Running out of space? These are the best external hard drives of 2025 to boost your storage

The Samsung T7 is a real favourite of ours. Not only is it an affordable external SSD drive with a generous 2TB of space, it's also a step-up from the previous T5 model in terms of speed. Its use of USB-C plus hardware improvements mean that it provides impressive read/write speeds of up to 1,050/1,000 Megabytes-per-second. For those who don't have access to USB-C on their computer, the T7 is also compatible with standard USB 3.1 connections (cable included).

It's lightweight, portable and robust thanks to the metal casing. Plus, it fully supports AES 256-bit hardware encryption which provides welcome peace of mind for the security-conscious. We think this makes a great addition to any gaming laptop with limited internal storage capacity – installing and loading games to this will be lightning-fast, as will accessing any large media files for those who edit video or photography.

While some users mention that it can get warm to the touch when used for high-intensity work like video editing, we think that's par for the course when it comes to passively-cooled devices like this. All in all, we think it's the perfect balance of sheer build quality and practicality with a genuinely useful amount of storage for most users.

This model from Seagate is an Amazon Exclusive, meaning that the spec and price are excellent value. We love to see premium brands offer reliable yet affordable versions of their products, and this 2TB portable drive is just that. Although its looks are rather plain, it's still a robust build with USB 3 connectivity for speeds up to 120 MB/s.

Elsewhere though, this mechanical HDD is suitable for PC or Mac and includes 2 a free 2-year data rescue service – so you can relax in the knowledge that your data is safe. Plus, if you do have a little more room in your budget, Seagate also offer this in ten other storage capacities spanning 1TB all the way up to a gargantuan 20TB.

We found a handful of users who had issues with the included USB-C cable, so if you're unlucky you may need to swap that out for one of your own. But that may be reflective of the overall price. It comes in well under the £80 mark right now. As such, for 2TB of reliable extra storage, we think it's the best value budget external drive to be found.

This Desk Drive from SanDisk definitely ticks a lot of the boxes when it comes to top-tier performance and sheer storage capacity. Offering a seriously capacious 8TB to store all of your files and media, it's clearly aimed at professionals who need a reliable and super-fast SSD for their work. That said, anyone who has the budget for such a high-end external drive will benefit from the small form factor and substantial build – we think it's a step up from those bulkier desktop HDDs. Our expert Chris Duffill has tested the SanDisk Desk Drive. Here's what he thought.

"I was intrigued to put this to the test, having owned a wide range of external drives in the past. Other than the gargantuan 8TB of space and robust build, the star of the show is the sheer speed of the SSD inside. It has an impressively-fast read speed of 1000 MB/s which outstrips most normal HDDs that usually only manage a tenth of that. Also, the USB-C connection type here is capable of up to 10Gbps, so with the SanDisk Desk Drive able to read at around 1Gbps, that's plenty of bandwidth left over.

"All in all, I was intrigued to see how this drive would manage with the data throughput required for video editing, which typically involves simultaneous read and write operations to playback and pre-render a timeline. It performed brilliantly, and I was able to edit at my own speed with smooth previews and no dropped frames. I tested the read/write speeds with CrystalDiskMark and both came in at around the 900 MB/s mark.

"For me, the only slight downside of this small drive is that it's not truly mobile since it relies on an external mains adapter. It may be palm-sized, but this isn't an alternative to the equally spacious 8TB SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD which gets its power via the USB cable. So, who is the SanDisk Desk Drive for? Well, its name gives it away. This is clearly less of a mobile storage solution and more of a modern desk-bound alternative to the bulky book-style external hard drives of old. Used in the setting suggested by its name, I think that the SanDisk Desk Drive is a wonderfully compact and attractive SSD that will free up your desktop from the tyranny of those large, noisy HDDs while giving more space and performance than the average portable SSD."

If security is your top priority, then the iStorage Encrypted Hard Drive is for you. In addition to the built-in 256-bit AES hardware encryption, the drive requires the user to enter a unique seven to 15 digit pin before data can be accessed. The inbuilt diskAshur2 also auto-locks the drive once a connection is removed (this can also be set to trigger after a period of time), and can even be set to run a self-destruct feature via a specific pin.

Once entered, this pin instantly deletes the encryption key, all PINs, data and then creates a new encryption key. The encryption found here is to military standard too. So, if your work sees you handling sensitive files, or you just want to keep you private documents safe in the case of a theft or loss, then we think you can't get any safer than this. This one has a capacity of 1TB (with 2, 3, 4 and 5 TB models available) and connects via USB 3.2 with read/write speeds of up to 358 MB/s and 361 MB/s. There's also a lower-capacity but faster iStorage SSD version for those in need of higher speeds, with the same encryption. Power-wise, we're happy to see that it gets all the juice it needs via the USB cable.

In our research we found that some users find the setup a little complicated, but we think that's to be expected to some degree with anything with this many security features – making it really only suitable for those who are already taking data security very seriously. The iStorage drive works across all major operating systems, including Linux and Android, and impressed us due to its physical keyboard and clever internals that mean this drive doesn't rely on software to keep your data safe.

If you deal with large files like films, images and music recordings, then you're already aware of the importance of both additional storage and file backup. While you can buy external SSD storage drives, you'll pay up to three times as much (or more) for one with this much capacity. The Seagate Expansion 6 TB can meet the needs of those who need to backup large collections of files or store their media. With this much space, you could even divide this drive into two or more partitions and use each for a range of backup and storage jobs.

While the read speed isn't up to the higher end of USB-C speeds, the USB 3.1 connection is capable of good performance – with read speed of 160 MB/s and a write speed of 120 MB/s respectively. But, for us, we think that there's no better option for an affordable yet large-capacity drive, especially for those working with digital image files.

As with most mechanical HDDs, this one does require you to plug it into mains power, so you won't be hooking this up to a laptop in the middle of nowhere, and a minority of owners report moderate noise levels to be distracting. But, given that drives like this can be repositioned out of earshot, we think some noise is the norm for large mechanical drives like this. Also available in capacities from 4TB through to 12TB, we think this option from Seagate is the ideal combination of huge storage and value for money.

The Western Digital My Passport portable external hard drive is wildly popular with buyers, and that's because it's affordable, reliable and big on space thanks to its generous 5TB capacity. It connects via a USB 3.0 cable, so read/write speeds are good enough at around 120-130 MB/s. But it's the space that makes it our top choice for gamers on a budget, offering brilliant value for money.

As any Xbox or PlayStation gamer will know, the never-ending range of new games, game updates and add-ons means you'll soon rack-up the gigabytes. So, we think this is a brilliant option for anyone who has filled up their console's internal drive and need to store and run games from a larger HDD. And, as the price tag suggests, this is indeed a HDD rather than an SSD. A 5TB SSD would cost almost twice as much.

Gaming aside, WD's optional software is a breeze to use for newcomers and can be used to set up an access password. Encryption here is the industry-standard 256-bit AES. It's a versatile hard drive too, as it can be formatted to work across Mac, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The only nitpick we have here is with the speed, as some console games may not run from the drive if it relies on a SSD – in which case you'd need to copy those games to your internal drive. But, those titles are few – so, with the majority of users reporting no speed issues when running their games, we think it's a steal.

We really love the extra peace of mind that comes as standard with SanDisk's Extreme range of SSDs. Designed for those who need to keep their date safe and accessible while on the move, the Extreme Portable SSD has a whopping 2 terabytes of storage – but we're glad to find that there are also 1TB and 500GB versions available for those who don't need quite as much room. Housed within a shock-resistant, rugged, and water and dust resistant IP-55 rated case, we also think it manages to pull off a slim and refined look rather than those more 'military' looking drives on the market.

As portability is key here, the size of the device is impressive – measuring smaller than the average smartphone. That means its easy to tuck into a jacket or throw into backpack to take on your travels. We also like the speed on offer here with read / write speeds approaching 1GB/s, making it ideal for accessing media like photos, movies or loading games. Connection to a computer (either Mac or PC) can be made via a USB-C or USB 3.1 port thanks to the included cable and adapter.

The only real gripe that some users have is with the length of that included USB-C to USB-C cable, with some mentioning that it's not long enough. We tend to agree, as it's only around 30cm long, so if that's an issue you may need to invest in an alternative cable. All that said, there's very little to complain about here, as SanDisk really has made this a rugged and reliable super-fast storage drive.

We've selected this drive because it's from a well-known brand and has a useful amount of storage space, but we've also selected it for it's Mac-friendly looks and functionality. Yes, the Toshiba Canvio Flex will work with everything from Windows PCs to phones and tablets, but we think it's a real head-turner compared with most of the drives on the market sporting nondescript black or grey cases. If you have the latest Apple MacBook, this Canvio Flex will absolutely look the part sat on the desk next to your laptop.

But it's not all about fitting in with the Apple aesthetic. Inside we find a 2TB Solid State Drive that connects via USB-C (USB 3.2) for data transfer speeds of up to 625 MB/s which is not as fast as some of the other SSDs here, but fast enough. Plus, thanks to the included USB-A and USB-C cables, you can connect this to any device with either port.

In many ways, we think this resembles a tiny laptop in its sleek silver design, making it both understated and interesting to look at. However, and not for the first time on this list, some users are frustrated with the short length of the included cables. Other than that, this is a first-class drive that will complement any Mac.

If you really do want a small and light external hard drive that you can slip into a pocket to take anywhere, this is it. The Kingston XS1000 1TB external SSD isn't that much bigger than a pack of gum, and yet it can deliver its 1TB of extra storage over a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port. That means up to 1,050 M/s for your file transfers. Yes, you will have to remember pocket the included (short) USB-C to USB-A cable and optional USB-A to C adapter, but that's to be expected.

However, some users wisely highlight that the cable is actually USB-C to USB-A, which means that you won't be getting the full speed that this SSD is capable of even if you use the adapter to make it USB-C at both ends. So, if the device you're connecting this to has USB-C, we recommend buying a proper male to male USB-C cable.

That aside, we like that Kingston also sell 2 and 4 TB versions, plus optional rubber sleeves to protect the edges of the drive if you're an active type who likes to explore the great outdoors. We think this would be a fantastic option for most travellers, particularly those who go on photography excursions who need to be able to backup and transfer those high-resolution shots.

Is this the best combination of price, storage space and practicality on this list? We think so. The Crucial X9 4TB Portable External SSD has a rather useful storage capacity of 4TB, placing it right in the sweet spot for many users who have a lot of files to store but want to have plenty of capacity left over. Its hardy case also offers drop protection up to 7.5 feet and will also protect the drive against damage from shock and vibration.

There's a handy strap for avoiding those drops too, plus it's small – at just 65 x 50 mm in size. The supplied USB-C / USB 3.2 cable makes for fast transfer speeds too, up to a whopping 1,050MB/s. That's over a hundred times faster than your run-of-the-mill USB stick. It works with PC, Mac, game consoles and more, so you won't be stuck for uses for this SSD.

We love the overall combo of portability and storage, although (once again) some users complain that the cable is short. We think that's probably a good thing given the ease with which this can be pocketed and taken anywhere. But, if you're concerned about how closely this drive is placed to your device, invest in a longer cable. That aside, it's worth mentioning that this is a great mid-budget price for a 4TB drive, let alone a solidly-built SSD from Crucial.