tom's Hardware

Built for the professional market and priced as such, SanDisk’s Extreme Pro v2 has a durable, secure design. When paired with the latest systems that fully support its USB 20 Gbps connection, it delivers very fast file transfer speeds that rival the Thunderbolt 3-based competition. The Extreme Pro v2 houses WD’s SN730E, a PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD, and an ASMedia ASM2364 USB Gen 2x2 bridge chip. All of this is protected by a rigid aluminum chassis that’s covered in an impact-absorbing silicone. The drive is even IP55 water and dust-resistant. Not only is it fast and well-designed, but it is also secure, coming with AES 256-bit full-disk encryption and password protection for those who need to keep their data locked away from prying eyes. If you like the idea of a 20 Gbps SSD but don't quite have the budget for SanDisk's Pro v2 drive, Kingston's XS2000 isn't quite as fast, especially under sustained workloads. But it sells for about $50 less at the 1TB capacity. 

Wirecutter

The second version of the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD has the same speed, features, and short cable of our pick, the WD My Passport SSD. The SanDisk is more rugged, but it’s also a bit more expensive.

Best for Most

pcmag.com

walmart

coolblue.nl

techradar.com

bazaarvoice

amazon.com

The Western Digital My Passport SSD has a good mix of reliability, speed, and size, along with a five-year warranty—the longest of any drive we found.

Budget Pick

cnet.com

expert-review

The Best Portable SSD

Samsung&rsquo;s T7 Shield is an iterative upgrade over previous models, but it comes with newer, faster flash. More importantly it's been optimized to maintain very high sequential write speeds, which is exceedingly important for external drives, while also being ruggedized for tough, outdoor environments. It's IP65-rated for dust and water resistance, and Samsung says it can handle drops of up to 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches).
There are speedier, pricier 20 Gbps drives available today, and even faster USB4 drives are on the horizon. But at the moment, the T7 Shield&rsquo;s write consistency, paired with its reasonable price, makes it great for photographers and videographers, particularly those on the go.
Read: Samsung T7 Shield Portable Review

Samsung&rsquo;s T7 Touch is an innovative portable SSD that blends USB 3.2 Gen 2 performance with convenient AES 256-bit hardware security that&rsquo;s unlocked by the touch of your fingertip. The built-in fingerprint scanner is the most convenient way to unlock your data that we&rsquo;ve seen yet. The design is elegant and to a higher standard than your ordinary run-of-the-mill portable drive. The aluminum construction is solid, and various color options are available to suit your unique taste.
That said, G-Technology's recent ArmorLock drive gives Samsung a run for its secure storage money, by using an app and key that's stored on your Android or iOS phone to unlock your drive. It may not be as convenient as swiping your finger across a sensor on your external SSD, but it might just be more secure.
Read: Samsung T7 Touch Portable SSD Review  

theverge.com

TechGearLab

It's hard to gush too much about the Samsung Portable SSD. This lightweight hard drive &#40;1.75 ounces&#41; fits into the palm of your hand, making it an excellent option for travel. It features AES 265-bit encryption with password protection and a metal housing that is drop-resistant up to two meters. Read and write speeds are lightning fast. While the manufacturer claims a speed up to 540 MB/S, we clocked it up to 506 MB/S &#40;Blackmagic Speed Test, MacOS&#41; and 462 MB/S &#40;CrystalMark Test, Windows&#41;. The drag and drop speeds average 237 MB/S when averaging timed tests of moving files 2, 6, 10, and 100 GB in size. We found it was three times faster than other external hard drives and comes in an ultra-packable size &#40;with neat colors&#41; that we love.
It's hard to find many drawbacks to the Samsung Portable SSD. The price is a bit high per GB. As you go up in storage, however, the value improves. Aside from that, this is the SSD we recommend for the folks who can afford it.

Samsung's Trusty T7 Portable SSD is Discounted Today | Digital Trends

Driven by an OEM variant of a Samsung 970 EVO and an Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt 3-to-PCIe bridge, Samsung&rsquo;s X5 is the fastest Thunderbolt 3 portable SSD we&rsquo;ve tested. Not only will it help speed up your workflow, but it also comes with an additional layer of AES 256-bit hardware-based encryption and password protection for those who need to meet compliance requirements. The three-year warranty is lacking for the professional crowd, and we wish the company offered more color options like those found with the company&rsquo;s T5 and T7 portable SSDs.
Read: Samsung X5 Portable SSD Review

dpreview.com

If you're constantly transferring large media files or data sets between computers, you'll love the PNY Pro Elite 256GB. This model is also great for editing photos and videos without moving them onto your computer. It's crazy fast &mdash; it wrote our 5GB speed torture test folder in just 2 minutes, a mere fraction of what it took most drives. It also gobbled up a 5GB movie file in only 20 seconds, and the read speeds are even faster. This blazing speed is backed up by a stylish and durable all-metal build. It is one of the few full-sized flash drives that we are confident could survive the wear and tear of living on a keychain. 
The PNY Pro Elite 256GB is considerably more expensive than most flash drives on the market. However, the extra speed it affords will be well worth the investment if you're one that continually moves large files around.

Portable SSD Comparison