The Best External SSDs

It adds IP55 water and dust resistance, a 7.5ft drop rating and password protection built into the drive. It reads at up to 2,100MB/s and is rated IP55 with 7.5-foot drop resistance. Full speed needs a 20Gbps USB port.

On capacity it ties with the T9 2TB, the T7 Shield 2TB and the One Touch SSD 2TB at 2TB. On rated read speed it sits mid-pack at 2,100MB/s: the Rugged SSD4 offers 4,000MB/s, and the One Touch SSD 2TB comes in at 1,030MB/s. You get an SSD password protection security here, which sets it apart from the Rugged SSD4 and its a none stated security. You also get a lanyard loop and activity light and three months of Mylio Photos+ and Acronis True Image.

Magician software handles firmware updates, health monitoring and optional encryption. On capacity it ties with the X10 Pro 2TB, the T7 Shield 2TB and the One Touch SSD 2TB at 2TB. On rated read speed it sits mid-pack at 2,000MB/s: the Rugged SSD4 offers 4,000MB/s, and the One Touch SSD 2TB comes in at 1,030MB/s.

It is the only pick here with a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connection; the T7 Shield 2TB has a USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection instead. It also offers support for iPhone 15 Pro ProRes 4K60 recording. Its top speed needs a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20Gbps) port; most laptops and all Macs run it at 10Gbps speeds instead. It was priced above the X10 Pro 2TB and below the Rugged SSD4 at the time of writing.

It is the only 1TB drive in this guide, and it needs a USB4 or Thunderbolt port to reach those speeds. It reads at up to 4,000MB/s over USB 40Gbps and Thunderbolt, and it is IP54-rated with 3-metre drop and 1-ton crush resistance. It suits fieldwork with large video files.

Its 1TB capacity is the smallest in this group; the X10 Pro 2TB leads at 2TB. Nothing else here matches its 4,000MB/s rated read speed; the X10 Pro 2TB comes closest at 2,100MB/s. Like the T7 Shield 2TB and One Touch SSD 2TB, it has a none stated security, while the X10 Pro 2TB uses an SSD password protection security.

It also comes with compatibility with Thunderbolt 3, 4 and 5 as well as 5-20Gbps USB and a three-year warranty with Rescue data recovery. Its price falls between the T9 2TB and the T7 Shield 2TB, based on our last check.

Its IP65 rating and 9.8ft drop protection suit a drive that lives in a camera bag. It uses an internal PCIe NVMe drive for reads up to 1,050MB/s and writes up to 1,000MB/s over USB 3.2 Gen 2. The rubber shell adds water, dust and drop resistance.

It matches the X10 Pro 2TB, the T9 2TB and the One Touch SSD 2TB on capacity (2TB). Its 1,050MB/s rated read speed ranks fourth of 5 here, behind the Rugged SSD4 (4,000MB/s) and ahead of the One Touch SSD 2TB (1,030MB/s). You get a USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection here, which sets it apart from the One Touch SSD 2TB and its a USB 3 (as listed) connection. It was the highest-priced of the 5 picks at the time of writing, so the case for it rests on what it adds over the Rugged SSD4 and the rest.

It was the lowest-priced drive here at the time of writing and carries a three-year warranty with Rescue data recovery. On capacity it ties with the X10 Pro 2TB, the T9 2TB and the T7 Shield 2TB at 2TB. On rated read speed it trails the group at 1,030MB/s, while the Rugged SSD4 offers 4,000MB/s.

No other pick in this guide offers a USB 3 (as listed) connection; compare the T9 2TB, which has a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connection. It shares a none stated security with the Rugged SSD4 and T7 Shield 2TB; the X10 Pro 2TB goes with an SSD password protection security. It also offers a lightweight textile-covered design and a six-month Mylio Photos+ subscription and a Dropbox Backup trial. No other pick here cost less at our last price check, and the X10 Pro 2TB was closest.