Best External Hard Drive for Mac in 2022 – Keep Your Data Safe

If you’re choosing between top-notch external hard drives with enough storage space for a system backup, the Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch is definitely worth checking out. As their name suggests, these hard drives are made for backing up your files. When you add file encryption and a fancy factory finish, this Seagate product becomes an excellent choice for external Mac storage.

Overview

The main allure of this external drive for a Mac is cosmetic, although its storage space and data transfer speeds earn it a spot on our list of top external hard drives for Mac computers from a purely technical perspective. The first thing you’ll notice is its woven fabric coat, which separates it from its drab, predominantly black, visually unimaginative cousins.

The woven overcoat comes in either gray or black and feels nice to the touch. On the downside, the material won’t make your device shock-resistant and can be slightly slippery, so make sure you carry it carefully. The hard drive is otherwise small and light, making it ideal for use as a portable external drive.

This Seagate hard drive comes in 1 TB and 2 TB variants. We focused on the bigger version in this review, as it’s probably the best 2 TB external hard drive for Mac. Both versions are cheap, and there’s no reason not to shell out a couple more bucks to get double the storage. While 2 TB is nothing to write home about, it’s a solid amount of space that will most probably fulfill your needs, unless you solely wish to store 4K video files or huge file formats.

When it comes to connection, this Seagate drive supports USB 3.0. Don’t worry - it has both USB-C and USB-A plugs, and you can even use USB 2.0, although that will transfer data much slower. Unfortunately, there’s no Thunderbolt 3 support. However, the Ultra Touch is perhaps the best external hard drive for a Mac or Windows PC, as its connection type and exFAT file system format make it compatible with both operating systems. The drive can also be reformatted if needed.

One field where this hard drive truly excels is security. Firstly, you can set up a password to protect your files during the initial setup process. Make sure you memorize the password or keep it in a safe place, as there’s no password restore option. If you can’t remember it, you’ll have to reset the external drive, losing all the files on it in the process. Even the best external hard drives won’t be worth much if you lose access to the files stored in them, especially if it’s a backup drive.

In addition, all the files stored on this drive are protected by AES-256 encryption.

Pricing

The price for the 2 TB version of this drive is currently $84.99 on Amazon. If you go with the 1 TB option, you’ll have to pay $62.99 instead. As usual, the option with more storage space is also more cost-effective.

Final Thoughts

The Backup Plus Ultra Touch is among the top budget external hard drives for Mac computers. While it isn’t too quick and isn’t that big on storage, it’s cheap, secure, can be used on Windows and macOS, and has a fancy fabric coat.

Privacy-concerned users browsing for the best external hard drives for Mac computers might want to consider branching out into external solid state drive territory with the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch. Its standout feature is its fingerprint reader, which adds biometric security to your files. Besides top-notch security, this series of external drives goes up to 2 TB in size, which represents massive storage for SSDs. These drives also come with three-year warranties and perform admirably on most speed tests.

Overview

Samsung’s external SSD for macOS was clearly made with maximum portability in mind. Lightweight and slim, the drive can easily fit into your pocket, taking up as much space as your wallet might. As such, it’s ideal for frequent travelers or those who regularly commute between their office and home, using the solid state drive to store important work-related files.

An external hard drive for a Mac needs to have a decent level of security. Some years ago, security measures such as encryption weren’t considered necessary for portable storage. However, over time, cyber threats such as viruses and ransomware have become more common and evolved, prompting companies to incorporate protection on their external hard drives and solid state drives. This usually involves encryption and password protection. The T7 Touch goes one step further, adding fingerprint verification.

During the first-time setup, you’ll be prompted to scan your fingerprint multiple times from multiple angles. After the system gets a full scan, you’re ready to go. This is a superior solution to passwords, which can be lost or leaked. That’s why this is one of the best external hard drives for Mac computers on the market. The LED ring around the scanner is the indicator showing whether the drive is reading/writing, connected, or idle.

The drive ships in the exFat format, meaning you can use it with any operating system. The Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch uses a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, not to be confused with a USB-C. This means you’ll be getting good transfer speeds, and this port is compatible with most newer USB or Thunderbolt ports.

This Samsung external drive reaches 1,050 MB/s read speeds and 1,000 MB/s write speeds, which is more than enough for most users. These speeds are the primary reason many consider this Samsung drive the best external SSD for video editing on Mac.

Pricing

This drive has three variants: 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. The price is fairly steep, but that’s what you’d expect from an SSD that comes with fingerprint scanning. The prices are as follows (at the time of writing):

• 500GB - $104.99
• 1TB - $139.99
• 2TB - $289.99

Final Thoughts

The Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch features great speeds, high-capacity storage, and boasts unmatched security. However, it is expensive, and you need to install specific fingerprint reading software to use the scanner.

Hailing from Western Digital, the My Passport series regularly features on lists of the best cheap external hard drives for Mac computers. This hard drive series enjoys immense popularity, and the 5 TB version we’re reviewing here is big enough to satisfy even the most storage-hungry users and represents one of the top external hard drive deals on the market. With this amount of storage, you can do pretty much everything, but the fact that this Western Digital external hard drive comes with backup software indicates that it is the optimal way to use this piece of hardware.

Overview

The incredible popularity of the My Passport series stems from its perfect combination of storage space, durability, and affordability. Sure, there are quicker drives out there - after all, this is not an SSD. One could also find cheaper gigabyte-per-dollar drives, but rarely do they combine all the qualities one can find in My Passport.

This is the largest external hard drive you can find if mobility is key, as 5 TB is the upper limit on portable drives. If you need more space, the Western Digital My Book is a great option, but its physical size makes it a lot less mobile. This device comes in two versions - one formatted for Windows and the other for macOS. Thankfully, file system formatting isn’t set in stone, and you can easily format it to be compatible with the other operating system.

This Western Digital hard drive comes with a Micro-USB Type-B connector running USB 3.2 protocols. As is usual, you can plug in USB 2.0 cables as well, just expect the transfer speed to drop considerably. Unfortunately, there’s no Thunderbolt 3 support here.

One of My Passport’s standout features is its AES-256 bit encryption - one reason why it’s considered the best portable hard drive for Mac by many. This will help protect your files from unwanted intrusion - a godsend for users who keep sensitive data like work-related documents or financial information on their portable drive.

This drive clocks read/write speeds from 110 to 115 MB/s, depending on the test. This puts it in the middle tier for HDDs.

Visually, the hard drive won’t turn any heads, but the ripples on its surface add some style points and make it harder to drop. Otherwise, the plastic storage device is small and light, making it ideally portable.

Pricing

So, how much do you need to pay for the best external portable hard drive for Mac? Thankfully, not too much, even for the 5 TB version we decided to review. The price of this drive is currently $119.99. Do note that, in some cases, the version formatted for macOS can be slightly more expensive. If this is the case and you’re on a tight budget, you can get the Windows one, then reformat it.

Final Thoughts

The moniker ‘My Passport’ truly fits this hard drive. With this macOS external hard drive, you can carry any large files you might need for your travels, knowing that your data is secured by encryption and passwords. If you’re looking for the best external hard drives that work with both major operating systems, look no further.

The search for a stylish external hard drive for a Mac with a Thunderbolt connection can be grueling due to the sheer scarcity of these drives. The Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt is the second entry in the Thunderbolt-compatible bus-powered series. This drive rocks a sleek, silver look that will match perfectly with your macOS laptop. It’s cheaper than most other Thunderbolt-ready drives, has great read/write speeds, and is compatible with Time Machine and Disk Utility.

Overview

The Buffalo MiniStation ThunderBolt’s fancy silver-and-white finish suggests the drive was made with Mac users in mind, which is why it features on most lists of the best external hard drives for Mac computers. The drive’s design is otherwise minimalistic, with its USB ports being the only thing standing out on the surface.

This macOS-compatible external hard drive comes with two ports - one Thunderbolt and the other USB 3.0. As we mentioned before, new Mac laptops come with a Thunderbolt port. With this type of connection, you can get double the transfer speeds you’d get with a USB-C cable. If your Mac doesn’t have a Thunderbolt port, worry not, as you can take advantage of USB 3.0 transfer speeds. Unfortunately, the MiniStation comes with only one Thunderbolt port, meaning it can only be used as the endpoint in a daisy chain setup.

This hard drive comes with the best format for a macOS external hard drive, meaning Mac customers can start using it immediately. Windows users need to reformat the drive before use.

The Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt is a pretty quick drive, clocking 110 MB/s read speeds, and 95 MB/s for writing. This is pretty quick for an HDD, but it can’t match SSDs in this department.

Pricing

The Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt comes in three variants: 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. This is a pretty small amount of storage for HDD external storage devices (apart from the 2 TB one), and it does not come cheap. The price of the 500 GB version is currently unavailable. The 1 TB drive costs $159.21, while the 2 TB variant will set you back $222.73.

You can definitely find cheaper options when searching for the best 1 TB external hard drive for Mac computers. However, the reason for the slightly inflated price is the Thunderbolt connection. If you’re buying new external storage, paying a bit more for this is worth it.

Final Thoughts

The Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt is clearly built for Apple users. It’s got a Thunderbolt 3 port, has Time Machine backup software compatibility, and its design matches products from this leading digital publisher. Mac users looking for a fast external hard drive will be pretty happy with the MiniStation Thunderbolt if they don’t mind paying over $100 for an HDD.

Not everyone is ready or able to shell out over $200, even for the best external hard drives or SSDs. That’s why macOS users on a tight budget looking for the best solid-state external drive for a Mac might want to look into the Lexar SL100 Pro. This affordable SSD offers outstanding performance, file encryption, and excellent durability. On a strict dollar-to-performance scale, it’s probably the strongest SSD you can get in this price range.

Overview

Let’s start with the visuals. The Lexar SSL100 Pro is made of aluminum and predominantly black. Having reviewed a lot of drives, we consider this design fairly stale; it can hardly be differentiated from other portable options. Still, it’s easy on the eyes, and users who prefer a sleek, minimalistic design will probably like it. Otherwise, this SSD is small and light, but still larger than the T7 Touch, for example.

Why is this drive on our list? Firstly, it performs very well. The drive’s maximum read speed is 950 MB/s, while the top write speed is 900 MB/s. It’s not the quickest out there, but you’ll struggle to find a faster option for this price. This external hard drive uses USB-C connections, meaning you’ll get great transfer speeds and can connect it to Thunderbolt 3 devices, or use USB 2.0. The drive also works with cables whose both ends require USB-C ports and USB-C-to-USB-A cables, which is always great to see.

The format is exFAT, so you can use it on both Windows and macOS computers without a problem. The drive also boasts AES 256-bit encryption. This is the strongest encryption currently in use and will keep your files safe from intruders.

Pricing

The Lexar SL100 Pro is available in 500 GB and 1 TB versions. Currently, the 500 GB version is listed for $122.96 on Amazon, while the 1TB option will set you back $185.99. For a portable SSD, this is pretty cheap.

Final Thoughts

Is this the best external SSD for Mac laptops? Probably not. However, unless you’re a power user, bent on getting the maximum possible speeds or a massive amount of storage, the Lexar SL100 Pro has everything you might need: good security, excellent speeds, and affordable pricing.