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IF YOU'RE RUNNING out of storage space on your laptop or you need to back up your data and store that backlog of videos you're going to edit one day (I am, I swear), an external hard drive can solve your problem. The trouble is, there are hundreds of drive options ranging from dirt-cheap to crazy-expensive—which one is right for your needs? I've tested dozens, across operating systems and with different use cases in mind, to find the best external hard drives for storage, backups, gaming, video editing, network-attached storage (NAS) devices, and more.
Check out our other guides, including How to Back Up and Move Your Photos Between Services, How to Back Up Your Digital Life, and How to Back Up Your iPhone.
Updated September 2025: We've added the Seagate Ultra Compact SSD, LaCie's new rugged SSD4 and the Corsair EX400U, and we crowned the new Samsung 990 the best internal SSD. We’ve also updated prices and links throughout.
