Cheap SSD – The Best SSD Storage for You in 2023
Cheap SSDs have joined the rank of even the most expensive ones; the manufacturing of more affordable SSDs has become a very reliant, more resourceful outlet for people who are restricted by a budget. The number of manufacturers has increased over the years, which inevitably means an increase in competition as well.
What is the best cheap SSD in 2023? The best cheap SSD in 2023 is the Crucial MX500, this 500 GB 2.5 inch internal SSD has been providing the best and also affordable means of storage for so many years, for the price, the MX500 is a tremendous internal solid-state drive.
Cheap SSDs are very helpful because they provide great features even at the price they are sold at.
And even solid-state drives that have great pricing. What this means is that people have more choices when it comes to finding SSDs that don’t only boost the performance of their systems but also ones that have low-cost price tags. SSDs have a way of reducing the stress of conventional hard drives
Upgrading from a mechanical hard drive increases your storage performance ten times more. The memory of your system becomes even better and more capable. SSDs don’t only improve memory; they also provide noticeable improvements in responsiveness, performance, and even speed.
This is essential for people who cannot afford the luxury of splurging on the more expensive SSD counterparts. With SSDs like crucial mx500, price or cost is put at the forefront, and performance and functionality are put in front as well. The price tag doesn’t necessarily devalue the price.
In fact, most cheap SSDs have a lot to offer that trumps the low price, you’ll find a lot of excellent SSDs for the cheaper price they are sold at.
Best Overall
- 560mb/s Transfer Speed
- Efficient Micron 3D NAND
- Great Performance
Premium Pick
- 3,430 mb/s Transfer Speed
- Gen 3 PCIe Technology
- Optional integrated heatsink
Also Good
- 540mb/s Transfer Speed
- V-NAND technology
- Great performance
When it comes to the bigger SSDs, the price might be an issue to some buyers or users, this is why cheaper SSDs are very useful and this is where they come in. Purchasing a high functioning, high-performance themed SSD, without paying an extravagant cost has become much easier over the years.
Replacing your hardware with an SSD that is much faster provides so many benefits that include a faster booting process and all-around fast performance. SSDs are known to be more reliable than HDDs, they use flash-based memory which makes it way faster for systems.
The use of SSDs also allows long-lasting batteries and other various advantages. Upgrading to an SSD is a great choice for people who still using a mechanical hard drive. Worrying about the cost of an SSD is no longer an issue because prices have dropped significantly and solid-state drives are way faster because of great features such as the absence of a spinning magnetic platter and moving head.
Once a hard drive is replaced with an SSD, there is an improvement in the speed of the device, it’s even better these days because a user could get an SSD for a cheap price.
Cheap SSDs Comparison Table
Solid-state drives these days come in various form factors and they have versatile modes of operation, they also come in an array of prices. There are a lot of SSDs that come at expensive prices, and there are also those that come at cheaper prices. Deciding what kind of SSD to get can be highly determined by the price you’re willing to pay for it.
The list of cheap SSDs is unending, which is a good thing because users are given an unlimited array of options along with the various features they have. When it comes to cheap SSDs, it is important to note that the price doesn’t necessarily mean that the SSD doesn’t perform well
A user could get a cheap SSD, that not only functions as well as regular SSDs but that also houses a lot of features that are privy to even the more expensive SSDs. Although there are quite a number of state-of-the-art SSDs that provide a lot of high-end functions, there are also enough cheap SSDs that provide the most quality performances that could match the former.
Though they might not match when it comes to capacity, they most definitely match when it comes to performance. Finding a cheap SSD for storage capability or even an increase in performance is highly achievable and possible. There are a lot of options to choose from for people searching for SSDs that match their needs and price range.
There are other factors to also consider, like whether you’re trying to find an external SSD, an SSD that is SATA compatible or even the latest PCIe M.2 SSD.
Cheap SSDs In 2021
The number of solid-state drives that are being manufactured increases by the day, once upon a time, SSDs were quite expensive, but the reverse is the case as years go by. Not only are SSDs more popular, but there are also cheap SSDs that are known to be highly functional without an extravagantly dramatic price tag. With this new feat, all your SSD needs will be met and on the plus side, no broken banks would be required.
There are a lot of options to choose from when it comes to cheap SSDs in 2021, there’s a long list of SSDs that match that description, and the good thing about them is that they come with out of the box features that definitely do the work of excellent functioning SSDs.
Whether you want an SSD for great performance or even its storage capacity, you can tick all those boxes with a warranted list of cheap SSDs in the year 2021; the most important thing about choosing an SSD is to note that they are definitely an upgrade from hard drives, so picking any type of solid-state drive is a definite improvement.
1. WD Black SN750
This SSD is on a list of one of the best tested SSDs that are cheap. The WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD has a really fast random write speed, not only is it affordable, it also offers a read speed of 3,470MB/s and a sequential write speed of 2,600MB/s; this is such a great performance for the price it is at. An SSD like his is a great choice for gamers, especially the ones who don’t have enough money for the more expensive SSDs.
The WD Black SN750 is definitely fast and highly affordable. Its exceptional speed has been proven and tested, it has relatively high performance and it is known to be a direct competitor to the Samsung 970 Pro SSD.
Best Overall
WD Black SN750
The WD Black SN750 has a well improved firmware to speed up its drive, its excellent performance has increased and its ability to read and write data sequentially is a lot to boast about.
It is inexpensive yet so highly functional. It has unique features is the PCI express bus and the NVMe transfer protocol it uses, this allows the SSD to be speedy.
This SSD has a heatsink and non-heatsink, along with a software setting that provides maximum power always. All of its unique features allow it to have an ultimately high performance; this is relatively good when it comes to the users who are in need of an SSD of its price tag.
This SSD appeals to a lot of people, whether gamers or PC enthusiasts, it provides high speed that gives different groups of people exactly what they are looking for in an SSD. For games, features like the heatsink and software power management would come in handy for all their various uses. The performance is another reason why people should absolutely purchase it; its performance is great, especially at the price it comes with.
The WD Black SN750 offers a lot of great features all the while being affordable; this alone is a good enough reason why people should get this device.
Pros
- Good performance
- Fast random write speed
- Optional integrated heatsink
Cons
- Same hardware model as its predecessor
2. Crucial MX500 SSD
The crucial MX500 offers a lot of features which includes a lot of storage depending on the price; it has capacity options from 250GB TO 2TB. The performance of the crucial MX500 is great and even with the budget price.
It was built using fast, high endurance 3D NAND flash storage and it gets even better as it has a five year warranty attached. It keeps up with its competition in a lot of ways, which includes its speedy way of reading and writing data that are both big and small.
Premium
Crucial MX500 SSD
The unique features of the Crucial MX5OO its 2.5-inch form factor, its read speed is 560 megabytes per second and its hardware interface is a SATA 6.0GB/s. The Crucial MX500 SSD is a drive with a lot of quality, speed and even security. This makes its performance a safe bet for anyone purchasing a good SSD.
The storage capacity is excellent as it allows users to save significant amounts of music, photos and even videos. Another great advantage is its ability to load files instantly, it has a dynamic write acceleration technology that uses an adaptable pool of high speed and single-level cell flash memory to create high speeds.
This device is a great choice if what you’re looking for are speed, storage and even reliability. It provides a safe space for videos, photos, music and essential documents. It comes along with a great performance and sustainable reliability.
The Crucial MX500 SSD allows a lot of room for different advantages that will be of great help to users who want a highly functional SSD. When it comes to transferring files or data, this SSD allows users to transfer or even install anything with as much speed and ease possible.
Pros
- 560mb/s Read & Write Speed
- Efficient Micron 3D NAND
- Reliable
- Great performance
- Easy installation
- Capacity options
- Available in 2.5-inch
Cons
- Low endurance rating for heavy data writes
3. Samsung SSD 850 EVO
The Samsung SSD has become a really good SSD, it boasts of a highly upgraded performance, compatibility and reliability. It was manufactured to meet the needs of just about anyone that is an everyday user. It offers a lot of speed and is known to do well under any kind of workload ahead.
It offers high performance, efficiency, large capacities, these all back up its highly reliable reputation. It comes in a 2.5”7mm form factor and it also has a sleek, black anodized aluminum casing that gives it a quality that beats that of its competitors.
Also Good
Samsung SSD 850 EVO
The Samsung 850 boasts of features such as its latest 6th gen 128 layer V-NAND flash and an updated MKX ‘Metis’ SATA 6Gbps. This device offers high performance for daily computing tasks.
The Samsung 850 EVO delivers sequential speeds of up to 560/530 megabytes per second; it also sustains up to 98,000/88,000 random read/write IOPS across the board.
The performance of this SSD varies based on its firmware version. The design is also impeccable; it has a black enclosure with a light gray square on top of the drive under the Samsung branding.
The Samsung 850 is a great choice for anyone looking for a high serving SSD, it offers great performance and speed and its read and writes speed is fast. It has various storage capacities for people who would want choices. It is an excellent drive for people who want maximum performance and a lot of storage space as well.
The pricing depends on the storage capacity, this SSD has relatively high endurance and its features tick all the boxes for people who want to purchase it.
Pros
- Fast read and writes speeds
- V-NAND technology
- Great performance
Cons
- Price fluctuation
4. Addlink S70
This is another great SSD for people with budgetary constraints, people who are on a budget but still have the need to get a device with fast sequential read and write speeds. Addlink has a lot to offer, it has great value and it also has a five-year warranty.
Addlink isn’t entirely well known but it has been around for around a decade, it aims at high-end applications, it is great for photo editing, video production, animation, gaming and so many other intensive tasks.
The Addlink S70 has the ability to carry out heavy workloads without slowing down. It is powered by a 3D NAND flash memory, it provides fast transfer speeds, and it is reliable and definitely has good endurance.
Addlink S70
Its unique features include a 2TB NVMe SSD which serves as a great improvement to the performance of a system, depending on the system hardware and configuration.
The 3D NAND technology sequential read speeds up to 3500 MB/s and writes speeds up to 3000 MB/s. All these boil down to low latency, reliability and power efficiency.
It is compatible with Windows 10 and 8.1 systems, which provide native support to PCIe NVMe SSDs. This means that the form factor of the Addlink belongs in this field, as it is an M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD, it was also engineered with a RAID engine and low-density parity-check coding that keeps data secured.
The Addlink may not be as popular as other brands, but it also has a lot of years on its belt. Its features are noticeably good and they offer security and speed along with good pricing. This SSD is helpful to people from different spheres; gamers, video editors, 3D animators, video producers and so on.
This SSD offers speed and avoids lagging at all costs; this makes it a great choice for anyone in the market for an SSD that could accomplish a lot of heavyweight tasks without slowing down or having any issues.
Pros
- Excellent capacity
- Speed
- Highly durable
- Five year warranty
Cons
- Lack of software management tools
5. Crucial P5
The crucial P5 has an excellent speed, it functions great and it has amazing data protection. Its sequential read is up to 3400 MB/s. Its performance is beyond basic as it is of high quality and it is also very reliable.
With an amazing performance, it ensures that there is a smooth operation; operating systems and apps open quickly, and even games boot as quickly as any player would usually expect it to.
Affordable
Crucial P5
The Crucial P5 was engineered with NVMe technology; its unique features include a full hardware-based encryption capability, as well as dynamic write acceleration. It is also endowed with adaptive thermal protection that keeps data safe and also enhances the reliability of the system.
Asides from all these great features, it is important to also note that Micron engineering backs the Crucial P5 SSD, which means that this SSD is qualified, tested and proven to be a very reliable and productive SSD.
This SSD can be of great help to gamers, professionals and basically anyone else. It offers a capacity that goes from 250GB to 2TB, which is a good thing for people who would like options when it comes to their storage capacity.
The Crucial P5 is a very good choice when it comes to SSDs; it is reliable, functional and fast. It would be of good use to gamers, professionals and even people who would need it for the purpose of everyday use.
The Crucial P5 is capable of a lot of different operations and it is also of great value and quality. The amazing features that come with it, are good enough reasons for people to get the SSD. Its quality is great and as stated above, it is qualified, tested and proven to be highly reliable.
Pros
- Great performance
- Adaptive thermal protection
- Security
- Durable
- Five year warranty
Cons
- Steep Write Speed with 250GB Model
How To Choose The Right Cheap SSD
Choosing the right SSD is a great task on its own, it becomes even more confusing when you throw the price you’re willing to spend in the loop. The most important thing to look out for in a great performance that even beats the affordable price it is set at. With the way the world operates today, it is completely possible to find an affordable SSD that can perform all the heavyweight tasks possible.
Choosing the right SSD has to go beyond being limited by a budget, it is necessary to find SSDs that are affordable and still highly reliable and filled with great quality. When looking for these SSDs, you’ll need to look out for certain features that are available in even the cheapest kinds of SSDs; the price tag doesn’t necessarily mean the quality has to be bad.
The only thing you’d have to compromise on with cheaper SSDs is the storage capacity, some capacities like 500GB aren’t as great as the ones that are 2TB, and one is more expensive than the other, that doesn’t mean the 500GB is unable to serve or perform high tasks because it is. What this means is, if the storage capacity isn’t something you can comprise, you would have to get an expensive model.
Despite all of that, it is very essential to state that the lower capacities are still very functional and highly capable of performing the most perilous tasks and also very capable of storing large files, videos and so many other things, so getting an SSD with a relatively lower capacity doesn’t mean that the quality is bad in any way.
Capacity
There are various capacity classes which range from 128GB, to 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and even 4TB above.
With the 128GB, they are often referred to as low capacity drives, which means they tend to be much slower in performance due to their minimal number of memory modules and the storage limit would also be small, what this means is, before you purchase an SSD, it is important to decide if you can deal with a storage capacity of this class, especially if you intend on storing games and other files.
You could get a 500GB capacity at the cheap price you set out to get it at, and the thing about drives at this capacity is that they offer a reasonable amount of space at their modest prices. Other high-class capacities are usually more appealing, but you don’t necessarily have to splurge, especially if you know you could do without it because they come at higher prices and are for people who need that much space.
If you’re tied by any budget constraint, it is important to go for the 250GB or 500GB if you can, they aren’t as appealing as the higher classes, but they are certainly valuable and effective nonetheless.
Interface
When it comes to the interface, there are two types we’re working with; either the SATA or PCIe interface. It is known that 2.5-inch SSDs run on the Serial ATA (SATA) interface, which was actually designed for hard drives, while add-in-card drives work faster with PCI express bus. Then M.2 drives can work with either SATA or PCI express, this also depends on the drive.
If your tasks are more on the heavyweight scale and it includes daily heavy tasks such as large file transfers, extreme video or photo editing, compressions and decompressions, then an NVMe SSD would be a much better fit for you. But if your daily task is filled with browsing the web, making use of trivial office applications, then the less expensive SATA models would suit all of that quite perfectly.
The bandwidth provided by the NVMe SSDs is much more than the SATA models, so basically choosing which kind would suit the intent of your purchase would go a very long way in making sure you make the right decision.
Form Factor
SSDs come in three main form factors, there’s the 2.5-inch Serial ATA which is the most common type. It is almost similar to the shape of traditional laptop hard drives.
There is also the SSD Add-in-cart (AIC) which is potentially faster than most drives, they operate over the PCI Express bus and they are commonly used for the best graphics cards or RAID controllers. Then there are what we call the M.2 SSDs which have the shape of a stick of RAM, but smaller.
They are mostly found in slim laptops or on most desktop motherboards. All these form factors offer different features, but you’ll come to find that some come along with a more generous budget than others. It is best to choose one that goes along with all your computing needs without actually overusing your budget or the money confined in it.
Compatibility
Deciding what kind of SSD your computer would support is very vital when choosing the SSD, cheap or not. Solid-state drives like we noted earlier, comes in different form factors and they also operate across several possible hardware and software connections. The kind of drive you purchase would depend on the kind of device you’re using.
There are some systems that are lucky enough to be compatible with almost all modern drive types, but if your system isn’t one of those, it is important to decide which one it would be able to work with before making a huge purchase.
Most slim laptops and convertibles are known to have mostly the gum-stick-shaped M.2 form factor and no space for the more traditional 2.5-inch laptop style drive.
This means choosing an SSD isn’t just as easy as picking the ones with the best features, you’ll also have to make sure the drive is compatible with the system you have or at least the one you’re about to have. It is important to check all your options before you even make a purchase.
Cheap SSD FAQS
There are a lot of things to consider when purchasing an SSD, especially one that is constrained by a budget; you will have to weigh the price to performance ratio no matter what.
Just because you’re purchasing an affordable SSD doesn’t mean the performance should be comprised in any way, shape or form. Buying an affordable SSD doesn’t limit you from buying the best kind possible within your price range.
What Is The Overall Best Cheap SSD
The best overall best cheap SSD could be the Crucial MX500; it offers great value and gives a lot of storage, depending on how much you spend. It is fast, performs remarkably and could also fit into any standard desktop build and it is great because it could also fit in a lot of laptops.
How Much Do I Need To By The Overall Cheap SSD
The Crucial MX500 could be purchased at a price tag of $64.99 and other cheaper deals.
What Is The Cheapest SSD
The cheapest SSD so far with decent features could be the Fenlink 2.5” to 3.5” internal SSD, It could be gotten at $11.99.
In Conclusion
Solid-state drives are an essential upgrade from the more traditional hard drives; they boost performance and speed in a lot of different ways and are very vital to the smooth operation of systems or even gaming experiences.
There are various options to choose from when buying an SSD, even when you’re on a budget. Being on a budget doesn’t mean you don’t get to enjoy so many lavish features; in fact, it is quite the opposite as so many people can get cheap SSDs without compromising the features that they need.
Choosing the best SSD under a budget can also be quite tasking, but once all the factors or key features to look out for are taken into consideration, the task becomes relatively easier and it also results in getting the best SSD your money can buy.
All the drives can be gotten at different capacities, the main capacities are; 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and usually, the price of an SSD is in line with the capacity it has.
