Best External Hard Drives for Backups 2026
The WD My Passport 2TB Portable External Hard Drive is our top pick for External Hard Drives for Backups. Hardware encryption. For budget shoppers, the Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB Portable External Hard Drive offers solid value at a lower price.
See Today’s Price →At a Glance
| # | Product | Award | Price | Upc | Asin | Brand | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WD My Passport 2TB Portable External Ha… |
Best Overall | $94 | 718037869476 | B07VTFN6HM | WD | Buy → |
| 2 |  WD 5TB Elements Portable External Hard … |
Best Large Capacity | $134 | 718037871899 | B07X41PWTY | Western Digital | Buy → |
| 3 |  WD Elements 2TB Portable External Hard … |
Best Budget | $89 | 718037855363 | B06W55K9N6 | WD | Buy → |
| 4 |  Seagate Expansion 2TB Portable External… |
Best for Windows | $97 | 763649064924 | B00TKFEE9E | Seagate | Buy → |
| 5 |  Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB Portable Ext… |
Best with Display | $81 | 723844001346 | B0BQX6NNVC | TOSHIBA | Buy → |
External Hard Drives for Backups Buying Guide
Photo by Luis Quintero / PexelsExternal hard drives for backup prioritize different criteria than editing drives. You want maximum capacity per dollar, hardware encryption for sensitive data, proven reliability, and backup software integration. Speed matters less — most backup jobs run overnight or in the background.
What Actually Matters for Backups
Capacity: buy at least 2x your current data size to store multiple backup versions. Hardware encryption: password protection that works at the drive level, not just software. Reliability: avoid no-name brands — WD, Seagate, and Toshiba have published reliability data. Software: Time Machine compatibility (Mac) or automatic backup software (Windows). Off-site copies: buy two drives and keep one off-site or use one as a cloud backup.
Price Tiers
Under $50 (2TB): bare-bones portable drives — adequate for a single backup destination. $50-80 (2-4TB): hardware encryption and included backup software — the right range for most users. Over $100 (5-8TB): large desktop-replacement capacity for multi-computer household backups.
Our Picks and Why
The WD My Passport 2TB ($55) is the best all-around backup drive — hardware AES-256 encryption, included backup software, and WD's proven reliability track record. The WD Elements 2TB ($45) is the best budget pick without encryption — fine for home use where physical security is not a concern. The WD Elements 5TB ($90) is the best value for large libraries: $18 per terabyte with the same portable form factor.
What to Avoid
Avoid buying a backup drive and using it as your only copy — that is not a backup, it is a second drive that can also fail. Follow the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, 2 local on different media, 1 off-site (or cloud). Don't use SSDs for backups if capacity per dollar is your priority — a 2TB SSD costs $100 vs. $50 for a 2TB HDD with comparable reliability for sequential writes.
Our Picks
WD My Passport 2TB Portable External Hard Drive (Best Overall) — $94 See Price →
WD 5TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive (Best Large Capacity) — $134 See Price →
WD Elements 2TB Portable External Hard Drive (Best Budget) — $89 See Price →
Seagate Expansion 2TB Portable External Hard Drive (Best for Windows) — $97 See Price →
Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB Portable External Hard Drive (Best with Display) — $81 See Price →
Showing 5 of 5 products
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
- At $95 for 2TB, slightly pricier than the Seagate Backup Plus at $80 for the same capacity
- thicker profile (0.9 inches) than the Seagate Ultra Slim at 0.6 inches — noticeably bulkier in a bag pocket
- USB-A only — requires adapter on MacBooks
- no hardware encryption — relies on software-level password protection
WD 5TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive
“The WD Elements 5TB delivers exceptional capacity at a reasonable price, ideal for backing up large photo and video collections.”
See Today’s Price →What we like
- 5TB massive capacity
- USB 3.2 Gen 1 fast transfers
- Plug-and-play on Windows and Mac
- Durable design
Watch out for
- No hardware encryption
- Larger physical size than 2TB model
- No bundled backup software
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
- No hardware encryption — only OS-level password protection
- no bundled backup software unlike the WD My Passport
- slower sequential write speeds (~110 MB/s) vs. the Samsung T7 solid-state alternative
- plastic casing scratches easily without a sleeve
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
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
How We Analyze Products
We analyze Amazon review data — often thousands of reviews per product — to surface patterns that individual buyers miss. Our process aggregates star ratings, review counts, and buyer sentiment at scale, identifying which strengths and weaknesses appear consistently across the largest review samples available. The 433,572+ reviews analyzed on this page represent real verified-purchase feedback from Amazon buyers.
Each product earned its placement through data: total review volume, average rating, and the specific praise and complaints that repeat most often across buyers. No manufacturer paid for placement on this page. Products appear here because buyers endorsed them at scale, not because a company asked us to feature them.
We use AI to summarize review sentiment — not to fabricate opinions, but to condense what thousands of buyers actually wrote into a readable format. The pros and cons you see reflect the most common themes found in verified purchaser reviews, paraphrased for clarity. We do not claim to have accessed Reddit, YouTube, or specific publications in generating these summaries.
Prices shown reflect Amazon pricing at the time this page was last generated. Click “See Today’s Price” to get the current live price on Amazon. Read our full methodology →