssd, best external ssd for mac, sandisk extreme portable ssd, thunderbolt 3 external ssd, best external hard drive, seagate fast ssd, best external ssd in india
