An external hard drive is judged first on what each terabyte costs, then on reliability and how much capacity you can get. Our pick is the WD Elements Desktop, with an SR Score of 89, for the best price per terabyte in large capacities. The Seagate Expansion Desktop (87) is the budget runner-up, and the portable choice is the WD My Passport.
The ranking
| Rank | Drive | Best for | Type / 1TB-equiv price | SR Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WD Elements Desktop | Best price per TB | Desktop / ~$15/TB | 89 |
| 2 | Seagate Expansion Desktop | Budget capacity | Desktop / ~$16/TB | 87 |
| 3 | WD My Passport | Best portable | Portable / ~$24/TB | 86 |
| 4 | Seagate Backup Plus / One Touch | Portable value | Portable / ~$23/TB | 84 |
| 5 | WD Easystore | Shucking | Desktop / ~$14/TB | 85 |
| 6 | WD My Book | Desktop with backup software | Desktop / ~$17/TB | 83 |
| 7 | Toshiba Canvio | Budget portable | Portable / ~$22/TB | 80 |
Methodology
The HDD Score v2026 rubric weights five criteria:
- Price per TB (30) — the core value metric for spinning storage.
- Reliability (25) — track record and warranty.
- Capacity range (20) — span of sizes offered.
- Portability (15) — bus-powered and pocketable vs. desk-bound.
- Reputation & reviews (10) — tester track record.
Price per TB leads, since that is why people buy a hard drive over an SSD. Reliability is close behind because a cheap drive that fails costs you data. Re-weight Portability up and the My Passport and Toshiba climb.
WD Elements Desktop
The best value, around $15 per terabyte in 12-18TB sizes. A no-frills desktop drive with the lowest cost per terabyte here, ideal for backups and media archives.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Price per TB | 29/30 |
| Reliability | 22/25 |
| Capacity range | 18/20 |
| Portability | 8/15 |
| Reputation & reviews | 9/10 |
Trade-off: it needs a power adapter and stays on the desk — not a grab-and-go drive.
Seagate Expansion Desktop
The budget capacity pick, around $16 per terabyte in 8-12TB sizes. A simple, cheap desktop drive that is the best budget option for bulk storage.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Price per TB | 28/30 |
| Reliability | 21/25 |
| Capacity range | 17/20 |
| Portability | 8/15 |
| Reputation & reviews | 8/10 |
Trade-off: minimal software and the same desk-bound, powered design.
WD My Passport
The best portable, around $24 per terabyte. The go-to bus-powered 2.5-inch drive, with the 5TB model the sweet spot — solid build, USB-powered, and pocketable.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Price per TB | 22/30 |
| Reliability | 22/25 |
| Capacity range | 15/20 |
| Portability | 15/15 |
| Reputation & reviews | 9/10 |
Trade-off: 5TB is the ceiling for a bus-powered 2.5-inch drive, and cost per TB is higher than a desktop.
Seagate Backup Plus / One Touch
The portable value pick, around $23 per terabyte. A compact bus-powered drive with included backup software, undercutting the My Passport slightly on price.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Price per TB | 22/30 |
| Reliability | 20/25 |
| Capacity range | 14/20 |
| Portability | 15/15 |
| Reputation & reviews | 8/10 |
Trade-off: a slightly less premium build than the WD My Passport.
WD Easystore
The shucking pick, around $14 per terabyte in 14-18TB sizes. A Best Buy desktop drive that frequently goes on deep sale and often contains WD Red or Ultrastar drives prized for NAS use.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Price per TB | 30/30 |
| Reliability | 21/25 |
| Capacity range | 17/20 |
| Portability | 7/15 |
| Reputation & reviews | 8/10 |
Trade-off: the value is best when shucked, which voids the warranty and suits enthusiasts only.
WD My Book
The desktop-with-software pick, around $17 per terabyte. A powered desktop drive bundling WD’s backup and 256-bit hardware encryption for set-and-forget home backups.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Price per TB | 26/30 |
| Reliability | 22/25 |
| Capacity range | 17/20 |
| Portability | 8/15 |
| Reputation & reviews | 9/10 |
Trade-off: costs a little more per TB than the bare Elements for the software and encryption.
Toshiba Canvio
The budget portable pick, around $22 per terabyte. A low-cost bus-powered 2.5-inch drive for simple file storage on the go at the lowest portable price here.
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Price per TB | 23/30 |
| Reliability | 19/25 |
| Capacity range | 13/20 |
| Portability | 15/15 |
| Reputation & reviews | 7/10 |
Trade-off: a plainer build and a less prominent reliability track record than WD or Seagate.
How to choose
Start with portable versus desktop. If you are storing lots of data at home — backups, photo and video archives, a media library — a powered desktop drive gives the most terabytes per dollar, and the WD Elements leads, with the Seagate Expansion close behind on price. Enthusiasts building a NAS should watch for WD Easystore sales to shuck, which tops the value chart but voids the warranty. If the drive needs to travel, a bus-powered WD My Passport or Seagate portable is pocketable and jumps up the list the instant you re-weight the rubric toward Portability. For anything you cannot afford to lose, keep a second copy — drives fail. Decide where the drive lives first, and the score follows.
Verification
- WD Elements Desktop — best price per TB, 12-18TB verified via HDDHunt and PCWorld.
- Seagate Expansion Desktop — best budget desktop, 8-12TB verified via HDDHunt.
- WD My Passport — bus-powered, 5TB sweet spot, ~$120/4TB verified via HDDHunt and PCWorld.
- WD Easystore — shucking value, 14-18TB verified via HDDHunt.
- Seagate One Touch / WD My Book / Toshiba Canvio — portable/desktop types and pricing verified via PCWorld and TechGearLab.
Related rankings
- Best microSD Cards 2026: 7 Scored
- Best Portable SSDs 2026: 7 Scored
- Best 2-in-1 Laptops 2026: 7 Scored
- Best 4K Monitors 2026: 7 Scored
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best external hard drive in 2026?
- The WD Elements Desktop for most people storing lots of data: the best price per terabyte in big capacities. For a slightly cheaper desktop, the Seagate Expansion; for a portable bus-powered drive, the WD My Passport.
- Hard drive or SSD for external storage?
- Hard drives cost far less per terabyte and are best for backups and archives. External SSDs are much faster and more rugged but cost several times more per TB, so use an HDD for capacity and an SSD for speed.
- Desktop or portable drive?
- Desktop drives offer the most terabytes for the money but need a power adapter and stay on a desk. Portable 2.5-inch drives like the My Passport are bus-powered over USB and pocketable, but cap lower in capacity.
- What is shucking?
- Shucking means removing the bare drive from an external enclosure (like a WD Easystore) to use inside a PC or NAS, often cheaper than buying the bare drive. It can void the warranty, so it is an enthusiast move.