87
Rank
|
Kagoo Score
|
Average Review Rating
|
Price
|
USB Powered
|
Weight
|
Hard Drive Capacity
|
Available Colours
|
Release Date
|
|||||||||||||||
90 ![]()
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital P10 Game Drive ‑ 5Tb
|
£104.99
Currys
+5 more shops
|
Info
|
230g
Info
|
5TB
Info
|
Info
|
Jul 2019
|
||||||||||||||||
89 ![]()
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital My Passport ‑ 4Tb
|
£89.99
Currys
+11 more shops
|
Info
|
250g
Info
|
4TB
Info
|
Info
|
Jul 2019
|
||||||||||||||||
89 ![]()
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital P10 Game Drive ‑ 4Tb
|
£92.99
Currys
+5 more shops
|
Info
|
330g
Info
|
4TB
Info
|
Info
|
Jul 2019
|
||||||||||||||||
89 ![]()
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital My Passport for Mac ‑ 5Tb
|
£120.52
Ebuyer
+1 more shop
|
Info
|
210g
Info
|
5TB
Info
|
Info
|
Jul 2019
|
||||||||||||||||
88 ![]()
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Seagate Game Drive ‑ 2Tb |
£62.98
PC World Business
+16 more shops
|
Info
|
169g
Info
|
2TB
Info
|
Info
|
May 2020
|
||||||||||||||||
88
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital D10 ‑ 8Tb |
£149.99
Currys
+6 more shops
|
Info
|
980g
Info
|
8TB
Info
|
Info
|
Jul 2019
|
||||||||||||||||
88
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital P10 Game Drive ‑ 2Tb |
£62.99
Currys
+5 more shops
|
Info
|
140g
Info
|
2TB
Info
|
Info
|
Dec 2018
|
||||||||||||||||
87
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch ‑ 2Tb |
£62.10
Ebuyer
+4 more shops
|
Info
|
151g
Info
|
2TB
Info
|
Info
|
Feb 2019
|
||||||||||||||||
87
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Seagate One Touch ‑ 5Tb |
£97.92
Ebuyer
+6 more shops
|
Info
|
268g
Info
|
5TB
Info
|
Info
|
May 2019
|
||||||||||||||||
87
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Seagate One Touch ‑ 4Tb |
£86.88
Ebuyer
+5 more shops
|
Info
|
268g
Info
|
4TB
Info
|
Info
|
May 2019
|
||||||||||||||||
87
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital Elements Portable ‑ 5Tb |
£144.38
Ebuyer
+3 more shops
|
Info
|
230g
Info
|
5TB
Info
|
Info
|
Apr 2019
|
||||||||||||||||
87
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital Elements Portable ‑ 2Tb |
£55.99
Argos
+10 more shops
|
Info
|
230g
Info
|
2TB
Info
|
Info
|
Nov 2017
|
||||||||||||||||
86
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital Elements ‑ 8Tb |
£144.99
PC World Business
+7 more shops
|
Info
|
950g
Info
|
8TB
Info
|
Info
|
Jun 2017
|
||||||||||||||||
86
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital Elements Portable ‑ 4Tb |
£81.63
Ebuyer
+10 more shops
|
Info
|
230g
Info
|
4TB
Info
|
Info
|
Jun 2017
|
||||||||||||||||
86
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital My Passport ‑ 2TB |
£59.99
Currys
+13 more shops
|
Info
|
250g
Info
|
2TB
Info
|
Info
|
Jan 2018
|
||||||||||||||||
86
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Seagate Expansion Portable ‑ 2Tb |
£54.11
Ebuyer
+12 more shops
|
Info
|
170g
Info
|
2TB
Info
|
Info
|
Jun 2017
|
||||||||||||||||
86
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Seagate One Touch ‑ 1Tb |
£45.99
Currys
+9 more shops
|
Info
|
148g
Info
|
1TB
Info
|
Info
|
May 2019
|
||||||||||||||||
86
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Western Digital My Passport Ultra ‑ 2Tb |
£70.77
Ebuyer
+9 more shops
|
Info
|
250g
Info
|
2TB
Info
|
Info
|
Sep 2018
|
||||||||||||||||
86
Compare
Shortlisted
|
Seagate Game Drive ‑ 4Tb |
£88.25
Ebuyer
+11 more shops
|
Info
|
240g
Info
|
4TB
Info
|
Info
|
Feb 2016
|
No matching products found.
Today's Best External Hard Drive Deals
What Are The Best External Hard Drive Brands?
We looked at the reviews for every external hard drive and used this to calculate the average overall rating of each brand. The top rated external hard drive brand is Western Digital with an average rating of 90%. Compare all award winning external hard drives.
Rank | Brand | Number of External Hard Drives | Price Range | Average Rating | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Western Digital External Hard Drives | 111 | £39 - £775 |
90%
1,442 reviews
|
|
#2 | Seagate External Hard Drives | 88 | £39 - £391 |
86%
32 reviews
|
|
#3 | Silicon Power External Hard Drives | 39 | £71 - £305 |
75%
49 reviews
|
|
#4 | Buffalo External Hard Drives | 33 | £45 - £207 |
74%
14 reviews
|
|
#5 | iStorage External Hard Drives | 30 | £108 - £699 |
72%
29 reviews
|
|
#6 | LaCie External Hard Drives | 71 | £45 - £683 |
67%
15 reviews
|
|
#7 | Freecom External Hard Drives | 25 | £51 - £188 |
56%
7 reviews
|
|
#8 | A-DATA External Hard Drives | 55 | £40 - £176 |
55%
19 reviews
|
|
#9 | Toshiba External Hard Drives | 64 | £36 - £351 | ||
#10 | G-Technology External Hard Drives | 37 | £70 - £649 | ||
#11 | Intenso External Hard Drives | 26 | £37 - £118 | ||
#12 | BUSlink External Hard Drives | 24 | |||
#13 | Fantom Drives External Hard Drives | 23 | £80 - £80 | ||
#14 | Transcend External Hard Drives | 21 | £43 - £251 |
Trending External Hard Drive Comparisons
Latest From the Kagoo Blog
Signup For Our Free external hard drive Deals Newsletter
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
External Hard Drive Buying Guide
External hard drives are portable and used to backup files and data from your computer, so they’re safeguarded in case of accident or for retrieval at a later date. While Cloud-based backups are being used more and more for backups, external hard drives still have several important benefits compared to online backups:
- Peace of mind: many people don’t 100% trust the Cloud yet, and having their data stored in some unknown, invisible server somewhere leaves them worried about the long-term safety of their data. External hard drives offer tangible, physical objects to safely backup your files, without having to rely on 3rd-party companies.
- Backing up and restoring files is far faster, especially with newer models that use USB 3 for transferring data.
- Data can be retrieved without needing a net connection, making them useful if travelling or if you find yourself somewhere without a solid net connection.
- High-level security options - such as fingerprint scanners, palm vein scanners and number pads - offer vastly increased security and peace of mind when storing very important files. Moreover, there is the increased security of being able to physically lock away the hard drives away from prying eyes.
- Finally, USB hard drives are still one of the best methods for quickly moving very large files between different computers. It is frequently easier (as long as the computers aren’t too far apart) to simply transfer the file to the drive, plug it in to the second computer, and transfer rather than having to deal with slower upload/download speeds from services such as Dropbox.
Capacity
The main important consideration when choosing an external hard drive is the capacity. This Is a measure of how much data the drive can hold, and is measured in gigabytes (Gb) or terrabytes (Tb) . A gigabyte is 1000 megabytes, and a terabyte is 1000 gigabytes. Our drives range from relatively small portable 120gig drives to enormous 5Tb drives, which can safely hold all the data from multiple machines at once. Generally speaking the higher the capacity the better, but it does depend on what you’re going to be backing up. If you only use your computer to store documents, low-res photos and the like, a 2-500 gig drive should be enough. On the other hand, large capacity drives are useful for storing RAW photos, video editing or Photoshop files.
Size & Portability
Hand in hand with the capacity of the drive is its size. Generally speaking, the larger the capacity of a drive, the bigger it is. Small-capacity drives are extremely portable, being no larger than a mobile phone, so can be transported very easily. On the other end of the scale, the very large capacity drives are not meant to be portable, and usually sit in or under your desk as a safe deposit for all your data. Portability and weight will only become a real issue when choosing the very high-capacity drives, but it is worth paying attention to if you plan on transporting the drive frequently.
Read/Write Speeds
Read & write speeds measure how quickly data can be written from & to the external hard drive. This is measures in bytes per second - the higher the speed, the faster large files (such as movies) will be transferred onto or from the drive. The read-write speeds are also affected by the USB version supported - USB 3.0 supported drives allow far higher transfer rates than USB 2 drives, so it is worth seeking out the newest drive you can for the fastest data transfer speeds.
Power
On the subject of USBs, external hard drives are powered by 2 main methods: via USB or externally power lead. Smaller drives will be powered via USB - this means that the same lead that transfers the data also powers the device. This means no battery, no extra leads, and they are far more portable. Larger drives may be so big and powerful that USB alone can’t provide enough power - in which case they may need an external power connection to properly function. This means that extra consideration has to be made for a spare power socket and the required leads - making them less use when on the go.
Extras
Finally, there are a wealth of extras that can be found in more advanced models of external hard drives. Some of these may only be useful in specific situations, and you will usually pay more for them, but the utility may well be worth the extra cost. Some examples of extra features include:
- Integrated card reader: a built in card reader in the drive allows the device to also read/write to SD cards.
- Fingerprint scanner: an optical fingerprint scanner drastically increases the security of your device, by meaning only specific fingerprints can unlock the device and access the files. For even greater security, a ‘palm vein’ scanner detects the blood pumping through the unique arrangement of veins in your hand, meaning that the scanner cannot be fooled by severed fingers - the owner has to be there in person and alive.
- Ruggedized outer layer: for those who frequently take drives outdoors or in harsh conditions, a hefty rubber or metal basing protects the device from damage, keeping your files intact through even the worst conditions.
External Hard Drive Retailers, Prices and Features
External Hard Drive Prices
In total we found 409 external hard disk drives ranging from £29 to £858. The average price of a new external hard drive is £173 and 80% of external harddisks are priced between £49 and £374. The Apricorn Aegis Padlock DT - 10TB is the most expensive external hard drive that we found at £858, and the Toshiba Canvio Basics - 500Gb is the cheapest at only £30.
External Hard Drive Brands - Price Range
IoSafe external hard disk drives range in price from £335 to £854, and the average price of ioSafe external hard disk drives is £577 which is the highest average price of all external hard drive brands.
The second highest average external hard drive price out of all brands is Apricorn external hard disk drive with an average price of £405. Apricorn external hard disk drive range in price from £124 to £858.
The average price of Digittrade external hard disks is £379 which is the third highest average price of all external hard drive brands. Digittrade external hard disks start at £130 and their most expensive external hard drive costs £647.
External Hard Drive Brands - Average Ratings
We have checked 123 expert reviews and 1,487 user reviews for external hard disk and used this information to calculate the average rating for each brand of external hard drive. Western Digital is the top rated external hard drive brand with an average rating of 90%. Seagate is the second best brand with 86% and Silicon Power is the third best brand with 75%.
Biggest External Hard Drive Retailers
The biggest external hard drive retailer by number of products currently for sale is Quzo. We found 385 current external hard drive offers from Quzo. The second biggest retailer is Amazon UK with 246 offers. That means Quzo is much bigger than Amazon UK when it comes to external hard drive. SmartTeck is the third biggest retailer with 206 current offers.
When Are Most New External Hard Disk Drive Released?
Over the last 3 years we couldn't see any evident pattern in the release month for new external harddisk. The biggest month in 2020 for new external hard drive releases was February, with six new external hard drives released that month. July was the biggest month in 2019 for new external hard disk, with nine new external hard disk released that month. 58 new external hard disks were released in June 2018 making it the biggest month that year for new external hard drive releases.
Weights
'Weight' denotes the weight of the external hard drive, measured in grams (g).
The weights of external harddisks range from 41g to 11.4kg. The weights of the majority of external hard disk range from 0g to 300g. The external hard drive with the heaviest weight is the ioSafe SoloPRO - 6Tb, which is a 6.8kg external hard drive and is on sale for £717.56. The external hard drive with the lightest weight is the Integral USB 3.0 Portable SSD External Hard Drive - 256GB, which is a 41g external hard drive and is priced at £108.99.
USB Powered
Whether the hard drive is powered by USB or not.
Of the 834 new external hard disk drives currently listed on Kagoo, the vast majority are USB powered external hard disk drives. 82% of external hard disk drives are USB powered external hard disk drives.
Hard Drive Capacities
'Hard Drive Capacity' denotes how much data the hard drive can hold, measured in gigabytes (GB).
Comparing all external harddisks, the hard drive capacities range from 1GB to 64TB. The hard drive capacities of the majority of external hard disk drives range from 0GB to 1.5TB. The external hard drive with the biggest hard drive capacity is the Western Digital Western Digital My Book Duo - 24Tb, which is a 24TB external hard drive and can be purchased for £699.00. The Western Digital WD My Passport Wireless - 2TB, which sells for £160.32, has the smallest hard drive capacity and is a 1GB external hard drive.
Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for External Hard Drive?
The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying external hard disk drives. For each retailer it shows the total number of external hard disk drives where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying external hard drives. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was Amazon UK. 105 of their external hard drive prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.
Proportion of External Hard Drive for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?
Assessing how cheap each retailer is for external hard disk drive by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of external hard drive prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's external hard drive prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was Amazon UK. 42.7% of their external hard drive prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.