His advice was to skimp a little on processor speed and pour all that extra money into the fastest hard disk Apple offers. Thatis the smaller capacity but faster 7,200 RPM drives on the Mac Book Pros. Backup your Mac with a portable or desktop hard drive. Safekeep all of your music, photographs, movies and more. Buy online with fast, free shipping. Top comment 'Easy plug and go.the price is good. Works flawlessly for my backup on iMac.When my computer hard drive recently crashed and the data could not be restored, I purchased a Western Digital Mainstream 2TB Internal Serial ATA Hard Drive for replacement, This hard drive works fine and I have not had any issue with it since replacement (for the past 30 days)'. Modern external hard drives are also incredibly fast, thanks to USB-C connections and SSD (Solid State Drive) technology, which means copying and moving lots of files takes a matter of seconds. For more information, just to the what to consider when buying an external hard drive section.

• Backup Hard Drive For Mac
• Best Portable Hard Drives For Mac
• Best External Hard Drives For Mac
• Fast External Hard Drive For Mac

Boost your storage capacity with the best external hard drive for Macs. Everybody knows that Mac computers aren’t the easiest to customize, and upgrading the internal storage on a Mac before you hit that buy button will cost you quite a lot of money. That means that an external hard drive is a more cost-effective option.

Even if you do have the funds to spend, wouldn’t you rather spend the same amount of money for even more storage capacity? And, if you’re worried about having to lug another device when you’re trying to travel write, don’t be. Some of these external hard drives are not just thin and light, but also designed to be ruggest so they can handle a few bumps and bangs.

Our picks for the best external hard drives for Mac are simply the best and most affordable way to fix your storage troubles. Whether you’re a creative professional who needs a lot of space for storing large files, or you simply need an extra hard drive for your vacation and family photos, you’ll find the perfect solution right here.

1. Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive

Capacity: 4TB | Interface: USB 3.0

This is the latest generation of the Western Digital My Passport external hard drives comes in capacities from 1TB to 4TB, and features cloud storage and 256-AES encryption, along with WD's own backup software. While transfer speeds aren't the quickest, due to its USB 3.0 connection, it offers a good balance between speed, capacity and price.

2. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt external hard drive

Capacity: 1TB, 2TB | Interface: Thunderbolt, USB 3.0

If you want to make use of your Mac's Thunderbolt port, then this is the best external hard drive for Macs. It provides twice the speeds of standard USB 3.0 drives. It still uses a traditional hard drive, rather than an SSD, and while this means speeds aren't quite as fast as possible, it at least keeps the price down, while offering large capacities. There's also a USB 3.0 port for connecting to computers that don't have a Thunderbolt port.

3. G-Technology G-Drive USB 3.0 4TB external hard drive

Capacity: 4TB | Interface: USB 2.0, USB 3.0, eSATA, FireWire

This is one of the fastest high capacity hard drives you can plug into your Mac, with a huge 4TB of storage space that zips along its USB 3.0, eSATA or FireWire connection. The all-aluminium enclosure gives the drive a premium look and feel, while also protecting your data from knocks and drops, and keeping the drive cool when used.

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4. Samsung T3 SSD

Speedy and large

Capacity: 1TB | Interface: USB 3.1

If you really want a super-fast external hard drive for your Mac, then the Samsung T3 SSD is easily one of the best. As it uses a solid state drive, the read and write speeds of this drive are much faster than external hard drives that use traditional hard drives. It does mean the price is higher, but if transfer speed is the most important consideration when looking for the best external hard drive for your Mac, then this is the drive to go for.

5. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive

Backup Hard Drive For Mac

Wireless security

Capacity: 2TB | Interface: USB 3.0

Best Portable Hard Drives For Mac

With compatibility for both Mac and Windows machines, the Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC is very flexible, and comes with a rugged case that's dust and water resistant, along with a built-in USB 3.0 cable. Not only is your data kept protected from knocks and drops with the rugged shell, but it's also got 256-bit AES security features and NFC (Near Field Communication) features as well. This is a great external hard drive for your Mac if you are concerned about keeping your data safe and secure.

6. Western Digital My Passport Ultra external hard drive

Comes with Encryption and a long warranty

Capacity: 4TB | Interface: USB 3.0

The latest generation of the Western Digital My Passport Ultra range of external hard drives has landed, coming in sizes from 1TB to 4TB. It features cloud storage and 256-AES encryption, along with WD's own software suite.

It is a good performer when it comes to data transfer speeds but doesn't come near the top of the leaderboard. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't reach the top speeds of solid state external drives, but for external hard drives based on traditional HDDs, this is the drive to consider.

7. LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB

Capacity: 4TB | Interface: USB-C

You may have stumbled upon the LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive when perusing the Apple website for USB-C accessories. There’s a reason for that: the Porsche Design ships with both USB Type-C to Type-A and USB Type-C to Type-C connectors, making it a worthy candidate regardless of your setup.

It’s expensive for an external hard drive, don’t get us wrong, especially if you’re in the market for the top-end 4TB option. On the other hand, this is an HDD that could theoretically output speeds of up to 5Gbps, if it weren’t hindered by the limits of SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) technology. With MacBooks coming with USB Type-C connections, this is an excellent - and stylish - external hard drive that makes the most of this speedy new port.

8. iStorage diskAshur 2TB external hard drive

A brilliant external hard drive for extra security

Capacity: 2TB | Interface: USB 3.0

If you're worried about people getting access to your data if your external hard drive is stolen, than you'll like the iStorage drive here. If someone tries to tamper with your iStorage drive, you can configure it to self-desturct. What's more, the data is encrypted by the 256-bit AES protocol, with multiple forms of protection in place to ensure the bad guys don't get in no matter how persistent. When you consider all that extra security, the prices won't scare you away either. It's more pricey than the other drives of its capacity, but the extra security it offers will be well worth it for many people.

• Check out our list of the best external hard drives.

Backing up your Mac is simple and important. We recommend it for everyone.

Back up with Time Machine

Time Machine is the built-in backup feature of your Mac. It’s a complete backup solution, but you can use other backup methods as well.

Store files in iCloud

You can also use iCloud and iCloud Drive to store files, such as your photos, documents, and music.

Restore your Mac from a backup

When you have a backup, you can use it to restore your files at any time, including after the original files are deleted from your Mac.

Prepare your Mac for service

Making a backup is an important part of preparing your Mac for service, especially because some types of repair might require erasing or replacing your hard drive.

How much space do I need for a backup?

To see the size of a specific file or folder, click it once and then press Command-I. To see storage information about your Mac, click the Apple menu in the top-left of your screen. Choose About This Mac and click the Storage tab. For Time Machine backups, it's good to use a drive that has at least twice the storage capacity of your Mac.

Related topics

Free up storage on your Mac

macOS can save space by storing your content in the cloud. This isn't a backup, but it includes new tools to make it easier to find and remove large or unwanted files before you make a backup.

Erase or format a storage device

You can use Disk Utility if you need to erase or format a storage device.

Best External Hard Drives For Mac

Fast External Hard Drive For Mac

macOS Community

If you can't back up your Mac

We'll find the best support options for you.