I compiled a list of 167 hard disk drives worth buying - here are six things I found out

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From 8TB becoming the new baseline to 30TB+ models, this is where the HDD market is heading

A hard disk drive with fiber optics overlayed
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
  • Hard drives still matter where capacity, cost efficiency and durability outweigh raw speed
  • Most modern hard drives are built for data centers, servers and specialized storage roles
  • Consumer hard drives are now rare, while enterprise, NAS and video drives dominate

Hard disk drives are often written off as legacy tech, but a closer look at what is still on sale tells a different story.

After compiling a detailed list of 167 of the best hard disk drives worth buying, six clear points emerged about who is still making HDDs, what they’re building, and who they’re actually for.

The first thing which stands out relates to brand. Western Digital has more drives on the list than anyone else, with 66 models spanning consumer, NAS, enterprise, and specialist categories. That range stretches from WD Blue consumer drives to WD Gold and Ultrastar models designed for data centers.

Today's best hard disk drive deals

Western Digital 20TB WD Red Pro NAS
Save 25%
Western Digital 20TB WD Red Pro NAS: was $467 now $350 at Newegg

This 3.5-inch NAS hard drive is built for multi-bay systems. It uses CMR recording, spins at 7,200RPM, connects over SATA 6Gb/s, and includes a 512MB cache. It’s designed for continuous operation and heavier workloads in professional or small business NAS environments, with reliability features.

View Deal
Western Digital 16TB WD Red Pro Nas
Save 17%
Western Digital 16TB WD Red Pro Nas: was $360 now $300 at Amazon

This 3.5-inch NAS HDD is for home and small business storage. It spins at 7,200 RPM, uses CMR recording, and offers SATA 6 Gb/s connectivity. It’s built for reliable, continuous multi-bay NAS use under heavier workloads.

View Deal
Seagate 8TB BarraCuda Compute
Save 8%
Seagate 8TB BarraCuda Compute: was $170 now $157 at Amazon

If you don't require massive amounts of storage, the BarraCuda 8TB may suit you fine. The 3.5-inch internal hard drive spins at 5,400 RPM, connects via SATA 6 Gb/s and includes a 256 MB cache. It’s aimed at general storage use in computers.

View Deal
Western Digital 8TB WD Blue
Save 5%
Western Digital 8TB WD Blue: was $190 now $180 at Amazon

Another lower capacity HDD, the 8TB WD Blue spins at 5,640 RPM, uses SATA 6 Gb/s and includes a 256 MB cache. It’s designed for everyday desktop storage.

View Deal
TOSHIBA 18TB N300 NAS
Save 15%
TOSHIBA 18TB N300 NAS: was $410 now $349 at Amazon

Built for multi-bay storage systems, Toshiba’s N300 18TB NAS drive uses CMR recording, spins at 7,200 RPM, offers SATA 6 Gb/s connectivity and a 512 MB cache. It’s designed for reliable, continuous operation under heavy workloads in home, small business, and enterprise NAS environments.

View Deal
Seagate 24TB Exos X24 Enterprise
Save 12%
Seagate 24TB Exos X24 Enterprise: was $600 now $530 at Amazon

This 24TB enterprise-grade internal HDD offers 7200 RPM performance and SATA 6 Gb/s connectivity. It’s built for heavy-duty, always-on data centre and server environments, offering high capacity, reliability and a 2.5 million-hour MTBF.

View Deal

8TB is the new baseline

My second takeaway concerns capacity. Seagate is the king of the high end drives, offering six models above 30TB, including multiple Exos M and Exos X variants that go far beyond what most people associate with spinning disks.

No other manufacturer comes close. While HDDs have disappeared from many consumer devices, capacity growth at the top end is still hugely important.

Capacity clustering tells its own story. 8TB is the most common size on the list, appearing 21 times, followed closely by 12TB with 20 entries.

These capacities show up repeatedly in families like WD Red Plus, Seagate IronWolf, and Toshiba N300. Drives below 8TB are now all but obsolete in new 3.5-inch models.

The fourth finding likely won’t come as a huge surprise. Almost half of the models, 80 in total, are enterprise drives designed for data centers and large-scale storage.

Product lines such as Seagate Exos, WD Ultrastar, and Toshiba MG dominate this category, and it's where most HDD development effort is now focused, rather than on everyday desktops.

The fifth takeaway reveals a more focused audience. There are 43 NAS-specific drives, including Seagate IronWolf and IronWolf Pro, WD Red Plus and Red Pro, and Toshiba’s N300 range. These are built for always-on systems in home servers and small businesses.

Surveillance drives are far less common, with only 17 models dedicated to video workloads, such as WD Purple and Seagate SkyHawk AI.

Interestingly, only 10 drives on the long list are aimed at mainstream consumers and Toshiba is the only manufacturer still treating hard drives as performance hardware. If offers 15 models in its X300 and X300 Pro lines for high-performance desktops and workstations rather than everyday PCs.

It’s clear that while HDDs haven’t disappeared, as SSDs took over speed-driven tasks, spinning disks have now settled into roles where capacity, durability, and cost per TB matter the most.

A quick note on the list. It excludes all hard disk drives below 8TB, which are now all but obsolete in new 3.5-inch models. It also only includes 3.5-inch drives, not 2.5-inch ones. Drives from professional refurbishers or relabeled models sold under brands like HP or Dell were left out. Where multiple SKUs of the same drive existed with minor differences such as cache size, encryption, or formatting, only a single representative model was counted.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
These are the 167 hard disk drives worth buying

Brand

Model

Model ID

Capacity

Segment

Seagate

BarraCuda 8TB

ST8000DM004

8TB

Consumer

Seagate

BarraCuda 16TB

ST16000DM001

16TB

Consumer

Seagate

BarraCuda 20TB

ST20000DM001

20TB

Consumer

Seagate

BarraCuda 24TB

ST24000DM001

24TB

Consumer

Seagate

BarraCuda 28TB

ST28000DM000

28TB

Consumer

Toshiba

MD07 12TB

MD07ACA12T

12TB

Consumer

Toshiba

MD07 14TB

MD07ACA14T

14TB

Consumer

Western Digital

WD Blue 8TB

WD80EAAZ

8TB

Consumer

Western Digital

WD Blue 10TB

WD100EAGZ

10TB

Consumer

Western Digital

WD Blue 12TB

WD120EAGZ

12TB

Consumer

Western Digital

WD Black 8TB

WD8002FZBX

8TB

Performance

Western Digital

WD Black 10TB

WD102FZBX

10TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 8TB

HDWR780XZSTA

8TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 10TB

HDWR71AXZSTA

10TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 12TB

HDWR51CXZSTA

12TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 14TB

HDWR51EUZSVA

14TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 16TB

HDWR51GXZSTA

16TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 18TB

HDWR51JUZSVA

18TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 20TB

HDWR62AXZSTA

20TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 Pro 8TB

HDWR780XZSTB

8TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 Pro 10TB

HDWR71AXZSTB

10TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 Pro 12TB

HDWR51CXZSTB

12TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 Pro 14TB

HDWR51EXZSTB

14TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 Pro 16TB

HDWR51GXZSTB

16TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 Pro 18TB

HDWR51JXZSTB

18TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 Pro 20TB

HDWR62AXZSTB

20TB

Performance

Toshiba

X300 Pro 22TB

HDWR62AXZSTB

22TB

Performance

Seagate

IronWolf 8TB

ST8000VN004

8TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf 10TB

ST10000VN000

10TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf 12TB

ST12000VN0008

12TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf 16TB

ST16000VN001

16TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 8TB

ST8000NT001

8TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 12TB

ST12000NT001

12TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 14TB

ST14000NT001

14TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 16TB

ST16000NT001

16TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 18TB

ST18000NT001

18TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 20TB

ST20000NT001

20TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 22TB

ST22000NT001

22TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 24TB

ST24000NT002

24TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 28TB

ST28000NT000

28TB

NAS

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 30TB

ST30000NT011

30TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 8TB

HDWG780XZSTA

8TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 10TB

HDWG71AXZSTA

10TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 12TB

HDWG51CXZSTA

12TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 14TB

HDWG51EXZSTA

14TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 16TB

HDWG51GXZSTA

16TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 18TB

HDWG51JXZSTA

18TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 20TB

HDWG62AXZSTA

20TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 Pro 8TB

HDWG780XZSTB

8TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 Pro 10TB

HDWG71AXZSTB

10TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 Pro 12TB

HDWG51CXZSTB

12TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 Pro 14TB

HDWG51EXZSTB

14TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 Pro 16TB

HDWG51GXZSTB

16TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 Pro 18TB

HDWG51JXZSTB

18TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 Pro 20TB

HDWG62AXZSTB

20TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 Pro 22TB

HDWG62CXZSTB

22TB

NAS

Toshiba

N300 Pro 24TB

HDWG82EXZSTB

24TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Plus 8TB

WD80EFPX

8TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Plus 10TB

WD101EFBX

10TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Plus 12TB

WD120EFGX

12TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Pro 8TB

WD8005FFBX

8TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Pro 10TB

WD103KFBX

10TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Pro 12TB

WD122KFBX

12TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Pro 14TB

WD142KFGX

14TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Pro 16TB

WD161KFGX

16TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Pro 18TB

WD181KFGX

18TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Pro 20TB

WD202KFGX

20TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Pro 22TB

WD221KFGX

22TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Pro 24TB

WD241KFGX

24TB

NAS

Western Digital

WD Red Pro 26TB

WD260KFGX

26TB

NAS

Seagate

Exos 2X18 16TB

ST16000NM0092

16TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos 2X18 18TB

ST18000NM0092

18TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos 7E10 8TB

ST8000NM018B

8TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos 7E10 10TB

ST10000NM018B

10TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos X18 10TB

ST10000NM018G

10TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos X18 12TB

ST12000NM000J

12TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos X18 14TB

ST14000NM000J

14TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos X18 16TB

ST16000NM000J

16TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos X18 18TB

ST18000NM000J

18TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos X20 18TB

ST18000NM003D

18TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos X20 20TB

ST20000NM007D

20TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos X24 12TB

ST12000NM002H

12TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos X24 16TB

ST16000NM002H

16TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos X24 20TB

ST20000NM002H

20TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos X24 24TB

ST24000NM002H

24TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos M 28TB

ST28000NM003K

28TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos M 30TB

ST30000NM004K

30TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos M 32TB

ST32000NM003K

32TB

Enterprise

Seagate

Exos M 36TB

ST36000NM003K

36TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HA340 8TB

0B47078

8TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HA340 10TB

0B47062

10TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HA340 12TB

0B47063

12TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC320 8TB

0B36404

8TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC330 10TB

0B42266

10TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC520 12TB

0F30146

12TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC530 14TB

0F31051

14TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC550 14TB

0F38581

14TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC550 16TB

0F38462

16TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC550 18TB

0F38459

18TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC560 20TB

0F38785

20TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC560 20TB

0F38755

20TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC570 22TB

0F48155

22TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC580 22TB

0F62784

22TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC580 24TB

0F62795

24TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC590 24TB

0F65684

24TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC590 26TB

0F65672

26TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC650 20TB

ultrastar-dc-hc650-20-tb

20TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC670 26TB

ultrastar-dc-hc670-26-tb

26TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC680 26TB

0F62892

26TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC680 27TB

0F62898

27TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC680 28TB

0F62904

28TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC690 30TB

WSH723200ALN601

30TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar DC HC690 32TB

WSH723220ALN601

32TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar HC555 12TB

0B48720

12TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar HC555 14TB

0B48721

14TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar HC555 16TB

0B48722

16TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar HC555 18TB

0B48723

18TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

Ultrastar HC555 20TB

0B48724

20TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

WD Gold 8TB

WD8005FRYZ

8TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

WD Gold 10TB

WD103KRYZ

10TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

WD Gold 12TB

WD122KRYZ

12TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

WD Gold 14TB

WD142KRYZ

14TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

WD Gold 16TB

WD161KRYZ

16TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

WD Gold 18TB

WD181KRYZ

18TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

WD Gold 20TB

WD203KRYZ

20TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

WD Gold 22TB

WD221KRYZ

22TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

WD Gold 24TB

WD242KRYZ

24TB

Enterprise

Western Digital

WD Gold 26TB

WD261KRYZ

26TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG07 12TB

MG07SCA12TA

12TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG07 14TB

MG07SCA14TA

14TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG08 14TB

MG08ACA14TA

14TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG08 16TB

MG08ACA16TA

16TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG09 10TB

MG09ACA10TA

10TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG09 12TB

MG09ACA12TA

12TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG09 14TB

MG09ACA14TA

14TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG09 16TB

MG09ACA16TA

16TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG09 18TB

MG09ACA18TA

18TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG09 20TB

MA09ACA20TAM

20TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG10 8TB

MG10ADA800E

8TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG10 10TB

MG10ADA10TE

10TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG10F 20TB

MG10AFA20TE

20TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG10F 22TB

MG10AFA22TE

22TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG11 14TB

MG11ACA14TE

14TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG11 16TB

MG11ACA16TE

16TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG11 18TB

MG11ACA18TE

18TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG11 20TB

MG11ACA20TE

20TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG11 22TB

MG11ACA22TE

22TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG11 24TB

MG11ACA24TE

24TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MG08 8TB

MG08ADA800A

8TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

MA11 28TB

Row 149 - Cell 2

28TB

Enterprise

Toshiba

S300 Pro 8TB

MD10ADA800V

8TB

Video

Toshiba

S300 Pro 10TB

MD10ADA10TV

10TB

Video

Seagate

SkyHawk AI 8TB

ST8000VE001

8TB

Video

Seagate

SkyHawk AI 10TB

ST10000VE001

10TB

Video

Seagate

SkyHawk AI 12TB

ST12000VE001

12TB

Video

Seagate

SkyHawk AI 16TB

ST16000VE004

16TB

Video

Seagate

SkyHawk AI 20TB

ST20000VE003

20TB

Video

Seagate

SkyHawk AI 24TB

ST24000VE002

24TB

Video

Western Digital

WD Purple 8TB

WD85PURZ

8TB

Video

Western Digital

WD Purple Pro 8TB

WD8002PURP

8TB

Video

Western Digital

WD Purple Pro 10TB

WD102PURP

10TB

Video

Western Digital

WD Purple Pro 12TB

WD122PURP

12TB

Video

Western Digital

WD Purple Pro 14TB

WD142PURP

14TB

Video

Western Digital

WD Purple Pro 18TB

WD181PURP

18TB

Video

Western Digital

WD Purple Pro 22TB

WD221PURP

22TB

Video

Western Digital

WD Purple Pro 24TB

WD241PURP

24TB

Video

Western Digital

WD Purple Pro 26TB

WD260PURP

26TB

Video

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TOPICS
Wayne Williams
Wayne Williams
Editor

Wayne Williams is a freelancer writing news for TechRadar Pro. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for 30 years. In that time he wrote for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a number of them too.

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