Best cheap SSDs 2020 | TechRadar
There was a time when the best cheap SSD on the market still cost several hundred dollars, so just having a solid state drive was considered a luxury reserved for a high-end system. Things have changed. Now there are some truly affordable SSDs out there that put the top of the line drives from just a few years ago to shame.
Some of the best cheap SSDs can even rival some of their high-end cousins in terms of performance, if not total capacity. So whether you’re a gamer, a creative, or you’re looking to improve the data access performance on your enterprise machines, you’ve come to the right place.
We’ve reviewed dozens of SSDs over the years at every price point, so we’re here to tell you that if you’re looking for the best cheap SSD, you’re in luck. You not only have options, you don’t even have to sacrifice speed to find some amazing hardware in your price range. So whether you’re looking for a SATA-compatible SSD, an external, or the latest PCIe M.2 SSDs with speeds bordering on the obscene, we can help you find what you’re looking for.
Best cheap SSDs at a glance
- Adata XPG SX8200 Pro
- HP S700 Pro
- Seagate Fast SSD 500GB
- WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD
- Samsung 860 Pro
1. Adata XPG SX8200 Pro
Incredible performance for the price
Capacity: 240GB/480GB/960GB | Interface: PCIe Gen 3 x4 M.2 | Warranty: 5 Years
Phenomenal performance-to-price ratio
Fast random read/write speeds
Sequential write speed lags a bit
The latest SSDs come with a PCIe M.2 interface, which are far and away faster than a standard SATA connection. These new SSDs slot directly into the motherboard, giving it the ability to read and write data extremely fast. In the case of the Adata XPG SX8200 SSD, we’re talking speeds of up to 3,060 MB/s for sequential read and 1,765 MB/s for sequential write. It even boasts a random access read of 403 MB/s.
These are impressive numbers, but they are even more so once you realize that you can find the Adata XPG SX8200 SSD prices anywhere from $50 – $85 for a 256GB SSD. The price-to-performance ratio makes it hands down one of the best cheap SSDs you’re going to find anywhere.
Read our full review: Adata XPG SX8200 SSD review
2. HP S700 Pro
May not be the fastest, but it’s built to last
Capacity: 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB | Interface: SATA 3 | Warranty: 3-Year
Very lo
ng useful life
Very inexpensible
Not the fastest SSD out there at this price
While PCIe is the next step for SSDs, not every motherboard supports those interfaces. The HP S700 Pro SSD uses the standard SATA 3 connector, so it isn’t nearly as fast as the newer PCIe SSDs, but it is about as fast as you’re ever going to get over a SATA cable. With a sequential read speed of 562 MB/s and a sequential write speed of 509 MB/s, the S700 Pro is still plenty fast fore most users and is still miles ahead of an HDD with spinning disks.
One of the major issues with those spinning disks, besides the sluggish speeds, is their eventual failure from wear and tear. This is where the HP S700 Pro really stands out in that its MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) is rated at 2,000,000 hours, so it’ll keep your data safe for a long time to come.
Read our full review: HP S700 SSD
3. Seagate Fast SSD
One of the best cheap SSDs out there is a portable one.
Capacity: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Interface: USB Type-C | Warranty: 3-Year
Excellent performance
Very affordable for a portable
Short cable length
Portable SSDs offer the advantage of quick data access while remaining portable enough to carry with you to work or school. Perfect for laptops with lower capacity drives, the Seagate Fast SSD is one of the best cheap SSDs to give you the added space you’re looking for.
Portability comes at a cost, however, and portable SSDs aren’t the fastest on the market by any stretch, but Seagate’s Fast SSD lives up to its billing with a sequential read speed of 440 MB/s and sequential write of 439 MB/s according to our CrystalDiskMark tests. You’re not going to get that kind of performance out of many portables out there, making the Seagate Fast SSD a top choice for the best cheap SSD for users on the go.
Read our full review: Seagate Fast SSD
4. WD Black SN750
Loading screen? What loading screen?
Capacity: 250GB/500GB/1TB/2TB | Interface: PCIe Gen 3 x4 M.2 | Warranty: 5-Year
Insanely fast random write speed
Very affordable
Essentially the same hardware as earlier, slower models
One of the best cheap SSDs we’ve ever tested is the WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD. The WD Black SN750 NVMe relies on nearly the same memory architecture as the earlier WD Black NVMe, managing some decent performance gains through updates to the devi
ce’s firmware alone.
The 500GB model featuring a sequential read speed of 3,470 MB/s and a sequential write speed of 2,600 MB/s, all for under $100. With performance like this at this price, the WD Black SN750 NVMe is definitely one of the best cheap SSDs for the hardcore gamers out there who don’t have a lot of money to spend on something other than their graphics card.
Read our full review: WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD review
5. Samsung 860 Pro
The best SATA SSD is cheaper than you think
Capacity: 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB | Interface: SATA 3 | Warranty: 5-year
Improved security and encryption
Fastest you’re going to get from a SATA 3
Not much faster than the Samsung 850 Pro
When it comes to SATA SSDs, Samsung has been leading the industry for a while now. That hasn’t changed, thanks to the Samsung 860 Pro SSD. An improvement over the 850 Pro, the 860 Pro has a sequential read speed of 562.9 MB/s and a sequential write speed of 532.7 MB/s, making it about as fast as anyone is ever going to get with a SATA SSD.
Better still, Samsung says the 860 Pro is able to write 4,800 TB of data without failing, meaning that if you’re looking for a SATA SSD that you can count on for the long haul, the Samsung 860 Pro has you covered.
Read our full review: Samsung 860 Pro SSD review
