Are external ssds faster than hdds?

[SenMithrarin85]

Specifically in terms of copy speeds between the pc and the device itself? Or are you still bottlenecked by usb transfer caps? I currently have an old portable hard drive I use for backups but the larger games are getting, the longer it takes. was wondering if a portable ssd would be a better solution. Thanks n advance

[Phénomènes Mystiques]

My USB 3.1.2 external SSD/HDD hot swap dock is as fast as the internal SATA in read but is slower in write and destroys the 7200RPM/128MB Cache HDD in both read and write.

[just.kamk /idle]

Short and simple:
USB 3 transfers up to 5000 Mbit / 625 Mbyte per second in optimal conditions (never reached, but just saying). Higher USB standards even more.
Any HDD is wayyy slower.

So yeah, good SSD via USB 3 etc., is way faster than some HDD.

But, SSDs are not meant for backups, they lack data retention, and price wise they're still way more pricy than HDDs per storage amount.

[A&A]

My Samsung T5 even with USB 3.0 is just faster than any HDD.