Best External Hard Drives
Today we’re going to check out the best external hard drives in 2021. I made this list based on my personal opinion and am trying to list them based on their price, quality, durability, and more. To find out more information about these external hard drives, you can check out the table down below.
Image | Product | Feature | Price |
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1
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WD Passport
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It’s the WD Passport as our topic. We have the WD passport. This external hard drive is a super-compact light and very rugged one that delivers very fast performance. | Check On Amazon |
2
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ADATA HD710M
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It’s the ADATA HD710M. One of the best external hard drives in the market right now is the ADATA HD710M. I can say that it’s the toughest in the market and you don’t have to worry about the durability of the ADATA HD710M | Check On Amazon |
3
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LaCie Rugged
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We have the LaCie Rugged, portable, hard drive that has a very fast, vulnerable performance, supports USB 3.0, has a very innovative casing design, and also it comes with tons of great features that might be very helpful to you. | Check On Amazon |
4
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WD My Passport Ultra
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It’s the WD My Passport Ultra. Another great external hard drive is the WD my passport ultra. This one has a very great storage device that has a very smart design, a nice suite of applications, and many more great features. | Check On Amazon |
5
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Toshiba Canvio Basics
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If the Toshiba can basics, sometimes you’ll find yourself in situations where file transfers need to occur quickly. That’s when you need a better and faster external hard drive. | Check On Amazon |
1.
WD Passport

It’s the WD Passport as our topic. We have the WD passport. This external hard drive is a super-compact light and very rugged one that delivers very fast performance. The WD passport uses USB three-point one gen to type C and it works with both Mac OS and Windows right out of the box. Something else I love about this one is that it features strong encryption to protect data in case of theft or loss. It has many more great features that you should check out and see if this is the one you were looking for. The best external hard disk drive comes from Western Digital, and it’s my passport device, which is a pretty portable one with plenty of capacity and a lot of value for your money. It also has a nice design and it’s coupled with plenty of nice features that elevate its value for its listed price. And you can get it in different capacities to better suit your needs. This is not exactly the smallest external HDD in the market, but it can get the job done without any struggle since you can toss it in your backpack comfortably. The WD my passport measures four points three by three-point two by zero point six inches and weighs about six ounces, meaning it’s small enough for jacket pockets. You should also know that this external HDD has a three-year limited warranty so you can be a little careless with it.
And it’ll also survive a little abuse. It has a micro USB type port and a USB 3.0 cable in the package and I think it would be nice to get a USB type C connector for better speeds and more convenience since contemporary devices all have these ports. Anyway, you should know that this one has no initial setup as it’s a true plug-and-play. But you do have a nice WD discovery software that lets you install backups and security encryption to your sensitive data. You can get the WD my passport in different capacities, including one terabyte, two terabytes, three terabytes, and four terabytes. So you can choose the one that fits perfectly your needs. Since it is an HDD drive, it doesn’t mind-blowing speeds. However, they are still pretty good as they achieved 135 amps read and 122 amps right speeds compared to an SSD, it may not be a lot, but considering its affordable price, this device delivers plenty of desirable qualities. And you should consider this one if you want the best of the best.
Pros
- Includes compact size, automatic backup software, and 256-bit AES device encryption, cheap price
- The latest WD My Passport compact drive has lots of storage places, great performance, and supports powerful encryption. It’s possible in some vivid color options and comes in an eye-catching design
Cons
- Design won’t request by everyone
- There’s no USB-C (so there’s no future-proofing) and the higher-capacity versions of the drive are larger
2.
ADATA HD710M

It’s the ADATA HD710M. One of the best external hard drives in the market right now is the ADATA HD710M. I can say that it’s the toughest in the market and you don’t have to worry about the durability of the ADATA HD710M when it comes to performance, this one doesn’t disappoint. Thing is, though, it is a bit expensive. It doesn’t have a USB type C and the USB cable is very short. However, it has plenty of great features that you should check out and see if this is the external hard drive you were looking for. This one has a very nice camouflage design and it looks like a tough, hard device. The company claims that this one surpasses IP 68 standards, but it doesn’t say whether it has been IP 68 tested.
It can survive falls of up to one point five meters, which is great. And that’s because it has a triple-layered construction. It can also survive for up to 60 Minutes in two meters of water, which is great. It weighs around zero point six pounds and it measures zero point eight five by three-point nine by 5.2 inches. I liked this one because the channels and the groups around the edges of the drive allow you to keep the HD 17 M’s detachable USB cable tethered to the drive at all times. It houses a seven-millimeter high Western digital blue, two terabytes hard disk drive and export 16-megabyte cash, along with a 1400 rpm spinning speed with two platters. It has many more great features that make this external hard drive one of the best. The shock sensors on this one can automatically trigger internal protection mechanisms. That’s amazing because they safeguard the user’s data. Also, this one bundles two pieces of software, which might be very useful for you, the HDD to go, which enables you to back up from your PC to an external hard drive, and the OS to go that converts the Windows setup system into a format that can be used also on an external hard drive. It’s a great one and it’ll help you a lot. Even though this one is only 1500 rpm, which is still good enough, it’s much faster than other USB 3.0 rpm hard drives.
So to conclude, I’d say that if you want a powerful, fast, and very durable external hard drive, you should consider taking a look at this one.
Pros
- Strong in drop tests.
- Great gigabyte per dollar ratio.
- Trim wall
- Lightweight for a rugged unit.
- Cable storage round the corners.
Cons
- Camouflage exterior may not be for everyone
- Plastic housing just
Read Also: Best Mini PCs For Gaming
3.
LaCie Rugged

We have the LaCie Rugged, portable, hard drive that has a very fast, vulnerable performance, supports USB 3.0, has a very innovative casing design, and also it comes with tons of great features that might be very helpful to you. However, you should know that the SSD version of this drive is a bit pricey. Bandies USB 3.0 performance is not the best anyway. It’s still one of the best and it surely doesn’t disappoint. This one is designed to give the consumers the ultimate physical protection of their data against all kinds of threats. When it comes to design, the Lacy Rocket has a very appealing and modern look. Bright orange colors on devices like these could look cheesy and off-putting. You should also know that the rugged was made to withstand bumps and bruises with a rubber sleeve surrounding the drive. The Lacy rocket also has a sturdy and sleek-looking white metal chassis that makes the device look pretty cool. Also located on the bottom side of the driver, both of you. USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt Port, both connections draw enough juice to power the drive on their own. You get lightning-fast transfer speeds on both Mac and PC thanks to these additions. More particularly, the USB 3.0 and Thunderball interfaces, the hard disk version performs at up to 122 megabytes per second, which allows you to back up and transfer amounts of data in a fraction of the time.
It’s mill compliant, which means the data is protected even during accidental drops of up to two meters or six-point six feet during transit. Connect the removable cover to provide IP 54 level protection against dust and water. Whether the last rugged falls out of your backpack or gets splashed by a mud puddle, you can stay confident that your data is still accessible. The LaCie rugged is durable packs, fluid performance, and features that can be compared to those of high-end drives. It’s one of the best in the market for years now. So take a look at it and see if it’s the one you were looking for.
Pros
- Great speed
- Simple setup
- Fast performance for the spinning drive
- Any strict protection
- Average price
- Uses USB 3,0 interface
Cons
- A short selection of preloaded services
- Workmanlike design
- The rugged shape is relatively light
- Third-party online storage is valuable
4.
WD My Passport Ultra

It’s the WD My Passport Ultra. Another great external hard drive is the WD my passport ultra. This one has a very great storage device that has a very smart design, a nice suite of applications, and many more great features. The only thing that you should pay attention to before purchasing this one is the price because it is a little bit expensive. However, it offers great value for the price and I’d highly recommend this one to you if you want one of the best.
It has a very nice design and it uses a combination of plastic and metal. It looks great no matter which color you choose. Dark blue, white, red or blue, they all look very nice. You’ll notice that there’s a white activity light that indicates that the device is active on standby or idle. You also get a USB type C connector along with a cable and a type C to type adapter. It weighs around zero point five pounds and it measures three points two by four-point three with a thickness of zero point eight two inches. Furthermore, this model uses an OEM drive which is not available on the open market. It has formatted NTFS for Windows eight or Windows seven operating systems. But for Mac OS X systems, it requires reformatting. It also has password protection, along with 256-bit hardware encryption, automatic local and cloud backup. The backup software on this one makes it very easy to protect your important photos, files, music, and more on your schedule. And it does it all automatically, which is great. Something else you should know is that this hard drive has 1400 RBM platters. We tested this one with a ten-gigabyte test file when the file was transferred in just under ninety seconds, which is pretty good. It supports strong encryption and the content is completely inaccessible. Even if you forget your password while testing this one. I realize that the My Passport Ultra worked quietly and produced no vibration at all.
To sum up, I’d say that this one has a very great performance and the software of this one makes backing up data very convenient.
Pros
- Durable High capacity
- Powerful Portable
- Compact and beautiful
- Allows fast data speeds
- Helpful bundled software
- Advances in stylish color choice
Cons
- The recommended price is slightly higher than your peers
- The 2TB capacity model is not yet possible
- The plastic case is not as strong as other hard drives
5.
Toshiba Canvio Basics

If the Toshiba can basics, sometimes you’ll find yourself in situations where file transfers need to occur quickly. That’s when you need a better and faster external hard drive. The Toshiba Cannavaro Basics is a very nice external, very powerful hard drive, has nice speed, and plenty more features. There are plenty of better-performing external hard drives than this one. But the thing is that the Toshiba Cambio BASIX comes at a very reasonable price. This war may not be the best and I wouldn’t recommend it for mass transfers. However, it still offers great performance and it’s very cheap. This one is pretty basic with an all-black shroud that only includes a drive activity on a USB micro-type connection. It’s a traditional 2.5-inch external hard drive that looks great thanks to the mat plastic enclosure that’s very durable and it can last you for years. And I just there’s no rubber feet to prevent it from slipping. It only has a removable sticker on the belly. And overall, it’s a very standard external hard drive.
It’s very small measuring four points two by three by zero point seven inches, and it weighs around zero point four pounds, which is great. This one features 5500 rpm spinning discs and the drive supports both Mac OS and windows, but only windows out of the box. If you want to use it with Mac OS, you need to reformat the drive, which the company doesn’t tell you how to do. Unfortunately, these dirty drives have a flat top and you get a USB micro type B to type A cable in the box. Something that they should have worked on. More is the beat. There’s a lack of feet on the bottom of the device and they don’t help a lot. However, besides that, this hard drive is top-notch. I tested this one by plugging it into a laptop and it was detected immediately, which is great, to sum up. I’d say that if you want something good for a cheap price, then you should check out what Toshiba has to offer with this one.
Pros
- Great Build Quality
- 2TB Space
- Great Performance
- Very Low Heats
- NTI Backup Now EZ Software
- 4 Colors Available
- Price (for some)
Cons
- Size (Compared To the Backup Plus 4TB by Seagate)
Conclusion:
Thanks for reading, I hope you like the article if you found it helpful. Please remember to leave a comment on my blog to see more articles like this in the future. If you have any questions related to these products, you can leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.