Top 10 Best External Hard Drives

Compare the specifications of our top 10 best external hard drives in our comparison table below.

For numbers 6-10, scroll across at the bottom of the table.

	WD My Passport Ultra	Toshiba Canvio	Seagate STBX Series	Silicon Power A30 Military	WD My Passport MAC	Seagate STDR Series	Seagate STBV Series	WD Elements	Transcend Military	WD My Book

Avg. Usr Rating											Avg. Usr Rating
Operating System	Windows 8/7/Vista/XP Mac OS X (requires reformatting)	Windows 8/7/Vista/XP Mac OS X (requires reformatting)	Windows 8/7/Vista/XP Mac OS X (requires reformatting)	Windows 8/7/Vista/XP Mac OS X (requires reformatting)	Formatted HFS+ Journaled for Mac OS X Windows 8/7/Vista/XP (requires reformatting)	Windows 8/7/Vista/XP Mac OS X 10.6 or higher	Windows 8/7/Vista/XP Mac OS X (requires reformatting)	Windows 8/7/Vista/XP Mac OS X 10.6.5 (requires reformatting)	Windows 8/7/Vista/XP Mac OS 10.5 or later Linux Kernel 2.6.31 or later	Windows 8/7/Vista/XP Mac OS X 10.6.5 (requires reformatting)	Operating System
Available Colors	Black / Blue / Red / Titanium	Black	Black	Orange on Black / White	Black on Silver	Black / Silver / Red / Blue	Black	Black	Green on Black	Black	Available Colors
Available Sizes	500GB / 1TB / 2TB	320GB / 500GB / 750GB / 1TB / 1.5TB / 2TB	500GB / 750GB / 1TB / 2TB	500GB / 1TB / 2TB	500GB / 1TB / 2TB	500GB / 1TB / 2TB / 4TB	1TB / 2TB / 3TB / 4TB / 5TB	500GB / 1TB / 1.5TB / 2TB	500GB / 750GB / 1TB / 2TB	2TB / 3TB / 4TB / 6TB	Available Sizes
Connectivity	USB 2.0 / 3.0	USB 2.0 / 3.0	USB 2.0 / 3.0	USB 2.0 / 3.0	USB 2.0 / 3.0	USB 2.0 / 3.0	USB 2.0 / 3.0	USB 2.0 / 3.0	USB 2.0 / 3.0	USB 2.0 / 3.0	Connectivity
Disk Speed	N/A	5400 RPM	5400 RPM	N/A	5200 RPM	5400 RPM	5900 RPM	5400 RPM	5400 RPM	7200 RPM	Disk Speed
Transfer Rate	5.0 GB/S	480 MB/S	N/A	5.0 GB/S	N/A	N/A	5.0 GB/S	N/A	5.0 GB/S	5.0 GB/S	Transfer Rate
Features	WD Security utility allows you to set password protection and hardware encryption Register your drive, set drive timer, run diagnostics and more using WD Drive Utilities. Shock tolerance & durable enclosure protects the drive inside	Built-in internal shock sensor and ramp-loading technology for extra protection	Built-in power management automatically ensures energy-efficient operation	Cable wrap-around design Military-grade shockproof protection Scratch resistant cover 7 major back-up and security functions	WD Security utility allows you to set password protection and hardware encryption Compatible with Apple® Time Machine® Formatted HFS + journaled so it works with your Mac computer right out of the box WD Drive Utilities	Seagate Mobile Backup App allows back up of photos or videos directly from your iOS and Android devices via your home's Wi-Fi or through cloud services 2 automatic backup options - scheduled or continuous Compatible with Apple Time Machine	Built-in power management automatically ensures energy-efficient operation Compatible with Apple Time Machine	WD SmartWare Pro backup software trial	Military-grade shock resistance Advanced 3-stage shock protection system Durable anti-shock rubber outer case LED power / data transfer activity indicator Advanced internal hard drive suspension system Quick Reconnect Button One Touch Auto-Backup button	Use WD Security to set password protection and hardware encryption Acronis® True Image WD Edition integrated software suite that ensures security of all information on your PC WD SmartWare Pro automatic backup software protects your data using minimal PC resources Local and cloud backup	Features
Contents	WD My Passport Ultra USB Cable WD Smartware Pro Software Quick Start Guide	Toshiba Canvio USB Cable Pre-loaded backup software Quick Start Guide	Seagate STBX USB Cable Quick Start Guide	Silicon Power A30 USB Cable SP Widget free download software Quick Start Guide	WD My Passport MAC USB Cable Quick Start Guide	Seagate STDR USB Cable Seagate Mobile Apps Quick Start Guide	Seagate STDR USB Cable Power Adapter Quick Start Guide	Seagate STDR USB Cable Cloud Backup Software Quick Start Guide	Transcend Military USB Cable Transcend Elite data management software Quick Start Guide	WD My Book WD SmartWare Pro Software USB Cable AC Adapter Quick Start Guide	Contents
Product Dimensions	500GB: 4.33" x 3.2" x 0.5" 1TB: 4.35" x 3.2" x 0.6" 2TB: 4.35" x 3.2" x 0.82"	4.7" x 3.1" x 0.65"	4.8" x 3.2" x 0.6"	5.3" x 3.4" x 0.7"	500GB / 1GB: 4.35" x 3.23" x 0.59" 2TB: 4.35" x 3.23" x 0.82"	500GB / 1TB: 4.5" x 3" x 0.4" 2TB: 4.5" x 3" x 0.5" 4TB: 4.6" x 3.25" x 0.88"	7.1" x 4.6" x 1.5"	500GB / 1GB: 4.37" x 3.22" x 0.59" 1.5TB / 2TB: 4.37" x 3.24" x 0.82"	5.1" x 3.24" x 0.80"	6.71" x 5.48" x 1.93"	Product Dimensions
Warranty	3 years	1 year	1 year	3 years	3 years	2 years	2 years	1 year	3 years	2 years	Warranty
Price	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	Price
	WD Passport Ultra	Toshiba Canvio	Seagate STBX Series	Silicon Power A30	WD My Passport MAC	Seagate STDR Series	Seagate STBV Series	WD Elements	Transcend Military	WD My Book

Average User Rating – This is based on our own research in product testing and user feedback. Clicking on each product takes you to Amazon’s product page where you can read customer reviews on the product you’re interested in.

Best Value / Top Rated / Top Specs / Best Choice – Products that we consider to excel in a certain area such as value for money, reputation or technology have been given one of our aforementioned labels of recognition.

Operating System – Most models will work with both Windows and MAC systems, though it may require formatting for one or the other.

Features – Many of the special features that an external hard drive has, will relate to security and back-up capabilities.

Price – If you want to know the price of any of the models, just click on the Buy Now button or Check Price and you’ll be redirected to the product page on Amazon.com. The reason we don’t put prices is because they constantly change and there are so many sellers offering different prices.