Best external hard drives for Xbox Series
By | Published: 2025-10-31 16:21:53 | Source: Digital Trends
Running out of storage space on your Xbox Series Just get more storage space in the form of an external hard drive. There are plenty of options, from massive drives to something intended for less demanding users, and I’m here to show you all of them.
While I haven’t tested all of these drives myself, I’m a gamer and tech journalist with over two decades of experience, so I know my way around hard drive specifications. With my solid knowledge of storage devices combined with hours of research, I only select drives that I know you can completely trust.
Whether you have an entire library of Xbox titles or a collection of them Cross-platform gamesWe’ve got you covered. Check out some of the best external hard drives for Xbox Series
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Best SSD for XBOX Series X
Seagate Expansion Card for Xbox Series
Pros
Plug and play
Made for Xbox
Play games directly from the card
Extremely portable
| specification: | |
| Storage options | 512GB / 1TB / 2TB |
| measuring | 7.8 x 31.6 x 52.95 mm |
| weight | 30 grams |
Having spent hours researching this topic, I can safely recommend Seagate Expansion Card for Xbox Series As the best external drive for Xbox Series This isn’t a hard drive per se, but it’s actually good news. Let me explain.
This expansion card is designed using NVMe SSD technology. It’s a compact expansion card that you can plug directly into the back slot of your Xbox Series It’s honestly a better choice than a traditional hard drive.
The card is available in 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, and up to 4TB capacities, and is fully plug-and-play. Users praise it for how smooth and fast it is to use. It’s not the cheapest option on this list, but it’s the best out there, so if you want great gaming performance, this expansion card is your best bet.
BEST HARD DRIVE FOR XBOX SERIES
Seagate Game Drive for Xbox
Pros
Made for Xbox
Up to 5TB of storage
At a reasonable price
cons
Much slower than SSDs
Games cannot be played directly
| specification: | |
| Storage options | 2TB/4TB |
| measuring | 14.5 x 80 x 122.5mm (2TB) / 21.5 x 81 x 122.5mm (4TB) |
| weight | 0.167 kg (2 TB) / 0.266 kg (4 TB) |
Want loads of Xbox Series Well, I have to give it to Seagate again here. The company holds the first place in this rating not only for external SSD drives, but also for hard drives.
This is an excellent option if you have a robust library of games that you want to store, but don’t necessarily intend to play them directly from the drive. This device connects via USB 3.0 and gives you plenty of space – up to 5TB – for all your games. That’s enough for hundreds of titles, which is great if you want to have a bunch of games pre-installed and ready to go.
The only problem here is that you can’t play games directly from the drive. You can use them for storage (as is usually the case with hard drives), but you’ll have to move them to internal Xbox storage to play. Transfer speeds will be slower than if you were using an SSD as well.
The good news? Most users praise this hard drive because it is easy to use and easy to backup.
Best budget expansion card for Xbox Series
WD_BLACK C50 Storage Expansion Card for Xbox
Pros
Easy to use
Completely plug and play
Play games without copying them
cons
Just to increase your Xbox storage capacity
| specification: | |
| Storage options | 512GB / 1TB / 2TB |
| measuring | 55.6 x 31.6 x 7.7 mm |
| weight | 25 grams |
The WD_Black C50 Storage Expansion Card for Xbox is the simplest way to add more space for your games on Xbox Series|S. External hard drives will require you to move games back and forth, but this expansion card is fully plug-and-play with full integration into your console to reduce complications.
The WD_BLACK C50 Storage Expansion Card is optimized for Xbox and meets Microsoft’s quality standards, and can provide up to 2TB of additional space1 For your favorite titles. Built with an ultra-fast NVMe SSD core, it uses the Xbox Velocity architecture for blazing-fast, low-latency performance, as if you were playing games on the console’s internal storage.
The WD_BLACK C50 Storage Expansion Card also supports Xbox’s Quick Resume feature, so you can instantly switch between multiple games.
1 – 1 terabyte = 1 trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less depending on operating environment.
Sponsored by SanDisk
BEST BULK STORAGE HARD DRIVE ON XBOX SERIES
WD_BLACK P10 Game Drive for Xbox
Pros
Huge capacities up to 6TB
Reliable and powerful
One month of Xbox Game Pass for free
Low cost per terabyte
cons
Slower transfer speeds
It cannot be used to play games
If you need a lot of storage space — and I really mean a lot — at a reasonable price, a hard drive is still your best bet. SSDs are infinitely faster, but cost more per terabyte, especially at larger capacities.
The WD_BLACK external hard drive is my favorite choice for Xbox Series It comes in sizes up to 6TB, which is (in all honesty) more than you’ll need for your Xbox library. I know WD_BLACK is a reputable brand, and I have used several Western Digital hard drives and SSDs myself over the years. So, I fully believe the reviews here, which praise the engine for how reliable it is, not to mention its great value.
You won’t be able to play games directly from this drive, but you can easily use it for storage. As an added bonus, it comes with a free month of Xbox Game Pass.
Best portable SSD for XBOX Series X
Crucial X10 Pro Mobile SSD
Pros
Ultra-fast transfer speeds
Wide compatibility
Can be used for storage outside of Xbox
cons
Not made for Xbox
More expensive than hard drives
I love a good portable SSD. Some of the best SSDs that you can install directly into a PC or laptop are faster, but they get stuck wherever you put them, and removing them and adding them back is a real chore… not to mention the fact that they can’t fit inside your Xbox, anyway.
Fortunately, a portable SSD is a great solution if you want really fast Xbox storage. This Crucial X10 Pro model offers read speeds of up to 2,100MB/s, meaning you’ll never have to wait too long to transfer your games.
It’s widely compatible, meaning that other than using it for your Xbox Series
I own an older model of one of Crucial’s portable SSDs and have nothing but great things to say about it, so I feel safe recommending this to you as a new, well-reviewed option.
Best powerful SSD for XBOX Series X
Samsung T7 Shield Mobile SSD
Pros
Blazing speed
Light and portable
AES-256 hardware encryption
IP65 dust and water resistance
cons
It could get a little hotter
More expensive than the base T7
We had the opportunity to review the Samsung T7 Shield, and it earned 4 stars out of 5 in our in-depth testing. Although it’s not made specifically for Xbox, it’s an excellent portable SSD, which means it deserves to be on this list.
The Samsung T7 Shield is super fast, but it’s also extremely durable. This is important if you tend to travel with your games, and makes it easy to store an SSD without worrying that all your installed titles will be gone at the drop of a hat.
This SSD offers speeds of up to 1050MB/s, and comes with 256-bit AES hardware encryption as well. This isn’t essential for the Xbox, but it’s great if you need secure storage for something else.
It’s really expensive, but we found it to be worth the hefty price tag. Buy it if you want something more than just Xbox storage.
The above list of the best SSDs for Xbox Series There are plenty of SSDs and HDDs on the market, and ultimately, the most important thing to consider is your budget – but these drives are bound to increase your storage capacity in a low-effort, high-value way.
(Tags for translation)Games
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