This WD 20TB external HDD is at its all-time low, and is what I'd buy for this Amazon Prime Big Deal Days

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WD does it again - this is the best value external hard disk drive on the market right now

WD Elements 20TB external HDD
(Image credit: Future)

I love a good storage deal and the Western Digital 20TB external hard drive fits the bill. It is at its cheapest yet at $265.99 at Amazon, down from $505.99, a staggering saving of 47%, or $240. 

As for every Prime big deal days offer, this is exclusive to Amazon Prime members. Non Prime members will pay $279.99.

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So why is it such a great bargain? No other drive beats its per-Terabyte price at just under $13.30. To put that in perspective, you can buy two of these drives (40TB) for less than the price of a 24TB version of the same drive, crazy isn’t it!

Even crazier is the fact that WD sells its 20TB internal hard drives like the Red Pro NAS or the WD Purple Pro, for far more than its equivalent external hard drive.

You will need to plug it in the mains to work and it offers USB 3.2 Gen 1 (or USB 3.0) compatibility for fast (but not ultra fast) file transfer. It is compatible with both Mac and PC and its vertical design means that it takes a smaller footprint compared to some of its competitors.

Today's best WD 20TB desktop hard drive deal

Western Digital 20TB desktop hard driveWas $505.99Now $265.99 at Amazon

Western Digital 20TB desktop hard drive: Was $505.99 Now $265.99 at Amazon
If you are looking to store a huge amount of big files like photos or videos, then the WD 20TB external hard drive should be high on your list. It is compact, has plenty of storage capacity and is as affordable as it gets. Plus it is backed by a big brand.

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There are a few minor flaws that can easily be ignored. It doesn’t come with any backup software, encryption feature and the power button is at the back. Amazon sadly doesn’t offer any protection plan - which it does for some WD Elements models - which include data recovery.

No fear though, the drive comes with a 2-year warranty by default; just bear in mind though that you will almost void your warranty if you decide to extract the internal hard drive from the Elements desktop hard drive.

I also strongly recommend getting a cloud backup storage to keep your data safe in case of hardware failure or damage or loss. 22TB of data is the equivalent of 4.5 million 12-megapixel photos or 200 days of HD video. 

Check our best cloud backup buying guide for more details.

Today's best 20TB hard drive deals

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Desire Athow
Desire Athow
Managing Editor, TechRadar Pro

Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.