Whether or not you are backing up essential information, modifying movies on the go or simply liberating up house in your laptop computer, a quick and dependable SSD drive could make your workflow an entire lot smoother. One of the best moveable SSD choices in 2025 mix velocity, sturdiness and extensive compatibility, usually utilizing USB Kind-C connections for fast transfers throughout gadgets. In contrast to a conventional thumb drive and even the very best exterior arduous drives, these compact powerhouses can provide quicker learn speeds, usually hitting a number of hundred and even hundreds of Mbps, particularly with high-performance NVMe SSD fashions.
Whether or not you are managing massive information or launching apps instantly out of your drive, we have rounded up the very best SSDs that ship glorious efficiency with out weighing you down.
Desk of contents
Greatest exterior SSDs for 2025
Photograph by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Dimension: 2.56 x 1.97 x 0.39 inches | Weight: 1.34 ounces | USB interface: USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Controller/bridge chip: Silicon Movement SM2320 | NAND kind: TLC | Rated most sequential speeds: 1,050 MB/s learn, 1,050 MB/s write | Guarantee: 5 years
The Essential X9 Professional completed at or simply beneath the highest in every of our benchmarks relative to its velocity class, and it stayed noticeably cooler than a lot of the different drives we examined after prolonged use. It’s a USB 3.2 Gen 2 mannequin, so it’s slower than options primarily based on Thunderbolt, USB4 or USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, however it prices much less, and it’s nonetheless fast sufficient for the non-professional duties most individuals do with a transportable SSD. Ports that may truly make the most of USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds are typically extra ubiquitous on mainstream computer systems, too. This isn’t the most affordable 10 Gbps drive round, however it’s in the identical ballpark as its friends and isn’t too costly. As of this writing, a 1TB mannequin is offered for $95, although it usually goes for much less. (We’ve seen it fall as little as $60 prior to now.) 2TB and 4TB variations are additionally accessible.
In addition to its comparatively speedy efficiency, the X9 Professional stands out for being so tiny. Its aluminum case is shorter than a bank card and simple to slot in a pocket, weighing in at simply 1.34 ounces. The entire thing is IP55-rated, so it’ll survive mud and water splashes, and it’s backed with a five-year guarantee, which is a pair years longer than some options.
Our solely actual complaints are that the included USB-C cable is small and there’s no adapter for USB-A ports within the field. And whereas the X9 Professional can make the most of 256-bit hardware-based encryption, Micron (Essential’s dad or mum firm) hasn’t launched its personal password safety software to take full benefit of it. We’ll additionally word that there’s a less expensive non-”Professional” X9, however that one makes use of QLC flash, so it’s not as sturdy or quick (particularly with sustained writes). The X9 Professional is the higher purchase.
- Nice efficiency for its velocity class
- Rugged and tremendous compact type issue
- Stays comparatively cool with prolonged use
- 5-year guarantee
- There are cheaper 10 Gbps drives
- Included USB-C cable is brief, and there is not any USB-A cable within the field
Photograph by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB | Dimension: 2.74 x 1.28 x 0.53 inches | Weight: 1.01 ounces | USB interface: USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Controller/bridge chip: Silicon Movement SM2320 | NAND kind: TLC | Rated most sequential speeds: 1,050 MB/s learn, 1,000 MB/s write | Guarantee: 5 years
The Kingston XS1000 performs equally to the Essential X9 Professional however usually retails for much less, so it’s an excellent different if you wish to avoid wasting money. A 1TB mannequin is offered for $75 as we write this, which is $20 lower than the X9 Professional, whereas the 2TB model is all the way down to $120, which is a roughly $30 drop. There’s no 4TB choice, although.
At these costs, the XS1000 is an efficient worth for on a regular basis backups and transfers. It saved up with or barely edged the X9 Professional throughout our benchmarks: In our customized file switch take a look at, for instance, its reads had been a second quicker, whereas its writes had been solely six seconds slower. (The 2 drives seem to have comparable internals and are primarily based on an analogous controller — the Silicon Energy SM2320G — so this will not be an enormous shock.) It topped each USB 3.2 Gen 2 drive we examined in 3DMark’s gaming storage benchmark as nicely. It’s barely thicker than the X9 Professional however nonetheless splendidly moveable, with its stubby rectangular design weighing simply over an oz.. Just like the Essential drive, it’s backed by a five-year guarantee.
The place Kingston’s mannequin falls behind Essential’s X9 Professional is within the extras. There’s no formal IP or drop rankings, so we wouldn’t really feel as snug chucking it round on the go. It lacks hardware-based encryption, and it solely comes with a USB-C to A cable, so that you’ll want to provide your personal adapter in case your laptop computer solely has USB-C ports. It doesn’t keep fairly as cool because the X9 Professional with steady use, and its sustained write efficiency isn’t as quick both, so it’s price paying up when you plan to repeatedly copy a whole lot of gigabytes to the SSD (and may’t simply get a higher-class mannequin). For the cash, although, all of this can be simpler to miss.
- Quicker than most 10 Gbps drives we examined
- Aggressively priced
- Extremely moveable
- 5-year guarantee
- No formal water-resistance or drop safety
- No USB-C to C cable within the field
- Solely accessible in 1TB or 2TB
- Slower sustained write efficiency than X9 Professional with very massive information
Photograph by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Dimension: 4.13 x 2.52 x 0.62 inches (with fan off), 4.82 x 2.52 x 0.62 inches (with fan on) | Weight: 6.4 ounces | USB interface: USB4 (40 Gbps) | Controller/bridge chip: Asmedia ASM2464PD | NAND kind: TLC | Rated most sequential speeds: 3,800 MB/s learn, 3,700 MB/s write | Guarantee: 5 years
If you happen to’re a media editor, IT skilled or simply an fanatic keen to pay for a considerably quicker moveable SSD, get the . It makes use of the newer USB4 interface and blew away each non-40 Gbps drive we examined throughout our benchmark checks.
In AmorphousDiskMark, for instance, the Essential X9 Professional delivered sequential reads and writes round 1,015 MB/s and 950 MB/s, respectively; with the SE920, these had been about 3,350 MB/s and three,125 MB/s. In our customized combined file switch take a look at, we had been in a position to transfer our 70GB folder to our MacBook in 32 seconds; with the X9 Professional, that course of averaged about 81 seconds. Writing the folder to the drive, in the meantime, was about 30 seconds quicker. If you happen to’re shopping for an exterior SSD to maneuver round massive chunks of information, this sort of leap provides up.
The drive itself is considerably greater and thicker than both of our picks above, however it’s not so massive that we’d name it unwieldy. It’s concerning the measurement of a deck of playing cards, so it’ll match higher in a bag than a pants pocket. Past that, the brushed steel exterior feels crisp to the contact, and ADATA helps the machine with a five-year guarantee.
That stated, this factor can get severely scorching. The design features a built-in micro fan to assist dissipate warmth, which you activate simply by clicking the case down; that’s intelligent, however it’s not sufficient to maintain the drive cool by itself. All of this comes at a value premium, too, with a 1TB mannequin at the moment accessible for $180. But when efficiency is the one factor that issues to you, it ought to be worthwhile.
- Blazingly quick 40 Gbps efficiency
- Slick steel enclosure
- Smaller than different USB4 and Thunderbolt SSDs we examined
- Intelligent built-in fan
- 5-year guarantee
- Will get scorching even with fan activated
- Pricier and nonetheless bigger than different picks
- Requires USB4 port to succeed in most speeds
Different exterior SSDs we examined
The pre-built OWC Specific 1M2 is a premium-feeling USB4 SSD that’s roughly as quick because the ADATA SE920, however it’s bigger and considerably costlier as of this writing.
If you happen to’re within the comparatively small group with a PC that helps USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 however not Thunderbolt or USB4, the Essential X10 Professional is basically a quicker model of our prime choose. The Lexar SL600 is a bigger however barely faster choice, whereas the Lexar SL500, Kingston XS2000 or Samsung T9 might additionally work when you see them on low cost. As a reminder, although, drives like these are aimed primarily at content material creators and different professionals, and you need to be sure you received’t improve to a tool with a quicker USB interface anytime quickly.
The Samsung T7 Protect has a conveniently rugged design with a rubberized, IP65-rated shell. It additionally comes with each USB-C and USB-A cables. Nevertheless it was constantly slower than the X9 Professional and XS1000 in our benchmark checks, plus it has a shorter three-year guarantee.
The Silicon Energy PX10 is an particularly reasonably priced USB 3.2 Gen 2 mannequin. Its peak speeds weren’t too far off the X9 Professional or XS1000 in artificial benchmarks, however it will probably get distractingly scorching and its sustained writes are markedly worse. It took 50 seconds longer to maneuver our 70GB customized take a look at folder to this drive in comparison with the X9 Professional, for instance.
The Essential X6 is one other low-cost choice that’s an excellent bit slower than our prime picks. It’s restricted to a three-year guarantee and lacks an IP ranking as nicely. It’s not a horrible choice for the fundamentals, however there’s little motive to get it over the XS1000 when their costs are related.
The OWC Envoy Professional FX is well-built and helps Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 Gen 2, however it’s a smidge slower than the SE920 and Specific 1M2, and it’s a lot pricier than the previous.
The Samsung T9 moveable SSD.
What to contemplate earlier than shopping for an exterior SSD
Capability
The very first thing to determine earlier than shopping for a transportable SSD is simply how a lot space for storing you want. Many of the SSD drives we thought-about for this information can be found in capacities starting from one to 4 terabytes, although loads of smaller and bigger choices exist.
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for which measurement is “greatest” — that’ll finally rely in your price range and what precisely you’re trying to stash. However usually, it’s higher to overcompensate than underdo it. No one desires to be pressured into shopping for a second drive as a result of they stuffed the primary one up too shortly. If you happen to’re backing up a PC, an excellent rule of thumb is to purchase an exterior SSD with twice as a lot house as your pc’s inside storage. This manner, it can save you a minimum of one full backup whereas additionally having room for extra knowledge. If you wish to retailer a bunch of PlayStation or Xbox video games with big set up sizes, it’s possible you’ll want extra space. If you happen to simply need to again up a small assortment of information, it’s possible you’ll be higher off saving your money and simply getting a smaller USB flash drive or thumb drive as a substitute, which aren’t fairly the identical as the very best moveable SSDs we examined for this information.
Value
Typically, you get a greater price-per-gigabyte ratio the additional you go up the capability ladder. As of this writing, the 1TB Samsung T9 is priced at $130, or $0.13 per gigabyte (GB), whereas the 4TB model is offered for $297 or $0.07 per GB. That technically makes the bigger mannequin a greater “worth,” however not everybody must pay that rather more upfront.
SSDs in the identical velocity class are inclined to not differ too wildly when it comes to efficiency, so a part of our decision-making for this information got here all the way down to which of them are sometimes the most affordable. However costs can fluctuate over time; when you see that one in every of our prime picks is priced approach greater than a comparable honorable point out, be at liberty to get the latter. At this time limit, prices are broadly trending upwards for even the very best SSDs.
The ADATA SE920 moveable SSD related to an Apple MacBook Professional.
Pace and USB interface
Nearly all exterior SSDs are considerably quicker than mechanical arduous disk drives (HDDs), so that you’ll save time ready for information to switch and video games to load it doesn’t matter what. Inside the market, nevertheless, there are distinct efficiency tiers. These are outlined largely by the USB interface a drive helps. Whereas all the SSDs we thought-about for this information can join over USB Kind-C, some USB-C connections can provide quicker switch speeds than others. Sorting by means of this will get actual complicated actual quick, so we’ll attempt to put it in easy phrases.
You’ll be able to primarily divide right now’s crop of moveable SSDs into completely different segments. On the very prime are drives that make the most of the (comparatively) new Thunderbolt 5 customary, which has a theoretical most switch price of 80 gigabits per second (Gbps). (You might even see it promote speeds as much as 120 Gbps, however that enhance doesn’t apply to storage gadgets.) However moveable SSDs that help this tech solely simply began to trickle out towards the top of 2024, and the marketplace for gadgets with Thunderbolt 5 ports continues to be pretty restricted, with essentially the most notable exceptions being Apple’s top-end Macs with an M4 Professional or M4 Max chip.
Thunderbolt 5 is constructed on a spec referred to as USB4, which might technically attain as much as 80 Gbps as nicely however is extra usually accessible in a taste that tops out at 40 Gbps. Moveable SSDs primarily based on that customary began to roll out towards the top of 2023 however are nonetheless comparatively rare. The older Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4, which different high-end exterior SSDs proceed to make use of, help the identical 40 Gbps most.
A third model of USB4, in the meantime, maxes at 20 Gbps, as does an older but extra continuously used customary referred to as USB 3.2 Gen 2×2. Beneath that’s USB 3.2 Gen 2, which maxes at 10 Gbps. Then there’s USB 3.2 Gen 1, which is capped at 5 Gbps. Lastly, we’ll bundle collectively SSDs that use older requirements and aren’t price contemplating right here.
To make this straightforward: For on a regular basis people, an excellent USB 3.2 Gen 2 drive is the candy spot between fast-enough efficiency, wide-enough compatibility and cheap-enough value, so these make up our major suggestions above. If you happen to work in a inventive area or don’t thoughts paying further to shave seconds off your massive file transfers, although, a “higher-tier” mannequin would make sense. Nevertheless, word that precise computer systems that make the most of USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 aren’t tremendous widespread — no Mac helps it, for one — and the interface is successfully being changed by USB4.
Typically, your chain is simply as robust as its weakest hyperlink: In case your pc solely has USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, for instance, you may nonetheless use a Thunderbolt SSD, however you received’t get past Gen 2 speeds. Ensure you know what you’re working with before you purchase.
As a refresher, storage gadgets are broadly measured when it comes to learn speeds and write speeds. The previous refers to how lengthy it takes to entry one thing from the drive; the latter, how lengthy it takes to avoid wasting one thing to it. From there, you’ll be able to break these metrics into sequential and random efficiency. Sequential speeds are inclined to matter extra with moveable SSDs, since most individuals use them to avoid wasting or entry lengthy, fixed streams of information resembling a bunch of high-res photographs. Random speeds can be essential if you wish to run video video games or apps off the drive, since that’d contain studying and writing smaller, extra scattered information. Both approach, how nicely an SSD can maintain its efficiency with prolonged use can also be important.
Different efficiency elements and enclosures
A contemporary moveable SSD’s speeds aren’t nearly its USB interface, although. Its efficiency may also depend upon how superior its controller is, whether or not it has a local USB flash controller or a separate bridge chip to speak with a number machine, the sort and high quality of NAND flash reminiscence it makes use of, whether or not it has a DRAM cache or it’s DRAM-less, and extra.
We’re simplifying issues, however listed below are some fast ideas: Drives with triple-level cell (TLC) reminiscence aren’t as low-cost as quad-level cell (QLC) SSDs, however they’re typically extra dependable they usually provide higher write efficiency. Having a devoted DRAM cache helps when you plan to hit your drive with extra intense, sustained workloads, however will not be price the additional price for most individuals. Some fashions with native flash controllers might not carry out in addition to these with a bridging chip, relying on the SSD inside, however they usually draw much less warmth and are bodily smaller. All of that is to say that an exterior SSD’s speeds aren’t fairly as easy as what the producer chooses to promote on the field.
It’s additionally price remembering you could flip an inside SSD into a transportable resolution with an excellent enclosure. If in case you have a spare drive and don’t thoughts going the DIY route, this is usually a cheaper and extra versatile resolution, although we’ve caught to pre-built fashions for this information for the sake of simplicity.
Dimension, sturdiness, endurance and guarantee
Most moveable SSDs are impressively small and lightweight, in order that they received’t be troublesome to tuck in a bag (or perhaps a pocket) and tackle the go. We word above if any drive is bulkier than traditional.
Nothing we’re speaking about issues in case your drive can’t final in the long run. It’s arduous to definitively say which exterior SSDs are essentially the most dependable, however we scoured by means of consumer opinions and suggestions whereas researching this information to make sure none of our picks present a sample of catastrophic errors. If there was an excessive amount of smoke round a selected mannequin, we steered clear. We dominated out sure drives from SanDisk and Western Digital, as an illustration, after studies from Ars Technica and The Verge famous a problem that led to knowledge loss (and lawsuits) in 2023.
That stated, one of many huge causes you’d purchase an SSD usually is its superior sturdiness. As a result of it has no shifting mechanical components inside, an SSD has far fewer avenues to failure than an exterior arduous drive. You continue to don’t need to be careless with them, however an unintentional drop shouldn’t be the top of the world.
Some moveable SSDs construct on this inherent ruggedness with plastic or rubberized casings and extra sturdy waterproofing. These aren’t essential for everybody, however when you’re a frequent traveler or somebody who usually works open air, there are alternatives for you.
Nonetheless, all drives can fail. If in case you have any kind of knowledge you’d be distraught to lose, it’s best to again it up repeatedly, then make a second backup, ideally with a cloud service. Alongside these protecting strains, we additionally took word of the guarantee coverage for every drive we examined. Nearly all of them are backed for both three or 5 years; in fact, longer is healthier.
Encryption and software program
It’s not unusual to retailer delicate knowledge on a transportable SSD, so some fashions provide further safety features like hardware-based encryption — i.e., direct scrambling of information saved on the drive itself — built-in keypads and fingerprint readers to guard in opposition to unauthorized entry if the drive is misplaced or stolen. Whereas not prime necessities, perks like these are actually good to have. Some SSDs additionally include companion software program to additional handle the drive. One of the best of these may be useful to have round, however we wouldn’t name them important.
How we take a look at exterior SSDs
Sadly, we didn’t have entry to a tool that may make full use of USB 3.2 Gen 2, USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 and Thunderbolt/USB4 speeds interchangeably, so we needed to cut up our testing throughout a number of gadgets, together with an M1 Professional MacBook Professional and an Alienware gaming PC operating Home windows 11. Due to this, we primarily in contrast the moveable SSDs inside every “class” in opposition to each other. Earlier than switching OSes, we reformatted every drive to every platform’s customary file system format: APFS for macOS and NTFS for Home windows.
After researching which SSDs had sufficient optimistic suggestions to be price testing within the first place, we put 13 drives by means of a spread of artificial and “real-world” benchmark checks. On Home windows, these included CrystalDiskMark, PCMark 10’s Knowledge Drive Benchmark and 3DMark’s gaming-focused Storage Benchmark. On macOS, we used AmorphousDiskMark (successfully a Mac model of CrystalDiskMark), BlackMagic Disk Pace Check and ATTO Disk Benchmark.
We additionally timed how lengthy it took for every drive to learn and write a customized 70GB folder crammed with roughly 11,500 completely different information, together with photographs, movies, music information, PDFs and different massive and small knowledge varieties scattered throughout quite a few subfolders. We carried out a number of passes for every take a look at to keep away from irregularities, and we saved monitor of every SSD’s warmth ranges over the course of the entire suite. Our course of wasn’t an ideal science, however it gave us a basic sense of how every drive compares to different fashions in its value and efficiency vary.
Current updates
February 2025: We’ve checked to make sure the pricing information and hyperlinks on this information are nonetheless correct. We’ve additionally added particulars on the (comparatively) new Thunderbolt 5 interface, which has been carried out in a pair latest moveable SSDs just like the OWC Envoy Extremely and LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5. We’ll look to incorporate testing notes for these for our subsequent replace, as they ought to be quicker than the ADATA SE920, our present premium choose, albeit for a a lot greater value. For now, although, our prime picks stay the identical.
October 2024: We’ve taken a sweep by means of this information to make sure all pricing and availability information continues to be right. Our suggestions are unchanged.
