Best External Hard Drives (2026): SanDisk, Samsung, and More

External drive prices have surged, making even large HDDs significantly more expensive than in the past year.

External storage prices have quadrupled in six months due to the AI data center boom, impacting the cost of both Solid State Drives (SSDs) and traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs). This guide reviews top external drives for 2026, including recommendations for large backups, portable storage, and high-performance needs. Western Digital's Elements desktop drive is highlighted as a cost-effective large backup solution, offering up to 26TB at 120 MB/s sequential write speeds. Seagate's discontinued 8TB drive is also mentioned for its reliability and speed. Micron's Crucial brand, being phased out, offers the X9 Pro and X10 Pro SSDs for fast, portable backups, with speeds up to 1,110 MB/s and 2,050 MB/s respectively. Western Digital's My Passport Ultra HDD provides secure, portable storage up to 6TB with 121 MB/s read and 115 MB/s write speeds, featuring 256-bit AES encryption. The SanDisk Professional G-Drive ArmorATD is a semi-rugged HDD with HFS+ support for macOS Time Machine, offering drop and splash resistance. For extreme speed, the LaCie Rugged Pro5 SSD leverages Thunderbolt 5, delivering read speeds up to 5,787 MB/s and write speeds up to 5,188 MB/s, suitable for 8K RAW video editing, though at a high cost.

The burgeoning AI sector's demand for memory and storage has drastically inflated the prices of external drives, with some doubling or even quadrupling in cost within six months. This surge affects all drive types, from affordable HDDs for bulk backups to high-speed SSDs for creative professionals. The market is characterized by price volatility, making it difficult for consumers to predict future costs and potentially delaying upgrade cycles. Manufacturers are navigating these supply chain pressures, with some discontinuing product lines or adjusting pricing strategies to cope with the escalating component expenses.

As a result of these increased costs, consumers must now weigh the expense of new drives against their performance needs more carefully. While SSDs offer superior speed and durability, their prices have become prohibitive for many, pushing a greater number of users towards more cost-effective, albeit slower, HDDs for basic backup purposes. The continued development of higher-speed interfaces like Thunderbolt 5, exemplified by the LaCie Rugged Pro5, points to a future where performance is paramount for specific use cases, but the cost of such cutting-edge technology remains a significant barrier for the average user.