The best cheap SSDs of 2021 | The comparison
Once upon a time, the best cheap SSDs weren't so cheap. In fact, owning an SSD was an extravagance reserved for premium systems. Thankfully, a lot has changed since then. These days, there are plenty of reasonably priced SSDs that can perform just as well as any of those expensive drives from a few years ago.
While there are still plenty of high-end SSDs on the market, you'll find that some of the best budget SSDs can match them in performance or even capacity. So you've come to the right place if you're looking to improve your storage capacity, whether you're a creator, a gamer, or if you want to increase data access performance on your corporate machine.
We've had the opportunity to test many SSDs over the years and in all price ranges. If you're looking for the best cheap SSDs, we can help you find something. Not only are there plenty of options, but you don't have to compromise on performance to find something at your preferred price point. You might be looking for the latest PCIe M.2 SSD, external SSD, or SATA-compatible SSD. You'll find something here that will work for you, whatever your storage needs.
The best cheap SSDs at a glance
(Image credit: Adata)
1. Adata XPG SX8200 Pro
Incredible performance for the price
Features
Capacity: 240GB / 480GB / 960GB
Interface: PCIe Gen 3 x4 M.2
Warranty: 5 years
Reasons to buy
+ Phenomenal price/performance ratio + Fast random read/write speeds
Reasons to avoid
-Sequential write speed is a bit behind
The latest SSDs come with a PCIe M.2 interface, which is much faster than a standard SATA connection. These new SSDs fit directly into the motherboard, giving you the ability to read and write data extremely quickly. In the case of the Adata XPG SX8200 SSD, we’re talking about speeds of up to 3060MB/s for sequential read and 1765MB/s for sequential write. It even has 403MB/s random access read.
These are impressive numbers, but they are even more so once you realize that you can find prices for the Adata XPG SX8200 SSD ranging from €50 to €85 for a 256GB SSD. The price/performance ratio makes it one of the best budget SSDs you’ll find anywhere.
Read our full review: Adata XPG SX8200 SSD Review
(Image credit: HP)
2.HP S700 Pro
It may not be the fastest, but it's built to last
Features
Capacity: 128GB / 256GB / 512GB / 1TB
Interface: SATA 3
Warranty: 3 years
Reasons to buy
+ Very long service life + Economical
Reasons to avoid
-It's not the fastest SSD on the market at this price
Even though PCIe is the next step up for SSDs, not all motherboards support these interfaces. The HP S700 Pro SSD uses the standard SATA 3 connector, so it’s not as fast as newer PCIe SSDs, but it’s almost as fast as you’ll ever get with a SATA cable. With a sequential read speed of 562 MB/s and a sequential write speed of 509 MB/s, the S700 Pro is still plenty fast for most users and always a step ahead of a hard drive with spinning platters.
One of the main problems with these spinning drives, aside from slow speeds, is their potential failure due to wear and tear. This is where the HP S700 Pro really stands out because its MTBF (mean time between failures) is rated at 2,000,000 hours, allowing it to keep your data safe for a long time.
Read our full review: HP S700 SSD
(Image credit: Seagate)
3. Seagate Fast SSD
One of the best cheap SSDs on the market is a laptop.
Features
Capacity: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB
Interface: USB Type C
Warranty: 3 years
Reasons to buy
+ Excellent performance + Very affordable for a laptop
Reasons to avoid
-Short cable length
Portable SSDs offer the benefit of fast data access while still being portable enough to take to work or school. Perfect for laptops with low-capacity drives, the Seagate Fast SSD is one of the best budget SSDs to give you the extra space you're looking for.
Portability comes at a cost, though, and portable SSDs aren’t the fastest on the market, but the Seagate Fast SSD lives up to its hype with a sequential read speed of 440MB/s and sequential write speed of 439MB/s, according to our CrystalDiskMark testing. You won’t get this kind of performance in many laptops, making the Seagate Fast SSD the top choice for the best budget SSD for users on the go.
Read our full review: Seagate Fast SSD
(Image credit: Western Digital)
4.WD Black SN750
Loading screen? What loading screen?
Features
Capacity: 250GB / 500GB / 1TB / 2TB
Interface: PCIe Gen 3 x4 M.2
Warranty: 5 years
Reasons to buy
+ Incredibly fast random write speed + Very affordable
Reasons to avoid
-Essentially the same material as previous models, just slower
One of the best budget SSDs we’ve tested is the WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD. The WD Black SN750 NVMe is based on nearly the same memory architecture as the older WD Black NVMe, managing decent performance gains only through device firmware updates.
The 500GB model with a sequential read speed of 3470MB/s and a sequential write speed of 2600MB/s, all for under €100. With performance like this at this price, the WD Black SN750 NVMe is undoubtedly one of the best budget SSDs for hardcore gamers who don’t have a lot of money to spend on anything other than their graphics card.
Read our full review: WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD Review
(Image credit: Samsung)
5.Samsung 860 Pro
The best SATA SSD is cheaper than you think
Features
Capacity: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB / 2TB / 4TB
Interface: SATA 3
Warranty: 5 years
Reasons to buy
+ Enhanced security and encryption + The fastest you'll get from a SATA 3
Reasons to avoid
-Not much faster than the Samsung 850 Pro
When it comes to SATA SSDs, Samsung has been the industry leader for quite some time now. That hasn’t changed thanks to the Samsung 860 Pro SSD. An improvement over the 850 Pro, the 860 Pro has a sequential read speed of 562,9 MB/s and a sequential write speed of 532,7 MB/s, making it as fast as anything you’ll ever get with a SATA SSD.
Better yet, Samsung claims the 860 Pro is capable of writing 4,800TB of data without fail, meaning if you're looking for a SATA SSD you can rely on for the long haul, the Samsung 860 Pro has you covered.
Read our full review: Samsung 860 Pro SSD Review
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