10 Best External Hard Drives For Video Editing in 2024

Affordable and high-quality external hard drives for video editing.

Those involved in video editing typically have to spend quite much money on powerful PC components to carry out various tasks without lags and freezes. Such programs as Adobe Premiere require a decent CPU, RAM memory and GPU to cope with video editing as efficiently as possible. Quite often pro-level users have to invest in an advanced external hard drive for video editing to make the most out of their system. Choosing a hard drive is rather difficult, as you need to keep in mind many features.

This article is devoted to the thorough study of the most reputable storage drives that have been tested and approved by experts. Besides, we have listed major criteria you need to consider before spending your money.

Capacity: 6TB | Interface: USB 3.0 & eSATA | Speed: 6 GB/s

Since the FD DVR6KEUB external hard drive has been designed for professional as well as amateur use, it is evident that there are a lot of great features that have been incorporated in it. Most of the good features come under the heading of compatibility and this mean that people who want to use the device need not have any problem in installing it. Those who intend to use it for professional reasons will find it easy to use since it comes with an interface that is designed in such a way that it will work with a wide range of operating systems.

A few other features that the external hard drive has included an in built compressor which will allow it to compress the video files that are being stored and will make them smaller in size. This will help the computer user to send these files to clients without having to worry about bandwidth and therefore making uploading videos even more effective.

Capacity: 4TB | Interface: USB 3.0 & eSATA | Speed: 6 GB/s

The FD DVR4KEUV external hard drive is a single device replacement for all three major types of hard drives that we see in personal and professional computing. It is a high capacity, high speed and affordable replacement for the floppy disk and the conventional USB 2.0 flash drives that we are so used to.

The FD DVR4KEUV external hard drive is designed to run on the same operating system as your computer and to function at maximum capacity. This means that you will get full compatibility, whether you use Windows or Mac. It can be installed easily and effortlessly and also runs at speeds that are twice as fast as a standard USB flash drive. In many ways the FD DVR4KEUV external hard drive is the perfect companion for professional photographers, web developers, network administrators and other computer administrators who require an efficient storage medium for their applications.

Capacity: 2TB | Interface: USB 3.0 & eSATA | Speed: 6 GB/s

The FD DVR2KEUS external hard drive is a great tool to record videos for the purpose of editing them. This device also serves as a memory dump recorder which records all the data that is required for the restoration of the computer system after an abrupt power loss. The dump video recorder saves the programs that are in the form of files on the hard drive and they are stored in the files. It is necessary to have a good data recovery software for recovering the lost data.

The external hard drive is designed in a way that it can be connected to the computer through a USB port. However, if you want to save files directly to the hard drive then you need an active external hard drive like the FD DVR2KEUS. Other benefits include ease of use and compatibility with most of the operating systems including XP, Window 2021, Window Vista and Mac OS X.

Capacity: 2TB | Interface: USB, USB 3.0 | Speed: 130MB/s

If you are an avid user of professional digital video cameras, you already know how secure they can be when you store them in your LaCie STFR2000403 external hard drive. This external hard drive from LaCie comes with two partitions: one for the personal data and one for the media. These two partitions can then be installed onto a PC or mac.

Take the rugged durability you have come to expect from your trusted LaCie brand and add the self encrypting magic of Seagate Secure technologies. What you receive is a solid-state hard drive that is impenetrable - never to be penetrated by even the most determined thief. LaCie Rugged Secure lets you safely transfer and store your sensitive material without ever worrying about unauthorized access, intellectual property theft, or dropped phones. All of this on top of total compatibility with both USB-C USB 3, and Thunderbolt 3. Not to mention the unbeatable weatherproof, drop-proof, and water-resistant protection.

Capacity: 2TB | Interface: USB, Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 | Speed: 140MB/s

G-Technology Gold offers the best of the best when it comes to hard drives and video recording. The G-Technology Gold external hard drive is not just an ordinary external hard drive. It can actually run graphic programs that you may be running on your computer. This means if you use things like Adobe Elements or Corel Draw, you can get the best of both worlds. With the G-Technology Gold, you can have a top of the line internal hard drive that also can run graphic software.

Its hard drive technology offers the same quality of sound and data storage as the company's larger hard drives, but at a smaller size. With the new technology available, you can get everything you need from an external hard drive and never worry about slowing down your computer again.

Capacity: 1TB | Interface: USB | Speed: 1050MB/s

Since this SAMSUNG MU-PC1T0H/AM drive is able to store large files like videos and pictures, it is commonly used by professional photographers and other professionals that regularly use digital cameras. You can also store a lot of data on this drive but this should not be done unless you have extra money or you are an expert in computer usage.

The SAMSUNG MU-PC1T0H/AM external hard drive comes with software that allows you to back up all your files in your computer using the FAT 32 file system. If you are familiar with this type of software then you will see the same functionality that you get from the hard drive. What this means is that you will be able to back up all the files that are stored on this drive no matter which operating system your computer is operating on. The only thing that you have to do is install the software from SAMSUNG to make it work.

Capacity: 2TB | Interface: USB 3.0 | Speed: 1 GB/s

For those professionals who are constantly working on their hard drives to store and edit video clips, the Western Digital WDBU6Y0020BBK external hard drive is an ideal choice. This drive is one of the best available in the market. It gives you high quality audio and video editing capabilities that help in editing different types of clips. It can also be used for recording videos.

There are many benefits of buying a Western Digital WDBU6Y0020BBK drive. These benefits include: superior performance - with a Western Digital drive you get superior performance from every aspect. From hard disk drive performance to video editing, you get everything from speed to reliability in this brand.

Capacity: 2TB | Interface: USB 3.0 | Speed: 130MB/s

The Western Digital WDBA2D0020BBL external hard drive is an affordable and reliable way to back up your computer. The external hard drive is small, reliable, portable, and trustworthy storage that give you total peace of mind and freedom to move forward in everyday life. With a stylish, compact design that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, it offers more room to store, secure, organize, transfer, and share all your important files, documents, pictures, music, and videos. Perfectly coupled with award-winning WD Backup software and optional password protection, the My Passport external hard drive helps maintain your valuable digital life's contents safely.

No matter what you need for your Western Digital WDBA2D0020BBL external hard drive for, you can rest assured that your information is secure. It's protected from damage and will work flawlessly under adverse conditions.

Capacity: 1TB | Interface: USB 3.0 | Speed: 120MB/s

Seagate STHN100040 external hard drive comes with built in recording devices and can record videos, photos and music. It is a combination of state-of-the-art technology and state-of-the-art components that are coupled together to give you the best. These come with a built in scheduler that enables your computer to remember and instantly retrieve the files whenever they are needed. In this high definition video and audio creation, your computer will be able to edit and trim, compress and transmit the files as they are played.

With an external hard drive, you can save your movies directly to your computer. You will never worry again about where you have stored your movies or music files because the Seagate STHN100040 external hard drive can store them on its internal flash memory. This can easily store more than 400 gigabytes worth of information. Another amazing feature of this external hard drive is that it is backwards compatible. This means that, even if two generations are compared, they will function in accordance to each other without any problem.

Capacity: 5TB | Interface: USB 3.0 | Speed: 6 GB/s

The ADATA AHD630-5TU31-CBL external hard drive offers fast and error-free data storage and backup. It has the capacity to store movies, photos, as well as all your digital content in one large 5 TB external hard drive. This drive can be used for your Mac or PC, whether it is for business or personal use. The built-in flash memory provides enough storage space for all your data. The built-in cable connectivity with FireWire port simplifies transfer of files.

The external hard drive by ADATA is also compatible with Windows operating systems. The drive offers fast access to all your data. It offers the double the data security compared to other ordinary hard drives. The most important and unique feature of this external hard drive by ADATA is that it can be used in both Mac and PC environment without any problem.

RAIDs have flooded the market, providing users with a range of storage drives that are configured to work as one whole. That’s why, RAID presupposes the usage of at least 2 paired drives, while enclosures can consist of 8+ drives. Of course, RAID systems are more appealing in terms of available capacity as they exceed single-drive options several times. However, higher capacity significantly raises a cost.

Not only the type of drives, but also their quantity affect speed. Video editing specialists frequently opt for RAID systems because they can access several drives at once, which results in quicker data processing than in the case with single drives. RAID 0 handles data on multiple drives, which eliminates redundancy, so we don’t recommend choosing such an option. A sure way to go is to use RAID 10, which guarantees the redundancy of RAID 1 mirroring without reducing speed. RAID 10 involves at least 4 drives, so keep these in mind while choosing a RAID enclosure.

Other popular variants are RAID 5 and 6. They both ensure stripping and parity for better speeds and data security.

Standard HDDs are a good value for money. However, you should expect amazing high transfer speeds using such drives. If you are shopping for the best external hard drive for video editing, don’t go lower than 500GB SSD. Those recording 4K RAW or high-res formats, have to purchase something bigger. Of course, capacious SSDs boast premium features, but they come with a hefty price tag.

Is portability really important for you? In case, you frequently relocate and need to have an external hard drive at hand, you definitely need a smaller model with shock-absorbent features. It also makes sense to buy a weather-sealed storage drive. This parameter is marked by IPXX rating. If portable dimensions play no role, you’d better get a standard-sized product with the highest capacity you can afford.