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Eric Ravenscraft

Gear
May 2, 2023 10:00 AM


THE BEST USB HUBS AND DOCKS FOR CONNECTING ALL YOUR GADGETS

Ditch the dongles. These multi-port adapters maximize your workstation.
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Featured in this article


BEST USB-C HUB
ANKER 5-IN-1 USB-C HUB
READ MORE

$35 at Amazon


A BASIC USB-A HUB
AMAZONBASICS 4 PORT USB HUB
READ MORE

$23 at Amazon


BEST FOR TABLETS
TWELVE SOUTH STAYGO MINI
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$60 at Amazon


BEST IF YOU NEED EXTERNAL STORAGE
SATECHI USB-C HYBRID MULTIPORT ADAPTER
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$90 at Amazon
Show more
4 / 9

Your laptop never has enough ports–especially if it's the Macbook Air this guide
was written on. That forces you to carry an array of dongles so you can plug
everything in. Fortunately, there's a better way. USB hubs can expand the number
and kind of ports available, and USB docks let you turn a laptop into a
full-blown workstation with one plug. After testing several different USB hubs
and docks, these are the best we've found for different needs.

Looking for other home office gizmos and gadgets? We've got a number of guides
that can help, like our Best Work From Home Gear, Best USB Flash Drive, and Best
Portable External Storage Drives roundups.

Update May 2023: We added the Anker 568 and Anker 778 docks.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25
off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if
you'd like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.


Do You Need a Hub or a Dock?

There's a grey area between USB hubs and docks since they technically do
(mostly) the same thing: add more ports and connectors to your computer.
However, there are some slight differences and it's worth understanding them
before you buy one.

USB hubs are smaller, cheaper dongles that can add extra USB ports, SD card
readers, display outputs, or a headphone jack. These often don't supply extra
power, so you might be unable to charge gadgets plugged into them. They're also
portable enough to throw in your laptop bag to use at home and on the go.

USB docks are often larger, more expensive, and are designed to spend most of
their time on your desk. They often come with their own power supply, so they
can charge other devices, and have multiple monitor outputs and Ethernet
connections. If you frequently use your laptop at a desk, a dock can let you
quickly connect it to a keyboard, mouse, monitors, and any other peripherals you
need simultaneously.

 * Photograph: Anker
   
   
   BEST USB-C HUB
   
   Anker 5-in-1 USB-C Hub
   
   This Anker USB hub is the one I carry in my camera bag everywhere. It plugs
   into the USB-C port on your laptop and provides two USB-A 3.0 ports, an HDMI
   output, and both a full-size and a MicroSD card reader. It's a versatile
   little thing that lets you plug in peripherals to your laptop, transfer data
   between your devices, and hook up your laptop to a projector or monitor at a
   moment's notice (provided you have an HDMI cable). Best of all, it's quite
   affordable.
   
   Connects via USB-C
   
   $35 at Amazon
   
 * Photograph: Amazon
   
   
   A BASIC USB-A HUB
   
   AmazonBasics 4 Port USB Hub
   
   Don't have a USB-C port on your laptop? This AmazonBasics hub will do the
   trick, even if it's about as bare-bones as hubs can get. It plugs into one
   USB-A port and gives you four more, supporting up to USB 3.0 speeds. You can
   use the hub by itself to plug in peripherals or flash drives, but if you jack
   in the included power adapter, the hub can charge gadgets plugged into it.
   
   Connects via USB-A
   
   $23 at Amazon
   
 * Photograph: Twelve South
   
   
   BEST FOR TABLETS
   
   Twelve South StayGo Mini
   
   The USB-C port on recent iPad models means you're often forced to choose
   between charging or plugging in an accessory. This hub from Twelve South can
   fix that without adding too much bulk. It plugs directly into the USB-C port
   on the bottom of the tablet and offers up a headphone jack (yay!), a USB-A
   port, an HDMI output, and an extra USB-C port. It also comes with a short
   USB-C extension cable—handy if you have a thick case over your iPad that
   obscures the port a bit.
   
   Twelve South recommends it for iPads, but we've used it with MacBooks and
   other laptops with no issues. Check out our Best iPad Accessories guide for
   more.
   
   Connects via USB-C
   
   $60 at Amazon
   $60 at B&H
   $60 at Twelve South
 * 
 * Photograph: Satechi
   
   
   BEST IF YOU NEED EXTERNAL STORAGE
   
   Satechi USB-C Hybrid Multiport Adapter
   
   Wouldn't it be nice if the USB hub you carry around with you had some storage
   of its own? This one from Satechi can (sort of) do that. In addition to the
   extra USB ports and 4K HDMI output it provides, it's also an external M.2
   solid state drive enclosure. Open the panel on the back and you can slot in
   an internal SSD card and access it whenever you plug the hub into your
   computer. It's an incredibly handy feature that, frankly, more USB hubs and
   docks should include.
   
   Just know that the M.2 SATA SSD is not included. One-terabyte drives like
   this one from Western Digital or this one from Samsung will do the job. (They
   come in other storage sizes too.)
   
   Connects via USB-C
   
   $90 at Amazon
   $90 at Walmart
   

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 * Photograph: Plugable
   
   
   BEST DOCKING STATION
   
   Plugable UD-3900C
   
   This USB-C dock from Plugable has been reliable for WIRED reviews editor
   Julian Chokkattu for well more than a year. It plugs into an external power
   supply, helping it power six USB-A ports (two USB 3.0, four USB 2.0), two
   HDMI for external monitors, and gigabit Ethernet. The dock can be laid flat
   on the desk or stood up vertically, and it conveniently has separate ports
   for a microphone and headphones on the front. What's great about the UD-3900C
   is that it includes a hybrid cable with USB-A or USB-C ends to plug into your
   laptop—so it doesn't matter whether or not your laptop has a USB-C port. Just
   know that it doesn't charge your laptop.
   
   Connects via USB-C or USB-A
   
   $130 at Amazon
   $139 at B&H
 * Photograph: Plugable
   
   
   BEST MULTI-MONITOR DOCKING STATION
   
   Plugable USB-C Triple Display Docking Station
   
   If you use more than one monitor, then this Plugable dock is an upgrade
   option that might be better. It supports up to three displays at once—either
   HDMI or DisplayPort for each—and can output up to 60 watts of power to charge
   your laptop. The dock was a little finicky when switching between a Windows
   desktop and MacBook, but if you stick with one platform, it should be fine.
   
   The dock has six USB 3.0 ports (two on the front, four in the rear) and a
   gigabit Ethernet port on the back. This makes it extremely easy to plug your
   laptop into a workstation with a single plug and instantly switch to a
   multi-monitor setup.
   
   Connects via USB-C
   
   $169 at Amazon
 * Photograph: Anker
   
   
   A MORE ROBUST MULTI-MONITOR DOCK
   
   Anker 568 Thunderbolt Docking Station
   
   This dock is pricier than the multi-monitor dock above, so it's not the first
   one I'd recommend. However, it has a much higher 100-watt output via its USB
   4.0 charging port, which is one of its three USB-C ports. That means it can
   charge high-power laptops under load. It also has two DisplayPorts and one
   HDMI port (as opposed to the three HDMI ports on the Plugable dock above).
   Anker's 568 dock has more power across the board, but it comes at a premium,
   so unless you're sure you need the extra beef, it's probably safer to go with
   something cheaper. But this dock is well-suited to a modern, high-power
   system and performs really well there.
   
   Connects via USB-C
   
   $300 at Amazon
   $300 at Anker

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 * Photograph: Satechi
   
   
   A LUXURY DOCK FOR BEEFY WORKSTATIONS
   
   Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Dock
   
   This indulgent dock from Satechi comes with three Thunderbolt 4 connectors
   (as well as a fourth for plugging into your laptop), which means you can get
   some of the fastest data transfer speeds available today, provided your
   laptop or PC supports the Thunderbolt 4 standard too. You also get three
   USB-A 3.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet, a combo headphone/mic jack, and an SD card
   reader. It also comes with its own power supply to help keep all the gadgets
   you plug into it running. It's among the priciest dock I tested, but if you
   do a lot of heavy-duty tasks like transferring 4K video footage or hooking
   your laptop up to multiple 4K monitors, this is the dock that's going to
   serve your needs.
   
   Connects via USB-C
   
   $300 at Amazon
   $300 at Best Buy
 * Photograph: Anker
   
   
   AN OVERLY INDULGENT DOCK FOR UP TO FOUR MONITORS
   
   Anker 778 Thunderbolt Docking Station
   
   Do you have an 8K display? Or perhaps four different 4K monitors? Is your
   workstation so robust it can reasonably be described as a control room? If
   so, the Anker 778 might be the best fit for you. It supports up to 100-watt
   charging via a Thunderbolt 4 port, and it has one HDMI and two DisplayPort
   plugs that can each support up to 8K at 30 frames per second, plus another
   Thunderbolt 4 downstream port. With all these combined, you can add up to
   four 4K displays, which is nuts. That might explain the absurdly high price
   tag.
   
   Connects via USB-C
   
   $380 at Amazon
   $380 at Anker




Eric Ravenscraft is a product writer and reviewer at WIRED, based in Austin,
Texas. He's guided readers on how to use technology for nearly a decade for
publications including Lifehacker, OneZero, and The New York Times. He also
streams on Twitch for WIRED occasionally and can be found on YouTube... Read
more
Product Writer and Reviewer
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