Amazon Prime Day hard drive deals 2024: Last call to save on storage
We're tracking down the top Prime Day hard drive deals across Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days
It won't be long before the Prime Day hard drive deals come to an end - but there's still time to buy if you hurry.
My team has reviewed all the best external hard drives, the best external hard drives for Mac, and the best portable SSDs, so we know how to help you find the right HDD deal for you even as the sales come to a close.
And you've still got time to get some fantastic discounts on the latest technology with our round-ups of the best Prime Day SSD deals and our Amazon Prime Day deals hub.
Recent updates
Stock and priced checked - I'm expecting to see prices rise and stock decrease soon, as Prime Day part 2 draws to a close.
- Out of stock items? Pricing mistake? Incorrect specs? Let me know via email
Editor's Picks: Prime Day hard drive deals
Seagate Expansion 14TB external hard drive: was $240 Now $176 at Amazon
Save $64 Nothing comes close to the 14TB Seagate Expansion Desktop external hard drive when it comes to sheer value for money. Its cost per Terabyte is far cheaper than the competition and the free data recovery service is a real boon.
WD Black P10 4TB: was $140 Now $100 at Amazon
Save $40 The P10’s impressive combination of speed and space means you can install a vast game library here without being bothered by laborious loading times – and the sleek metal chassis is robust and compact, so you can take your game collection with you. The P10 is compatible with every major console and PCs and comes with a three-year warranty.
In the UK? This drive is a was £130, now £95 at Amazon.
LaCie Rugged Mini 4TB: was $160 Now $120 at Amazon
Save $40 This rugged HDD rated to withstand shocks, drops, rain, dust, temperature changes and the weight of a 1-ton car, so it’s perfect for professionals who need reliable storage in tough environments – or just working on the road. It’s compact and light, transfer speeds are fast, and in-built password protection keeps your files safe no matter where you’re working. Also available in 2TB and 1TB sizes.
US retailers
- Amazon: Save on portable hard drives
- Best Buy: Discounts and deals on hard drives
- Newegg: Save on selected hard drives
- WD: Get money off top portable hard drives
- Adorama: Big discounts on hard drives
- Micro Center: Savings on hard drives
Amazon Prime Day Hard Drive deals
WD Elements 16TB: was $310 Now $240 at Amazon
Save $70 There’s no better way to get a ridiculous amount of storage at a stunning price thanks to a huge price drop on the WD 16TB drive. A sleek, subtle enclosure adds professional sheen, there’s enough pace here to handle transfers for creative work and every streaming and there are ten different capacities available, some with similarly impressive price drops.
WD My Passport For Mac 5TB: was $150 Now $133 at Amazon
Save $17 Own a Mac? Check out this superb 5TB external HDD for MacOS (you can format it to use with Windows by the way). It comes with a 3-year warranty and is the cheapest portable hard drive with this capacity. A stunning bargain especially as it comes with backup software and password protection.
Seagate Expansion 16TB: was $330 Now $250 at Amazon
Save $80 A huge capacity and reliably rapid transfer speeds mean you can deploy this drive alongside your PC, laptop or games console without worrying about sluggish loading times. A two-year warranty adds protection, and this is one of the cheapest cost-per-gigabyte external hard drives we’ve ever seen. Bear in mind, though, that this drive is mains-powered, so you’ll need to plug in.
UnionSine 500GB 2.5": was $33 Now $29 at Amazon
Save $4 This value option from UnionSine won’t blow you away, but at this price - possibly the lowest price we’ve seen for an external HDD - it’s hard to avoid recommending it to anyone who occasionally needs to transfer data across devices. The read and write speeds on USB 3.0 run as high as 133MB/s, which is just fine in a pinch.
UnionSine 10TB 3.5": was $182 Now $155 at Amazon
Save $27 At the other end of the scale, this bulkier 10TB option offers a small boost to speeds thanks to USB 3.2 connectivity, but yet more value in terms of the storage capacity you get for the money. The potential snag here is that, being a larger drive, you will need to power it with an included power supply, so it’s not exactly plug and play.
Amazon Prime Day NAS deals
Looking for Prime Day NAS device deals? See what network-attached storage solutions we rate in our guides to the best NAS devices and best NAS hard drives - and check back here once the deals kick off.
Amazon Prime Day hard drive deals: what to expect
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While we expect hard drive discounts across the board on Prime Day, the market has been a little slow moving so far.
Positively, we’ve already spotted massive discounts on the WD Elements desktop hard drive, and we expect other everyday storage products like this to drop around Prime Day itself.
Right now, though, other mainstream hard drives like the Seagate Portable, the Barracuda internal drive and the Toshiba Canvio Basics haven’t actually been given a discount. Analysis of their historic pricing also finds them sitting at steady, consistent levels over the past few months.
We recommend holding your nerve until Prime Day itself unless you need to buy basic storage right now. Wait a little longer and you’ll likely get a bigger price drop.
If you need to act sooner, we recommend installing a browser extension like Keepa or using a website like CamelCamelCamel to check if prices have dropped recently and to ensure you avoid pre-sale inflation. And because other companies join in the Prime Day fun, check out other retailers if the drive you want isn’t yet discounted on Amazon.
We’ve observed more discounts on specialist products, like the LaCie Rugged Mini outdoorsy drive and the WD Black P10 gaming SSD. The price drops aren’t as drastic as the monster 44% drop on the WD Elements, but we don’t expect those specialist products to see those kinds of reductions, anyway. In short, that’s probably about as good as it’ll get for specialist gaming or ruggedized drives, so you can buy now with confidence now rather than wait until Prime Day.
No matter what kind of hard drive you want to buy, make sure you’re getting the right product. Only shell out for a pricier portable or internal drive with loads of speed if you need the extra pace for high-end creative work tasks or gaming, and don’t bother buying a rugged drive unless you regularly need to use it in tough environments. Buy kit like that without needing the features and you’re simply throwing money away.
Elsewhere, consider paying more for drives that include software packages, encryption and longer warranties if you want peace of mind for your data, and check customer reviews before purchasing to avoid any bugs, common pitfalls or performance issues.
Be aware that Amazon sometimes offers coupons to drop prices further, and create alerts for lightning deals if you want to grab last-minute bargains on Prime Day itself.
Amazon Prime Day Hard Drive deals: FAQs
When is the second Amazon Prime Day 2024?
The second Amazon Prime Day 2024, which is called the Prime Big Deal Days, will have sales running throughout October 8 - 9.
Will I need an Amazon Prime Day subscription to get Prime Day portable hard drive deals?
Always! And it’s never been so easy to get your hands on a subscription, either, because you don’t have to spend money – if you haven’t been a member for a year, just sign up for a free thirty-day trial to take advantage of the price drops. And if you’re already a member, you’re golden.
How do I become an Amazon Prime member?
You need to be an Amazon Prime member in order to get access to Prime Day deals, which costs $14.99 per month or $139 for a year.
However, new subscribers can take advantage of the 30-day Amazon Prime free trial to buy the deals. You can only use this if you've never been a member before, so it won't be available if you've used it already or if you've signed up for Amazon Prime in the past.
While on the free trial, you get all the other membership benefits including free shipping, access to Prime Video and much more. Do read our Amazon Prime review for full coverage of what you get as part of a membership. That can help you decide if you want to cancel Amazon Prime once your free trial has ended to avoid being charged the monthly fee.
Which hard drives will be discounted on Prime Day?
Hard drives are commoditized these days thanks to the popularity of SSDs and relatively cheap prices, so companies like WD, LaCie and Seagate are always keen to offer deals to help differentiate their products. That bodes well for customers on Prime Day, where almost everything will be available with a discount.
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Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.
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