What is the best alternative to USB?


An internal hard disk connected via a SATA cable is the best alternative to a USB drive.

Of course it very much depends upon what you mean by "best"....
 


that is only useful if the motherboard supports hot-swap, and most of them these days do not. also, sata drives need external power from the PSU, so thats not that great of a setup if you want to take your storage with you.
 

Who said anything about hot-swapping and taking your storage with you? The OP didn't specify that he wanted removable storage, just asked what the best alternative to USB storage is.

Now you know why I said it depends upon what the OP means by "best".
 
Maybe you can give us a little more information? What are you using it for etc... if this is for external storage then perhaps SATA as long as your computer has an external SATA port to plug into. Or maybe thunderbolt but USB is going to be the most universally accepted.