Best External SSD Prices
Portable USB external solid state drives. Updated daily from Amazon.
| # | Product | Capacity | Read | Write | TBW | Warranty | Score | $/TB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  WD My Passport SSD 1TBBest value WD | 1TB | 1.1 GB/s | 1.0 GB/s | — | 3 years | 79.5 | $79.99/TB | $83.10 | $83.10 |
| 2 |  SanDisk | 1TB | 1.1 GB/s | 1.0 GB/s | — | 5 years | 66 | $84.99/TB | $76.95 | $76.95 |
| 3 |  Samsung | 1TB | 1.1 GB/s | 1.0 GB/s | — | 3 years | 44.5 | $89.99/TB | $92.56 | $92.56 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a good external SSD?
Look for USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) or Thunderbolt for fast transfers, a rugged enclosure for portability, and at least 1TB capacity. Sequential read speeds of 1,000+ MB/s make a real difference when moving large files or editing video directly from the drive.
USB-C vs Thunderbolt — do I need Thunderbolt?
Thunderbolt 3/4 offers up to 40Gbps bandwidth, enabling speeds exceeding 2,500 MB/s on compatible drives. However, Thunderbolt drives cost significantly more. USB 3.2 Gen 2 at 10Gbps is sufficient for most users and works with any modern laptop.