Best physical SSD for Mac in 2024

Best external SSD – Samsung T9 SSD attached on a MacBook Pro
Last updated 2 hours agoIf your MacBook Pro is running low on storage, you can add more by purchasing one of these portable SSDs. Mac users often find that the extra storage they purchased at the time of purchase is not enough to meet their future needs. Apple’s high storage fees are a factor, but users also tend to accumulate data over time. You can’t open up a MacBook Air and MacBook Pro to add more storage, so you have to look at other storage options. Cloud storage is an option, but it’s not as good as having local storage. The majority of external SSDs offer a good compromise in terms of storage capacity, as they are often cheaper than Apple’s storage upgrades. It also allows you to have multiple physical drives at your disposal with maximum performance, depending on what you need. Creative users tend to work on external storage and keep the project on solid state drives. This can allow the project to be quickly passed on to another team member, for example. Keep boot drive space clear to maintain system performance. In the absence of swap space, if there is not enough space on this drive due to music files, video editing library, or text, then the operating system will slow down. An external hard drive can be purchased to increase capacity and save money, but an SSD will provide you with speed and durability. Check out our top pick of the best external hard drive Mac. AppleInsider’s recommendations on the best external SSD to use for multiple devices including MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or iPad models with USB-C connectors. Samsung T9 SSD is the best all-round external SSD. Samsung is known for its SSDs and you should consider this one. The T9 is housed in a square-ish box that has rounded edges, a textured finish and rounded corners. It will fit into any computing setup. It’s also quite compact, measuring 3.46 inches in length, 2.36 inches in width, and 0.55 inch thick. The 122-gram weight (4.3 ounces), makes it easy to carry. Best all-round external SSD – Samsung T9As an external drive, it is capable of handling data transfer speeds up to 2,000MB/s through its USB 3.2 Generation 2×2 interface. You can plug it into either Thunderbolt or USB-C interfaces. However, there are cables for USB C to USB C or USB A for older setups. Buy at Amazon The drive is protected against overheating by Samsung’s Dynamic thermal guard, which maintains performance. It is also protected against drops up to 9 feet (3 meters) high. Accidents won’t be a problem. Amazon and Samsung are selling the T9 Samsung Portable SSD 1TB for $129.99. The 4TB version with the maximum capacity is now on sale for $367.49. This was previously $549. Lacie Rugged SD is the best external SSD for outdoor usage. Its bright orange case makes it a very protective drive. The original rugged portable hard drives had a large HDD and were bulky. Now, the design is smaller but still recognizable. The Lacie Rugged SSD is IP67-rated for water and dust resistance. The drive is also resistant to a three-meter drop and two-ton crushing. Lacie Rugged SD is the best external drive for outdoor use. It can be connected via USB-C and uses Seagate FireCuda NVMes, which provide data transfer rates of up to 1,050MB/s. If your outdoor activities damage the drive, you’re covered for five years by data recovery services. Amazon offers the Lacie Rugged Solid State Drive starting at $119.99 for 500GB and going up to 4TB for $599. Buy at Amazon. If you want a Lacie drive, but you need something faster, you have another option. The Lacie Rugged SSD Pro has the same protection, but a black housing. The main difference is the performance. The Pro version can handle up to 2,800MB/s transfers, making it an excellent option for creatives. Amazon also offers the Lacie Rugged SSD Pro, with prices starting at $204 for 1TB and rising to $629.99 for 4TB. SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2: The best external SSD for creators. Continuing on the theme of well-known and popular drives the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 will be a creative’s favourite external drive. The SanDisk Extreme V2 is slim and can fit into many pockets in your bag. It measures 3.9 inches long, 2.1 inches wide and 0.4 inches thick. It is also very light at 1.8 ounces. SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD v2 – Best external SSD for creators. The carabiner loop adds to its ruggedness, allowing you to hang the drive on a bag, or more likely your keys. Buy at B&H The drive can be connected via USB-C 3.2 Generation 2, and offers read speeds up to 1,050MB/s, and write speeds up to 1,000MB/s. It is enough for creatives to easily transfer files between members of the office and work on portable drives. SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 is available for $89.99 at B&H Photo or Amazon.com. Other models, including 1TB, 2TB and a $499 4TB model, are also available. Best external SSD for travelers — Crucial X9 For those who are looking for a small amount of storage, you can’t go wrong with the Crucial X9. It’s a square block measuring 2.56 inches by 1.98 inches. The aluminum exterior can help to keep the device cool and handle temperature fluctuations. There’s a lanyard hole built in, just in case you need to attach it to something nearby. The compact size is perfect for recording videos from an iPhone. Buy at Amazon This drive can withstand a drop of 7.5 feet onto a carpeted surface without any data being affected. It can also withstand other shocks and falls. It can handle speeds up to 1,050MB/s via USB-C 3.2 Generation 2. Time Machine is compatible for backups on your MacBook Pro when you’re on the move. Amazon offers the Crucial X9 for Mac starting at $102.99 for 1TB, and going up to $289.99 if you want 4TB. It’s one to store your data in a convenient place. It’s quite another to keep your data secure. Kingston IronKey is a USB C flash drive and therefore compact in comparison to other drives on the list. The storage capacities of 8GB to 512GB are not huge, but they are still useful. Kingston IronKey 200 – Best external flash drive in terms of securityAppleInsider found that the transfer speeds could be quite slow at times. Reads were around 145MB/s and writing speeds were lower. This drive isn’t really about performance. It’s about security. It is unusual for a drive to be secured with a FIPS 140-3 Level 3, military-grade hardware cryptography rating using XTS AES 256-bit. This is handled by the drive, not the computer you are connecting it to. Buy on Amazon You have to enter a pin to unlock the drive and then connect it to your host device in 30 seconds. If the admin PIN is entered incorrectly 10 times in a line, the drive will reset itself to factory settings and crypto-erase the content. Kingston IronKey Keypad 200 is available on Amazon for $74.99 for an 8GB version, and $284.99 if you want 512GB. The PNY Elite X Type-C flash drives are the best budget option if you’re looking for a compact drive. The PNY Elite X Type-X is a great choice. AppleInsider deemed the flash drive as thin as a fingernail and a great solution for quick, portable storage. It measures 2.22 by 0.5 and 0.25 inches. At one end, it has a small loop for hanging on your keys. PNY Elite X Type-CA – Best budget flash drive. Available in three capacities from 64GB to256GB, this is not a huge data store. It’s enough for file transfers or to store an iPhone 15 Pro in case of emergency. It can read and write files at speeds up to 100MB/s using USB Type-C Gen 1. Purchase on Amazon The PNY Elite X Type-C is available for $14.35 per 64GB and $25.99 per 256GB. This makes it the cheapest external SSD option on this list. Imagine you want a more unique storage solution. You can show off to others how you built it yourself. Orico ClearLink is a two part SSD that can be opened by the end user. It also has a transparent section for the solid-disk drive, so you can actually see what’s inside. Orico ClearLink – M.2 is the best external SSD for hands on users. You can use it as a DIY device and insert your own drive. It can also be purchased in a bundle that includes a drive. The package includes an Orico NVMe M.2 2TB SSD with a Heatsink. The drive can be installed in the tool-free enclosure to achieve read speeds of up to 3,100MB/s, and write speeds up to 1,600MB/s. The enclosure can theoretically support 10Gb/s with M.2 NVMe and 6Gb/s with SATA protocol drives. Buy at Amazon This selection allows you to choose the drive that will be used with your enclosure. You can use the same enclosure in the future to accommodate faster or higher capacity drives, thanks to the design’s easy disassembly. Amazon charges $139.99 for the package that includes a 2TB drive. Separately, it costs $119.99 for the drive and $24.99 for the enclosure.