Best External Storage Devices For PS5 [SSD & HDD] [2025]

The PS5 comes with a built-in solid-state drive (SSD) that offers lightning-fast loading speeds. However, this SSD has a limited capacity (825GB, with only 667GB usable). With modern game sizes often exceeding 100GB, that space fills up quickly.

Who needs an external storage device for PS5?

• Gamers with large libraries: If you own a lot of games or plan to download many digital titles, an external drive is essential for keeping your games readily accessible without constant deleting and redownloading.
• PS4 game players: You can store and play PS4 games directly from a compatible external drive on your PS5. This frees up valuable space on the internal SSD for PS5 games, which must be installed there.
• Those seeking a cost-effective solution: While the PS5 allows for internal SSD expansion, compatible drives can be expensive. External drives offer a more budget-friendly way to increase storage.

We Don’t Recommend Extremely Fast Drives For PS5

Theoretically, the fastest supported speed by the PS5 would be 20 Gbps offered by USB 3.2 Gen2x2. However, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

• Real-world speeds: Even with a Gen2x2 drive, you likely won’t reach the full 20 Gbps speed due to various factors like overhead and the drive’s own limitations.
• PS5 limitations: Some users have reported that even with very fast drives, the actual transfer speeds on PS5 seem to be capped at around 800 MB/s to 1000 MB/s. This suggests there might be an internal bottleneck within the PS5 itself.

So, while the PS5 technically supports up to 20 Gbps, you might not see a significant difference in performance between a Gen2x2 drive and a good Gen2 drive. For most users, a Gen2 drive offers a good balance of speed and price.

Best External Storage For PS5

Below is a curated list of the best and fastest external storage devices for PS5. Most of these options are SSDs, which are ideal for PS5 due to their exceptional speed and reliability. However, for users who need storage primarily for backups, we’ve also included a few external HDD options toward the end of the list.