"Cheap" is a trap when it comes to hard drives. The lowest sticker price in a search result is usually a small drive with terrible cost per terabyte — you pay less today and more per byte stored than almost any other buyer. This page ranks the drives we track by what storage actually costs, so cheap means good value, not just small number.
The cheapest storage per terabyte right now
These two classes — bare 3.5" internals and desktop externals (the same mechanisms in a powered enclosure) — are where genuinely cheap storage lives. If your machine can take one, start here.
Cheapest internal hard drives
For desktops, NAS boxes, and backup targets. Ranked by live price, cheapest first:
Cheapest external and portable hard drives
Desktop externals give you near-internal pricing in a plug-in box. Portables cost more per terabyte but run off a single USB cable:
| Product | Best price | Stores |
|---|---|---|
| Iomega 500GB eGo Portable External Hard Drive w/ Protective Sleeve - Black | $12.50 | 1 |
| Seagate FreeAgent Go Portable USB External 320GB Hard Drive 9ZA2AG-502 | $12.85 | 1 |
| Western Digital WD 500GB 2.5in USB-Powered Mini USB HDD 5400RPM Black | $14.50 | 1 |
| Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1TB External Portable Hard Drive PN:9ZF2A5-500 1 TB | $15.00 | 1 |
| Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 500GB Portable External HDD USB 3.0 Black | $15.00 | 1 |
| Hitachi 465 GB Hard Drive USB Portable External Drive | $15.00 | 1 |
Cheap SSDs, if speed matters more than bulk
A hard drive is the wrong buy for a boot drive or working files. If that's what you're actually shopping for, budget SATA SSDs are the crossover point:
How to buy a cheap hard drive without getting burned
- Don't buy the smallest capacity. The bottom of a product line is where per-terabyte cost is worst. Stepping up one or two capacities usually costs little and stores much more.
- Check the price history first. Every drive here links to a page with its tracked price chart. A drive at its historical low is a real deal; a drive at its everyday price with a sale banner is not.
- Watch for refurbished and recertified listings. They can be legitimate value, but compare against new-drive $/TB before assuming the discount is worth the shorter warranty.
- Know what class you're buying. A cheap portable can cost more per terabyte than a mid-priced desktop external. The tables above stay separated by class so you're comparing like with like.
Still deciding how much capacity you need? Our terabyte cost guide breaks down the math, the hard drive price tracker shows where prices are trending, and the full storage deals page covers SSDs in more depth. If you're waiting on one particular drive, the Walmart price tracker covers how alerts work.