WD Elements vs. My Passport, Everything You Should Know

Cici updated on Jan 11, 2024 | Home > Knowledge Center

Western Digital is a well-known manufacturer of computer hardware. It has a large selection of internal and external storage devices. Among them, WD Elements and My Passport are the most popular ones.

Is there any difference between WD Elements and My Passport? How should I choose? Don't worry. In this article, we will analyze WD Elements vs. My Passport in detail and help you decide.

What Is WD Elements and My Passport 

This section will give a brief introduction to WD Elements and My Passport. You will learn more about the differences between WD Elements vs. My Passport.

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What Is WD Elements

WD Elements is a general-purpose external hard drive designed to increase storage space and improve performance. It is designed with a compact and durable protective enclosure that meets the basic requirements of durability, shock resistance, and long-term reliability.

In addition, it has more capacity options, including 500GB, 750GB, 1TB, 1.5TB, 2TB, 3TB, 4TB, and 5TB. It can be used to solve the low disk space error.

WD Elements has rounded corners and a smooth finish. The simple, plug-and-play design works well with computers and gaming consoles.

wd elements

What Is My Passport

WD My Passport is an updated version of WD Elements. It has more improvements in terms of design and features. It has greater security and offers data backup. It comes in a square, rectangular shape.

Again, it is more expensive compared to WD Elements. It also has storage capacity options of 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 5TB.

If you need a way to carry your data and access it with a password, My Passport is the way to go.

wd my passport

WD Elements vs. My Passport: What're The Differences

You can learn more about the differences between WD Elements and My Passport by following the table below:

Comparison WD Elements My Passport
Storage Capacity 500GB, 750GB, 1TB, 1.5TB, 2TB, 3TB, 4TB, 5TB 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 5TB
Data Speed

480MB/s - over USB2.0

5GB/s - over USB3.0

480MB/s - over USB2.0

5GB/s - over USB3.0

Backup Software None SmartWare automatic backup software
Security None 256-bit AES Encryption and Password Protection
Supported System Windows-centric Windows, Chrome, macOS
Available Colors Black Black and blue
Physical Dimensions 4.35" x 3.23" x 0.59" 4.22" x 2.95" x 0.44"
Price Around $49.99 per TB Around $54.99 per TB

The table above shows WD Elements and My Passport's features, capacity, speed, and price. My Passport outperforms WD Elements in terms of overall data security. 

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WD Elements vs. My Passport: Which One to Choose

The differences between WD Elements vs. My Passport were analyzed in detail in the previous section, and the choice depends largely on your needs:

  • For price: WD Elements is relatively cheaper.
  • For data storage: WD Elements has more capacity options for adding storage space to gaming consoles like Xbox One.
  • For different operating systems: WD Elements is Windows-centric, My Passport is Chrome-compatible and offers downloadable NTFS drivers for macOS.

No matter which one you choose, both drives are the right choice. They differ mainly in design, security features, and price. If you want to check the hard drive's health or manage them better, you can follow up with a professional tool, such as EaseUS Partition Master.

Conclusion

This article analyzes the differences between WD Elements and My Passport. Both are excellent hard drives. If you're looking for a high-capacity drive at a reasonable price and don't need additional backup and security features, WD Elements is a good choice.

Conversely, if you're acquiring an external drive for secure backup, the WD My Passport, with its data backup capabilities combined with its 256-bit AES encryption and password protection, is one you can trust.

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Updated by Daisy

Daisy is the Senior editor of the writing team for EaseUS. She has been working at EaseUS for over ten years, starting as a technical writer and moving on to being a team leader of the content group. As a professional author for over ten years, she writes a lot to help people overcome their tech troubles.

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Written by Cici

Cici is the junior editor of the writing team of EaseUS. She accepted the systematic training on computers at EaseUS for over one year. Now, she wrote a lot of professional articles to help people resolve the issues of hard drive corruption, computer boot errors, and disk partition problems.

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