Seagate has two similar products, the Expansion Desktop and Seagate Backup Plus Hub, if you are looking for an external hard drive that can hold a lot of data. So, which of these best fit your needs?
You can find out in this comparison guide between the two external HDDs.
Quick Summary
When compared to the Seagate Expansion Desktop, the Seagate Backup Plus Hub comes with two USB 3.0 ports on the front side that you can use to recharge your smartphone, tablet, and/or other compatible devices.
The Backup Plus Hub also support more customizable software in addition to having a longer warranty period.
So, while the Seagate Expansion Desktop is a little bit more affordable, the Seagate Backup Plus Hub is still the best option of the two due to the added versatility and longer warrant coverage.
Seagate Expansion Desktop vs. Seagate Backup Plus Hub Comparison Chart
You can check out Seeking Tech’s comparison table for the two external storage drives below.
| Seagate Expansion Desktop External HDD | Seagate Backup Plus Hub External HDD | |
|---|---|---|
| What's in the Box | Seagate Expansion Desktop External HDD 4-foot (1.2 m) USB 3.0 cable Power supply Quick start guide | Seagate Backup Plus Hub External HDD 4-foot (1.2 m) USB 3.0 cable Power adapter Quick start guide Seagate backup software NTFS driver for Mac 4 month membership to Adobe Photography Creative Cloud |
| Capacity Options | 4 TB 5 TB 6 TB 8 TB 10 TB 12 TB 14 TB 16 TB | 4 TB 6 TB 8 TB 10 TB 12 TB 14 TB |
| Weight | 2.094 lbs or 0.950 kg | 2.341 lbs or 1.062 kg |
| Dimensions | 6.929 in x 4.748 in 1.441 in or 176 mm x 120.6 mm x 36.6 mm | 4.646 in x 1.614 in x 7.799 in or 118 mm x 41 mm x 198.1 mm |
| Data Transfer Speed | Up to 160 MB per second | Up to 160 MB per second |
| Integrated USB Hub? | No | Yes |
| Downloadable Software | DiscWizard SeaTools | Dashboard Support DiscWizard Paragon Driver SeaTools Toolkit Support |
| Formatting | PC (default) Mac (reformat required) | PC (default) Mac (reformat required) |
| System Requirements | Windows 7 (or higher)/Mac OS X 10.10 (or higher) USB 3.0/USB 2.0 | Windows 7 (or higher)/Mac OS X 10.10 (or higher) USB 3.0/USB 2.0 |
| Warranty | 1-year limited warranty | 2-year limited warranty |
| Pricing | Check price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned) | Check price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned) |
What’s in the Box
In addition to the main external hard disk drive unit, both products come with a 4-foot USB 3.0 cable, power supply and quick start guide.
The Seagate Backup Plus Hub also comes with the Seagate backup software, NTFS driver for Mac as well as a 4-month membership to Adobe Photography Creative Cloud.
You can find the full breakdown of what’s included in each box below:
Seagate Expansion Desktop:
- Seagate Expansion Desktop External HDD
- 4-foot (1.2 m) USB 3.0 cable
- Power supply
- Quick start guide
Seagate Backup Plus Hub:
- Seagate Backup Plus Hub External HDD
- 4-foot (1.2 m) USB 3.0 cable
- Power adapter
- Quick start guide
- Seagate backup software
- NTFS driver for Mac
- 4 month membership to Adobe Photography Creative Cloud
Capacity Options
The Seagate Expansion Desktop is available in eight capacity options while the Seagate Backup Plus Hub comes in six capacities.
You can check out the available sizes, as well as the model numbers, below:
Seagate Expansion Desktop:
- 4 TB: STEB4000100
- 5 TB: STEB5000100
- 6 TB: STEB6000403
- 8 TB: STEB8000402
- 10 TB: STEB10000400
- 12 TB: STEB12000400
- 14 TB: STEB14000400
- 16 TB: STEB16000400
Seagate Backup Plus Hub:
- 4 TB: STEL4000100
- 6 TB: STEL6000100
- 8 TB: STEL8000100
- 10 TB: STEL10000400
- 12 TB: STEL12000400
- 14 TB: STEL14000400
Weight
The Seagate Backup Plus Hub External Hard Disk Drive is a little bit heavier when compared to the Seagate Expansion External Hard Disk Drive.
You can take a look at the weight specifications for both below:
- Expansion Desktop: 2.094 lbs or 0.950 kg
- Backup Plus Hub: 2.341 lbs or 1.062 kg
Dimensions
In terms of dimensions, the Seagate Expansion Desktop is longer and wider while the Seagate Backup Plus Hub has more depth.
You can check the measurements (which measured in length x width x depth) below:
- Expansion Desktop External HDD: 6.929 in x 4.748 in 1.441 in or 176 mm x 120.6 mm x 36.6 mm
- Backup Plus Hub External HDD: 4.646 in x 1.614 in x 7.799 in or 118 mm x 41 mm x 198.1 mm
Data Transfer Speed
Both of the external hard disk drives in this versus guide have a data transfer speed of up to 160 MB per second.
Integrated USB Hub
Only the Backup Plus Hub comes with two USB 3.0 ports on the front side. This will allow you to recharge compatible devices like smartphones and tablets while being able to transfer data at the same time.
Downloadable Software
Both external desktop hard disk drives support the DiscWizard and SeaTools downloadable programs.
The Backup Plus Hub also features the following downloadable software: Dashboard Support, Paragon Driver and Toolkit Support.
You can take a look at the full breakdown of compatible programs below:
Seagate Expansion Desktop:
- DiscWizard
- SeaTools
Seagate Backup Plus Hub:
- Dashboard Support
- DiscWizard
- Paragon Driver
- SeaTools
- Toolkit Support
Formatting
Both of the HDDs in this comparison guide are automatically formatted for PC.
You can also use these hard drives with Mac although you will need to reformat.
System Requirements
The two external drives have the same system requirements.
For the operating system, you will need Windows 7 (or higher) if you have a PC or Mac OS X 10.10 (or higher) if you are using a Mac.
To get the best possible speed, you should also connect the hard drives to an USB 3.0 port.
Although you can also connect the products to USB 2.0 ports, you will be limited to the slower USB 2.0 transfer speeds.
Warranty
The Seagate Expansion External Hard Disk Drive comes with an 1-year limited warranty while the Seagate Backup Plus Hub External Hard Disk Drive includes a 2-year limited warranty.
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