WD Elements vs My Passport are two very compelling solutions from Western Digital. These affordable drives are priced differently but offer the same storage options.
So, how are they different? Stay tuned!
WD Elements is better for data backups, more stable, and only available in Black. My Passport is ideal for frequent file transfers, faster, and comes in variety of colors. My Passport also supports password-protected encryption, however WD Elements is slightly cheaper.
WD My Passport or Elements are primarily targeted towards Windows computers. So, be sure to reformat the drives if you want to use them with Mac or PlayStation.
Aside from the differences mentioned on paper, you should also find out what users think about the drives.
WD Elements vs My Passport: Which is for Whom?
From a consumer’s perspective, there are clear differences between WD elements and my passport, that make either more compelling for a particular audience.
Buy WD Elements If-
Buy WD My Passport If-
WD Elements vs My Passport: Head to Head Comparison
features | WD Elements | Wd My passport |
|---|---|---|
Size | 4.35 x 3.23 x 0.59 inches. | 4.22 x 2.95 x 0.44 inches. |
Color Options | Black. | Black, Blue, Red, White, Orange, Yellow. |
Storage Capacity | 1TB to 5TB. | 1TB to 5TB. |
Storage Encryption | N/A. | AES-256 encryption with password protection. |
Connectivity | USB 3.0, also backward compatible. | USB 3.2 gen 1, also backward compatible. |
Companion Cable | Standard USB cable. | SuperSpeed USB cable. |
Compatibility | Primarily Windows. Reformat for other systems. | Primarily Windows. Reformat for other systems. |
Software Support | N/a | WD Discovery, WD Security. |
Warranty | 2-years limited warranty. | 3-years limited warranty. |
Price |
Read more about WD Elements:
Read more about WD My Passport:
User Experience Overview of WD My Passport vs Elements:
On paper, My Passport offers more features than WD Elements. But the practical performance of a drive can be different from its specs on paper.
So, let’s explore what users have to say about WD My Passport vs WD Elements.
WD Elements
- Users are satisfied with the performance it offers on a standard USB 3.0 cable, and it can work just as well with other USB cables.
- Users may face difficulty trying to format the drive to work on Mac. One user reported that Mac’s Disk Utility could resolve the issue if you open “View > Show All Devices” and use that screen to “erase” the drive.
- According to users, the enclosure on the drive feels cheap and the edges are sharp. Although the performance is excellent, this cheap feeling can be demoralizing.
- Many users have complained that the portable drive package does not come with a user manual, and for less tech-savvy users, this has been a troublesome experience.
- The drive is also compatible with Xbox and PlayStation, both of which will format the drive to make it usable on the system. It’s easy and effortless to do this.
WD My Passport
- Users are satisfied with the capability and speeds offered by the SuperSpeed cable it comes with. But using other USB cables can drop the speed a little.
- It is difficult to reformat the product to work on Mac. Several users reported that the WD Disk Utility crashes on it without notice. But the drive itself works perfectly if the formatting is successful.
- Users have reported that the enclosure does not necessarily feel cheap but is not premium either. It’s at the level where you’d be willing to accept the quality for the price.
- Multiple users stated that the drive does not have an eject function to safely remove it from the computer, which is worrying as a simply unplugging could damage the data stored inside the drive.
- Although the drive is compatible with both Xbox and PlayStation, several users have faced difficulty trying to convert this, but not everyone. So, you may find the formatting difficult.
Common Features of WD Elements vs My Passport
If you want to understand how the drives are different, you must first understand how they are similar. Here are the common features of My Passport vs WD Elements.
Storage Capacity
Both of these portable drives come with the same storage capacities, starting at 1TB and going up to 5TB. The 4TB and 5TB models are a little thicker than the smaller storage options.
Compatibility
These two portable drives offer plug and play support for Windows. They come preformatted to FAT32, which has a 4GB file size limit for each file.
So, you need to format it to ExFAT or NTFS for better performance, neither of which have this limit. For Mac and Linux, you can you have to format to APFS and EXT4 accordingly.
Warranty
Buying the ‘WD Elements’ will get you a 2-Year Limited Warranty, while the ‘My Passport’ will get you a 3-Year Limited Warranty.
Unique Features of WD Elements vs My Passport
Now that you know the common features WD Elements vs WD My Passport, you can precisely compare the two portable drives distinctive features. So, look through these features and see if they match your needs.
WD Elements
Stable and Hassle-free
Based on user responses, WD Elements is the more stable of the two in daily usage and when formatting to different file systems.
WD My Passport
Color Options
My Passport has 6 colors you can choose from. The design of the enclosure pops out more eloquently with these vibrant color options.
Encryption
Anyone conscious about privacy and security will love the encryption support on My Passport. The data on the drive becomes completely unreadable without the password.
Also, the prompt that asks for the Passport can have a dedicated message, which is great for informing others that you are the drive owner.
If you don’t want to use this feature, you can use the drive without encryption as well.
Dedicated Software
You get two dedicated software from Western Digital with your purchase of My Passport. WD Security is used for encryption and security and WD Discovery can be used to connect to cloud storage services for easy backup of your online files.
Noise-free
This portable hard drive does not make any unusual noise when working. So, it is perfect for using in the library without disturbing anyone around you.
SuperSpeed
My Passport supports the fast and stable USB 3.2 Gen 1 port and comes with a dedicated SuperSpeed cable that takes full advantage of this speed. So, you can get really high speeds from your portable drive with this solution.
Common Pros & Cons of WD Elements And My Passport
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Cons
Unique Pros & Cons of Elements
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Unique Pros & Cons of My Passport
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Cons
Price-Quality Ratio of Wd Elements vs My Passport
WD Elements and My Passport have similar pricing, but Elements is slightly cheaper. Although My Passport has more features, it is not necessarily the better of the two.
Both drives offer value-for-price performance and you can also find deals on either if you’re purchasing on Amazon. So, you can go with either one, you won’t be losing.
Parting words:
Before buying a portable drive, you should be skeptical about performance, longevity and price.
These two drives last a long time and offer outstanding performance as well. However, WD Elements is a little cheaper than My Passport.
My Passport is well-suited for travelers who have concerned about the privacy of their data. It offers fast file transfers and password-protected encryption.
So, if you love these features, you should go with My Passport. It also offers multiple colors to choose from.
WD Elements is great for backing up data and casual use.
If your computer is getting slow because your files are taking up too much space, you should move those files to a WD Elements portable drive. It is also more stable.
So, make a list of which features you absolutely need and which you can do without. It can help you in getting the best value for money portable hard drive.