The best portable SSDs are a steal on Amazon Prime Day 2020

Samsung T7 Touch portable SSD
(Image credit: Samsung)

Amazon Prime Day 2020 has seen some of the best external SSDs surfacing at some of their lowest prices ever. These speedy drives are an absolute necessity if you need to shift big bulks of data, fast. And, looking at some of these deals, now is a great time to invest in some portable Solid State goodness.

First off, our most favoured external storage devices, the Samsung squad, are looking to be a great option right now. The 1TB Samsung T7 Touch portable SSD has had a 30% price drop, and the 2TB version of the Samsung T5 (our current pick for the best external SSD) is just $236.24 right now, down from $278. If you want to have a look at the differences in more detail, check out this article.

Whether you're getting into the next-gen console scene with the rapidly increasing file-sizes, or are looking for something to lug around those colossal files for college or work, even if you just need shift some high quality movies from place to place, we've put together a list of the best deals this Prime Day so you don't end up running 'round like a chicken with its data cut off.

Samsung T7 Touch Portable SSD 1TB |$229.99$159.99 at Amazon

Samsung T7 Touch Portable SSD 1TB | $229.99 $159.99 at Amazon
This mid sized SSD boasts read speeds of 1,050MB/s, and write speeds of 1,000MB/s. That's double the speed of the T5, but with an extra novelty feature to consider: It's also fingerprint protected. It's not that much bulkier than the T5, and will still fit snugly into your pocket (unless you wear ladies trousers—please can we have some larger pockets up in here?)

Samsung T5 Portable SSD 2TB |$279.99$236.24 at Amazon

Samsung T5 Portable SSD 2TB | $279.99 $236.24 at Amazon
This ones got a little more space to pack your files in, but read and write times are slower. It clocks in at 404MB/s read and 400MB/s write speeds, which is half as fast, but with double the storage space. Your call, really.

Crucial X8 Portable SSD 1TB |$189.95$149.95 at Amazon

Crucial X8 Portable SSD 1TB | $189.95 $149.95 at Amazon
A speedy alternative to Samsung's lot, which is also pretty reasonable in price right now. This one clocks in with read/write speeds of 1,050MB/s and 1,000MB/s respectively. It's got a low heat output, and is also a pretty durable piece of kit.

SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB |$164.32$128.84 at Amazon

SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB | $164.32 $128.84 at Amazon
A rugged SSD here, with a rubber chassis and an IP55 rating—usewful if you ever drop it in your drink. Just in case you're climbing rockfaces to get your data where it needs to be, it has a hole perfectly sized for a carabiner clip... It clocks in at around 560MB/s read and over 500MB/s write speeds, and comes with a 3 year warranty.

SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD 1TB |$279.99$154.99 at Amazon

SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD 1TB | $279.99 $154.99 at Amazon
With the same rigid, water resistant chassis as the above, but with throughput just south of 1000MB/s this is even more of a steal. This also comes with a USB Type-C cable, and a Type-A adaptor and has a 5 year warranty included in the price.

Titanium One Portable External SSD 1TB |$158.99$129.99 at Amazon

Titanium One Portable External SSD 1TB | $158.99 $129.99 at Amazon
A 3D NAND flash disk, spitting up read/writes of just over 430Mb/s. Not the greatest, but the IP66 rating is reassuring, with the USB connector safely tucking into a little waterproof nook, complete with suave cable routing (love it). Plus, there's a 3 year warranty, to boot.

Some really great deals coming out this Amazon Prime Day, but please heed my words: no matter how rugged an SSD you manage to bag today, don't play catch with it. Or go rock climbing with it. In all seriousness though, it's worth taking a look at the top one, especially. 

Katie Wickens
Hardware Writer

Screw sports, Katie would rather watch Intel, AMD and Nvidia go at it. Having been obsessed with computers and graphics for three long decades, she took Game Art and Design up to Masters level at uni, and has been demystifying tech and science—rather sarcastically—for three years since. She can be found admiring AI advancements, scrambling for scintillating Raspberry Pi projects, preaching cybersecurity awareness, sighing over semiconductors, and gawping at the latest GPU upgrades. She's been heading the PCG Steam Deck content hike, while waiting patiently for her chance to upload her consciousness into the cloud.