The best external hard drives are essential devices for all PC users. That's because an external hard drive makes it easy to quickly and seamlessly transfer large files between your machines, especially if you have a slow local connection. This not only saves you time but potentially money as well. Whether you're working from home or at the office, carrying an external hard drive in your backpack or pocket gives you continuous access to your files.

The same is also true if you need to back up your computer regularly. A large HDD-based external hard drive will do the trick for that, but if you need to create a second backup for peace of mind and keep that in a separate location, an SSD-based drive will suit you. Thankfully, these aren't the slow, heavy external drives of the past.

1.WD Black P50

A stylish, expensive external hard drive

The WD Black P50 comes from respected hard drive manufacturer Western Digital. As such, it’s not surprising that it’s one of the best external hard driver you can buy. This SSD features 1 TB storage space, as well as a stylish, durable design and very quick transfer speeds.

Granted, the P50 is extremely expensive as these things go, offering similar storage to other SSDs at approximately twice the price. That’s arguably because WD designed the hardware with PCs in mind; indeed, you can get better performance if you hook the P50 up to a computer. But if you’ve got the money, it’s one of the best external hard drives you can buy.

2.SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD

The best versatile hard drive

No matter what you want from the best external hard drive, the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD delivers it.

Convenient design? It’s small and light enough to fit in your hand but not get lost in your pocket or bag. Suave looks? Its rounded corners, black-and-red coloration, delicately pockmarked front and soft-touch back give it an appearance and feel that are both thoroughly modern and refreshingly classic.

Ok, how about speed? The USB 3.1 version of the Extreme Pro Portable SSD is rated for sequential reads of 1,050MBps, and in our own performance tests, it routinely came out at or near the top of the rankings. The SanDisk Secure Access application applies general encryption, too.

The drive is a shade expensive, and the integrated carrying loop is too big to easily fit on a standard keychain. Otherwise, this is an excellent storage device that's ideal for heavy everyday use.

3.WD My Passport SSD

A speedy and colorful portable drive

The WD My Passport SSD with USB 3.2 doesn’t look like its travel-enabling namesake, the My Passport Go, but it’s all ready to go places. It’s small (3.9x 2.2x 0.4 inches) and attractive, with its shiny ridged surface and choice of five snazzy colors (blue, gold, gray, red, and silver).

With a price per gigabyte of $0.19, the 1TB model is one of the most expensive drives we tested. And its included USB Type-C cable is exceedingly short: 6.5 inches, which makes using this drive a bit of a hassle on either laptop or desktop computers. (A Type-A adapter comes in the package to ensure the drive will work with a wide variety of systems.) But these are small nitpicks that don’t detract from one of the best external hard drives around.

4.Samsung Portable SSD T7

Sleek meets speedy with this portable SSD

The Samsung Portable SSD T7 looks like the T5, with its rectangular figure adorned by rounded corners, though it’s a little bigger and heavier and its software is identical. It comes in somewhat more exciting color choices, with Indigo Blue, Titan Gray, and Metallic Red variations available for its 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities.

The biggest difference is that Samsung rates the drive at 1,050 MBps, and we saw much higher results in our tests. It completed our file copy test 20 seconds faster, for example.

But with a cost of $0.23 per gigabyte, this is one of the most expensive drives we’ve seen (though you may be able to find it online for cheaper). If you care more about the Samsung name, the drive’s design, and the speed than you do about value, the T7 delivers more than enough to appreciate and justify itself.