# Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD: specs and price

**Price (US):** $99 at storagereview.com (US launch MSRP for 500GB per StorageReview ($99.99); 1TB $159.99, 2TB $284.99. Newegg lists 2TB at $515 as of June 2026.), as of 2026-06-27. A sourced, dated price of record — other retailers (incl. Amazon) may be lower. Among the 18 portable ssds we track it is #5 cheapest of 18; category median $125.
**Brand:** Kingston
**Released:** 2021-10
**Deskmark:** Gold Deskmark — pay-blind category standing 64/100, #3 of 21 in class (independent, computed from sourced data, never for sale).
**Price tracked since:** June 2026

## Specifications

| Spec | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Price (US) | $99 |
| Brand | Kingston |
| Released | 2021-10 |
| Capacity (GB) | 500 |
| Read (Mbps) | 2000 |
| Write (Mbps) | 2000 |
| Interface | USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) |
| Encryption | — |
| IP rating | IP55 |
| Weight (g) | 29 |

## Where it stands

At $99, the Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD is #5 cheapest of the 18 portable ssds we track, where the median is $125. On the spec sheet, its capacity of 500 GB is the lowest of the 20, its weight of 29 g is the lowest of the 16, and its read of 2000 Mbps is above the median of the 21.

## What reviewers say

All three whitelisted lab reviews (Tom's Hardware and StorageReview on 1TB units, TechPowerUp on 2TB) survived verification with every quote and measured value confirmed against source text. Consensus: the XS2000 is an ultra-compact, aggressively priced 20Gbps drive that reaches near its 2 GB/s sequential rating, but its DRAM-less design brings weak sustained writes and no encryption. (Based on 3 reviews, 3 lab-tested, 2021-10-05–2021-10-29.)

Praised: Near-2 GB/s sequential speeds close to the rated 2,000 MB/s; Extremely compact and lightweight design; Aggressive pricing and 5-year warranty; IP55 rating with included rubber sleeve.
Flagged: Weak sustained write once the SLC cache fills (214 MB/s on 1TB per Tom's Hardware, 300 MB/s to fill the 2TB per TechPowerUp); DRAM-less architecture hurts random IO performance; No AES encryption or security features; Requires USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 / Thunderbolt to hit rated speeds; limited port support.
Disagreement: Peak sequential figures differ by test method, not verdict: StorageReview's Blackmagic run on the 1TB peaked at 1,609/1,691 MB/s, while its own IOMeter 4-thread run (1,987/1,792 MB/s) and Tom's Hardware/TechPowerUp measured closer to ~1,890 MB/s to 2 GB/s. This is a benchmark-methodology gap rather than a substantive disagreement on the drive's ceiling.
Sources: Tom's Hardware (2021-10-29, tomshardware.com), StorageReview (2021-10-05, storagereview.com), TechPowerUp (2021-10-06, techpowerup.com)

## Frequently asked questions

**What do reviewers say about the Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD?**

All three whitelisted lab reviews (Tom's Hardware and StorageReview on 1TB units, TechPowerUp on 2TB) survived verification with every quote and measured value confirmed against source text. Consensus: the XS2000 is an ultra-compact, aggressively priced 20Gbps drive that reaches near its 2 GB/s sequential rating, but its DRAM-less design brings weak sustained writes and no encryption. Praised: Near-2 GB/s sequential speeds close to the rated 2,000 MB/s; Extremely compact and lightweight design; Aggressive pricing and 5-year warranty; IP55 rating with included rubber sleeve. Flagged: Weak sustained write once the SLC cache fills (214 MB/s on 1TB per Tom's Hardware, 300 MB/s to fill the 2TB per TechPowerUp); DRAM-less architecture hurts random IO performance; No AES encryption or security features; Requires USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 / Thunderbolt to hit rated speeds; limited port support. (From 3 tester reviews, 3 lab-tested.)

**How much does the Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD cost?**

The Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD has a US price of $99 (US launch MSRP for 500GB per StorageReview ($99.99); 1TB $159.99, 2TB $284.99. Newegg lists 2TB at $515 as of June 2026.), as of 2026-06-15.

**How does the Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD compare on price?**

At $99, the Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD is #5 cheapest of the 18 portable ssds we track, where the median is $125.

**When was the Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD released?**

The Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD was released 2021-10.

**What are the Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD's key specs?**

Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD (Kingston): capacity gb 500, read mbps 2000, write mbps 2000, interface USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), ip rating IP55. Full sourced spec sheet verified 2026-06-15.

Source: https://www.storagereview.com/review/kingston-xs2000 (storagereview.com, accessed 2026-06-15)
Corroboration: https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=kingston+xs2000+2tb (accessed 2026-06-15)
Canonical: https://frontdeskreview.com/product/portable-ssds/kingston-xs2000/
Cite: Per The Front Desk Review, the Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD price of record was $99 as of 2026-06-15 — https://frontdeskreview.com/product/portable-ssds/kingston-xs2000/
License: CC BY 4.0. Price history: https://frontdeskreview.com/data/price-history.jsonl