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Picture this—you’re loaded up with a lunch bag, a bunch of files, maybe a purse, and the heaviest computer bag ever, struggling to reach your destination. Or maybe this—you’re downloading your favourite shows, movies, music, or computer games, and next thing you know, your computer is yelling at you for trying to go over its storage capacity.
Luckily, these problems have a solution. What is it? An external hard drive. These portable beauties can store all of your files independently of your computer. Not only will this drastically increase your storage space and help your computer run better, but you can also leave all of your things behind at home when you need to travel to the office. And keep old files secure while making room for the new. There are so many ways to use one of these things.
Does an external hard drive sound like the miracle you’ve been waiting for? Happy to help. And to help even more, we’ll tell you how to choose the best one. You’ll need to think about all of its features to make the best choice. That’s right. The price, overall size, storage space, device compatibility… it all matters.
This comprehensive guide will investigate the best external hard drives in Canada right now and outline the criteria you should consider while making your purchase decision. Let’s dive right into our top five products.
Top Pick: Seagate Portable 5TB External Hard Drive
SSD Pick: SanDisk 1TB Extreme SSD External Drive
Large Capacity Pick: Seagate Expansion 18TB HDD External Hard Drive
Gaming Pick: Western Digital 5TB P10 Game Drive
Also Great: Western Digital 5TB My Passport HDD External Hard Drive
It won’t be a shock to anyone that we like almost everything about the Seagate Portable 5TB External Hard Drive. It wouldn’t be our top pick otherwise. And now it’s time for our favourite part—we get to tell you why. With a 5 TB storage capacity, you’ll be able to store all of your data without needing to pick and choose the most important things. We love that for you.
We also love how compatible it is with different devices. Whether you have an Xbox, PlayStation, PC, or Mac in need of some support, this drive is ready to go. You’ll even get a year of data rescue services for free. An 18-inch USB 3.0 cable is included with the drive, and since it's pretty lightweight for its size, you can use it for both a computer and a gaming console without too much hassle in between.
We’re very happy we don’t have to ruin the reputation of this one with any hidden flaws. It’s fairly bulky and doesn’t have any protection against water or drops/knocks, but if you use it as intended (a companion for a desktop computer or gaming console), that won’t matter much. They’re just things we think you should be aware of.
Reviewers are big fans of the Seagate Portable 5TB External Hard Drive. People love how reasonable the price is, even though it has a ton of storage space, and they haven’t had any issues with lost data or slow transfer speeds. Most people use it as a desktop companion or for gaming consoles since it isn’t really built for daily commuting. They’re all happy with that.
Dimensions: 9.2” x 6” x 1.1”
Weight: 0.57 lbs
Colour: Black
Storage Capacity: 5 TB
Warranty: 1 year
Pros:
1-year data rescue service is included
Comes with an 18-inch USB 3.0 cable
Compatible with PC, Mac, Xbox, and PlayStation (auto recognition for PC and Mac)
Lightweight for its size
Cons:
Bulky
Vulnerable to knocks and drops
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Price: 4/5
Quality: 4.5/5
Overall, the Seagate Portable 5TB External Hard Drive is our favourite option for this year. It isn’t the most portable or damage-resistant thing on the planet, but it still excels at its job. We’re happy with the storage space and device compatibility, and we bet you will be too.
The SanDisk 1TB Extreme SSD External Drive has so much going for it. Ready for an info dump? This option is one of the smallest and lightest drives you can get (win), and it has a hole built-in so you can attach carabiners or other straps for extra portability (win again). This drive is also protected against drops from as high as 9.8 feet, and it’s both dust and water-resistant (IP65 rating).
Let’s continue. This drive can reach data transfer speeds of up to 1050 Mbps, and it comes with hardware encryption AND password protection if you want it. No problems with performance or security here.
It comes with a USB-C cable to connect to your phone, and it has an adapter to make sure you can use it with all of your other devices too. We still aren’t done! A companion app makes it so easy to move files from your phone directly to the drive—you don’t need a laptop as a middleman anymore.
We were hard-pressed to find things to put in the negative column. And we only succeeded with a couple of minor things. For the price, the storage capacity is a bit small. And the included cable is short. Like, really short. That’s it. That’s what’s wrong with this one. Small potatoes, right?
Reviewers have a very high opinion of the SanDisk 1TB Extreme SSD External Drive. They love how portable it is, they have no issues with transfer speeds, and they absolutely love that they can plug it directly into their phone to move photos and videos over. The built-in hole for a carabiner or other attachment is a big hit. Not a single person regrets buying it.
Dimensions: 4” x 2.1” x 0.38”
Weight: 0.11 lbs
Colour: Black, Monterey, or sky blue
Storage Capacity: 1 TB
Warranty: 3 years
Pros:
Has a hole to attach a carabiner and is very compact
IP65 water/dust resistant and 9.8 ft drop protection
Data transfer speeds up to 1050 Mbps and password protection/hardware encryption
Comes with a USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A adapter, plus has a companion app for file management
Cons:
Small capacity for the price
Cable is very short
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Price: 4/5
Quality: 5/5
All in all, the SanDisk 1TB Extreme SSD External Drive is an amazing option for just about anybody. The storage space might seem a bit small for the price, but you’re getting a lot of value in other areas. Just try to find something wrong with it. (Except for the short cable, we already found that one).
The Seagate Expansion 18TB HDD External Hard Drive is a really solid choice. Of course it is, it’s part of our top five. The average external hard drive maxes out around 5 TB, but this one offers more than triple that amount of space. Yes, triple! With 18 TB of storage space, we can almost guarantee you’ll never run out of room.
It has a solid design too—respectable data transfer speeds, automatic recognition of Mac and Windows computers, and it’s even got data recovery services to help you retrieve your data and cover costs in case of an accident.
Unfortunately, this option does have some flaws to balance out all of its goodness. The price tag will be too high for some people, but it's unavoidable for this much storage. It’s also quite bulky, so not as travel-friendly as our other top five picks.
Another issue might be the separate power source—extra cord management is never fun, is it? Our last critique is the noise. The fan runs loud, and it might be an annoyance you just don’t want to deal with. We won’t blame you, either.
Reviewers have mostly good things to say about the Seagate Expansion 18TB HDD External Hard Drive. Their main complaint is with the noise—this one has a loud fan that can become irritating over time. In general, though, people are very happy with the extra-large capacity and the easy setup process. The recovery service gives them peace of mind, too.
Dimensions: 8.4” x 6.8” x 2.3”
Weight: 2.6 lbs
Colour: Black
Storage Capacity: 18 TB
Warranty: 1 year
Pros:
Automatically recognizes Macs and PCs for easy setup
Has Rescue Data Recovery Services in case of damage or failure
Great data transfer speeds
Cons:
Very expensive
Bulky
Requires a separate power source (not powered through the USB port)
Quite loud
Performance: 4.5/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Price: 2/5
Quality: 4.5/5
Overall, the Seagate Expansion 18TB HDD External Hard Drive is an amazing option if storage capacity is your priority. It has its flaws, but they’re pretty easy to look past when you’re able to appreciate exactly how much stuff you can throw on this thing. It’s kind of extraordinary, honestly.
The Western Digital 5TB P10 Game Drive is our top recommendation for gamers. Any brand could call their external hard drive a game drive if they wanted to, but this one actually has the walk to back up the talk. The 5 TB storage capacity means you can store up to 125 games on it, and it’s widely compatible with different gaming platforms: Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Mac.
That’s just the beginning, too. This drive comes with a SuperSpeed USB-A to Micro-B cable to make sure your games are actually playable, and it has a metal top to improve its durability and make sure you don’t lose all of your precious game data if it gets knocked around by accident.
The only possible critique we can make about this option is the data transfer speed. Although 5 Gbps is great for the external hard drive arena, and will be more than enough for most games, it’s still possible that you’ll notice some lagging or stuttering with some games. It’s just the nature of the beast, unfortunately.
Reviewers are very happy with the Western Digital 5TB P10 Game Drive. Most of their games perform very well with the included SuperSpeed cable, and the storage capacity is large enough for everybody to keep all of their favourite games accessible. They also love how compatible it is with different devices and how easy it is to get connected. Complaints are few and far between.
Dimensions: 4.6” x 3.5” x 0.8”
Weight: 0.51 lbs
Colour: Black
Storage Capacity: 5 TB
Warranty: 3 years
Pros:
Immediately compatible with PC, Mac, Xbox One, and PS4
USB-A to Micro-B cable with SuperSpeed interface is included
Metal top improves durability
Can store up to 125 games
Cons:
Can run slowly depending on the game
Performance: 4.5/5
Usability: 5/5
Price: 4/5
Quality: 5/5
All in all, the Western Digital 5TB P10 Game Drive is an amazing choice for gamers. It’s compatible with every platform, it can hold up to 125 games, and it’s a plug-and-play option. There’s really nothing missing. Gamers, start your engines!
Our list would feel incomplete without the Western Digital 5TB My Passport HDD External Hard Drive. We really like it. It’s incredibly lightweight and will fit in the palm of your hand, so we love it for people who need to travel with it all the time. It won’t take up half your bag. It also comes in five excellent colours to add some extra pop to your life.
We also like this drive is compatible with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0, so you won’t have to worry about certain cords not working out. The SuperSpeed USB port can transfer data as fast as 5 Gbps, so you shouldn’t notice any lags, even with console games. To keep your data secure, this option has built-in hardware encryption and optional password protection.
We only have a couple of things we want to mention that might be a low point for you. In order to use this drive with Mac computers, it will need to be reformatted. Just a heads up. This option also doesn’t have any protections in place for its physical self—this means it’s not water-resistant or drop/shock-resistant. You’ll need to be extra careful with this one so you don’t lose all of your files.
Reviewers have a great opinion of the Western Digital 5TB My Passport HDD External Hard Drive. People love how compact it is—for most, it’s the smallest external hard drive they’ve ever had. The plug-and-play setup is beginner-friendly (and just easier for everybody), and they don’t have any issues with data transfer speeds. The password protection option is a big hit too.
Dimensions: 3.2” x 4.3” x 0.75”
Weight: 0.46 lbs
Colour: Black, blue, midnight blue, red, or grey
Storage Capacity: 5 TB
Warranty: 3 years
Pros:
Has password protection and hardware encryption for security
SuperSpeed USB port transfers data at 5 Gbps
Compatible with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0
Very portable
Cons:
Needs to be reformatted to be compatible with Mac computers—only immediately compatible with PC and gaming consoles
Not drop/shock resistant or water-resistant
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Price: 4/5
Quality: 4.5/5
All in all, the Western Digital 5TB My Passport HDD External Hard Drive was an easy addition to our top five. We would prefer that it wasn’t so vulnerable to damage, but it’s to be expected. The portability, storage capacity, and reliability more than make up for that, don’t you think?
External hard drives can range in price from less than $100 to close to $1000. Most people won’t need to spend more than $200 to get one that meets their needs, though. The price of an external hard drive is almost solely determined by its storage capacity—the more space it has, the more expensive it will be. If you’re really trying to get a good deal, you’ll want to look at the price per terabyte.
External hard drives range in storage capacity quite a bit. At the smallest end, they can store 500 GB of data, and at the highest end, they can store 20 TB. Most people won’t ever need more than 5 TB, but the options are always there.
Device compatibility is something everyone will need to pay attention to. Some external hard drives will only be immediately compatible with PCs (meaning you’ll need to reformat for Mac computers), and others will automatically recognize both systems and also different gaming consoles. However you plan to use your external hard drive, make sure it’s compatible with the intended device(s).
Portability is another important thing to consider when comparing different external hard drives. Will it be sitting with a gaming console 24/7? Or will you need to bring it to the office every day to have access to your files? Make sure you ask these questions before you buy to make sure the one you choose is portable enough for its future.
Disclaimer: The prices displayed are accurate at the time of publication. We’ll do our best to keep them as up-to-date as possible, but you may see slight changes. The products in this list are ranked by independent third parties. Rankings are based on both reviews and independent testing.