External SSD vs hard drive
Running out of space on your laptop, PC or console? Here's how to choose the right extra storage.
SSD or hard drive?
- SSD (solid state): much faster, small, silent and tougher if dropped. Costs more per gigabyte.
- Hard drive (HDD): slower but far cheaper for lots of space. Great for backups and big photo or video libraries.
Which one for what?
- Backups: a large hard drive is the best value.
- Editing photos or video, or carrying files around: a portable SSD.
- PS5 / Xbox games: external drives can store games, but newer games often need to run from fast internal storage. Check your console's rules first.
Quick tips
- Check the connection: USB-C 10Gbps or faster to get full SSD speed.
- Keep important files in two places. One drive alone is not a backup.
- Storage prices swing a lot. Our price history shows if today's price is genuinely low.
Our advice is based on product specifications, prices and common trade use. We don't do hands-on product testing.
