Compare the Best Medium Capacity Hard DrivesSeptember 2020
87
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Rank
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Kagoo Score
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Average Review Rating
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Price
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USB Powered
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Weight
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Hard Drive Capacity
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Available Colours
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Release Date
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71 
Compare
Shortlisted
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 Silicon Power Armor A85M ‑ 2Tb
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£112.26
Amazon US
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Info
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408g
Info
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2TB
Info
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Info
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Jun 2018
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72 
Compare
Shortlisted
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 Western Digital WDBZFP0010BB |
£130.00
Amazon UK
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Info
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160g
Info
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1TB
Info
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Info
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Dec 2016
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87 
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital My Passport Ultra ‑ 2Tb |
£79.62
Ebuyer
+9 more shops
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Info
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250g
Info
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2TB
Info
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Info
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Sep 2018
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87 
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital My Passport ‑ 2TB |
£59.99
Currys
+17 more shops
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Info
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250g
Info
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2TB
Info
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Info
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Jan 2018
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86 
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital P10 Game Drive ‑ 2Tb |
£64.99
Currys
+7 more shops
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Info
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140g
Info
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2TB
Info
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Info
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Dec 2018
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86
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital Elements Portable ‑ 2Tb |
£44.29
DHGate
+10 more shops
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Info
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230g
Info
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2TB
Info
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Info
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Nov 2017
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85
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital Elements Portable ‑ 1Tb |
£41.20
Amazon UK
+14 more shops
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Info
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130g
Info
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1TB
Info
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Info
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Feb 2017
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85
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital My Passport Ultra for Mac ‑ 2Tb |
£84.78
Amazon UK
+2 more shops
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Info
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130g
Info
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2TB
Info
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Info
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Dec 2018
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84
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital My Passport for Mac ‑ 2Tb |
£72.98
PC World Business
+5 more shops
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Info
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170g
Info
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2TB
Info
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Info
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Jan 2018
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83
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital My Passport ‑ 1Tb |
£47.99
Currys
+15 more shops
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Info
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170g
Info
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1TB
Info
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Info
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Jun 2012
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83
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital My Passport Ultra ‑ 1Tb |
£52.00
Ebuyer Business
+3 more shops
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Info
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160g
Info
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1TB
Info
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Info
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May 2017
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82
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital WDBDFF0020BBKWESN |
£94.89
Quzo
+1 more shop
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Info
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130g
Info
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2TB
Info
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Info
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Sep 2018
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82
Compare
Shortlisted
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Buffalo MiniStation ‑ 2TB |
£74.00
Ebuyer Business
+11 more shops
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Info
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225g
Info
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2TB
Info
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Info
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Oct 2016
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82
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital Elements Portable ‑ 750Gb |
£40.94
Ebuyer Business
+1 more shop
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Info
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130g
Info
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750GB
Info
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Info
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Nov 2013
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82
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital My Passport Game ‑ 2Tb |
£95.54
Quzo
+1 more shop
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Info
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244g
Info
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2TB
Info
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Info
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Oct 2017
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82
Compare
Shortlisted
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LaCie Rugged Mini ‑ 2TB |
£92.19
Ebuyer
+10 more shops
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Info
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240g
Info
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2TB
Info
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Info
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Mar 2014
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82
Compare
Shortlisted
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Buffalo DriveStation ‑ 1Tb |
£59.95
PC World Business
+8 more shops
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Info
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1kg
Info
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1TB
Info
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Info
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Jun 2016
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82
Compare
Shortlisted
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Western Digital Elements Portable ‑ 1.5Tb |
£57.86
Ebuyer
+2 more shops
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Info
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230g
Info
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1.5TB
Info
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Info
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Feb 2017
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81
Compare
Shortlisted
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Buffalo Ministation ‑ 1Tb |
£44.99
Ebuyer Business
+8 more shops
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Info
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170g
Info
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1TB
Info
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Info
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Oct 2016
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No matching products found.
Today's Best External Hard Drive Deals
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8TB
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950g
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3TB
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5,000 Mbit/s
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2TB
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5,000 Mbit/s
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5 Mbit/s
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950g
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4TB
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150 Mbit/s
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5,400 RPM
HARD DRIVE
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1kg
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4TB
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5,000 Mbit/s
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230g
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2TB
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5,000 Mbit/s
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250g
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1TB
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151g
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Trending External Hard Drive Comparisons
Latest From the Kagoo Blog
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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.