The 9 Best Small Portable Ssd Drives (2023 reviews)

Best part: samsung small portable ssd drive costs reasonable and it is available to ship in 24 hours. It can be used as primary drive to store files to save space on a built-in SSD which is too small. It comes with two standard cables. The best thing is that it operates exactly as a hard drive, meaning it can be plugged into any device to retrieve files. It has an installation program to safely transfer files to said items and even place a password to keep your files safe.

The tiny case of the drive is metal and extremely well assembled. It’s great to load in to games faster and a big rip for Mac or Linux use.

Why We Like This:

Great for gaming to switch systems quick
Very compact and lightweight for travel
Very lightweight and can be password protected

Best For ipad: Sandisk External Drive

Buy on Amazon

The sandisk external drive gives the top-tier drive a run for their money by offering flagship specs at a much more affordable price. This Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD completely out-performs HHD drives, and installs without a hitch. This SSD behaves just like an external drive and as long as your digital content doesn't exceed the storage limits, you will be fine. It is designed for backup and/or extra storage because it is a whole different animal. It is small, rugged, very small and worth every part of the cost.

The speed of this drive is dependent on the number of files on it and the speed of your computer. They include a USB-c USB adapter. These are great for use with a head unit supporting mass storage via usb. It is perfect for taking it on the road for storage of data.

Why We Like This:

Awesome storage for media boxes and streamers
Small, rugged, and fast it's perfect
Transferring files/apps is lightning quick and simple

Best For imac: Crucial External Drive

Buy on Amazon

Crucial line of drive come in a pretty wide variety of styles, so you can definitely find one that suits your individual preferences and needs. Portable SSD drives are so much faster than most USB thumb drives, so they’re great for transferring large amounts of data. This one has the right specs much more affordable than comparable SSD drives from Samsung or SanDisk. It works with crucial SSD and additionally works for both PC and mac.

The X8's lightweight and compact build allows the device to fit neatly in the palm of your hand. It’s extremely light weight and comfortable. It allows connection to laptops with usb-c or traditional usb-a ports. It comes pre-formatted in exFAT, which is fine for compatibility with different devices. The drive is totally silent, of course, and utterly reliable. It’s sleek and smooth and appears pretty durable.

Why We Like This:

Super fast, tiny, lightweight, durable and fast
Made entirely of aluminum, it provides protection and keeps the drive running cool
Good brand reputation

Best For mobile: Buffalo Small Portable Ssd Drive

Buy on Amazon

Buffalo offers a variety of drive for personal choice and yet maintaining quality in all the variants. The internal SSD drives for next-gen Xbox consoles have higher speeds than the Buffalo SSD. It is designed as a portable memory drive with a retractable USB plug. It provides drop protection to add that it is compatible with ps4/ps5, macs, and pcs. The retractable port is convenient and adds an extra level of protection in preventing damage when carrying the stick from place to place.

The PS5's Sept 2021 update allows the PS5 to play games from an internal M.2 SSD plugged into the expansion slot. It comes with its durability, compact form factor, and lightning fast SSD speeds, so you can always have your data with you.

Why We Like This:

A great choice for game storage
You can enjoy faster loading times on games stored on the ssd
Fast drive in the right port, tempermental port speeds
Boot speed is sufficient, not prone to errors from forced shutdowns

Best With USB C: Kingston Small Portable Ssd Drive

Buy on Amazon

We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate drive. The kingston small portable ssd drive is exactly that - it's a simple drive that hits all the right notes. The Kingston SXS2000 is just wider than a thumb drive and has 500GB of storage (or 1TB / 2TB) - enough to back up all your files. It's light, highly portable, and it just looks really cool. It is a very acceptable portable drive for transferring files, streaming videos and running applications. It only comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable.

It comes with lightning-fast transfer speeds up to 2, 000mb/s, and the xs2000 delivers enhanced productivity with little interruption. It's shorter than a bic lighter and is extremely fast. The drive is in a metal case and the package includes a nice durable rubber sleeve that slides on easily to protect the ssd from accidental impact. It is a great investment for anyone looking to upgrade their computer's performance and storage capacity.

Why We Like This:

Fits the need for ssd external drive
Speed is up to 2400 mbps
Good brand reputation

Best For Full Laptop Backups: Sandisk Small Portable Ssd Drive

Buy on Amazon

The sandisk small portable ssd drive is satisfactory and appropriate and fits well with your regular usage. From the brand trusted by professional photographers worldwide, the sandisk extreme pro portable ssd provides powerful solid state performance featuring 2000mb/s read and 2000mb/s write speeds in a rugged storage solution that’s reliable for your toughest jobs. It comes with a pc with the proper ports, so you will definitely reach the advertised read and write speeds as advertised.

This SSD is a nice size and holds a good amount of data. It is an utstanding external hard drive. It will charge with an apple firmware update as the lighting port claims 40 gbps. It is easy to use right out of the box. It is a USB 2.0 or 3.0 (not 3.1) and it will run slower. It is great for full laptop backups or photo storage.

Why We Like This:

High capacity, easy storage, fast transfer speeds
Transfer speeds are around 675 mps for direct file transfers
Effective digital storage in a small package
With great drop protection and water resistance

Best With Both Samsung: Crucial Small Portable Ssd Drive

Buy on Amazon

Best part: crucial small portable ssd drive costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. This is a neat little device. It measures 2.5" x 2.5 plus it is easy to move around. It comes with a USB-c connector, which is ideal for a newer laptop. It's fast, lightweight, and very portable.

This one is bigger (but slightly) than a flash drive yet much smaller than a spinning portable hard drive. It's also very small and lightweight. The fact that it holds 1TB is pretty amazing as well.

Why We Like This:

New and hot release
Lot of satisfied buyers

Best Gaming Storage: Wdblack Small Portable Ssd Drive

Buy on Amazon

This durable, portable drive is built with wd_black toughness thanks to a shock-resistant structure that can survive a drop of up to two meters, making it the perfect gaming storage to take with you anywhere. It’s sleek with attractive changing lights on the drive when connected. The colors can be configured with a software control panel on Windows which will also allow connections to Razer Chroma, Asus Aura, Gigabyte RGB Fusion and MSI Mystic for color coordination with other RGB hardware.

This drive promises compatibility with Playstations 4 on up, as well as XBOX. It makes using the games so much easier and less full of lag with the new space. The drive comes pre-loaded with the Dashboard software that allows you to monitor real time performance data in the form of transfer rate or IOPS. The colors are a fun feature although they are just a flashy way of making this drive a little different from others. It is a great addition to your gaming accessories.

Why We Like This:

Excellent ssd for gaming and data analysis
Transfer speeds average about 250mbps when transferring a 54gb folder of raw photos
Small form factor, work out of the box and case is of high quality

Best With Older ports: AXE Memory Small Portable Ssd Drive

Buy on Amazon

With its solid-state drive technology, fast read and write speeds, and compact design, this portable SSD is a reliable and convenient storage solution that can be used for a wide range of applications. It is perfectly compatible with windows vista, 7, 8, 10, 11, etc. It is detected as a fixed disk, instead of removable. The cap will snap onto the back end of the drive when using it, and it has a convenient hole to allow it to be attached to a key ring, mini lanyard, etc. It is used for formatting and other functions. Unlike traditional hard drives, SSDs do not have any moving parts, which makes them less prone to physical damage and less likely to fail.

The drive has a typical form factor for a flash drive, but when inserted into a compatible usb 3.2 gen 2 capable usb port, this drive performed well but missed the read speed mark by a wider margin than expected.

Why We Like This: