HDD|Hunt

Best Refurbished Hard Drives

Refurbished and used hard drives offer some of the lowest prices per terabyte available. Most are datacenter pulls — enterprise drives retired from service well within their rated lifespan. Many sellers test drives before resale and include seller warranties, making them a practical choice for homelabs, backup arrays, and bulk storage where brand-new retail drives are not required.

Buying refurbished — what to know

Look for sellers that include SMART data or a seller warranty. Enterprise drives like Exos and Ultrastar are designed for 2+ million hours MTBF, so a drive with 20,000–40,000 hours of use still has substantial life left. Avoid drives with reallocated sectors or no return policy.

Quick Verdict

Who this is for
Budget-conscious buyers willing to trade manufacturer warranty coverage for significantly lower prices — homelab builders, Plex hoarders, bulk backup users, and cold-storage archivists.
What usually wins
A refurbished enterprise pull (Exos or Ultrastar) at 8 TB or above from a seller that includes a return policy or seller warranty. Prioritise drives with low power-on hours and no reallocated sectors.
Prioritise
Seller reputation and return policy first. Then lowest price per TB at your target capacity. Enterprise datacenter pulls offer the best combination of remaining lifespan and value.

Prices updated hourly from Amazon US and UK. All links go directly to the retailer. Details.

Best Value Refurbished HDDs

The cheapest used and recertified hard drives available right now, ranked by cost per terabyte.

$12.00/TB Used

Seagate ST4000NM0125 4TB SAS 6Gb s ES 7200RPM 128MB 3.5 512e Bare

4 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$48.00 Amazon US· 4h 21m
$12.46/TB Used

Seagate Enterprise Capacity 3.5 HDD (Constellation ES) 4TB 7200RPM 6Gbps SAS 128 MB Cache Internal Bare Drive ST4000NM0023 (Renewed)

6 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$74.74 Amazon US· 3h 40m
$13.25/TB Used

Hitachi HUS724030ALS640 3TB 7.2k SAS 3.5" Hard Drive (Renewed)

4 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$53.00 Amazon US· 2h 18m
£14.88/TB Used

Verbatim 47685 4 TB 3.5-Inch Store 'n' Save USB 3.0 Desktop Hard Disk Drive - Black

4 TB External 3.5" USB
£59.52 Amazon UK· 35m
£15.38/TB Used

ModusTech External (DESKTOP) Hard Drive 3TB USB 3.0 & Type-C 3.0 - High-Speed Data Storage for PC, Mac, Laptops, and Gaming Consoles - Durable Design, Compatible with Windows, MacOS, Linux (16.0, TB)

16 TB External 3.5" USB
£246.05 Amazon UK· 4h 10m
$15.83/TB Used

HGST, a Western Digital Company Ultrastar 7K6000 6000GB 7200RPM SAS 512E Ultra TCG 128MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare or OEM Drives 0F22801

6 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$95.00 Amazon US· 30m
$16.10/TB Used

HEWLETT PACKARD 793762-001 HPE 6TB 6G 7.2K LFF SATA SC Hard Drive

6 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
$96.60 Amazon US· 2h 27m
$16.67/TB Used

MDD MAXDIGITALDATA 12TB 7200RPM 256MB Cache SAS 12.0Gb/s 3.5inch Internal Enterprise Hard Drive (MDD12TSAS25672E) - [ NOT a SATA HDD ] (Renewed)

12 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$199.99 Amazon US· 1h 40m

Refurbished Enterprise Drives

Recertified Seagate Exos, WD Ultrastar, and other datacenter-grade drives. Built for 24/7 workloads with higher endurance than consumer models.

Why this matters: Enterprise drives are over-engineered for datacenter duty — higher MTBF, vibration tolerance, and sustained throughput. A refurbished enterprise drive often outlasts a new consumer drive at a lower price per TB.

$15.83/TB Used

HGST, a Western Digital Company Ultrastar 7K6000 6000GB 7200RPM SAS 512E Ultra TCG 128MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare or OEM Drives 0F22801

6 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$95.00 Amazon US· 30m
£17.51/TB Used

Seagate Exos X20 20TB Internal Hard Drive - 3.5 Inch Hyperscale SATA 6GB/s HDD, 7,200 RPM, 2.5M MTBF, 512e and 4Kn FastFormat, Low Latency with Enhanced Caching (ST20000NM007D)

20 TB Internal 2.5" SATA
£350.15 Amazon UK· 30m
$18.33/TB Used

HGST, a Western Digital Company Ultrastar 7K6000 6000GB 7200RPM SAS 512E Ultra SE 128MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare or OEM Drives 0F22811

6 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$109.99 Amazon US· 1h 8m
£18.41/TB Used

Seagate EXOS X22 22TB Interne Server Festplatte ST22000NM000C 3,5 Zoll HDD SATA 6Gb/s 7200RPM SED 512E 512MB Cache (Renewed)

22 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
£404.99 Amazon UK· 11m
$19.46/TB Used

HGST Ultrastar He10 | HUH721008AL4200 | 0F27406 | 8TB 7200 RPM 256MB Cache SAS 12Gb/s 3.5" Inch | 4Kn | Instant Secure Erase | Helium Platform Enterprise Hard Disk Drives

8 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$155.70 Amazon US· 4h 17m
$20.00/TB Used

ST14000NM0048 Seagate 14TB SAS 12 Gb/s (Not SATA) Exos X14 (New with Warranty) 3.5 Inch 7200 RPM 256MB Cache 512e 4Kn Enterprise Hard Drive HDD

14 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$280.00 Amazon US· 2h 49m
$21.71/TB Used

Western Digital WUH721414ALE6L4 14TB Ultrastar DC HC530 SATA HDD - 7200 RPM Class, SATA 6 Gb/s, 512MB Cache, 3.5"

14 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
$304.00 Amazon US· 2h 55m
$21.88/TB Used

HGST Ultrastar DC HC320 HUS728T8TAL5204 8 TB Hard Drive - 3.5 Internal - SAS [12Gb/s SAS]

8 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$175.00 Amazon US· 53m

High-Capacity Refurbished (8 TB+)

Large used drives for NAS builders and archival storage. Fewer drives means fewer bays, less power, and simpler setups.

£15.38/TB Used

ModusTech External (DESKTOP) Hard Drive 3TB USB 3.0 & Type-C 3.0 - High-Speed Data Storage for PC, Mac, Laptops, and Gaming Consoles - Durable Design, Compatible with Windows, MacOS, Linux (16.0, TB)

16 TB External 3.5" USB
£246.05 Amazon UK· 4h 10m
$16.67/TB Used

MDD MAXDIGITALDATA 12TB 7200RPM 256MB Cache SAS 12.0Gb/s 3.5inch Internal Enterprise Hard Drive (MDD12TSAS25672E) - [ NOT a SATA HDD ] (Renewed)

12 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$199.99 Amazon US· 1h 40m
$16.67/TB Used

MDD MAXDIGITALDATA X18 MACH.2 (Dual Actuator) 18TB 7200RPM SAS 12Gb/s 512MB Cache 3.5-Inch Enterprise Hard Drive (MDD18TSAS51272E-2X18) - [Not a SATA HDD] (Renewed)

18 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$299.99 Amazon US· 48m
£17.14/TB Used

Seagate Exos 28TB internal server hard drive ST28000NM000C 3.5" HDD SATA 6Gb/s 7200RPM 512MB Cache (Renewed)

28 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
£479.99 Amazon UK· 1h 34m
£17.31/TB Used

Seagate Exos 26TB Internal Hard Drive, 3.5 Inch HDD, SATA3, 256MB Cache (Renewed)

26 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
£449.99 Amazon UK· 15m
£17.34/TB Used

ModusTech 12TB External (DESKTOP) Hard Drive USB 3.1 Type-C - High-Speed Data Storage for PC, Mac, Laptops, and Gaming Consoles - Durable Design, Compatible with Windows, MacOS, Linux (TB)

12 TB External 3.5" USB
£208.05 Amazon UK· 12m
$17.38/TB Used

HGST 0F27402 HUH721010AL4200 10 TB 3.5" SAS 7200 RPM 256 MB 4KN ISE Hard Drive

10 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$173.75 Amazon US· 2h 50m
$17.50/TB Used

HEWLETT PACKARD HUH728080AL5204-HPE 8TB 7.2K 12G LFF SAS Hard Drive

8 TB Internal 3.5" SAS
$140.00 Amazon US· 1h 2m

Refurbished NAS Drives

Used IronWolf, WD Red, and other NAS-rated drives. NAS drives include firmware optimizations for multi-bay enclosures and RAID arrays.

£22.92/TB Used

WD Red 10TB 3.5" SATA 6Gb/s 10TB 5400rpm HDD

10 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
£229.23 Amazon UK· 1h 15m
£23.18/TB Used

Seagate IronWolf Pro 20TB, Enterprise Internal NAS HDD, CMR 3.5 Inch, SATA 6GB/s, 7.200 RPM, 256MB Cache for RAID NAS, Rescue Services - Frustration Free Packaging (ST20000NTZ01)

20 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
£463.70 Amazon UK· 2h 43m
£24.88/TB Used

WD 8 TB NAS Hard Drive - Red

8 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
£199.00 Amazon UK· 2h 8m
$24.93/TB Used

Seagate IronWolf 14TB NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD – CMR 3.5 Inch SATA 256MB Cache for RAID Network Attached Storage – Frustration Free Packaging (ST14000VN0008)

14 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
$348.99 Amazon US· 2h 59m
£24.99/TB Used

Seagate IronWolf Pro ST20000NE00 RV sensor 8.9 cm (3.5") NAS 20TB HDD (CMR)

20 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
£499.88 Amazon UK· 3h 14m
$25.00/TB Used

WD Red 8TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 128MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD80EFZX

8 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
$199.99 Amazon US· 3h 45m
£26.25/TB Used

WD Red Pro 4TB NAS 3.5-inch Desktop Hard Drive for 1-16 NAS

4 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
£105.00 Amazon UK· 3h 57m
$26.30/TB Used

Seagate Ironwolf NAS 10TB SATA 6GB/s NCQ 256MB Cache 3.5 Internal Bare Drive (ST10000VN0004)

10 TB Internal 3.5" SATA
$263.00 Amazon US· 4h 21m

How to Choose

Refurbished drives can deliver outstanding value, but not all used drives are equal. Here is how to buy smart.

Seller quality

Buy from sellers that test drives before resale and offer a return window or seller warranty. Reputable refurbishers often include SMART reports showing power-on hours and sector health. Avoid listings with no return policy.

SMART health

Check for reallocated sector count, current pending sectors, and power-on hours. A drive with under 40,000 hours and zero reallocated sectors is a solid candidate. Avoid drives where the seller does not disclose SMART data.

Enterprise vs consumer pulls

Enterprise datacenter drives (Exos, Ultrastar) are designed for 2M+ hour MTBF and sustained 24/7 workloads. A retired enterprise drive with moderate hours typically has more useful life remaining than a consumer drive at the same age.

Risk and reward

Refurbished drives can cost 40–60% less than new retail. The trade-off is a shorter warranty and unknown usage history. Mitigate risk by buying from sellers with good return policies and by keeping backups of any data stored on refurbished drives.