Key Takeaways
- SanDisk Pro G40: Recommended for its incredibly fast Thunderbolt connection, pocket-sized portability. Full review.
- Other Contenders: Samsung S9 Portable, Samsung T7 Shield, VectoTech Rapid, WD My Passport and SanDisk Extreme Pro each all noted for high-performance, reliability and compatibility with macOS.
- Considerations choosing an SSD: Important factors to consider when selecting an external SSD for using with a Mac include data transfer speed, durability, capacity, and connectivity options. Thunderbolt connections are particularly recommended due to their high-speed data transfer capabilities essential for video editing and large file backups.
- Benefits of an external SSD: Benefits over traditional hard drives include enhanced data transfer speeds, improved durability due to the lack of moving parts, and the ease of expanding storage without needing to open up the Mac.
SSDs (Solid State Drives) used to be the most expensive hard drives on the market and while they’re still more expensive than mechanical HDDs, they’re a lot cheaper than they used to be.
The SATA internal hard drives in all new Macs use SSD technology because unlike mechanical drives, SSDs have no moving parts meaning they’re far faster, quieter, more efficient and durable.
This is because instead of using spinning platters to save data like HDDs, SSDs use NAND memory chips instead.
This also makes them much faster as the average external SSD can write at up to 1050MB/s which is almost 10 times faster than external mechanical HDD drives that write at around 115MB/s.
Apart from speed, SSDs are much smaller, lighter and more portable than HDDs.
But which one should you go for? Which SSDs work best with Macs? Which ones work best with Apple Silicon Macs?
Here we’ve done the hard work for you to give you our lowdown on the best external SSDs for Mac of 2024.
Quick Navigation
- 1. SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD
- 2. Samsung T9 Portable SSD
- 3. Samsung T7 Shield Portable
- 4. VectoTech Rapid 8TB External SSD
- 5. WD 4TB My Passport For Mac SSD Portable
- 6. SanDisk 4TB Extreme Portable
- How To Choose An SSD: Buying Guide
- Thunderbolt vs USB-C
- Formatting SSDs For Macs
- External SSD Downsides
- Can You Use an External SSD as a Boot Drive?
- Do These SSDs Work With iPads and iPhones too?
1. SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD
The SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD already won our vote as the best Thunderbolt drive for Macs and it’s also the best SSD too.
Although Thunderbolt SSDs are always a bit more expensive, the SanDisk Pro G40 doesn’t cost much more than the other SSDs and is definitely good value for the incredible transfer speeds it offers.
Because it’s able to fully utilize Thunderbolt 3 and 4 ports on Macs, you can enjoy read-write transfer speeds of at least 2500MB/s which is more than twice as fast as most non-Thunderbolt SSDs featured here.
We found that it achieved Write speeds of 2640 MB/s and Read speeds of 2747 MB/s via Thunderbolt 4 on an M3 MacBook Pro which is pretty outstanding.
With these speeds, its firmly aimed at creative users such as video editors and graphic designers that transfer several GB of data regularly.
In our testing, it managed to transfer 20GB of data from our Mac in just 1 minute and 39 seconds as you can see below.
The SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD is surprisingly durable too with an IP68 rating for water resistance and drop resistant up to 3 meters according to SanDisk.
It’s available in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB versions with the biggest version costing around $399.99.
The SanDisk Pro G40 also offers an excellent alternative to the much more expensive Samsung X5 which used to the best Thunderbolt drive out there but is now discontinued.
If you want the fastest SSD for your Mac and impressive durability, the SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD is the best external SSD you can get.
For more on this incredibly zippy SSD, you can check-out our full SanDisk Pro G-40 review.
Pros:
- Supports Thunderbolt for incredibly fast transfer speeds of around 2500MB/s
- IP68 rated with impressive durability
- Also works with any USB-C port on other computers
- Cheaper alternative to the discontinued Samsung X5
Cons:
- Price
2. Samsung T9 Portable SSD
If you don’t have the budget for a Thunderbolt SSD then the Samsung T9 Portable SSD is the next best thing thanks to fast USB 3.2 Gen 2.2 read-write speeds, portability and reliability.
The Samsung T9 is incredibly small at just 3.46 x 2.36 x 0.55 inches and weighs just 4.3 ounces so it’s small enough to take anywhere.
Although it’s capable of up to read/write speeds of 2000MB/s, it doesn’t support Thunderbolt so Mac Mac users will only get speeds of around half this for reasons explained here.
The Samsung T9 Portable has a shock cover although it’s not marketed as shock resistant and if this is important to you, check out Samsung’s T7 shield portable below.
One clever feature of the T9 is that if it detects that the drive is getting too hot, it slows down transfer to reduce the risk of damage to the drive and preserve the lifetime of it.
You can also format the Samsung T9 in multiple formats and partitions so for example, you could have half the drive formatted in APFS and the other half in exFAT.
The only downside is the Samsung software that comes with it which you don’t have to use but is supposed to help you manage the disk more easily but Samsung are often slow to update it for new versions of macOS.
If you’re looking for incredibly fast transfer speeds, the latest in SSD technology, portability and durability, the Samsung T9 is the best Mac SSD for all round performance and value for money.
Pros:
- Best non-Thunderbolt SSD
- 1TB, 2TB and 4TB available
- Allows you to partition the drive
- Manages heat to prevent damage to the drive
- Compact
- Reliable
Cons:
- Samsung drive software can be unstable on Macs
3. Samsung T7 Shield Portable
The Samsung T7 Shield Portable (note that there is no T9 Shield Portable) is a tougher, more rugged version of the older T7 Portable (which is basically a slower version of the T9) with a stronger rubber sleeve for outdoor use.
It’s a bit cheaper than the standard Samsung T7 Portable and is a better option if you’re going to be on the move a lot, particularly outdoors such as doing photography or filming video.
Samsung claim that the T7 Portable can withstand being dropped from a height of 3 meters and it is IP65 rated for dust and water resistance.
It’s available in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB versions and like the standard version, can be used with the Samsung Portable SSD app to password protect and encrypt the drive.
It has a USB-C port and cable but also includes a USB-A adapter for connecting to older Macs.
The dimensions of the Samsung T7 Shield Portable are slightly bigger than the standard T7 model but it still fits into a coat pocket or backpack easily.
With a USB-C connection connected to your Mac, you will get read-write speeds above 1000MB/s with the Samsung T7 Shield Portable which makes transferring files back and forth extremely quick.
Pros:
- Extremely durable
- Water and dust resistant
- Drop resistant up to 3 meters
- The most portable SSD drive we’ve seen
- Available in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB
- USB-A connection for older Macs too
Cons:
- Samsung drive software can be unstable on Macs
4. VectoTech Rapid 8TB External SSD
The VectoTech Rapid External SSD is one of the only external SSDs with a capacity of up to 8TB.
While most external SSDs have a maximum of 4TB space, the VectoTech Rapid External SSD offers an 8TB model for those that need extra storage space.
It has a USB-C port although because it only supports USB 3.2 Gen 2, the maximum transfer speed is a bit slow at 540MB/s for an SSD but if this is not an issue for you, the extra storage space is a huge plus.
The other big plus is that the VectoTech Rapid External SSD doesn’t require an external power supply as it’s powered by the USB-C port.
The aluminum casing is surprisingly durable with drop resistance up to around 1.8 meters (6 feet) and doesn’t get hot to the touch.
Like most SSDs, it’s also incredibly quiet with no moving parts inside like you get with HDDs.
Finally the VectoTech Rapid External SSD works out of the box with Macs as it’s formatted in exFAT format so you can start transferring files or use Time Machine to back-up immediately.
Pros:
- 8TB of storage available
- No external power supply needed
- Durable and reliable performance
Cons:
- Relatively slow transfer speed for an SSD
- Price
5. WD 4TB My Passport For Mac SSD Portable
WD make some of the best external hard drives on the market and it’s no surprise the WD 4TB My Passport SSD Portable is one of the best SSD external drives specifically for Mac.
The WD My Passport For Mac SSD is the solid state drive version of the incredibly popular WD My Passport For Mac HDD which is the slower mechanical version of this drive.
One thing we like about WD is that they work straight out of the box with Macs so there’s no need to format them first. Just plug it in and Time Machine will start backing-up right away
It can achieve read speeds of up to 1050MB/s and write speeds of up to 1000MB/s although it’s likely you’ll get a little less than this in practice.
The WD My Passport is drop resistant up to 6.5ft (1.98m) and is cross compatible with USB 3.2 Gen-2 and USB-C (USB-A for older systems).
It also has a USB Micro-B port and comes with two cables: USB-A to USB Micro-B and USB-C to USB Micro-B.
Since Macs have Thunderbolt-3 which uses a type-C port, it works perfectly well with Macs although you won’t quite the speeds of a dedicated Thunderbolt connection.
If you want a reliable, fast and durable drive that works out of the box with Macs, the WD My Passport SSD is one of the best SSDs you can get.
Pros:
- Reliable
- AES-256 encryption
- 3 year warranty
- Up to 4TB storage capacity
Cons:
- WD backup software
6. SanDisk 4TB Extreme Portable
The SanDisk Extreme Portable is a more portable but slower version of our top pick, the SanDisk Professional Pro G40.
The SanDisk 4TB Extreme Portable can read at 1050MB/s and write at up to 1000MB/s.
It’s also one of the strongest external SSDs on the market with up to 2 meter drop protection and IP55 water and dust resistance.
To protect your data, there’s also the option to add a password to it with 256‐bit AES hardware encryption although if you want security, the Samsung T7 Portable Touch includes more secure fingerprint activation.
Pros:
- Unbelievably fast read/write speeds
- IP55 water & dust resistant
- 5 year warranty
Cons:
- Gets hot with intensive use
How To Choose An SSD: Buying Guide
If you’re still not sure which SSD to go for, here are some things to consider to help you in the right direction.
Thunderbolt vs USB-C
If speed is your main concern, we strongly recommend going with an SSD that supports Thunderbolt connections.
If you use an SSD with a Thunderbolt connection, you”ll get speeds of up to 2500Mb/s which is twice as fast as most USB-C SSDs are capable of.
The reason is because most SSDs only support USB 3.2 Gen 2 connections which Macs can’t fully utilize.
The result of this is that although many SSDs are advertised as achieving read/write speeds of up to 1050MB/s (or even 2000 MB/s with USB Gen 2.2 connections), Macs can only use half of this.
Bear in mind though that drives that support Thunderbolt are more expensive however.
For more on this, check out our guide the best Thunderbolt drives for Mac.
Formatting SSDs For Macs
Most SSDs are already formatted out-of-the-box for use with Macs but some are only formatted for Windows.
Since macOS High Sierra, macOS no longer uses the old HFS+ format and now macOS uses Apple File System (APFS) which works across macOS and iOS.
However, any external hard drive that is formatted with HFS+ still works on the latest versions of macOS but using APFS provides better security and cross compatibility with iOS.
If you just intend to use the SSD with your Mac and iPad or iPhone then formatting the drive in HFS+ or APFS is fine.
However, if you want to be able to transfer files back and forth between a Windows PC and your Mac then you’ll need to format the hard drive with the exFAT file system.
This is because HFS+ and APFS are not compatible with Windows.
For more, check out our guide how to reformat an external drive on a Mac.
External SSD Downsides
- Cost: The main disadvantage of SSDs vs standard HDDs is the price as you pay more for less storage space. SSDs are usually at least twice as expensive as mechanical drives. For example, whereas the mechanical WD My Passport For Mac HDD 5TB drive costs just over $100, the WD MyPassport 2TB SSD Drive costs almost $300 for less than half the capacity. If you buy one with a Thunderbolt connection, then they cost even more.
- Capacity: External SSDs also have less capacity and usually only go up to a maximum of around 4TB whereas you can find external HDDs of 18TB or even more.However, there are some drives such as the VectoTech Rapid External SSD that go up to 8TB.
- Lifespan: In terms of durability, although SSDs are far more durable and last longer than mechanical HDD drives, the memory cells in SSDs eventually age and die although you should get at least 5 years of usage out of one and probably much more. This is because Solid State Disks have a maximum number of writes or “endurance” which is referred to as TBW (terabytes written) and is typically 65 to 150 TBW.
Can You Use an External SSD as a Boot Drive?
All of the external SSDs reviewed here can be used as a boot disk with your Mac. Most Mac users buy an external SSD for extra storage space but some people want one to boot their Mac from.
This is because using an external SSD as your Mac’s boot drive will make your Mac faster, especially if you’re using an older Intel Mac.
Do These SSDs Work With iPads and iPhones too?
All SSDs work with iPad and iPhones as they can be formatted in the APFS format which works on both macOS and iOS.
Discover more from MacHow2
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.