External drives · Choosing a drive
What kind of external drive should I use with Storage Studio?
Short answer: An external SSD plugged straight into your Mac and formatted as APFS — ideally an NVMe SSD in a USB-C or Thunderbolt enclosure. Storage Studio's compatibility check and speed test tell you whether a specific drive is a good fit.
Use an external SSD connected directly to your Mac, formatted as APFS. An NVMe SSD in a good USB-C or Thunderbolt enclosure is ideal, because apps and folders you move there are opened straight from the drive and feel as close to internal storage as possible.
What matters, in order:
- External, not network — internal disks and network shares can't be used.
- Mac format — APFS (or Mac OS Extended). exFAT works with warnings; FAT32 can't be used.
- Speed — Storage Studio runs a short speed test and blocks drives that are too slow to run apps from.
- Room — enough space for what you plan to move, plus headroom.
Storage Studio doesn't recommend a brand; the compatibility check and speed test in Choose Drive tell you whether a particular drive is a good fit.