WD
WD My Passport SSD (2022)
$100Cheaper
Released 2022
Best Portable Ssds · head-to-head
A sourced, side-by-side comparison. WD My Passport SSD (2022) is cheaper at $100. Every spec and price links to its source.
WD
$100Cheaper
Released 2022
Seagate
$200
Released 2020
The Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD (2020) wins 2 of the 2 specs we compare head to head; the other wins 0. The WD My Passport SSD (2022) is the cheaper at $100. Get the Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD (2020) for the stronger spec sheet, the WD My Passport SSD (2022) to spend less.
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The numbers that decide it, drawn to scale — longer bar wins, the accent bar is the stronger figure.
✓ marks the stronger figure where "more" — or "less", for price and weight — is unambiguously better.
| Spec | | |
|---|---|---|
| US price | $100 | $200 |
| Brand | WD | Seagate |
| Released | 2022 | 2020 |
| Capacity (GB) | 500 | 500 |
| Read (Mbps) | 1050 | 2000 |
| Write (Mbps) | 1000 | 2000 |
| Interface | USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) | USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) |
| Encryption | AES 256-bit hardware | — |
| IP rating | — | — |
| Weight (g) | — | 100 |
| Release | 2022 | 2020 |
Sources — WD My Passport SSD (2022): newegg.com (verified 2026-06-15). Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD (2020): storagereview.com (verified 2026-06-15).
Where the two actually differ on the specs we track (3 of 7). Matching specs are omitted.
Sourced tester consensus for each — the "what people who used it think" layer, not just specs.
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.
No sourced tester review yet.