Cyber Monday external hard drive deals are almost upon us. So you can make the most of them when they arrive, we've tried to answer the most important questions, and pulled together a list of last year's best deals. The storage market has changed somewhat since Cyber Monday last year, but we're confident that the external options will be fairly consistent with what we've seen before.
External hard drives are a clean and affordable solution when you're looking to expand your storage for your console or gaming PC. No motherboard conflicts, no upgrade kits, no daunting DIY jobs – all you need is a drive and a cable. With external SSDs on the rise, transferring data to and from an external drive is becoming faster than ever, making it much easier to integrate a new drive into your current set-up.
If you're specifically after an external HDD for your new-gen console, it's best to check out our guides to the best PS5 external hard drives and best Xbox Series X external hard drives. Just remember that it currently isn't possible to play PS5 or Xbox Series X games from an external HDD. The good news is, you can now transfer next-gen games to your external storage to free up some space, you'll just need to transfer them back to play them again. It isn't perfect, but it saves downloading and installing them again, which could take ages depending on your internet speed.
If you're looking to spend a little more, the best SSDs for gaming will let you launch games without reinstalling them onto the system, and they're a lot faster than standard HDDs. Sound good? Check out our guide to the Cyber Monday SSD deals to see what savings are on NVMe, SATA III, and external options at ultrafast speeds.
Cyber Monday hard drive deals FAQs
Where will the best Cyber Monday external hard drive deals be?
Amazon is the best place to find the deepest Cyber Monday external hard drive deals. We've also seen the likes of Newegg and eBuyer hold some extensive offers, so we advise keeping an eye on those, and any tech-centric storefronts as well. Here's what you can currently expect from all the biggest online retailers right now.
US:
Amazon: Deep discounts on WD Black, Toshiba, and Seagate hard drives
Best Buy: You can currently save up to $160 on Western Digital HDDs
Newegg: Right now you can save up to 21% on WD external HDDs
Walmart: There's representation from major brands, but few deals on
B&H Photo: Right now you can save $60 on Seagate 10TB expansion HDDs
UK:
Amazon: Consistently low prices on Toshiba, WD, and Seagate drives
Currys: Little in the way of offers, but the prices are consistently low
eBuyer: Steady discounts on all major external HDD brands and sizes
Laptops Direct: Great prices on 2.5-inch / small external hard drives
When is Cyber Monday 2022?
Cyber Monday will fall on November 28th, this year. It's worth pointing out, however, that the Cyber Monday external hard drive deals began on Saturday morning and we expect them to continue through the week. This is because more often than not, this particular sales event is in addition to what was available on Black Friday, rather than standing up on its own.
If you're really keen for a deal, we'd recommend keeping an eye out for Black Friday deals in the week leading up to the 25th, since that's when Black Friday deals will start to appear.
Is it worth waiting for Cyber Monday external hard drive deals?
In all honestly, we'd always say that your main focus should be on Black Friday external hard drive deals first, and then the Cyber Monday external hard drive deals. Black Friday and Cyber Monday continue to merge into one big event with each passing year. The Friday and its deals come earlier, so concentrate on those first in case stock issues crop up over the weekend. We'd recommend using Cyber Monday and its deals as a backup.
Cyber Monday external hard drive deals: what to expect
Amazon is one of the better places to find Cyber Monday external hard drive deals, and this is evidenced when looking back at what was available last year.
The WD My Passport 5TB is one of the more perennially popular external hard drives, and it reached its historically lowest-ever price around the Cyber Monday period last year ($90 down from its usual $150 MSRP). Similarly, as far as massive external HDDs are concerned, WD Elements 12TB drive recently saw its historically lowest-ever price in June, plummeting to $142.87 from its $310 retail price. We're confident that this model could be discounted again for Cyber Monday as the prices tend to fluctuate often.
Things are particularly promising on the internal front, too. Take the Seagate Exos X16 14TB HDD, which is currently at its historically lowest-ever price on Amazon - $293 down from its $590 - for a total saving of $296. We're aware that this is one of the more extreme examples, but if you're on the hunt for some super-sized storage on Cyber Monday then it's definitely worth looking into.
Below, we've pulled together a list of our favourite Cyber Monday external hard drive deals from 2021. Hopefully these will help to give an idea of what to expect, and what sort of products will be on offer for what amount.
Last years Cyber Monday external hard drive deals in the US
Toshiba Canvio Advance 4TB USB 3.0 | $100 $84.99 at Amazon
Save $15 - The Toshiba Canvio Advance is as reliable and effective as it is stylish with its eye-catching red color and textured finish. Snag it for $15 off its normal price.
WD Easystore 5TB USB 3.0 | $180 $109.99 at Best Buy
Save $70 - This WD HDD gets you a whopping 5TB of storage - more than you probably need - for a little over $100, so shift this deal up to the top of your list if you want value.
WD Black P10 5TB Game Drive | $150 $109.99 at Amazon
Save $40 - This portable WD is one of our favorite HDDs for gaming, and at $40 list price it's a bonafide *value* too. Scoop this up before it's gone.
WD Easystore 14TB USB 3.0 | $420 $249.99 at Best Buy
Save $170 - If you've got data for days, or are looking for a way to guarantee you'll never see an 'out of storage space' error again, then this monster 14TB drive can do that for you and is a big chunk taken off.
SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD | $240 $129.99 at Best Buy
Save $110 - If you have any concerns about taking your data out on your travels, then this extreme drive can allay your fears by providing robust storage that can easily survive any knocks or scrapes, and there's a big saving to be made too.
LaCie Rugged Mini 5TB USB 3.0 | $180 $119.99 at Amazon
Save $30 - A whopping 5TB of storage in a cute, colorful design for $150? Say it ain't so. Wait, no, say it is so... we're tired.
Last years Cyber Monday external hard drive deals in the UK
Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB USB 3.0 | £54.78 at Amazon
2TB certainly isn't the biggest option on this list, but this little Toshiba packs a lot of speed to make up for it. Plus, at the price how can you go wrong? You can't, that's how.
WD Black P10 5TB Game Drive | £120 £97.00 at Currys
Save £23 - We'd consider this the ultimate portable drive for gamers, with a rugged metal casing protecting it from bumps, and the massive 5TB capacity lets you store around 100 games.
WD Black D10 8TB Game Drive | £180 £157 at Currys
Save £23 - If you've spent years building up a huge library of games, supplemented through PS Plus or Game Pass, then don't worry as this drive can take them all. It uses its own power supply, but does provide two extra USB charging ports for your peripherals.
WD Elements 12TB Desktop | £252 £230.95 at Amazon
Save £21 - If your system is stacked with files and you need somewhere to store them all, then this behemoth 12TB external drive from WD should take care of business, and it's ready to start backing up straight out of the box. The discount on this one has shrunk, but that's still a fair price for a lot of space.
SanDisk Extreme 1TB Portable SSD | £222 £156.258.09 at Amazon
Save £64 - If you fancy yourself as an adventurer, then the carabiner loop means you can strap it on to your backpack, while the two-meter drop protection plus water and dust resistance means that even the most clumsy of us would struggle to break it!
Today's best deals
Today's best external hard drive deals
If you're unsure of where to start when it comes to Cyber Monday external hard drive deals, we recommend the WD My Passport line for its fast transfer speeds, affordable price point, and small form factor. Though, if you're after something properly huge for your console or gaming PC, the Seagate Expansion HDD (with capacities up to 16TB) is likely all the storage space you could ever need.
Complete your gaming setup for less with Cyber Monday gaming chair deals and Cyber Monday gaming monitor deals