Best Portable Ssds · head-to-head

Samsung T9 Portable SSD vs WD My Passport SSD (2022)

A sourced, side-by-side comparison. WD My Passport SSD (2022) is cheaper at $100. Every spec and price links to its source.

Which is better: the Samsung T9 Portable SSD or WD My Passport SSD (2022)?

The Samsung T9 Portable SSD wins 3 of the 3 specs we compare head to head; the other wins 0. The WD My Passport SSD (2022) is the cheaper at $100. Get the Samsung T9 Portable SSD for the stronger spec sheet, the WD My Passport SSD (2022) to spend less.

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Key specs, head to head

The numbers that decide it, drawn to scale — longer bar wins, the accent bar is the stronger figure.

Capacity (GB)
Samsung T9 Portable SSD 1000
WD My Passport SSD (2022) 500
Read (Mbps)
Samsung T9 Portable SSD 2000
WD My Passport SSD (2022) 1050
Write (Mbps)
Samsung T9 Portable SSD 1950
WD My Passport SSD (2022) 1000

Full spec sheet

marks the stronger figure where "more" — or "less", for price and weight — is unambiguously better.

Spec Samsung T9 Portable SSD WD My Passport SSD (2022)
US price $140 $100
BrandSamsungWD
Released2023-102022
Capacity (GB) 1000 500
Read (Mbps) 2000 1050
Write (Mbps) 1950 1000
Interface USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)
Encryption AES 256-bit hardware AES 256-bit hardware
IP rating
Weight (g) 122
Release 2023-10 2022

Sources — Samsung T9 Portable SSD: storagereview.com (verified 2026-06-15). WD My Passport SSD (2022): newegg.com (verified 2026-06-15).

What's the difference between the Samsung T9 Portable SSD and WD My Passport SSD (2022)?

Where the two actually differ on the specs we track (4 of 7). Matching specs are omitted.

  • Capacity (GB): Samsung T9 Portable SSD 1000 vs WD My Passport SSD (2022) 500
  • Read (Mbps): Samsung T9 Portable SSD 2000 vs WD My Passport SSD (2022) 1050
  • Write (Mbps): Samsung T9 Portable SSD 1950 vs WD My Passport SSD (2022) 1000
  • Interface: Samsung T9 Portable SSD USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) vs WD My Passport SSD (2022) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)

What reviewers say

Sourced tester consensus for each — the "what people who used it think" layer, not just specs.

Samsung T9 Portable SSD

Across three whitelisted lab reviews (StorageReview, TechRadar, PCWorld), the Samsung T9 is a fast, rugged USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 portable SSD that nears the ~2,000 MB/s interface ceiling, but is only a middle-of-the-pack 20Gbps performer, is overpriced at launch, and needs a rare USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port to hit those speeds. (3 sourced reviews, 3 lab-tested.)

Praised: Fast Gen 2x2 performance, near the theoretical interface limits (roughly 1,900-2,000 MB/s reads); Rugged, premium build with a grippy textured/sculpted exterior; Strong sustained-write / large-file transfer behavior, especially on higher capacities.

Flagged: Expensive at launch versus the T7 and rival 2x2 drives; Only middle-of-the-pack among 20Gbps drives; SanDisk Extreme Pro V2 / Crucial X10 Pro faster; Requires a rare USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port or speed is roughly halved.

WD My Passport SSD (2022)

Two whitelisted labs benchmarked the WD My Passport SSD NVMe (1,050/1,000 MB/s, USB 3.2 Gen 2, DRAM-less Blue SN550E): Tom's Hardware (Feb 2021) and StorageReview (Sep 2020). Both call it slim, secure and fast in real-world use but note it falls ~200 MB/s short of its rated speeds and, being DRAM-less, lags DRAM-based rivals like the Crucial X8 in file-copy/moderate-dataset tests. Tom's found a small 12GB SLC cache that drops sustained writes to ~710 MBps once saturated, though the drive stays cool (45C surface). (2 sourced reviews, 2 lab-tested.)

Praised: Slim, light, pocketable design with AES-256 hardware encryption and 5-year warranty; Fast large-file read-back and solid real-world portable-SSD performance; Runs cool under sustained load (45C surface).

Flagged: DRAM-less design; falls behind DRAM-based rivals (Crucial X8) and lags in file-copy tests; Fell short of WD's rated 1,050/1,000 MB/s in real benchmarks (~200 MB/s under); Small SLC cache (12GB) drops sustained write to ~710 MBps once saturated.

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