Cheapest Portable External Hard Drives by Price per TB

In our data, yes. Portable drives have a median of $65 per TB, against $38 for desktop external drives and $49 for internal drives. You pay for the small size and bus power.

Yes, that is what it is for. Power it down and eject it properly before moving it, because a spinning drive is more sensitive to knocks than an SSD.

A portable SSD is faster and more shock-resistant but costs more per TB. A portable hard drive is the budget option for backups and archives.

There is no single best. For backups, pick the lowest price per TB at the capacity you need, from a brand with a clear warranty, and keep a second copy of anything important.

Most 2.5-inch portable drives run from the USB port. Larger desktop drives usually need a separate power adapter.

Across 252 listings, the middle 80% range from about $45 to $109 per TB, with a median of $65. That is 30% above the all-HDD median of $50 per TB. Prices change often, so check the current price on Amazon before you buy.

At the last update it is Portable 2.5-inch 500GB External Hard Drive | Plug and Play USB 3.0, Durable ..., at $21 per TB. The cheapest listing is not always the best buy, so compare warranty, speed and reviews.