MacworldApple offers pretty good prices on the standard configurations of its Macs. $599 for a M4 Mac mini? $999 for a new M4 MacBook Air? $1,299 for a new M4 iMac? Those are attractively priced. But those prices involve a few sacrifices, most notably the starting storage of just 256GB. A quarter of a terabyte might sound like a lot, but much of what we do on the Mac involves large fileshigh-resolution pictures, videos, games (literally the biggest culprit), and a lot more. 256GB runs out quickly.Apple does give customers the option to upgrade storage at the point of purchase, of course, but their prices are steep. Upgrading from 256GB to 512GB (the minimum amount we recommend) is an extra $200/200, and jumping to a terabyte is another $200, turning an attractive entry-level offering into a pricey one.But if you dont want to plunk down the extra money, you can still expand your Macs storage without paying Apples exorbitant prices. The alternatives here are mostly external storage solutionsin other words, youll need to carry and plug in an extra devicebut the compromise can help you meet your budget.External SSDs and hard drivesFoundryProsBest price/capacity ratioLarge range of capacities availableConsOne more thing to carry or clutter your deskFaster performance usually means higher pricesAn external storage device offers the best combination of price and capacity. For example, you can get a 1TB LaCie Mobile Drive for un$80der /56 on Amazon that connects to your Mac via USB-C. LaCie sells that same drive with 5TB of storage for less than $170/115still lower than the upgrade to 512GB of internal storage on a Mac.With external drives, you can opt for a hard drive or a solid-state drive (SSD). SSDs (which are used internally on the Mac) are faster and higher-priced than hard drives. You can also choose between desktop drives that have a larger design and require you to plug it into a power outlet, or portable drives that are small enough to fit in a bag or pocket and are powered through the Macs Thunderbolt or USB port.External drives use either USB-C or Thunderbolt to connect to the Mac. Thunderbolt drives are more expensive but faster, while cheaper USB-C-only drives often support slower data transfer rates. Learn more about the differences between Thunderbolt and USB.Macworld has guides to the best external SSDs and the best external hard drives to help you find the best device for you.USB flash drivesUnsplashProsSmall and portableCheapConsDurability issuesAwkwardly protrudes from the USB portOften called thumb drives or memory sticks, a USB flash drive is essentially a stick of flash memory that plugs into a USB port. Theyre small and easy to stash in a bag or pocket. They are available in capacities as high as 2TB, but 128GB and 256GB capacities are most commonly found, often for less than $30, such as this Samsung flash drive.USB flash drives vary in price based on capacity and speed. Some have additional features such as a USB-A plug on one end and a USB-C plug on the other, or built-in encryption.You can leave a USB flash drive plugged in, but if you are going to frequently read and write to the drive, youll want to opt for a portable or desktop drive instead. USB flash drives are more prone to wearing out than a full-fledged drive because flash memory has limited durability and USB flash drives dont have the measures in place to maintain proper health. Also, they tend to use lower-quality parts so they can be cheap and treated as commodities (for example, the corner near my home sells USB flash drives).While you dont want to rely on USB flash drives are primary storage, theyre handy for, say, storing photos or videos from a shoot, file management when you want to keep files for a project separate from everything else, backups, and more.SD cardsDenise Jans/UnsplashProsSmallAffordableConsRequires a Mac with an SDXC card slot or a separate USB card readerDurability issuesSDXC cards are memory cards often used in cameras and other portable devices, but you can also use them on the Mac. Only two Macs (MacBook Pro and Mac Studio) have built-in SDXC Card slots, however. For every other Mac, you must buy an SD Card adapter, which is inexpensive at about $10/10. You can also find hubs and Thunderbolt docks with card slots if you plan to buy one anyway. SDXC cards are good for uses similar to USB flash drives: file transfers, specifically storing files for projects, backups, and more. They have similar issues regarding the memory chips wearing out; they are more reliable because they use higher-quality memory, but they arent ideal as a drive that is always connected and you are frequently reading and writing files to.If you plan to use an SDXC card and a method of transferring files between Macs or other devices, consider buying another card as a backup. Ive had instances where the metal contacts for the card get worn out or damaged from frequent insertions into devices. These cards did have several years of mileage on them but understand that theyre delicate relative to other storage devices mentioned here.Cards are available in capacities between 32GB and 2TB and are available at different speeds. The higher capacity/faster cards can be more expensive than an external SSD drive of the same capacity as youre paying a premium for the extremely small size.Network-attached storageBilly Freeman/UnsplashProsConveniently accessible storage for many devicesConsSpeeds restricted by the networkSetup isnt simpleIf youre not familiar with network-attached storage (NAS), think of it as cloud storage, but specifically for your home. A NAS device connects to your home network, and your Macs, iPhones, iPads, and even Windows PC and Android devices can access it whenever necessary. A NAS device is a good way to store files that need to be accessed by several devices or users, or it can be a way for individual users to move files from a device to free up space.Because the NAS device connects to a network, the setup isnt as simple as plug-and-play, but its not too difficult. Once its up and running, you can access it either through the Network menu in the Finder, or through an app, browser, or both. Some NAS devices can provide access when youre away from home, but this may require using a paid service from the devices company.NAS devices range from ones with fixed hard drives starting at 2TB for $150/150 to drives with multiple removable hard drives with capacities over 8TB and other features for several hundreds of dollars. Check out our picks for the best NAS drive for Mac if youre interested.Cloud storageScreenshotFoundryProsAccessible anywhere there is internet accessMost services are not platform-specificConsFee-based serviceInternet access requiredSpeeds affected by internet connectionCloud storage is provided by a service online for a fee, usually a subscription. Apple offers iCloud, which includes iCloud Drive along with other services. Other popular cloud storage providers include Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Box. Learn more about the best cloud storage services for the Mac.Whats great about cloud storage is that it is accessible by almost any device that has an internet connection. But because your ability to access it is reliant on the internet, cloud storage shouldnt be used as primary storage. Its good for storing files you want to access but not ones you use frequently, things like backups, photo and video storage, and file transfers. But its a great way to free up space on your Macs drive.Also, since you have to pay a recurring fee, youll need to figure out how the cost benefits you. Many services have a free tier with a small allocation of storage; for example, iCloud Drive offers 5GB free. That limits what you can do.Mac mini and Mac Studio SSD upgradesPolysoftProsInternal storage optionConsComplicated installationMay void the Mac warrantyThe M4 Mac mini and the Mac Studio have internal SSDs that are installed in slots, which makes them upgradeable but Apple doesnt officially support upgrades after purchase, either by the company, a third party, or by do-it-yourselfers. Some small companies have released SSD upgrade kits, such as Expand Mac mini and PolySoft Services with video instructions on their websites.The installations for these kits arent trivial and if your mechanical aptitude is limited, you should be able to do this. But there is a risk of damaging your Mac and this installation could void your warranty, especially if there is obvious evidence of your work.Learn more about how to upgrade an M2 Mac mini.