[Updated] Best External CD/DVD Drive for Mac in 2024

As Apple kills off the optical drive in its MacBook Pro and MacBook Air to maintain super-thin profiles, users are left with no ways to play or copy DVDs on Mac directly. However, the removal of DVD drive doesn't mean blocked access to DVD discs on Mac. Despite the lack of built-in optical drive, there are workarounds available, among which the USB external DVD drive for Mac maybe the easiest.

In this article, we'll introduce the best USB external CD/DVD drives for MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro, and Mac mini.

Play DVDs on Mac without Buying an External DVD Drive

To watch movies without buying an external DVD drive for Mac and carrying a stack of discs, simply copy DVDs to computer hard drive. MacX DVD Ripper will help convert DVDs to Mac hard drive in ISO, MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, M4V, 3GP, and more formats. It's able to bypass DVD region codes, CSS, bad sectors, 99 fake titles, and any other DVD protections. Create a high-quality DVD copy on Mac at super fast speed. No external DVD drive required anymore!

Now, let's connect an external DVD drive with Mac, and free download the lightweight MacX DVD Ripper to make a digital copy of your DVD without hassle.

The downloads above are for Windows and Mac only. If you are a mobile user, please click here.

1. Apple USB SuperDrive- $79.00

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Apple's USB SuperDrive is the Mac external hard drive designed to complement MacBook Pro/Air. It is compatible with Macbook ,Macbook air, Macbook Pro, iMac or Mac mini via a single USB cable to help read DVD/CD and write to CD-R and DVD-R discs. With this portable disc drive for Mac, you can play DVDs, rip discs, burn home movies to DVD, extract music from CD etc. The external ODD has 8x faster DVD writing speed.

2. LG 8x External USB Double-Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Drive - $19.99

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This is a ultra slim external DVD drive for M1/M2 MacBook Pro/Air, iMac, or other Macs. With its sleek design and compact size, it is easy to transport and use on the go. The drive is compatible with both Mac and PC systems, making it versatile for a wide range of users. Simply plug it to your Mac computer and it will work well playing and burning DVDs/CDs. The LG external DVD writer offers excellent USB connectivity providing quick and easy transfers between multiple computers. It is capable of reading DVDs at a maximum speed of 8x and CDs at a maximum speed of 24x.

Whether you need to access old DVDs or CDs, create backups of important files, or simply want a convenient way to watch movies or install software, it's a good external DVD drive for Macs.

3. Asus ZenDrive U9M - $34.99

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With its small and lightweight design, the Asus ZenDrive U9M is an external DVD writer for Mac computers. Its USB 2.0 interface makes connecting to your laptop or PC simple. M-DISC, which enables long-term data storage of up to 1,000 years, is supported by the ZenDrive U9M. Among the disc formats that the drive can read and write are DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, and DVD-ROM. Additionally, it supports CD and DVD-RAM formats. Because of its lightweight and thin form, the ZenDrive U9M is a practical option for customers that need to retrieve or backup data on the road.

4. Rioddas External USB 3.0 Portable CD DVD +/-RW Drive - $28.99

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Rioddas is a popular external optical drive for Mac with trendy design and embeded cable. You can simply plug it into the USB port of your Mac and it will be detect, no external driver or power required. It's fully compatible macOS and other systems. It's able to read and burn various DVD and CD formats, with the writing speeds claimed to range from 8x for DVDs to 24x for CD-RWs. A big plus is the fast data transmission speed (up to a maximum of 5Gbps) of the USB 3.0 technology. Anyway, it's one of best external DVD drive for Mac picked for DVDs.

5. LG Ultra Slim Portable External Drive- $33.99

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LG is the best Mac portable DVD drive that's alternative to Apple USB SuperDrive but at a lower price. It can read and burn DVD and CD on Mac and PC, also delivering 8x max DVD writing speed. This external disc drive for Mac has two distinct features: first, it supports M-Disc which will protect the data and makes it exist longer than standard DVDs; second, it adopts Silent Play technology that can make the DVD playback process less noise than other external Mac ODDs.

6. Amicool USB 3.0 Type-C External DVD Drive for Mac - $30.99

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This ODD is especially designed to play CD/DVD on MacBook, Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, other ultrabook, PC, laptop via USB. The external optical drive for Mac is compatible with USB3.0 and backwards compatible with USB2.0 USB1.0. So you don't need to worry about any lags during a DVD movie playback. Moreover, it has a beautiful and very portable design that is suitable for a laptop bag.

Like most other Mac external DVD drives, it won't work with TV, car, projector, tablets, smartphones, Chromebooks, etc. However, there are a few things to note when using Amicool external DVD drive on Mac. First, it may take some time to read and therefore show up the DVD icon on Mac. And after you use it, you need to eject the drive use the mac command.

7. Gotega External DVD Drive for MacBook - $36.99

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The external CD/DVD drives for macOS from Gotega works just like it should. Plug it in and go. It will read CDs and DVDs with aplomb. You can move it around to different laptops and it is plug and play. With a max 8x DVDR write speed and a max 24x CD rrite speed, you will have a happy DVD playback experience without any lags.

The only thing that you may NOT like about this Mac external DVD drive is that the USB cable is too short to make it easy to access the drive. Other than that, the drive works pretty well on Mac. If your drive is not working correctly, make sure you have change the region of the DVD driver to your region.

8. Pioneer Slim Mac External DVD Drive for Blu-ray - $105

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The previously mentioned options are best external CD/DVD drives for macOS, but they all don't support Blu-ray. If you handle with Blu-ray discs a lot, Pioneer is a good choice. As the external BD drive for Mac and Windows, it accepts BDXL, Blu-ray, DVD, and CD media with speeds up to 8x DVD disc burning and ripping. The Blu-ray ripping is slower with some noise. It price is much higher than other external DVD drives for Mac, but it's quite affordable compared with other BD drive competitors.

9. Sony BDP-S1700 Region Free DVD Drive for Mac - $139.99

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If you want to play DVDs from different regions with your external DVD drive on Mac, here we recommend you Sony BDP-S1700. It's able to play Blu-rays from any region A, B, or C & play standard DVDs from any region 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. So you can play a foreign DVD on Mac without changing regions anymore. This Mac external optical drive can even upscale your DVD for playback with better quality. However, it may be a little bit expensive.

More choices: 2024 best Region-Free DVD Players for Mac

How to Play Region DVDs with External Disc Drive on Mac? [Cheap]

Don't want to get an expensive multi-region drive for Mac? You can remove the region codes as well as other protections from DVDs with regular external drive and save a region-free DVD video on your Mac. You simply require a DVD ripper like MacX DVD Ripper Pro.

Get the Mac version for free here >>

How to Choose an External DVD Drive for Mac?

There are a few factors you need to consider while choosing an external optical drive for Mac, including compatibility, supported disc format, reading/writing speed, price, noise, size, build quality, and connectors.

Speed: The speed of an external DVD drive for Mac refers to how quickly the drive reads and writes data. The speeds of a drive range from 1x to 24x. If you simply need to play a DVD movie with it, there is no big difference among different drives. But if you want an external DVD drive to burn a disc or rip a DVD, you may want a fast DVD drive speed.

Connectivity: When you select an external DVD drive for your Mac, you also need to consider the type of connection the drive uses. Some old DVD drives use a microUSB connector and USB 2.0 connectors. However, newer Macs now come with USB Type-C ports. In addition, choose a DVD drive that uses detachable USB cables, or damage to the cable will ruin the DVD drive.

Compatibility: Make sure that the DVD drive works with your macOS. Some old DVD drives work with Windows only or do not support the latest macOS Sonoma. If you are running on M1/M2 Macs, make sure the DVD drive is compatible with the M1/M2 MacBook Pro/Air.

Design and Portability: Consider the design and portability of the DVD drive. If you plan to use it on the go, look for compact and lightweight options that are easy to carry.

Noise: While all optical drives produce noise, it shouldn't overpower the video or television program you're attempting to view.

Price: Generally speaking, you should be able to buy an external DVD drive for around $35 and a Blu-ray drive for around $100. A drive at a higher price may come with some features that you don't need at all.

Frequently Asked Questions for External DVD Drive

1. Will any external DVD drive work with Mac?

Yes. There are many external DVD drives that can work with Mac, such as the five devices we mentioned above. While choosing an external DVD drive for Mac, you need to check its compatible operating system. Some external DVD drive works with both Windows and Mac, while some are only compatible with Windows or Mac.

2. How to connect an external DVD drive to Mac?

It's easy. Simply connect your external DVD drive to a USB port on your Mac. Check how to connect the Apple USB SuperDrive to Mac >>

3. How can I get my Mac to recognize my external DVD drive?

Older Mac computers that come with internal DVD drives do not recognize external DVD drive. But if the internal drive fails, you can also force your Mac to recognize external DVD drive by editing a system file called com.apple.Boot.plist.

Step 1. The file path is: Mac HD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist. Before any further, make a copy of this file in case something goes wrong.

Step 2. Open com.apple.Boot.plist with text editor. On line 8, enter mbasd=1 between <string> and </string>, like this <string>mbasd=1</string>. And then, save this file.

Step 3. Restart your Mac, connect your external DVD drive, and then your Mac should be able to recognize it.

4. Why won't my external DVD drive work on my Mac?

There are many causes for external DVD drive for Mac not working, including:

5. How to rip a DVD on Mac with an external DVD drive?

If you want to play a DVD disc, a built-in or external DVD drive is necessary. But after ripping DVD, you can play movies without the need of DVD drive and DVD player software.

You simply need to use a piece of DVD ripping software like MacX DVD Ripper Pro to turn massive DVD collection into digital files for storing on your Mac, external hard drive, cloud, and more:

Step 1: Free download and install the DVD ripper on Mac.

Step 2: Connect external disc drive to Mac, and insert the DVD you want to rip.

Step 3: Click the DVD Disc button on MacX DVD Ripper Pro and select your DVD to load.

Step 4: Choose output format from the pop-up output profile window. To play DVD disc on Mac, MP4 or MOV are both good formats as they're compatible with Mac default QT player or other programs.

Step 5: Click Browse to save the output file and click RUN to begin DVD ripping. After a few minutes, the DVD movie will be saved in your computer and then you can watch those movies without taking an external DVD drive for Mac computers every time.

6. Can the external DVD drive support DVDs outside of the USA?

Yes and no. If the DVD Region of the DVD drive is set to a foreign DVD, you can play it perfectly on your Mac. However, the region of a DVD drive can be set for up to 5 times only. After that, you can no longer play DVDs from another region.

Disclaimer: The software developer calls for copying or ripping DVD under the concept of Fair Use and does not encourage any illegal reproduction or distribution of copyrighted content. Please abide by the local DVD copyright law before doing it.