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Optical Disc Drives Price Comparison 2026

Compare 158 optical disc drives — from budget DVD writers to premium Blu-ray burners. Find the best price across top UK retailers today.

ASUS

Optical disc drives occupy a curious corner of the storage market: widely declared obsolete, yet consistently in demand. Whether you're burning archival backups, ripping a DVD collection, or dealing with legacy software on physical media, the reality is that a good optical drive still earns its place on a desk. Our catalogue covers 158 drives, with prices ranging from 21 £ for a no-frills internal DVD drive up to 149 £ for high-end Blu-ray writers aimed at professional workflows.

ASUS dominates the catalogue with 29 products and sits at a comfortable mid-range average — their ZenDrive series in particular has become a go-to for laptop users who need a slim, portable USB drive without paying a premium. Hitachi-LG (often listed as LG) punches well on value: their Super Multi DVD-Writers regularly appear below 38 £, making them the sensible default for anyone who just needs to read and write DVDs occasionally. At the other end, brands like I-O Data and HPE push into more specialised territory, with average prices reflecting enterprise or niche use cases rather than everyday home use.

The clearest split in this category is between DVD and Blu-ray. DVD writers — external slimline models especially — cluster tightly between 21 £ and 29 £, and frankly, most of them do the same job. Blu-ray writers are a different proposition: expect to pay from 38 £ upwards for a reliable BD-R/BD-RE drive, and considerably more if you want USB 3.0 speeds with M-Disc support for long-term archiving. Verbatim's external Blu-ray range sits squarely in that bracket and accounts for three of the most-compared products on the site.

One thing worth flagging: internal drives are significantly cheaper than their external counterparts, but they're only viable if your desktop or laptop chassis has a spare 5.25" or slim bay — increasingly rare on modern machines. For most buyers in 2026, a USB 3.0 external drive is the practical choice. If you're also thinking about long-term data storage solutions, it's worth comparing options in Backup Storage Devices or exploring USB Flash Drives for day-to-day transfers. And if you need to duplicate discs in bulk, the Media Duplicators category is worth a look.

How to Choose an Optical Disc Drive: What Actually Matters

Most optical drives look identical in a spec sheet — and that's precisely where buyers go wrong. The gap between a £27 DVD writer and a £180 Blu-ray burner isn't just about disc format: connection speed, buffer protection, and build quality all play a role. Here's what to focus on before you compare prices.

DVD writer or Blu-ray burner?

This is the first question to answer, and it determines your entire budget. If you only need to read commercial DVDs, burn data discs, or rip a CD collection, a DVD writer costing from 21 £ to 29 £ is entirely sufficient — don't overspend. Blu-ray becomes relevant if you want to watch BD films, burn large archives (a single BD-R holds 25–50 GB versus 4.7–8.5 GB for a DVD), or work with 4K content. Blu-ray writers typically start around 38 £ and climb steeply from there. Be aware that playing commercial Blu-ray films on a PC also requires AACS-licensed decoding software, which isn't always included — check before you buy.

External portability vs. internal installation

External USB drives are the right choice for the vast majority of buyers: they work with any laptop or desktop, require no installation, and can be moved between machines. Slimline models weigh under 200g and slip into a bag without a second thought. Internal SATA drives are cheaper and slightly faster, but they're only an option if your machine has a compatible drive bay — most slim laptops and many modern desktops don't. If you're retrofitting an older desktop, an internal drive makes sense; otherwise, go external.

USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0 — does it matter here?

For DVD writing, USB 2.0 is technically sufficient — the bottleneck is the disc speed (typically 16x), not the interface. However, USB 3.0 drives offer noticeably faster data reads and are future-proof for Blu-ray, where transfer rates are higher. Given that the price difference between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 models is often negligible, we'd always recommend picking USB 3.0. Most current ASUS ZenDrive and Hitachi-LG Slim models ship with USB 3.0 as standard.

Write speed and buffer underrun protection

Headline write speeds (16x DVD, 6x–8x Blu-ray) are useful for comparison, but don't obsess over them — real-world speeds are often limited by disc quality. More important is buffer underrun protection (marketed as BURN-Proof, JustLink, or SafeWrite depending on the brand). This technology prevents ruined discs if your PC's data stream is interrupted mid-burn. Every drive above 29 £ should include it; if a budget model doesn't mention it, treat that as a red flag.

Rewritable formats: RW vs. R-only

DVD-RW and BD-RE discs can be erased and rewritten hundreds of times — useful for temporary backups or testing. DVD-R and BD-R discs are write-once, but they're cheaper per disc, more universally compatible with standalone players, and better suited to permanent archiving. Most drives sold today support both, so this is less of a buying decision and more of a disc-purchasing decision. The exception: M-Disc support (available on select ASUS and Verbatim Blu-ray drives) offers claimed 1,000-year archival life on specially formulated discs — worth considering for irreplaceable data.

Build quality for portable use

If the drive will live on a desk permanently, build quality is a minor concern. If it's going in a bag regularly, it matters more. Slimline drives with reinforced plastic casings and internal shock damping — common on Hitachi-LG's portable range — hold up better over time than the cheapest no-name options. At the budget end (below 29 £), you're largely getting standard plastic construction; step up to the mid-range and you'll find more robust designs with better cable management.

  • Budget pick (From 21 £ to 29 £) : Internal DVD drives and entry-level external DVD writers. Hitachi-LG and Lite-On dominate here. Perfectly adequate for occasional use — reading discs, burning data, ripping CDs. Don't expect premium build quality or fast Blu-ray support. Ideal for desktop retrofits or infrequent use.
  • The sweet spot (From 29 £ to 38 £) : Where most external DVD writers and a few entry Blu-ray readers sit. ASUS ZenDrive models and Verbatim slimline drives are the standout options. USB 3.0 standard, decent build, reliable burn performance. The right choice for most home and office users.
  • Blu-ray territory (From 38 £ to 60 £) : External Blu-ray writers from Verbatim and Hitachi-LG. You're paying for BD-R/BD-RE support, higher read speeds, and often M-Disc compatibility. Worth it if you're archiving large files or watching Blu-ray films on a laptop. Overkill for DVD-only use.
  • Professional and enterprise (Over 60 £) : ASUS BW-16D1X-U and I-O Data drives occupy this bracket. Typically aimed at power users, content creators, or IT departments needing high-speed Blu-ray writing, enterprise-grade reliability, or specific compatibility with server environments (HPE, Origin Storage). Hard to justify for home use.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between a DVD writer and a Blu-ray writer?

A Blu-ray writer can read and write both Blu-ray and DVD/CD discs, while a DVD writer is limited to DVD and CD formats only. The practical difference is storage capacity: a standard BD-R disc holds 25 GB (or 50 GB dual-layer), compared to just 4.7 GB for a single-layer DVD. Blu-ray writers cost significantly more — typically from 38 £ upwards — so only buy one if you actually need Blu-ray functionality.

Do I need special software to play Blu-ray films on my PC?

Yes — and this catches a lot of buyers out. Commercial Blu-ray discs use AACS copy protection, which requires licensed decoding software to play back legally. Windows Media Player and VLC do not support this out of the box. You'll need paid software such as PowerDVD or Leawo Blu-ray Player. Some drives bundle a trial version, but check carefully before assuming playback is included in the purchase price.

Is a USB 2.0 optical drive good enough, or should I insist on USB 3.0?

For DVD writing, USB 2.0 is technically sufficient, but USB 3.0 is worth choosing whenever possible. The price difference is usually minimal, and USB 3.0 provides noticeably faster disc reads and better performance with Blu-ray drives. Most current models from ASUS and Hitachi-LG ship with USB 3.0 as standard, so you'd have to actively seek out a USB 2.0 model to end up with one.

Can I install an external optical drive on a MacBook or Chromebook?

Yes, most USB external drives work plug-and-play with macOS and Chrome OS for reading and basic DVD/CD writing. However, Blu-ray playback on macOS requires third-party software, and some drives' bundled utilities are Windows-only. Always check OS compatibility in the product specifications — ASUS ZenDrive models, for instance, explicitly list macOS support, which not all drives do.

Are cheap no-name optical drives worth buying?

Generally, no — and this is one category where sticking to known brands pays off. Cheap unbranded drives frequently lack buffer underrun protection, use lower-quality laser assemblies, and have poor long-term reliability. For a few pounds more, Hitachi-LG and Lite-On offer proven hardware with proper firmware support. The risk of a ruined burn or a drive that fails after six months isn't worth the saving below 21 £.

What is M-Disc support, and do I need it?

M-Disc is a write-once optical disc format designed for extremely long-term archiving — manufacturers claim up to 1,000 years of data retention under proper storage conditions. It requires a compatible drive (select ASUS and Verbatim Blu-ray models support it) and special M-Disc media, which costs more than standard BD-R discs. Unless you're archiving genuinely irreplaceable data — family photos, legal documents, master recordings — standard BD-R is more than adequate for most people.

Why are internal optical drives so much cheaper than external ones?

Internal drives omit the USB controller, external casing, and cable that external models require — all of which add cost. An internal SATA DVD drive can be found from 21 £, while a comparable external model typically starts closer to 29 £. The trade-off is that internal drives require a compatible drive bay in your machine, which rules them out for most modern laptops and slim desktops. If your machine supports it, an internal drive is excellent value.