portable hard drive deals black friday

Black Friday external hard drive deals: Early discounts available now

Black Friday external hard drive deals are already starting to appear. The big day's a little way of, but if you're planning to upgrade your external storage, there are already some good deals to be had. while they don't grab headlines like other pieces of tech can, external hard drives often come in for big savings on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and Black Friday 2021 looks set to be no different.

We're already seeing deals on a range of external drive deals on both traditional hard drives and faster SSDs. We'll be keeping this page updated with direct links to all the biggest Black Friday external hard drives, so get it bookmarked so you can keep checking back, or scroll down to see the best deal available now.

You can use the quick links to jump straight to the best deals in either the US or UK – each list is divided into HDDs and then SSDs. If you need to brush up on the difference between them, jump down to the all you need to know section. Meanwhile, if you're interested in a broader range of products, see our guide to the best Black Friday deals overall.

Black Friday external hard drive deals: When is Black Friday 2021?

Black Friday always comes the day after Thanksgiving in the US, so in 2021 it's going to happen on 26 November. Cyber Monday comes just a few days later on 29 November. That said, more and more retailers are kicking off their sales earlier, so you can expect to see amazing Black Friday external drive deals from the beginning of November, although the biggest savings may be held back until the day itself.

Black Friday external hard drive deals: How to get the best deals during Black Friday 2021

If you have your heart set on grabbing a Black Friday external hard drive deal, the best thing you can do is start looking now. There's an increasing amount of competition between retailers to shift their discounted stock, so every year we're seeing stores and sites kick off their Black Friday sales earlier. Decide on your budget and what kind of drive you're looking for (HDD for size or SSD for speed, then keep your eyes on the best deals listed below.

The best advance Black Friday external hard drive deals: US

Jump to the UK deals

The best advance Black Friday external hard drive deals: US

The best advance Black Friday external SSD deals: US

The best advance Black Friday external hard drive deals: UK

The best advance Black Friday external SSD deals: UK

External hard drives: All you need to know

Black Friday external hard drive deals: What we expect to see — External drive bargains won't be massive, but you can get good savings

External hard drives aren't exactly the sexiest tech items, so you don't tend to see retailers offering headline-grabbing deals on these essentials. There are also so many different options, with different sizes and write speeds, that it can be hard to know where to start looking for deals. That's why we're the legwork for you. We'll be keeping the list above updated with the best Black Friday 2021 external hard drive deals throughout the sales.

There are already some good savings to be had on some of the best producers of external hard drives: companies like Western Digital, Seagate, LaCie and Samsung. These companies have vast catalogues of different models and introduce new versions fairly regularly, which means that the previous versions tend to get price cuts.

Come Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we're likely to see plenty of savings on models that have been recently superseded by newer versions, or that simply aren't selling as well as other external drives in their range. Our top tip for Black Friday external hard drive deals is to keep an eye on Western Digital offers (see our dedicated page for the best WD My Passport deals right now). The company has a huge range of external drives, and there's usually at least one big bargain to be found.

Which retailers offer Black Friday external hard drive deals?

Amazon.com: Great savings on a wide range of external drives
Best Buy : Loads of exclusive savings across several brands
Office Depot: Plenty of external drives to choose from
Walmart: Next-day delivery on hundreds of models
B&H Photo: Hundreds of dollars off top external hard drives
Very : Save on external hard drives from the UK
Currys PC World: There are a range of top deals on top quality brands
Amazon.co.uk: Great savings on a wide range of external drives
John Lewis: There will be loads of great savings to be had here

What are the best brands for external hard drives?

Always look for big-name brands such as Western Digital, Seagate, LaCie, Sandisk or Samsung when you're searching for an external drive. You're most likely to find big deals on their offerings, and you're also more certain to get a reliable drive that won't let you down. If you spot a dirt-cheap drive from a brand you've never heard of, make sure you seek out reviews to get an idea of its reliability before you buy – it could be cheap for a good reason.

Don't forget to check an assortment of retailers for the biggest choice. Amazon's Cyber Monday deals are always worth a look, but explore other online stores as well. Some of them might have cashback offers that could save you a little extra. Very, Best Buy and Walmart are worth keeping an eye on.

Should I buy a traditional hard drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD)?

There are two types of external hard drive: hard disk drives (HDD, also known as mechanical or traditional hard drives) or solid state drives (SSD). An SSD is faster, lighter and less power-hungry, whereas an HDD drive will be cheaper and slower than an SSD. However, HDDs are good for storing lots of data as they often have a high capacity.

So, if you want to store huge amounts of data while keeping prices low, a HDD is the way to go. But if speed is your top priority – for example, if you move a lot of large files, or want to run programs off the drive – then choose an SSD. Or, you can always use a smaller SSD for files that you need to access or move around often, and then store the other data that you use less often on a higher capacity HDD.

How do I choose an external hard drive?

Once you've decided whether you need a hard disk or an SSD, the key thing to decide is how much storage you need. One of the smaller external drives with 500GB is probably fine if you don't work with enormous files, but if your business involves videos then you're probably entering terabyte territory.

Beyond that, the most important thing to check is what type of connections an external drive has. At the very minimum you'll need a USB 3.0 connection; anything less and you'll be waiting a long time for your files to transfer. If you have a recent Mac then it may have a Thunderbolt 3 port; if so, try to find a drive that's compatible for lightning-fast transfer speeds.

More Black Friday external hard drive deals

Take a look at the options below for more of the best current prices on external hard drives.

Related articles:

Apple Black Friday 2021: Everything you need to know
Surface Pro Black Friday deals 2021: How to get the best deals
Black Friday Microsoft deals: What you need to know in 2021

Kerrie Hughes is editor of Creative Bloq. Kerrie was staff writer for 3D World magazine before joining the original Creative Bloq team in 2012. Since then she's written regularly for other publications, including ImagineFX, 3D World and Computer Arts magazines.