Best External Hard Drives for Mac 2026
The Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB is the best external hard drive for Mac — plug-and-play Mac compatibility, USB 3.0 speeds, and a 2TB capacity handle both Time Machine backups and photo library storage without reformatting.
See Today’s Price →At a Glance
| # | Product | Award | Price | Upc | Asin | Brand | Our Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB Portable Ext… |
Best Overall | $81 | 723844001346 | B0BQX6NNVC | TOSHIBA | 9.2 | Buy → |
| 2 |  Seagate Expansion 2TB Portable External… |
Best Value | $97 | 763649064924 | B00TKFEE9E | Seagate | 8.9 | Buy → |
| 3 |  WD Elements 2TB Portable External Hard … |
Also Excellent | $89 | 718037855363 | B06W55K9N6 | WD | 8.5 | Buy → |
| 4 |  WD My Passport 2TB Portable External Ha… |
$94 | 718037869476 | B07VTFN6HM | WD | 8.2 | Buy → |
Showing 4 of 4 products
Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB Portable External Hard Drive
“The Toshiba Canvio Advance offers solid performance, color variety, and a 2-year warranty at a budget price — a reliable alternative to the WD/Seagate duopoly.”
See Today’s Price →What we like
- 2-year Toshiba warranty
- Available in multiple colors
- USB 3.0
- Canvio Simple backup software for Windows
Watch out for
- Mac requires reformatting out of the box
Seagate Expansion 2TB Portable External Hard Drive
“The Seagate Expansion is the go-to drive for game console storage — plug into Xbox or PlayStation and immediately expand your game library without any configuration.”
See Today’s Price →What we like
- Works with Xbox One and PS4/PS5 for game storage expansion
- USB 3.0
- Simple plug-and-play
Watch out for
- Older design — not as slim as Backup Plus
WD Elements 2TB Portable External Hard Drive
“WD Elements is the no-frills 2TB drive that just works — no software, no encryption, just storage at the best price per gigabyte.”
See Today’s Price →What we like
- Lowest price for 2TB
- USB 3.0
- Plug-and-play with no software required
- WD reliability
Watch out for
WD My Passport 2TB Portable External Hard Drive
“WD's My Passport adds hardware encryption and password protection to its already solid reliability — the best choice for anyone storing sensitive files or business data.”
See Today’s Price →What we like
- Hardware encryption
- Password protection
- WD Backup software included
- 3-year warranty
Watch out for
External Hard Drives for Mac Buying Guide
Photo by Avinash Kumar / PexelsOur Top Pick
Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB Portable External Hard Drive at $81.99 — The Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB is the best external hard drive for Mac — plug-and-play Mac compatibility, USB 3.0 spe....
Budget Pick: WD Elements 2TB Portable External Hard Drive at $89.99 — a solid choice if you're watching your budget.
Great for: Photographers, videographers, and anyone with large files that exceed laptop storage, and backup-conscious users
Not ideal if: You live in the cloud and have reliable fast internet everywhere — local storage solves a problem you don't have
Format: APFS or HFS+ for Mac Performance
External hard drives for Mac work best when they are pre-formatted in a Mac-compatible format. Most drives ship in NTFS (Windows format) or exFAT (compatible with both but slower on Mac). For a Mac-only drive, reformatting to APFS (for SSDs on macOS Mojave+) or HFS+ (Mac OS Extended Journaled) gives the best performance.Time Machine: HFS+ Required, Not APFS
Interface: USB 3.0 Speed vs. USB-C
The drive interface matters: USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) is standard on all current drives and sufficient for HDD speeds. USB-C (3.1 Gen 2, 10 Gbps) is faster but the HDD mechanism itself maxes at 120-160 MB/s regardless of interface — the cable speed is not the bottleneck. For Apple Silicon Macs (M1-M4), any USB-C drive with an adapter works perfectly.Capacity: 2-3x Your Mac's Internal Storage
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to reformat an external hard drive for Mac?
Can I use an external hard drive with both Mac and Windows?
What is the difference between an HDD and SSD external drive?
How do I use an external hard drive for Time Machine on Mac?
What capacity external hard drive do I need for a Mac backup?
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