External drives, ranked
Best external hard drive UK 2026: WD My Passport 5TB at £36.00 per TB, Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB, Samsung T7 Shield SSD and a NAS drive note, with prices.
On this page
The best external hard drive for most buyers in the UK is the WD My Passport 5TB, at £179.99 on Amazon UK at the time of writing (October 2026), which is £36.00 per TB with a 3-year warranty and 256-bit AES encryption. A buyer who wants speed should pay for the Samsung T7 Shield 1TB SSD at £187.96, and one who wants the lowest price per TB should buy the Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB at £232.99.
Prices were taken on 16 October 2026. For internal SSDs, see Best NVMe SSD for gaming UK 2026.
At a glance
| Job | Drive | Price | Per TB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backups and photo libraries, carried in a bag | WD My Passport 5TB | £179.99 | £36.00 |
| Cheapest portable drive | Seagate Portable 2TB | £95.99 | £48.00 |
| Games, video editing, fast copies | Samsung T7 Shield 1TB | £187.96 | £187.96 |
| Lowest cost per TB on a desk | Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB | £232.99 | £29.12 |
How much does a hard disk cost per TB in 2026?
A hard disk costs between £27.83 and £48.00 per TB on Amazon UK in October 2026, and capacity sets the price more than brand does. The 12 TB WD Elements Desktop costs 42 percent less per TB than the 2 TB Seagate Portable. Portable SSDs sit in a different league at £110.00 to £187.96 per TB.
| Drive | Type | Capacity | Price | Per TB | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD Elements Desktop 12TB | Desktop HDD | 12 TB | £333.99 | £27.83 | Mains adapter |
| Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB | Desktop HDD | 8 TB | £232.99 | £29.12 | 2 years + 2 rescue |
| WD My Passport 5TB | Portable HDD | 5 TB | £179.99 | £36.00 | 3 years |
| Seagate IronWolf 4TB | NAS HDD (internal) | 4 TB | £180.00 | £45.00 | 3 years + 3 rescue |
| Seagate Portable 2TB | Portable HDD | 2 TB | £95.99 | £48.00 | 2 years + rescue |
| Crucial X9 2TB | Portable SSD | 2 TB | £219.99 | £110.00 | Not listed |
| Samsung T7 Shield 1TB | Portable SSD | 1 TB | £187.96 | £187.96 | 3 years |
Buying one large portable drive beats buying several small ones. Two and a half Seagate Portable 2TB drives (5 TB) cost £239.98, which is £59.99 more than one WD My Passport 5TB and leaves three devices to lose.
Should you buy an external hard drive or an external SSD?
A hard drive suits backups and archives, and an SSD suits anything opened often. The WD My Passport lists a maximum transfer rate of 120 MB/s, while Samsung rates the T7 Shield at 1,050 MB/s reads and 1,000 MB/s writes, about 8.75 times faster on paper.
The gap shows up in copy times. Moving 500 GB takes 69 minutes at 120 MB/s and 8 minutes at 1,000 MB/s, using the makers' peak figures; sustained writes on a nearly full SSD can run slower. A full 1 TB copy takes 2 hours 19 minutes on the hard drive and 17 minutes on the SSD.
The interface sets the ceiling. A USB 3.2 Gen 1 link carries 5 Gbps, about 625 MB/s, so a 120 MB/s hard drive uses under a fifth of it. A USB 3.2 Gen 2 link carries 10 Gbps, about 1,250 MB/s, and the T7 Shield uses 84 percent of that. Samsung rates the T7 Shield at IP65 and for 3 m drops and it weighs 98 g, against 210 g for the My Passport. Console owners should read How much storage does a PS5 need? before buying any external drive.
Which external hard drive should you buy?
1. WD My Passport 5TB: best overall
The WD My Passport 5TB is the external hard drive to buy, at £179.99 on Amazon UK at the time of writing (October 2026). It stores 5 TB in a 210 g, bus-powered 2.5-inch case, spins at 5,400 rpm and is backed by Western Digital for 3 years.
WD My Passport 5TB specifications
- Capacity: 5 TB, 2.5-inch
- Interface: USB 3.2 Gen 1, 5 Gbps
- Maximum transfer rate: 120 MB/s (retailer listings of WD's figure)
- Speed: 5400 rpm
- Weight: 210 g
- Security: 256-bit AES hardware encryption
WD My Passport 5TB - pros and cons
Where to buy
Check price
2. Samsung T7 Shield 1TB: best portable SSD
The Samsung T7 Shield 1TB is the portable SSD to buy, at £187.96. It reads at 1,050 MB/s, weighs 98 g and carries IP65 dust and water resistance and a 3 m drop rating. The premium is £7.97 over the 5 TB My Passport for one-fifth of the capacity.
Samsung T7 Shield 1TB specifications
- Capacity: 1 TB
- Speed: 1050 MB/s read, 1000 MB/s write
- Interface: USB 3.2 Gen 2, 10 Gbps
- Weight: 98 g
- Protection: IP65, 3 m drop rating
- Warranty: 3 years
Samsung T7 Shield 1TB - pros and cons
Where to buy
Check price
3. Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB: best value per TB
The Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB costs £232.99, or £29.12 per TB. Seagate describes it as bus-powered over one USB-C cable and lists a 2-year warranty plus 2 years of data rescue services.
Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB specifications
- Capacity: 8 TB, 3.5-inch
- Connection: USB-C
- Power: Bus-powered, 15 W USB-C
- Warranty: 2 years plus 2 years of rescue services
Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB - pros and cons
Where to buy
Check price
4. Seagate Portable 2TB: cheapest to buy
The Seagate Portable 2TB costs £95.99, the lowest entry price of the drives here, but £48.00 per TB. Seagate lists USB 3.0, a 2-year warranty and rescue services.
Seagate Portable 2TB specifications
- Capacity: 2 TB, 2.5-inch
- Interface: USB 3.0, 5 Gbps
- Warranty: 2 years plus rescue services
Seagate Portable 2TB - pros and cons
Where to buy
Check price
At a glance
Radar · 0-100 scores
- WD My Passport 5TB
- Samsung T7 Shield 1TB
- Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB
- Seagate Portable 2TB (STGX2000400)
What is the best HDD for a NAS?
A NAS-rated internal drive is the right HDD for a NAS, and the Seagate IronWolf 4TB (ST4000VNZ06) at £180.00 is the example here. Seagate rates it for 24/7 operation with CMR recording, 5,400 rpm spin, a 180 TB-a-year workload and a 3-year warranty with 3 years of rescue services. That is £45.00 per TB, £9.00 more than the My Passport.
The extra buys the rotational vibration sensors Seagate lists for multi-bay use and a workload rating that desktop drives lack. An external drive is the wrong tool for a NAS bay, because its USB enclosure, not the disk, is what the bay cannot use. A NAS also adds a network, a case and usually two bays to the cost.
Which storage specs matter on an external drive?
Capacity, interface, speed, warranty and ruggedness decide the purchase. The table sets the picks side by side, using the makers' published figures.
| Drive | Capacity | Interface | Speed | Weight | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD My Passport 5TB | 5 TB | USB 3.2 Gen 1, 5 Gbps | About 120 MB/s | 210 g | 3 years |
| Samsung T7 Shield 1TB | 1 TB | USB 3.2 Gen 2, 10 Gbps | 1,050 / 1,000 MB/s | 98 g | 3 years |
| Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB | 8 TB | USB-C, 15 W bus power | Not published | Desktop | 2 years + 2 rescue |
| Seagate IronWolf 4TB | 4 TB | SATA 6 Gb/s (internal) | Not published | Internal | 3 years + 3 rescue |
Warranty length is the clearest quality signal for a hard drive. Dividing the price by the warranty years gives £60.00 per year of cover for the My Passport, £62.65 for the T7 Shield and £116.50 for the One Touch Desktop on its 2 years.
Backups follow a simple rule: three copies, on two kinds of storage, with one off-site. A single external hard drive is one copy. Pairing the WD My Passport 5TB (£179.99) with a second drive or a cloud plan turns it into a backup; the drive alone is storage. Laptop owners choosing the machine first should see Best laptop UK 2026, since a 256 GB or 512 GB internal drive fills quickly with photos and video.
What does the extra money buy?
| Step up | Extra cost | What it buys | What it gives up |
|---|---|---|---|
| WD My Passport 5TB to Samsung T7 Shield 1TB | +£7.97 | About 8.75 times the transfer rate, IP65, a 3 m drop rating, 112 g less weight | 4 TB of capacity |
| Seagate Portable 2TB to WD My Passport 5TB | +£84.00 | 3 TB more, £12.00 less per TB, a year more warranty, encryption | Nothing |
| WD My Passport 5TB to Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB | +£53.00 | 3 TB more, £6.88 less per TB | Portability and a year of warranty |
| Crucial X9 2TB to Samsung T7 Shield 1TB | -£32.03 | IP65, a 3 m drop rating and a 3-year warranty for less money | 1 TB of capacity |
Who should skip an external hard drive?
Buyers who only need to move a few documents should skip it for a USB flash drive or cloud storage. Buyers with one copy of their photos should buy two drives, or a drive and cloud storage, not one bigger drive. Console and PC gamers who want games to load fast should skip hard drives and read Best NVMe SSD for gaming UK 2026. PlayStation owners can also see Best PS5 accessories UK 2026, and anyone planning a new desktop should read Build vs buy a gaming PC in the UK before adding drives.
Verdict
The WD My Passport 5TB at £179.99 is the best external hard drive for most buyers, the Samsung T7 Shield 1TB at £187.96 is the one to buy for speed and toughness, and the Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB at £232.99 wins on price per TB. Internal upgrades are ranked in Best NVMe SSD for gaming UK 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best external hard drive in the UK?
The WD My Passport 5TB is the best external hard drive for most buyers, at £179.99 on Amazon UK at the time of writing (October 2026). That is £36.00 per TB, Western Digital backs it for 3 years, and it adds password protection with 256-bit AES encryption. A buyer who needs speed rather than capacity should choose the Samsung T7 Shield 1TB SSD instead.
How much does a hard disk cost per TB in 2026?
Hard disk prices on Amazon UK in October 2026 run from £27.83 per TB for the WD Elements Desktop 12TB to £48.00 per TB for the Seagate Portable 2TB. Larger capacities cost less per TB. A portable SSD costs far more: the Samsung T7 Shield 1TB works out at £187.96 per TB, about 5.2 times the WD My Passport 5TB.
Is an external SSD better than an external hard drive?
An external SSD is faster, lighter and tougher, but costs more per TB. Samsung rates the T7 Shield at 1,050 MB/s reads and IP65 dust and water resistance, while a portable hard drive such as the WD My Passport manages about 120 MB/s. A hard drive is the better buy for backups and archives where capacity matters more than speed.
What is the best HDD for a NAS?
A NAS-rated internal drive suits a NAS better than an external drive. The Seagate IronWolf 4TB (ST4000VNZ06) costs £180.00 on Amazon UK at the time of writing (October 2026), uses CMR recording, spins at 5,400 rpm and carries a 180 TB-a-year workload rating and a 3-year warranty, according to Seagate.
Do external hard drives need power?
Portable 2.5-inch drives such as the WD My Passport 5TB draw power from the USB port and need no adapter. Many 3.5-inch desktop drives, such as the WD Elements Desktop 12TB, use a mains adapter. The Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB is an exception: Seagate lists it as bus-powered over USB-C, needing a 15 W USB-C port.
Which storage specs matter on an external drive?
Five specs matter: capacity in TB, interface speed in Gbps, read and write speed in MB/s, warranty in years and ruggedness. A USB 3.2 Gen 1 link carries 5 Gbps, about 625 MB/s, which is ample for a 120 MB/s hard drive. A USB 3.2 Gen 2 link carries 10 Gbps, which a 1,050 MB/s SSD needs.
How long does an external hard drive last?
Makers do not publish a lifespan, so the warranty is the best guide: 3 years on the WD My Passport 5TB and the Samsung T7 Shield 1TB, 2 years on the Seagate One Touch Desktop 8TB. A hard drive has moving parts and can fail without warning, so important files belong on two drives or one drive plus cloud storage.