Mac storage basics · External storage and adding space

Should I buy an external SSD or a hard drive (HDD)?

Short answer: Use an SSD for anything you open or work from (apps, libraries, projects) and a cheaper hard drive for backups and rarely opened archives.

It depends on the job:

  • SSD — much faster, silent, more robust when carried around. Best for anything you open or work from: apps, libraries, projects.
  • Hard drive (HDD) — cheaper per terabyte but slower, especially with many small files. Fine for Time Machine backups and archives you rarely open.

Many people use both: an SSD for working data and a larger HDD for backups.

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