WD Elements Portable 6TB Drops to $259.95 in Amazon Deal, $135 Below WD's Own Price

The WD Elements Portable 6TB external hard drive is $259.95 on Amazon at the time of writing, down from a $319.99 list price. The bigger gap is with Western Digital itself: WD's own store charges $394.99 for the same model, so Amazon is $135.04 below the maker's price.

WD's store showed no active discount or promotion on this SKU when checked. That makes the Amazon listing the cheaper way to buy this exact drive by a wide margin, not just a trim off an inflated reference price.

The listing is for model WDBHJS0060BBK-WESN, the pocket-sized Elements Portable rather than the larger Elements Desktop. It weighs 0.51 lbs, connects over USB 3.2 Gen 1 and needs no power adapter, which matters for anyone who wants 6TB in a laptop bag.

How the WD Elements Portable 6TB price compares

At $259.95, the drive works out to about $43.33 per terabyte. Amazon lists a 19% saving against its $319.99 reference price, which is a $60.04 cut.

Against WD's own $394.99 price, the saving is closer to 34%. WD's store also listed the drive as in stock, so the difference is not down to availability.

The Amazon listing bills this model as the first 6TB 2.5-inch portable hard drive. However, WD's own May 2024 press release credits that first 6TB 2.5-inch capacity to its My Passport, WD_BLACK P10 and SanDisk Professional G-DRIVE ArmorATD lines. It does not mention Elements.

WD Elements Portable 6TB specifications

The figures below come from WD's product page for the 6TB Elements Portable. WD does not publish a read or write speed in MB/s for this model, so none is listed here.

WD says the enclosure uses more than 50% post-consumer recycled plastic. The company's box contents list no power supply, unlike the Elements Desktop, which ships with an AC adapter and weighs 2.09 lbs.

Mac users should note the compatibility line. WD lists Windows 10 and later, and says other systems may need the drive reformatted. If a PC fails to see the drive after that, Digital Citizen has a guide on fixing an external hard drive Windows 11 won't recognize.

WD Elements Portable 6TB vs. other WD drives on Amazon

The per-terabyte math is where this deal gets interesting. At the time of writing, the 6TB portable costs less per terabyte on Amazon than the much larger 16TB My Book and 20TB Elements Desktop.

The 2TB Elements Portable is $134.50, which is cheaper upfront but costs $67.25 per terabyte. Three times the capacity costs less than twice the money.

Only the 24TB Elements Desktop beats the 6TB portable on price per terabyte, by about $1.03. Its Amazon listing showed only one unit left in stock, and like the other desktop drives it needs a wall outlet.

The 16TB My Book is the one to consider for bundled extras. Its listing includes backup software, password protection and 256-bit AES hardware encryption, while WD names no bundled software for the Elements Portable.

Who the 6TB Elements Portable suits

This drive fits people who move large photo and video libraries between machines, or who keep a backup copy away from the desk. For cloud users, Digital Citizen explains how to back up Google Drive to an external hard drive.

There is no hardware encryption listed for this model. Windows users who want the data locked can use BitLocker To Go, and Digital Citizen covers how to unlock a BitLocker external drive.

WD has not published read or write speeds, drive RPM or a bundled backup app for this model. Amazon has not listed an end date for the deal either, and the $259.95 price may change at any time.