Sony's stock PS5 has about 667GB of free space, which might not be enough to hold your library of games given the large size of modern AAA titles. Luckily, with a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD, you can expand your PlayStation with up to 8TB of additional storage. These easy-to-install, speedy storage drives are an affordable solution to the annoying limited rotation of games you have to deal with otherwise.

Here are the best M.2 SSDs for PS5 available right now.

Our Favorite M.2 SSDs for the PlayStation 5 in 2023

The WD_BLACK SN850X is a high-end M.2 SSD that replaces the popular SN850. It brings excellent upgrades over its predecessor, including faster sequential performance and a new 4TB capacity model. It's also one of the few M.2 drives that support Microsoft's DirectStorage for compatible PC games.

The SN850X boasts blistering read speeds of up to 7,300MB/s, exceeding Sony's 5,500MB/s speed requirements. It not only delivers similar gaming performance to the PS5's built-in SSD but also remains a solid choice for handling future demanding games. Throw in the low-profile heatsink and Western Digital's excellent thermal management, and you get the perfect SSD for your PS5 console.

If you're looking for a no-frills M.2 SSD for the PS5, consider the Seagate FireCuda 530 M.2 SSD with Heatsink. Seagate made officially licensed and reliable external drives for the previous PlayStation consoles, which means this M.2 SSD will also work like a charm on the latest PlayStation 5 console.

It's one of the fastest M.2 SSDs available with speeds of up to 7,300MB/s, and it comes with a low-profile heatsink, making it a perfect combo for the PS5. It is also one of the few M.2 SSDs that is compatible with the PS5 and available in higher capacities up to 4TB.

Whether you want to store an entire game library and recordings in one place or download a few games, the FireCuda 530 provides an ideal capacity for almost everyone. All models come with incredible endurance ratings and durability, so the drive will hold up well during use and over time.

The best PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs tend to be expensive, but the good thing is that you don't need a 7,000MB/s SSD to fully leverage the capabilities of the PS5. The budget-friendly Crucial P3 Plus is capable of up to 5,000MB/s sequential read speeds, but it delivers strong gaming performance on the PS5, comparable to premium, more expensive M.2 drives.

The only downside with this M.2 SSD is the missing heatsink, but even that is not a dealbreaker since you can get a reasonably priced third-party heatsink, and the total cost will still be lower than most PS5-compatible SSDs. The Crucial P3 Plus is available in four capacity options, from 500GB to 4TB.

Samsung is no stranger when it comes to high-quality storage solutions, offering some of the best SSDs the market has to offer. The Samsung 980 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD with Heatsink is one of the fastest and most reliable M.2 SSDs you can pair with the PS5.

It has outstanding performance, and it plays well with the PS5 internal storage and PlayStation OS, allowing you to smoothly transfer games and apps to and from the internal SSD and launch games faster without any issues.

Samsung designed the heatsink to fit perfectly in the PS5 SSD bay. At just 8.6mm thicker, it's way below the 11.25mm maximum thickness allowed by the PS5, which means you can install this drive with its heatsink and safely close all the panels without any issues. Add to that Samsung's renowned thermal design and optimization, and you get a PS5 SSD that can handle extended periods of play without any performance drops.

The PS5 supports internal storage expansion of up to 8TB, but you'll need to open your wallet wide for high-capacity SSDs, with one exception—the Silicon Power 4TB XS70. With 8TB M.2 drives not yet mainstream, 4TB is currently the highest storage capacity available for your PS5, and this drive offers the lowest cost per gigabyte for 4TB PS5-compatible M.2 SSDs while promising industry-leading speeds.

The drive comes with a robust heatsink to dissipate heat and keep the drive cool under heavy loads. At a thickness of 10.9mm, it's compact enough to fit in the PS5 without much hassle. The XS70 is also available in smaller 1TB and 2TB capacities, with both options exceeding Sony's requirements for fast and future-proof storage for your PS5.

The Corsair MP600 PRO LPX offers an affordable starting price for one of the fastest M.2 SSDs for PS5 with a heatsink. It's available in higher capacities up to 4TB and has an elegant white finish, which is perfect if you want something that complements the PS5's white aesthetic.

With up to 7,100MB/s sequential read speeds, this SSD meets and even exceeds the PS5 internal SSD speed requirements. You'll hardly notice any performance difference when you launch games from this drive or the PS5's internal storage.

The included low-profile heatsink also means you can install the MP600 PRO LPX right out of the box and enjoy fast and powerful gameplay without thermal throttling.

Those looking for the most affordable PS5 SSD with a heatsink and strong performance should consider the ADATA XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE. It has all the bells and whistles for the ideal PS5 internal SSD, including faster speeds that even smoke the PS5's own internal storage.

The slim profile allows the SSD to fit perfectly in the PS5, and you get different capacity options from 500GB to 4TB. Unlike other cheaper offerings, the GAMMIX S70 BLADE comes with an aluminum heat spreader that reduces SSD temperatures by up to 20 percent, so you don't have to worry about reduced performance in extended gaming sessions.

Picking the Right M.2 SSD for Your PS5

While the PS5 supports storage expansion through M.2 SSDs, not all drives are compatible with the console. Sony recommends a PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD with at least 5,500MB/s speeds for the best performance and a size not exceeding 110 x 25 x 11.25 mm.

There are plenty of compatible drives available, but the WD_BLACK SN850X comes out on top thanks to its blistering 7,300MB/s speeds, solid heatsink, and durable build quality. It even supports next-gen DirectStorage technology for compatible PC games.

If you're on a tight budget, you have two options: the most affordable Crucial P3 Plus without a heatsink or the ADATA XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE that comes with its own heatsink. The Crucial P3 Plus is the best option if you want to save a lot of money, provided you pair it with a good heatsink.