External Hard Drive Market – Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, Segmented By Capacity (Less than 1TB, 1TB to 5TB, Above 5TB), By End-User (Individual Consumers, Enterprises, Creative Professionals), By Application (Personal Backup, Enterprise Data Storage, Gaming Consoles, Surveillance Systems), By Region & Competition, 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 60.12 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	7.18%
Fastest Growing Segment	Creative Professionals
Largest Market	North America
Market Size (2031)	USD 91.14 Billion

Market Overview

The Global External Hard Drive Market will grow from USD 60.12 Billion in 2025 to USD 91.14 Billion by 2031 at a 7.18% CAGR. The Global External Hard Drive Market comprises portable data storage devices that utilize magnetic recording technology to facilitate the backup and transfer of digital information via interfaces such as USB and Thunderbolt. The primary driver supporting market growth is the exponential surge in global data generation, which necessitates affordable, high-capacity offline storage solutions for disaster recovery and ransomware protection. Additionally, the media and entertainment sectors continue to rely on these devices for archiving vast libraries of high-resolution content, ensuring sustained demand for cost-effective mass storage solutions that offer capacities currently exceeding those of affordable solid-state alternatives.

Nevertheless, the market encounters a significant challenge arising from volatile international trade policies and supply chain uncertainties which can drastically alter hardware costs. The potential enforcement of increased import duties threatens to disrupt established pricing structures and diminish consumer purchasing power for peripheral electronics. According to the Consumer Technology Association, in 2025, proposed tariffs were projected to potentially increase the cost of technology devices by as much as 46%. This economic pressure may compel both consumers and enterprises to postpone hardware acquisitions, thereby impeding the volume of units shipped and overall market expansion.

Key Market Drivers

Exponential Growth in Global Digital Data Generation acts as the foremost catalyst for the external hard drive market. As artificial intelligence model training and high-resolution content creation accelerate, the need for offline, air-gapped storage to manage this overflow has intensified. Consumers and enterprises alike require scalable solutions to house expanding digital footprints that exceed internal device limits, necessitating robust external hardware. According to Western Digital, July 2025, in the 'Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results', the company reported total annual revenue of $9.52 billion, marking a 51% year-over-year increase driven largely by surging storage demand. This financial growth underscores the critical role of physical storage hardware in an era where data creation rates are outpacing the logistical and economic viability of relying solely on primary internal storage.

Cost-Effectiveness of High-Capacity External Storage simultaneously anchors market stability, particularly for archival purposes. While solid-state drives offer superior speed, traditional magnetic external drives remain the standard for cost-efficient, high-volume backup. This price-per-gigabyte advantage is vital for users managing terabytes of cold data who cannot justify the premium of all-flash solutions. According to Seagate Technology, July 2025, in the 'Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results', mass-capacity products accounted for 88% of the company's total hard disk drive revenue, highlighting the distinct preference for density over speed in bulk storage applications. Furthermore, illustrating the sheer volume of this sector, according to Nasdaq, December 2025, in the article 'Seagate vs. Western Digital: Which Storage Stock is the Better Buy Now?', Seagate shipped 204 exabytes of storage capacity in just its fiscal first quarter, reflecting sustained global reliance on magnetic media.

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Key Market Challenges

Volatile international trade policies and supply chain uncertainties constitute a primary obstacle to the growth of the Global External Hard Drive Market. These economic fluctuations frequently result in the enforcement of elevated import duties, which disrupt established hardware pricing structures. As manufacturers encounter rising costs associated with cross-border logistics and compliance, these expenses are often transferred to the end-user, thereby diminishing the affordability of peripheral electronics for mass storage.

This escalation in pricing creates a restrictive environment for consumer and enterprise spending. According to the Consumer Technology Association, in 2025, proposed tariffs were projected to potentially increase the cost of technology devices by as much as 46%. Such drastic price inflation compels potential buyers to postpone necessary hardware acquisitions or extend the lifecycle of existing equipment rather than investing in new high-capacity drives. Consequently, this reduced purchasing power directly correlates with a decline in unit shipments, impeding the market’s ability to maintain consistent expansion rates amidst unpredictable regulatory landscapes.

Key Market Trends

The adoption of Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) and Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) is revolutionizing the market by enabling manufacturers to overcome physical density limits and produce external drives with unprecedented storage capacities. This technological shift is critical for meeting the needs of hyperscale data centers and professionals who require compact units to store massive archives of unstructured data without expanding their physical footprint. According to Seagate Technology, January 2025, in the 'Seagate Introduces Hard Drive Capacities of Up to 36TB' press release, the company began shipping Exos M hard drive samples featuring Mozaic 3+ HAMR technology, achieving industry-leading capacities of up to 36 terabytes per unit.

Market players are increasingly prioritizing sustainability by implementing circular economy principles, such as recovering rare earth magnets and utilizing post-consumer recycled materials in drive enclosures. This trend addresses growing regulatory pressures and consumer demand for environmentally responsible electronics by reducing electronic waste and reliance on virgin raw materials for manufacturing. According to PCMag, April 2025, in the article 'WD Touts New Hard Drive Recycling Process As Blueprint for Domestic Reuse', Western Digital successfully recycled 47,000 pounds of end-of-life hard disk drives and solid-state drives into critical metals for the supply chain through a new recovery method.

Segmental Insights

The Creative Professionals segment represents the fastest-growing category within the global external hard drive market. This expansion is driven by the escalating volume of high-resolution digital media, such as high-definition video and uncompressed photography, which necessitates substantial local storage beyond standard cloud capabilities. Photographers, videographers, and designers increasingly require high-capacity, portable storage devices to manage extensive data libraries and facilitate secure file transfers between workstations. Consequently, the continuous surge in independent content creation and digital media production directly fuels the accelerated demand for external storage solutions among these professionals.

Regional Insights

North America maintains a leading position in the global external hard drive market due to the strong presence of major manufacturers such as Western Digital and Seagate Technology. This proximity to key industry players facilitates established supply chains and widespread product availability across the region. Furthermore, the high adoption of digital data storage in the media, entertainment, and enterprise sectors drives consistent demand for high-capacity backup solutions. The robust purchasing power of consumers and the ongoing expansion of data center infrastructure further reinforce the region's dominance in the global marketplace.

Recent Developments

• In September 2025, ADATA Technology launched the SD820 and SC735, two new rugged external solid-state drives designed for mobile professionals and content creators. The SD820 featured a shock-resistant and IP68-rated waterproof and dustproof enclosure, delivering high-speed performance with read and write speeds of up to 2000 MB/s via a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 interface. The ultra-lightweight SC735 offered military-grade drop protection and a retractable USB Type-C connector for cable-free convenience. These new products expanded the company's portfolio of durable mobile storage solutions, catering to the demand for fast, reliable, and portable data transfer capabilities in outdoor and travel environments.
• In January 2025, Toshiba Electronics Asia unveiled refreshed designs for its Canvio Flex and Canvio Gaming 2.5-inch portable hard drives. The new external storage products were designed to offer simple plug-and-play operation with USB 3.2 Gen 1 technology and were available in capacities of up to 4TB. The updated Canvio Flex featured a stylish, warm silver finish and cross-device compatibility for seamless use with Macs, Windows PCs, and tablets, while the Canvio Gaming model offered a sleek dark grey metallic design tailored for console gamers. This launch aimed to provide versatile and aesthetic storage options for modern digital lifestyles, ensuring secure data backup and quick access for various user scenarios.
• In July 2024, Western Digital introduced a new lineup of high-capacity portable hard disk drives across its WD, WD_BLACK, and SanDisk Professional brands. The company launched the world's first 2.5-inch portable external hard drives featuring 6TB of storage capacity, including models such as the WD My Passport and the SanDisk Professional G-DRIVE ArmorATD. This product launch was aimed at meeting the growing consumer demand for larger portable storage solutions to manage expanding digital libraries of photos, videos, and files. The new drives offered enhanced durability and password protection, reinforcing the company's commitment to delivering advanced data storage solutions in a compact form factor.
• In April 2024, LaCie, a premium brand owned by Seagate Technology, unveiled upgraded versions of its 1big Dock and 2big Dock external storage solutions at the NAB Show. The newly introduced desktop drives featured a significant increase in storage capacity, offering up to 24TB and 48TB respectively, to address the escalating data management needs of creative professionals. These storage hubs were designed to support data-intensive workflows, such as those involving artificial intelligence and high-resolution content creation, by serving as multifunctional docking stations. The launch underscored the company's focus on providing high-capacity, reliable solutions that simultaneously handle file storage, peripheral connectivity, and device charging for streamlined production environments.

Key Market Players

• Toshiba Corporation
• Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
• Seagate Technology LLC
• ADATA Technology Co., Ltd.
• Buffalo EU B.V.
• Western Digital Corporation
• Transcend Information, Inc.
• Kingston Technology Company, Inc.
• Micron Technology, Inc.
• Corsair Memory Inc.

By Capacity	By End-User	By Application	By Region
Less than 1TB 1TB to 5TB Above 5TB	Individual Consumers Enterprises Creative Professionals	Personal Backup Enterprise Data Storage Gaming Consoles Surveillance Systems	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global External Hard Drive Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• External Hard Drive Market, By Capacity:

• Less than 1TB
• 1TB to 5TB
• Above 5TB

• External Hard Drive Market, By End-User:

• Individual Consumers
• Enterprises
• Creative Professionals

• External Hard Drive Market, By Application:

• Personal Backup
• Enterprise Data Storage
• Gaming Consoles
• Surveillance Systems

• External Hard Drive Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE