Hardwer type for backup

[Aldo551]

Normally for backup my data, photos, etc. I use a traditional 1 TB mechanical HD.
To speed up the backup procedure I'm thinking of using an HD SSD or a pendrive.
The HD SSD has a much higher cost than pen drives of equal capacity.
1) What is the technical reason that justifies this price difference?
2) Could I use a pen drive for backup without risk of losing data?
3) What would you give me more in HD SSD, given the difference in price?
Thank you

[WAWood · Accepted solution]

@Aldo551 

To answer your questions:

1) Price difference -- external SSDs are more complex than a memory stick, and they include both a case and cable.  So, you're paying for those parts.  But the prices vary, as a 256GB USB stick is around $70 USD and a 1TB SSD is around $60 USD -- so in this case, the SSD is actually cheaper.

2) Use a pen drive -- yes you can use one, but pen drives are inherently less reliable than external SSDs.  I have lost data on both over time and been able to recover that from the SSDs but not from the pen drives.

3) What more comes with the SSD -- greater reliability, faster file transfer.  My USB 3 SSDs generally transfer files at several times the rate of my USB 3 Pen drives.