The Best External SSDs for Mac

There are plenty of external hard drives, including solid-state drives, that promise Mac-compatibility, but reviews often point out that some of these promises fall short. I have scoured multiple sites to try and find reliable, bullet-proof, Mac OS-friendly solid-state drives (SSD). Here are the seven best:

Samsung X5 Portable SSD - 500GB - Thunderbolt 3 External SSD

Not to be confused with the Samsung T5 that I have mentioned in other posts, the Samsung’s X5 is the Thunderbolt 3 SSD model and highly rated by Mac users. It doesn’t come cheap, but you can get the 500GB model for about $220. It is one of the fastest SSDs on the market today, with read and write performance levels of up to 2,800MB/s and 2,300MB/s, respectively. It’s a pretty elegant drive, too, if you ask me. 

Adata SD700 External SSD 256GB

This compact drive has made it onto several lists I have written in this external hard drives series. I like the square shape and rugged case that is built to military-grade standards. Although very few people want to test whether a drive will actually survive a 2-meter drop, this one looks up to the task. I’m sure there are some YouTubers who have done drop tests if you want to search. This 256GB SSD is also a good value for $80. 

Seagate Fast SSD 500GB External Solid-State Drive Portable – USB-C USB 3.0 for PC Laptop and Mac

You cannot go wrong choosing any kind of Seagate hard drive. These guys are arguably the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in the hard drive marketplace. At $90, this 500GB solid-state drive comes with the usual three-year warranty, plus another perk: two months of a cloud-based Adobe CC photography plan.

LaCie 500GB Mobile SSD High‑Performance External SSD USB-C USB 3.0

I first discovered this drive on the Apple website with the “Only at Apple” label—but then I found it Amazon. For less. It sells for $110 on Amazon, $130 on Apple. So I’ll leave it to you to decide how much you want to pay for the same device. LaCie is made by Seagate, so it is reputable brand and, clearly, Apple trusts it enough to list it on its own site.

Glyph Atom RAID SSD 1TB (External USB-C, USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 3)

This Glyph drive caught my attention because it states upfront that it is “Formatted for Mac, Simple Reformat for Windows.” Usually, the opposite is in the specs and Mac users have extra steps to take, so I found this brand to be worth inclusion. At $250 for 1TB, it is a lightning-fast SSD with data transfer speeds of up to 950MB per second. Plus, it comes in a rugged shock resistant case.

G-Technology 500GB G-DRIVE mobile SSD Durable Portable External Storage - USB-C 

A lot of Mac users say this is the best external drive they have ever purchased. For $110, you get a tough 500GB SSD with an exceptional five-year warranty. 

Sabrent Rocket Pro 2TB NVMe USB 3.1 External Aluminum SSD

This hard-drive brand is not super well-known, but it packs some of the newest hard-drive technology into it. The newer “NVMe drives” (as compared to more common SATA drives) are faster than nearly any other solid-state drive at 10GB per second. That makes them run a bit hotter than other drives (thus the full aluminum case). But at $260 for 2TB of storage, this Sabrent Rocket Pro is worth a look.