R5Updated November 2026

Best External Storage of 2026

Portable SSDs, external hard drives, flash drives and memory cards.

1. 

   01Best overall8.0

   Sandisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD V3 2TB

   Portable SSD · 2,000 GB · USB4 (USB-C) · 4,000 MB/s

   A USB4 portable SSD rated near 4,000 MB/s with IP65 protection, priced for video professionals.

   $550Nov 9Buy at Best Buy
2. 

   02Best budget7.6

   UGREEN 40Gbps M.2 NVMe Enclosure with Cooling Fan

   Enclosure · 4,000 GB · USB4 Type-C, 40 Gbps (ASM2464PD); compatible with Thunderbolt 3/4 and USB 3.2

   A USB4 M.2 enclosure with an aluminum shell and smart fan, aimed at keeping NVMe drives cool.

   $110Nov 9Buy at Official store
3. 

   037.5

   Samsung Portable SSD T9 2TB

   Portable SSD · 2,000 GB · USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (USB-C, 20 Gbps) · 2,000 MB/s

   A 20 Gbps portable SSD that holds close to 1 GB/s on long writes, but carries no IP rating.

   $490Nov 9Buy at Official store
4. 

   047.1

   Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield 2TB

   Portable SSD · 2,000 GB · USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB-C, 10 Gbps) · 1,050 MB/s

   A rugged IP65 portable SSD that favors toughness over outright speed at 10 Gbps.

   $575Nov 9Buy at Official store
5. 

   056.7

   Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB

   External HDD · 8,000 GB · USB-C, bus-powered (requires 15 W USB-C port)

   A high-capacity desktop hard drive that runs off a single USB-C cable, given a 15 W port.

   See retailersBuy at Official store
6. 

   066.5

   Crucial X9 Portable SSD 2TB

   Portable SSD · 2,000 GB · USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB-C) · 1,050 MB/s

   Crucial's compact USB 3.2 Gen 2 portable SSD, drop-rated to 7.5 feet but costly at recent prices.

   See retailersBuy at Official store
7. 

   076.5

   WD My Passport 2TB

   External HDD · 2,000 GB · USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Micro-B

   A portable hard drive with 256-bit AES encryption and a solid record, but only a Micro-B port.

   $170Nov 9Buy at Best Buy
8. 

   086.4

   LaCie Rugged USB-C 2TB

   External HDD · 2,000 GB · USB 3.2 (USB-C, up to 5 Gbps)

   A tough, bus-powered USB-C hard drive for shoots and travel, with IP52 dust and drip protection.

   $150Nov 9Buy at Best Buy
9. 

   09Best value6.2

   Sandisk Ultra USB 3.0 Flash Drive 128GB

   USB flash · 128 GB · USB 3.0 · 130 MB/s

   A basic USB 3.0 flash drive with a five-year warranty, fine for moving documents and small files.

   See retailersBuy at Official store
10. 

    106.1

    Seagate Expansion Desktop 8TB

    External HDD · 8,000 GB · USB-C

    A plain desktop hard drive for bulk backup, connected by USB-C with recovery services included.

    See retailersBuy at Official store

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