Shopping for an exterior exhausting drive or solid-state drive to your Mac is very like shopping for one to your Home windows PC; most computer systems of both stripe now have no less than one oval USB-C port for drive connections. The primary distinction? Some drives designed for Macs use the pro-focused Thunderbolt interface for super-fast information transfers. Do you simply need to again up utilizing Time Machine or stash an intensive video assortment? A reasonable non-Thunderbolt drive not meant explicitly for Macs ought to suffice. We have been testing PC storage for 4 many years, and for each drive we evaluation, our analysts run standardized benchmark exams measuring pace and program launch instances, and assess drives on design, bundled software program, price per gigabyte, and extra. Our high general-use exterior SSD for Macs is Essential’s X9 Professional, however beneath is a breakdown of different favourite examined picks, plus all of the buying recommendation you want.
Deeper Dive: Our High Examined Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
Might 2, 2025: We added the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 as Finest Thunderbolt 5 Rugged Exterior SSD for Mac. For this replace, we examined and evaluated 5 new drives for doable inclusion on this roundup.
- Light-weight and compact
- Good PCMark 10 benchmark rating
- IP55-rated for mud and water resistance
- Drop-proof as much as 7.5 toes
- 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption
- 5-year guarantee
- Included USB-C cable is brief
- Lacks USB-C-to-A cable or adapter
A tiny but extremely succesful exterior SSD, the Essential X9 Professional scored properly in our benchmarks and is available in capacities as much as 4TB. Its interface helps the USB 3.2 Gen 2 commonplace, which affords near-universal compatibility in case your pc has a USB port (though you’ll want an adapter to hook up with a USB-A port). With native exFAT formatting, it really works out of the field with Mac, Home windows, Android, iPad, PC, Linux, Xbox, and PlayStation. The X9 Professional’s fundamental ruggedization options and 256-bit AES encryption defend it from tumbles and each meteorological and human threats whereas touring.
The Essential X9 Professional is a competitively priced, extremely moveable exterior solid-state drive that ought to attraction to virtually anybody. It is suitable out of the field with all kinds of gadgets, making it nice for vacationers or, certainly, anybody who desires a quick, fairly rugged, and safe moveable SSD.
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- Distinctive pace over USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gbps) connections
- Is available in capacities as much as 4TB
- Helps 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption
- Licensed drop-proof
- Contains helpful Samsung Magician software program
- A bit expensive
- Might require an growth card to attain Gen 2×2 speeds
The Samsung Transportable SSD T9 is a high-performance exterior drive, supplied in capacities as much as 4TB and with an interface that helps USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, which is blazing quick in case you have a Mac with a port that helps this commonplace. It was quick with our Home windows testbed (which has a 2×2 growth card) and surprisingly fast when examined with an older MacBook Professional with a Thunderbolt 3/USB 3.1 Gen 2 port. AES 256-bit hardware-based encryption, the gold commonplace in civilian encryption options, and an upgraded Samsung Magician software program suite sweeten the deal.
Billed as a drive for creators, the Samsung Transportable SSD T9 is a brilliant alternative for Mac customers who have to entry or again up massive recordsdata rapidly. Accessible in sizes as much as 4TB, it’s a potent drive for content material creators and different energy customers, and it additionally works with Home windows and Android gadgets.
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- Discipline-leading pace
- Additionally works with USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 and Gen 2 ports
- Excessive ruggedness towards mud, water, drops, crush stress
- 5-year guarantee
- Excessive value per gigabyte
- Cable is a bit quick
The LaCie Rugged SSD Professional takes a Seagate FireCuda NVMe solid-state drive, connects it to a Thunderbolt 3 interface, and places it in a silicone-wrapped, crush-resistant aluminum case with a colossal IP67 ruggedness score—dust-tight and capable of survive half-hour in shallow water, even in case you overlook to shut the rubber flap over the Thunderbolt 3 port. That provides as much as a considerably specialised gadget, greatest appreciated by videographers taking pictures open air with Mac laptops, however with a terrific mixture of pace and sturdiness.
The LaCie is not low cost; extra general-purpose moveable solid-state drives and even just a few rugged rivals beat its value per gigabyte. Nevertheless it’s tailored for Apple content material creators taking pictures and dealing within the nice open air.
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- Quickest exterior SSD we’ve ever examined (based mostly on Blackmagic benchmark)
- Extremely resilient exterior
- 5-year guarantee, plus subscription to information restoration service
- Contains LaCie Toolkit backup software program
- Dear
- Requires pc with Thunderbolt 5 assist for greatest outcomes
Constructed for full compatibility with the newest Thunderbolt 5-equipped Mac and Home windows computer systems, the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 is screaming quick when paired with a current Mac that helps that commonplace. It’s rugged as all get-out, too, receiving an ingress safety score of IP68—the very best doable rating for imperviousness to water and filth {that a} product can get—and is constructed to outlive drops of as much as 10 toes. We additionally like its five-year guarantee, subscription to an information restoration service, and the inclusion of LaCie Toolkit backup software program.
Aimed squarely at inventive professionals who’ve (or wish to improve to) a Thunderbolt 5-ready pc, the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 turned in blazing learn and write speeds on the Blackmagic benchmark, which exams how an SSD handles video recordsdata in numerous codecs. Its wonderful ruggedization cred makes it an awesome match for videographers, audio engineers, and photographers whose work takes them far out of the workplace or studio. It does not come low cost, however drives for its supposed viewers are sometimes priced at a premium.
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- 6TB is present peak capability for a conveyable exhausting drive
- Contains Acronis True Picture backup software program
- 256-bit AES encryption
- Good benchmark outcomes for a conveyable platter-based drive
- USB-C compatibility requires included adapter
- Platter drives are inherently sluggish in contrast with exterior SSDs
The WD My Passport USB-C is out there with the very best capability (6TB) of any pocketable spinning exhausting drive available on the market at this time. Regardless of its identify, it connects through a USB Micro-B port—its included cable is a Micro-B-to-USB-Kind-A, and it additionally comes with an A-to-C dongle for connecting to a pc’s USB-C port. It comes formatted in exFAT for compatibility with each macOS and Home windows. Its speeds on our benchmarks have been really a bit quicker than the same 6TB WD My Passport Ultra with its native USB-C port—although nonetheless far beneath these of moveable SSDs—and it is priced a bit decrease.
Previous-school exhausting drives survive on this age of superfast moveable SSDs as a result of their low price per gigabyte—the 6TB WD My Passport USB-C lists at a minuscule 3.2 cents per gig. It brings the very best capability out there in a conveyable exhausting drive, making it an honest repository for media recordsdata. Acronis True Picture backup software program and 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption additional sweeten the deal. This drive is a winner for Mac customers who search excessive capability and worth in a platter exhausting drive and recognize built-in software program and security measures.
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- Rugged sufficient to guard from the weather, with rubberized sheath and port cowl
- Engaging design
- Very best to be used with macOS
- Each USB-C and USB-A cables bundled
- Aggressive pricing
- Lacks software program suite and hardware-based encryption
- Requires reformatting to be used with Home windows
The SanDisk Skilled G-Drive ArmorATD is an economical, semi-rugged exterior exhausting drive with capacities of as much as 5TB. As a spinning (5,400rpm) platter drive, its pace cannot examine with a solid-state drive’s, however it fills a distinct segment for vacationers or cellular employees who want a number of capability for his or her greenback. With a rubber bumper and inner shock mounts, the ArmorATD is rated to outlive as much as 1,000 kilos of stress or a drop from 3.3 toes. Its ingress safety (IP) score of IP54 guarantees some safety towards sand and rain. It comes formatted in Mac-friendly HFS+, considered one of two codecs (together with APFS) suitable with the macOS Time Machine backup system.
Like different merchandise within the SanDisk Skilled line, the G-Drive ArmorATD is closely geared to Mac use. It is best for touring Mac customers who need a drive that may stand up to a tumble or a rainstorm and has a better capability for the worth than an SSD.
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- Flat, simply mailable chassis.
- Can set to RAID 0 for larger pace and capability, or to RAID 1 for drive mirroring.
- Bundled cables for USB Kind-A and Kind-C on PC aspect.
- No tab over Kind-C connector to guard it from mud and water.
- Excessive value per gigabyte, due largely to ruggedization and RAID design.
LaCie’s two-drive Rugged RAID Shuttle supplies 8TB of capability and quick efficiency (in striped mode) or 4TB of capability with all information mirrored on the second disk. It is very best for anybody who works within the discipline and produces mountains of information. Its crush-resistant grey brushed-aluminum case homes two bodily drives, with a alternative of RAID settings prioritizing efficiency or on-the-fly backup. The unit meets the IP54 mud and water resistance spec and is rated to outlive a four-foot drop. It suits simply in a gear bag or a padded in a single day specific envelope to let professionals ship recordsdata to the workplace or studio when information connections are sluggish or nonexistent.
Designed with inventive professionals similar to filmmakers, photographers, and musicians in thoughts, the LaCie Rugged RAID Shuttle is aimed toward anybody who works within the discipline and produces massive quantities of information they cannot afford to lose. Out of the field, the LaCie Rugged RAID Shuttle is formatted in exFAT, making certain each Mac and Home windows compatibility. It delivers an unmatched stability of efficiency, capability, and information safety.
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- Can use RAID 0 for larger pace and capability, RAID 1 for drive mirroring, or JBOD (RAID off).
- 5-year guarantee with 5 years of Knowledge Rescue restoration.
- Drives are hot-swappable.
- Excessive value per gigabyte.
- Must obtain utilities to handle the drive.
- Kensington lock slot secures solely the case, leaving the drives simply detachable.
The LaCie 2big RAID exterior exhausting drive, aimed squarely at videographers, photographers, and different content material creators, earns kudos for design excellence. The good-looking grey and black case homes two spinning-platter drives—4TB every within the 8TB model we examined. You’ll be able to configure the 2big so your pc sees it as two separate 4TB drives, a single 8TB drive with quicker efficiency, or a 4TB drive routinely mirrored or backed as much as a second. You may as well hot-swap drives, simply sliding an previous one out and a brand new one in with out instruments and with out turning the LaCie unit off.
The 2big RAID array guarantees reliability and delivers the efficiency profit you’d anticipate from 7,200rpm platters, magnified by the default RAID 0 setting. The elective RAID 1 setting is out there if you need information redundancy. (A JBOD mode can also be out there in case you do not need to use RAID.)
The LaCie 2big RAID desktop array, which ships formatted in exFAT for Mac and Home windows compatibility, gives cavernous capability to inventive varieties and others who have to work with huge quantities of information. After we reviewed it, it was out there in capacities as much as 16TB, however the firm has since added even larger volumes, as much as a monstrous 40TB.
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- Is available in capacities as much as 8TB, with 16TB deliberate
- Stable benchmark efficiency
- Contains free obtain of Acronis True Picture backup software program
- Somewhat expensive on a per-gigabyte foundation
- Heavy and hulking for an exterior SSD
- Requires use of included energy adapter
The SanDisk Desk Drive is an exterior solid-state drive to be used with a Mac or Home windows desktop or laptop computer workstation and is a effective substitute for a spinning exterior exhausting drive. Accessible in capacities as much as 8TB (with a 16TB mannequin to come back), it comes formatted in Mac-friendly exFAT and features a obtain for Acronis True Picture backup software program. It aced our PCMark 10 Total general-storage benchmark and did properly within the 3DMark Storage gaming-centric check.
Its bulk and reliance on an AC adapter make it lower than very best for moveable use, however the SanDisk Desk Drive supplies considerable, speedy storage when paired with a Mac at a set location, whether or not a desktop or a laptop computer workstation. It has a comparatively excessive price per gigabyte, however most exterior SSDs aren’t even supplied at its 8TB capability, not to mention the 16TB mannequin that SanDisk guarantees.
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The Finest Exterior Exhausting Drives and SSDs for Mac in 2025
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Shopping for Information: The Finest Exterior Exhausting Drives and SSDs for Mac in 2025
What File System Is Finest for a Mac Exterior Exhausting Drive?
We talked about Thunderbolt up high. Earlier than we get to Thunderbolt, we have to tackle a basic constructing block of exhausting drives that has all the time affected compatibility and doubtless all the time will: the file system.
An exterior drive’s file system is essentially the most essential consider figuring out whether or not it is readable by Macs, PCs, or each. Beginning with macOS “Excessive Sierra,” Cupertino ditched its venerable Mac OS Prolonged file system, generally abbreviated as HFS+, and switched to a completely new file system. It is merely referred to as the Apple File System (APFS), the primary format used throughout each Macs and iOS gadgets.
What Is the Distinction Between Mac OS Prolonged (HFS+) and APFS?
You will discover many advantages to switching from HFS+ to APFS, together with higher safety because of native encryption, however essentially the most important factor to notice for external-drive customers is backward-compatibility. Any drive formatted with HFS+ will work simply effective with a Mac that is operating Excessive Sierra or later.
Neither Apple File System nor HFS+ works with Home windows, nevertheless. In the event you plan to make use of your exterior drive with computer systems that run each working techniques, it’s best to contemplate formatting your drive with the exFAT file system. You will not get the safety and effectivity of APFS, however you’ll get the comfort of transferring recordsdata backwards and forwards between Home windows and macOS just by plugging in and unplugging your drive.
(Credit score: Kyle Cobian)
In fact, you possibly can simply wipe and reformat most exterior drives, so you are not restricted to purchasing solely these supposed to be used with Macs. In the event you actually fancy a consumer-oriented drive formatted for Home windows (which is able to normally come pre-formatted within the NTFS format), you need to use the macOS Disk Utility to reformat it after you deliver it house from the shop. Some extremely specialised exterior drives won’t work with Macs even when they’re formatted appropriately, however customers on the lookout for additional house merely to retailer backups or in depth video collections aren’t prone to encounter them.
Exterior Drives: SSDs vs. Spinning Platters
As soon as you’ve got settled on a file system, you should decide which storage medium you need: solid-state or spinning disk. Every has its benefits and downsides, and—in contrast to the file system—the sort you purchase is the sort you are caught with for the lifetime of the drive.
A solid-state drive (SSD) gives fast entry to your information as a result of it shops your bits in a kind of flash reminiscence fairly than on spinning platters. SSDs are sometimes smaller and lighter than spinning exterior drives, as properly, which can also be because of the dearth of shifting elements. Most match right into a jacket or pants pocket, which makes them a better option in case you’re on the lookout for a conveyable exterior drive that you will be carrying with you incessantly. (See our general picks for favourite external SSDs.)
One main draw back, nevertheless, is that they are costlier. You possibly can pay greater than 20 cents per gigabyte for an SSD, whereas spinning drives will be had for lower than 10 cents per gigabyte, and infrequently a lot much less. Exterior SSDs even have decrease capability limits, with most drives topping out at both 2TB or 4TB. Evaluate that with exterior spinning drives, that are simple to search out even in capacities in extra of 8TB for desktop-style drives or as much as 5TB for moveable ones.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
For skilled videographers who edit a number of 4K footage and avid gamers or film buffs who’ve massive libraries of multi-gigabyte titles, an exterior RAID array made up of a number of platter-based drives is value contemplating because it combines pace approaching that of an SSD with the gargantuan doable capacities of spinning drives. An array accommodates two or extra drives that every one work collectively to improve throughput or guard your treasured recordsdata towards corruption through drive redundancy if one of many drives fails. (Or each; it depends upon how the array is about up.) The result’s that you could get SSD-like speeds, with throughput of greater than 400MBps, and capacities that high out near 50TB. You will pay handsomely, in fact—some Mac-specific arrays price 1000’s of {dollars}.
Alternatively, in case you’re trying to purchase an exterior drive primarily to again up your recordsdata (which you should definitely do), and it’ll not often depart your property workplace, an affordable spinning drive will work simply effective. These are available each moveable and “desktop” variations.
The portables are clearly smaller and based mostly on the sorts of two.5-inch platter drives utilized in laptops. Desktop-style exterior exhausting drives are bigger and based mostly on the beefier and extra capacious 3.5-inch drives utilized in full-size desktop PCs. They require their very own AC energy supply. Transportable drives do not have an influence plug; they get the juice they should run via their information interface.
Does Thunderbolt Matter, or Will USB-C Do?
So, to recap: Sooner, smaller (each bodily and by way of gigabytes) solid-state drives come at a premium, whereas spinning drives supply a a lot better worth whereas sacrificing pace. However what occurs if you throw but one other variable into the combo: the connection between your drive and your Mac? As you may need guessed, the reply is extra trade-offs.
Each present Mac comes with oval-shaped USB Type-C ports that assist Thunderbolt speeds. Some Macs have Thunderbolt 4, whereas older ones have Thunderbolt 3, however each have the identical 40Gbps most throughput, which is many instances the pace of normal USB-C ports. Beginning in 2024, some high-end Macs, outfitted with M4 Professional or M4 Max silicon, have Thunderbolt 5 ports; this newest commonplace usually helps throughput speeds as much as 80Gbps.
Sadly, you will not discover all that many Thunderbolt-compatible drives available on the market. Some Mac-specific drives are even nonetheless bought with USB 3.0 connectors. Furthermore, the Thunderbolt drives you can purchase are constrained by the utmost throughput of the drive itself fairly than the Thunderbolt interface. Till just a few years in the past, most exterior SSDs topped out at round 600MBps, as an example, as a result of bus varieties utilized by the drives contained in the chassis. That is greater than quick sufficient for backups and infrequently transferring multi-gigabyte recordsdata, however significantly decrease than Thunderbolt’s most throughput.
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(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
Nevertheless, that pace ceiling is rising. Whereas older exterior SSDs have been restricted by the inner electronics (typically a drive and controller utilizing the older Serial ATA bus contained in the drive), late-model drives use totally different inner parts based mostly on PCI Specific drives utilizing the NVMe protocol. These sorts of parts in newer drives assist Thunderbolt attain extra of its pace potential. Drives with rated peak reads and writes within the 1,000MBps to three,500MBps vary point out considered one of these PCI Specific/NVMe drives. (Once more, see our roundup of the best external SSDs for extra dialogue of this.)
You’ll be able to insist on Thunderbolt assist if you recognize you want all of the pace you will get, however a USB-C drive can be a greater decide in case you’re extra price-sensitive or want to make use of the drive with a PC. With USB-only drives, some producers embrace a USB Kind-C cable for individuals who personal a USB Kind-C-only Mac, and you may all the time decide up a converter for just a few {dollars} on-line if the drive you are eyeing does not supply one. And remember that some current Macs, such because the Mac Studio, include USB 3.1 ports, so they will not require adapters.
Can I Use Any Exterior Exhausting Drive for a Mac?
Drives supposed for PCs typically come bundled with software program that is not suitable with macOS, however that does not imply you possibly can’t use such drives with Macs so long as you format them appropriately, as talked about above. This primarily signifies that you need to use virtually any exterior exhausting drive with a Mac, even when it does not particularly say that it is Mac-compatible. As for the drive’s software program, you possibly can typically replicate it utilizing options constructed into macOS. For instance, some drives include software program that routinely backs up your recordsdata to the drive when linked. Such software program is not as a lot of a consideration for Mac customers, who have already got a wonderful built-in backup possibility within the type of Time Machine. (See our guide to using Time Machine for backups.)
(Credit score: Molly Flores)
Except your drive is rarely going to go away your property or workplace, you must also contemplate its bodily sturdiness. Rugged, waterproof drives are a effective possibility not only for surfers and BMX riders, as their advertising suggests, but additionally for individuals carrying their drives to and from faculty or work, the place they could sometimes get spilled on or dropped on the ground. (Try our favorite rugged drives.)
Lastly, you would possibly need to contemplate how the drive will look when plugged into your Mac. Some drives are available a wide range of colours, and lots of others function copious quantities of aluminum and industrial-chic styling to match the design cues of your MacBook or iMac.
Able to Purchase the Proper Exterior Exhausting Drive for Your Mac?
We have chosen a number of our favourite drives, all of which have been examined on Home windows and macOS techniques. For extra choices, take a look at our main list of best external hard drives and our top picks for external SSDs.