{"id":455003,"date":"2022-05-30T14:00:11","date_gmt":"2022-05-30T11:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/usb-flash-drive-vs-external-hard-drive-which-is-better\/"},"modified":"2022-05-30T14:00:11","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T11:00:11","slug":"usb-flash-drive-vs-external-hard-drive-which-is-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/usb-flash-drive-vs-external-hard-drive-which-is-better\/","title":{"rendered":"#USB Flash Drive vs. External Hard Drive: Which Is Better?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2eeb88f0520\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2eeb88f0520\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/usb-flash-drive-vs-external-hard-drive-which-is-better\/#%E2%80%9CUSB_Flash_Drive_vs_External_Hard_Drive_Which_Is_Better%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;USB Flash Drive vs. External Hard Drive: Which Is Better?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/usb-flash-drive-vs-external-hard-drive-which-is-better\/#External_Hard_Drives_Cheap_Spacious_and_Slow\" >External Hard Drives: Cheap, Spacious, and Slow<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/usb-flash-drive-vs-external-hard-drive-which-is-better\/#USB_Flash_Drives_Small_Portable_and_Quick\" >USB Flash Drives: Small, Portable, and Quick<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/usb-flash-drive-vs-external-hard-drive-which-is-better\/#External_SSDs_The_Best_of_Both_Worlds_at_a_Price\" >External SSDs: The Best of Both Worlds (at a Price)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/usb-flash-drive-vs-external-hard-drive-which-is-better\/#Consider_Cloud_Storage_Too\" >Consider Cloud Storage Too<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CUSB_Flash_Drive_vs_External_Hard_Drive_Which_Is_Better%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;USB Flash Drive vs. External Hard Drive: Which Is Better?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-800217 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/flash-drive-external-drive-laptop.jpg?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/flash-drive-external-drive-laptop.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/flash-drive-external-drive-laptop.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"An external hard drive connected to a laptop next to a USB drive.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/flash-drive-laptop-on-colorful-background-1116112520\" data-credittext=\"I-ing\/Shutterstock.com\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/flash-drive-laptop-on-colorful-background-1116112520\">I-ing\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking to expand your portable storage, you\u2019re likely considering either an external hard drive (HDD) or a smaller portable flash drive. So what are the differences, is one always better than the other, and are there other options?<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"External_Hard_Drives_Cheap_Spacious_and_Slow\"><\/span>External Hard Drives: Cheap, Spacious, and Slow<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Hard disk drives (HDDs) offer the most storage for your money, but it comes at the cost of speed. According to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.diskprices.com\">DiskPrices<\/a>, a website that aggregates storage prices from Amazon, you could pay as little as $0.014 per GB (or $13.76 total) when you buy a large 16TB external drive, or 0.035 per GB with a smaller 2.5\u2033 1TB external drive.<\/p>\n<p>While HDDs offer the best bang for your buck when it comes to capacity, read\/write speeds for hard disk drives typically top out at 200MB\/sec, with the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/hdd.userbenchmark.com\">fastest (internal) drives on UserBenchmark<\/a> measuring 198MB\/sec real-world sequential write speed. Most drives will be <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/53587\/usb-explained-all-the-different-types-and-what-theyre-used-for\/\">USB 3.0 or better<\/a> at this stage, which offers a maximum speed of around 640MB\/sec, which is plenty fast enough for the drive\u2019s internal abilities.<\/p>\n<p>Slower read and write speeds aren\u2019t the only thing holding them back, though. Since data is stored on spinning platters, these must \u201cspin up\u201d before the data can be accessed. This can add up to 10 seconds to each read or write request, depending on whether the drive is already spinning.<\/p>\n<p>A mechanical arm must then move across the platter to read or write data. This is the signature \u201cclicking\u201d noise you can hear while an HDD is in use, and it also represents a point of failure. Since hard drives rely on moving parts, they\u2019re more prone to failure particularly when it comes to drops or other impacts.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re not too worried about having the fastest read or write performance and aren\u2019t going to be carrying your drive around on a regular basis, consider a hard drive for your storage needs. They\u2019re good for archiving old projects, functioning as\u00a0\u201ccold storage\u201d for an Xbox console, or\u00a0creating local Time Machine backups\u00a0(or the Windows equivalent). Check out\u00a0our top-rated external hard drives\u00a0for some recommendations.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"USB_Flash_Drives_Small_Portable_and_Quick\"><\/span>USB Flash Drives: Small, Portable, and Quick<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If capacity is less important to you than speed or portability, a USB flash drive might be a better choice. DiskPrices affirms that you can get a relatively quick USB 3.2 (gen 1) flash drive for around $0.070 per GB (or $70.27 per TB) with a capacity of 128GB. For higher capacity (256GB) USB 3.1 drives, the price is around $0.093 per GB.<\/p>\n<p>The main drawback to choosing a USB flash drive is its overall capacity. The current largest drives top out at 1TB, like the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B08GYPZ8GN?tag=hotoge-20\">SanDisk Extreme PRO<\/a>\u00a0at a price of around $0.136 per GB. You could get an 8TB external drive for around the same price if you went the hard disk route.<\/p>\n<p>These high-performing flash drives advertise theoretical read speeds of 420MB\/sec or better, but in the real world, they manage sequential read speeds around 250MB\/sec. It\u2019s a similar case with advertised write speeds (around 380MB\/sec) versus real-world performance (around 200MB\/sec) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/usb.userbenchmark.com\/SpeedTest\/7603\/SanDisk-ExtremePro\">according to UserBenchmark<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s most important to remember here is that flash drives have no spinning platters, which means no additional delays when it comes to read and write requests. They\u2019re also able to take more of a beating since there are no moving parts. Plus, they\u2019re much smaller, which makes them a better choice for carrying around.<\/p>\n<p>If you can find <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lifesavvy.com\/reviews\/the-best-usb-flash-drives-to-save-your-files\/\">a flash drive<\/a> that\u2019s big enough for your needs, you will find it provides a faster, more reliable, and considerably better portable experience. Just be sure when you\u2019re buying to get a drive that\u2019s rated for USB 3.0 speeds or better since there are plenty of cheap drives around sporting the older USB 2.0 standard that come with a serious speed penalty.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"External_SSDs_The_Best_of_Both_Worlds_at_a_Price\"><\/span>External SSDs: The Best of Both Worlds (at a Price)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019ve purchased a laptop in the last five or so years, it\u2019s almost certainly come with an internal solid state drive (SSD). These drives are similar to portable USB drives in that they use flash storage cells rather than a spinning magnetic platter to store data. The upside is that they\u2019re available in much higher capacities, allowing them to perform the same duties as a hard drive.<\/p>\n<p>The downside is that SSDs are far more expensive than the alternatives, with DiskPrices reporting that the cheapest external drive works out at $0.077 per GB or $77.50 per TB for a 2TB drive. This is comparable with USB flash memory in terms of cost, with the caveat that you\u2019ll be able to store more data for a larger initial investment.<\/p>\n<p>With an SSD, you\u2019re paying for both speed and durability. The fastest (internal) SSDs can reach sequential write speeds of around 3750MB\/sec, but keep in mind that USB 3.2 (gen 2) caps out at a theoretical 1250MB\/sec, with USB 3.2 (gen 2\u00d72) doubling this to 2500MB\/sec. Don\u2019t expect the same high read and write speeds from a USB drive that you\u2019re used to seeing from an M.2 drive in a laptop, desktop, or PlayStation 5.<\/p>\n<p>What you will get however is best in class performance from a portable drive, in capacities that far exceed what a portable USB stick is capable of. SSDs are also more rugged than their hard drive equivalents on account of not using any moving parts. They\u2019re also often much smaller, falling somewhere between a thumb drive and a small portable HDD.<\/p>\n<p>If speed and durability are a concern and you want something that will still feel fast in a few years compared to older mediums, consider an SSD for your portable storage needs. Capacity is the main concern, so make sure you buy a big enough drive to cover your future needs even if it costs a bit more than you\u2019d like initially. Wondering where to start? Check out our top-rated external solid-state drives.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Consider_Cloud_Storage_Too\"><\/span>Consider Cloud Storage Too<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Depending on what you\u2019re using your drive for, cloud storage could be a better option. It\u2019s a far cheaper initial investment and the price scales with your requirements. It\u2019s perfect for collaborative projects, provided you and your collaborators have fast and reliable internet access.<\/p>\n<p>Check out some of the best free cloud storage platforms\u00a0to get started without spending a penny.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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So what are the differences, is one always better than the other, and are there other options? External Hard Drives: Cheap,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":455004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/flash-drive-external-drive-laptop.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-455003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}