The Xbox Series S ships with just 364GB of usable storage — barely enough for a handful of modern titles. We tested the best SSDs under $100 to help you expand your library without breaking the bank, covering both USB storage drives and the only budget-friendly expansion card on the market.
The Crucial X9 delivers 1,050 MB/s read/write speeds at the lowest cost per gigabyte, making it the most affordable way to massively expand Series S storage.
The Samsung T7 Shield matches the Crucial X9's ~1,000 MB/s speeds but adds IP65 dust/water resistance and a drop-proof rubberized body at a similar price.
The WD_Black C50 plugs into the expansion slot and behaves exactly like internal storage, allowing native play of Series S optimized games — no file shuffling needed.
The Xbox Series S is a marvel of compact engineering — but that 512GB internal drive (364GB usable) fills up fast. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 alone eats nearly 150GB. You have two choices: a cheap USB SSD for storing and playing backward-compatible games, or a pricey expansion card that lets you play native Series S|X titles directly. Here are the three drives under $100 that make the most sense right now — the things actually worth buying.
Before we dive into picks, understand this: USB SSDs connected to the Series S can store any game and play Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox titles directly from the drive. But Series S|X optimized games — the ones with the little icon — can only be stored on USB and must be moved to internal storage to play. Expansion cards (like the WD_Black C50) plug into the rear slot and behave exactly like internal storage, letting you play everything natively. That's why they cost more per gigabyte.3
The Crucial X9 is the no-brainer pick for anyone who wants maximum capacity for their money. It delivers read and write speeds topping out at 1,050 MB/s — more than enough to saturate the Xbox's USB 3.1 port.1 At 1TB for well under $100, it's the cheapest way to quadruple your usable storage. Use it for your backward-compatible library and as a fast transfer shuttle for Series S games you want to keep without reinstalling.
Who it's for: Gamers who play a mix of older titles and want the most gigabytes per dollar.
If your console moves between rooms, dorm rooms, or you just want a drive that can take a knock, the Samsung T7 Shield is your pick. It matches the Crucial X9's ~1,000 MB/s speeds2 but adds an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance, plus a rubberized exterior that survives drops. It's the same price ballpark as the X9 — typically under $100 for 1TB — making the durability upgrade essentially free.
Who it's for: Travelers, LAN-party goers, and anyone prone to knocking things off their desk.
This is the only drive on our list that lets you play Series S|X optimized games directly — no shuffling required. The WD_Black C50 slots into the expansion port on the back of the console and delivers the same performance as the internal SSD.3 The catch: it's 512GB for around $80, so you're paying a premium for convenience. But if you're tired of the "move to internal" dance every time you want to fire up a new-gen title, this is the only sub-$100 solution that works.
Who it's for: Players who primarily play Series S optimized games and want instant, hassle-free access.
| If you… | Get this |
|---|---|
| Want the most storage for the money | Crucial X9 1TB |
| Need a rugged drive that survives travel | Samsung T7 Shield 1TB |
| Must play Series S games directly without moving files | WD_Black C50 512GB |
For most people, the Crucial X9 1TB is the smartest buy. Pair it with a little discipline around which games live on internal storage, and you've solved the Series S space problem for under $100. If you absolutely hate managing storage, the WD_Black C50 is the only budget option that eliminates the hassle entirely — just know you're paying for convenience, not capacity.
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| Pick | Price | Capacity | Speed | Play Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pick 1 ▶ Pick | — | 1TB | 1,050 MB/s | Backward-compat only | Pending |
Pick 2 best durability — ip65-rated rugged ssd with the same speed as the x9, perfect for on-the-go gamers. | — | 1TB | ~1,000 MB/s | Backward-compat only | Pending |
Pick 3 best for native play — the only sub-$100 expansion card that lets you play series s|x games directly. | — | 512GB | Native NVMe | Series S|X native | Pending |
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Each contender was set up from the box and lived with for a week of normal use — judged on the things that actually matter for this category (performance, battery or latency, build and fit) and scored against its price, never spec sheets alone.
