7 Laptop Docking Stations To Unlock The Full Desktop Expe…

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Your laptop may be a great way to get work done when you’re out and about, but if you need the flexibility of a workstation, it can get cumbersome quickly. Hooking up a secondary monitor, a mouse, and a comfier keyboard can turn a sleek laptop into a pile of cables. That’s where laptop docking stations can come in handy.

Laptop docking stations are small boxes that sit on your desk and stay connected to your monitor (or monitors) and peripherals—any gear you need to get work done. The only thing missing is your laptop. With one simple connection, you can plug your laptop into the dock and everything will automatically connect. You get all the portability of a laptop with the space and flexibility of a desktop. These stations can get expensive, and it’s hard to figure out what to buy based on a list of ports or specs. I’ve tested dozens and whittled them down to different use cases—these are the best laptop docking stations.

Be sure to check out our other home office guides, including the Ultimate Work-From-Home Gear, Best USB Hubs, Best Office Chairs, Best Flash Drives, and Best Portable External Storage Drives.

Updated July 2025: We’ve added the Kensington Thunderbolt 5 Triple 4K Docking Station, Sonnet Echo 13, Plugable USB-C 5-Display Dock UD, and Kensington Triple Video Mobile Dock.

Do You Need a Docking Station or a USB Hub?

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This is the big question you’ll want to answer before moving forward. If you’ve arrived at this page, you ly know why you want a full-on docking station rather than just a USB hub, but let me try and some you some money if you don’t know the difference. Most people will suffice with a simple USB hub, which expands the potentially very limited ports of your laptop. If you own a MacBook Air, for example, a USB hub functions as a multiport adapter to get you HDMI, USB-A, and more. They’re intended to be portable, so you can toss it in a bag with you.

A laptop docking station does quite a lot more. It’s meant to be stationary on a desk, enabling you to access your entire workstation setup with just a single USB-C cable. The docking station is meant to have all your monitors and accessories plugged into it, and it stays put. Because of that, they require significantly more power, often bundled with a very large power brick. They are often quite expensive as well. So, while both accessories have lots of ports on them, they serve two different functions.

What Ports Should Your Docking Station Have?

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Figuring out the right connections you need for your setup can be daunting, and the confusing, arcane USB terminology only makes it worse. You can check out our explainer on parsing USB terms here. For the short version, here are the basics you should keep in mind:

Check your ports’ speeds, and don’t rely on version numbers. For a lot of confusing reasons, ports labeled as USB 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2 can all have the same speed or wildly different speeds. For this reason, docking station manufacturers have recently started opting to add speeds (usually written “5 Gbps”) directly onto individual ports. Use these ports for transferring heavy amounts of data, and slower ports for things your keyboard and mouse.

Thunderbolt is best for lightning-fast data transfers, or high-res displays. Thunderbolt is a supercharged version of USB, and it even uses USB-C ports. However, Thunderbolt ports are capable of transferring massive amounts of data. This makes it ideal for things moving uncompressed video files around, as well as things 4K (or even 8K) displays or lower-resolution monitors with extra high refresh rates.

Keep in mind your power needs. Most laptop docking stations will have some form of power connector and USB Power Delivery (or USB-PD) that can send power through to your laptop. You’ll also sometimes see this referred to as “pass-through charging.” Most devices you connect will require their own power as well, especially if you want to connect monitors or charge your phone and tablet. If you plan to connect a lot of power-hungry devices, make sure your docking station can handle your power needs.

What Are Upstream and Downstream Ports?

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You’ll often see USB ports labeled either as upstream or downstream. The metaphor here is that the data either flows up to the source (your PC or docking station) or down from the source. Most ports we’re used to are downstream, such as the ones found on PCs or laptops.

For example, in the case of a USB-C port, an upstream port means data and power flow in the opposite direction, providing charge for your laptop. It’s the same thing for data. An upstream USB port means it’s meant for transferring data from a peripheral (an external drive) to your PC, whereas a downstream USB port only works in the opposite direction.

Is Thunderbolt 5 Worth It?

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Thunderbolt 5 docking stations are finally becoming widely available, as are accessories Thunderbolt 5 SSDs. That pairing, in theory, allows for double the speeds, thanks to all that extra bandwidth, which I look forward to testing. Thunderbolt 5 increases display support and power delivery, too. It can now handle three 4K displays at 144 Hz (or two 4K displays at 240 Hz) and can deliver up to 240 watts of power. That’s dramatic, up from the 100 watts of Thunderbolt 4. Thunderbolt 5 allows you to fully juice up more powerful devices, such as gaming laptops or the 16-inch M4 Max MacBook Pro.

Thunderbolt 5 docks are all backward compatible, so there’s no worry about outdoing the peripherals you currently own. As is true in many scenarios, buying the latest specs are often worth it to avoid having to upgrade later.

In this case, however, it’s tricky. Many dock manufacturers are keeping around Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 3 docks at lower prices—sometimes significantly so. That puts the decision on you whether or not it’s worth the upgrade. If you don’t care about the faster speeds, extra power delivery, or higher refresh rates, your money and stick with a Thunderbolt 4 dock.

• Best Laptop Docking Station

  

  Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft

  to wishlist

  Satechi

  Dual Dock Stand

  $150 $105 (30% off)

  Best Buy

  $170

  Amazon

  $170 $110 (35% off)

  Satechi

  $170 $130 (24% off)

  B&H Photo

  It’s tough for laptop docking stations to stand out—most of them are simply boxes that add extra ports to your laptop—but Satechi’s Dual Dock Stand breaks the mold. It sits neatly under your laptop and elevates it slightly and at an angle for better ergonomics. A collection of ports on the rear—including several USB ports and three monitor outputs—is conveniently placed so your desktop setup can stay connected, while cables are tucked out of the way. A hardware switch on the back lets you turn the dock on or off, and a small strip of rubber on top ensures the laptop doesn’t slide off.

  It has an NVMe solid state drive slot at the bottom, too. While no SSD is included, you can plug in your own (something this will work) to give your dock storage to offload files from your laptop. I found this particularly handy for storing things digital assets or applications I want when I’m parked at a desk, but don’t need to bring with me on the go. For example, when I plug my gaming laptop into a desk-based setup, I can access a larger library of games that are stored on the dock’s SSD.

  The dock connects to your laptop via two USB-C plugs that run through a small plastic sleeve to line them up for popular laptops the MacBook Air. Alternatively, you can pull the sleeve back to separate the plugs to fit other laptops with USB-C ports that are more spaced out. Most of the ports on the docking station can be run using just one of these cables, but you’ll need both to use the two 4K HDMI ports on the rear. Those two USB-C ports should be on the same side of the laptop since the cables aren’t long enough to reach around the left and right sides of the laptop. Check your device’s port arrangement before grabbing this one.

  The only downside? It doesn’t come with a power supply most of our other picks. However, the USB-C PD port on the rear supports up to 75-watt input, which it can pass onto your laptop.

  Connects via two USB-C cables.

  Ports
  1x USB-C (10 Gbps)
  1x USB-C (5 Gbps)
  1x USB-C PD (75W)
  1x USB-A (10 Gbps)
  1x USB-A (5 Gbps)
  1x Ethernet (Gigabit)
  1x DisplayPort (4K at 60 Hz)
  2x HDMI (4K at 60 Hz)
  1x M.2 NVMe SATA SSD Enclosure

• Best Dual-Monitor Docking Station

  

  Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft

  to wishlist

  Plugable

  USB-C Dual HDMI Display Horizontal Docking Station

  $120

  Amazon

  $140

  Walmart

  Sometimes, all you need is a quick and easy way to plug your laptop into a couple of monitors—preferably without spending hundreds of dollars for the privilege. This dock from Plugable is perfect for that goal. It supports two monitors via HDMI and includes a healthy array of ports to connect the rest of your accessories.

  The dock itself is lightweight and made of relatively thin plastic. It’s not as durable as some of the other aluminum docking stations featured in this guide, but if you plan to leave it on a desk, it’s not an issue. The USB port collection is solid for most moderate data transfer needs. The USB 3.0 ports clocked around 400 MB/s read and write speeds in my testing, though notably, it has one USB 2.0 port on the rear, which tops out at around 40 MB/s. This isn’t super useful for moving around lots of files, so if you plan to plug in something a keyboard or mouse adapter, this would be the port for it.

  Connects via USB-C.

  Ports
  2x USB-A 3.0 (5 Gbps)
  1x USB-A 2.0 (480 Mbps)
  1x USB-C 3.0 (5 Gbps)
  1x USB-C PD (5 Gbps, 65W)
  2x HDMI 2.0 (4K at 60 Hz)
  1x Ethernet (Gigabit)
  1x 3.5-mm audio out

• Best Thunderbolt 5 Dock

  • 

    Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • 

    Photograph: Luke Larsen

  to wishlist

  Kensington

  Thunderbolt 5 Triple 4K Docking Station

  $390 $270 (31% off)

  Amazon

  $390

  Best Buy

  This Kensington Thunderbolt 5 dock is thick, heavy, and undeniably bulky. But as something that’s not meant to move from your desk all that much, that’s not a bad thing. The aluminum case on the Kensington will look great on your desk, but just know that it’s quite long, taking up quite a footprint.

  It’s the most well-rounded Thunderbolt 5 dock I’ve tested so far. It comes with three downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports, which are blazing fast, and they’ll become more useful as more Thunderbolt 5 accessories roll out. I also that it includes a manual power button on the back too. The one thing it’s missing is HDMI, though that’s been cut out of a lot of the new Thunderbolt 5 docks in exchange for more Thunderbolt. On sale, it squeezes under $300, and that’s without cutting out all the extra ports on something the CalDigit Element 5 Hub, which I’ll be testing out soon.

  Connects via USB-C.

  Ports
  3x Thunderbolt 5 downstream ports
  1x Thunderbolt 5 host port
  3x USB-A 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps)
  1x headphone jack
  1x SD card
  1x microSD card
  1x Ethernet jack (2.5 Gbps)

• The Ultimate Display Dock

  • 

    Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • 

    Photograph: Luke Larsen

  to wishlist

  Plugable

  USB-C 5-Display Docking Station (UD-7400PD)

  $294

  Amazon

  $280

  Plugable

  It’s hard not to the Plugable USB-C 5-Display Dock (UD 7400-PD). Being able to support up to five 4K displays is just ridiculous, even if it requires downloading a DisplayLink driver. Those do have to be locked at 60 Hz, mind you, as this isn’t Thunderbolt 5, but it’s impressive nonetheless. It all comes in a fairly thin little dock, though I did notice that it gets quite warm to the touch. That’s true of many docking stations, though the thinness of the chassis might be making cooling more difficult.

  The other thing that should be mentioned about this dock is that it’s missing SD card slots and a headphone jack. If you need either of those, this one isn’t for you. But if you dream of an ever-increasing screen count for your desk setup, the Plugable USB-C 5-Display Dock does what few others can.

  Connects via USB-C.

  Ports
  3x USB-C (support video output via DisplayLink)
  2x HDMI 2.1
  1x USB-C (30 watts of downstream power delivery)
  1x USB-C (140 watts for host laptop)
  2x USB-A (10 Gbps)
  1x Ethernet jack (2.5 Gbps)

• Best Upgrade

  

  Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft

  to wishlist

  Satechi

  Triple 4K Display Docking Station

  $300

  Amazon

  $300

  Walmart

  $300

  Satechi

  Satechi’s Triple 4K Docking Station serves a similar purpose to Anker’s 568 (mentioned below) but comes with a few upgrades. It supports three monitors, and while the first display output is HDMI-only, the two others can be connected via either HDMI or DisplayPort. Each display supports up to a maximum of 4K resolution at 60 Hz, which is more than enough for most office or media work, though it struggles a bit with the super-high frame rates you might want for gaming.

  In my testing, the USB-C and USB-A ports on the front rated for 10 Gbps speeds were able to reach write speeds of around 900 MB/s and read speeds of 800 MB/s. However, they only output 7.5 watts. You do get a bonus USB-C port on the front that has around 400 MB/s read and write speeds. If you care more about transferring a lot of data rather than charging gadgets, this is the docking station to go with. It’s also worth noting that even the rear USB ports reached similar 400 MB/s speeds, so while you can use them for peripherals, there’s still the option of even more relatively fast data transfers if you need it.

  Connects via USB-C.

  Ports
  2x USB-A 3.0 (5 Gbps)
  1x USB-A 3.1 (10 Gbps, 7.5W)
  1x USB-C 3.1 (10 Gbps, 7.5W)
  1x USB-C 3.0 (5 Gbps)
  2x DisplayPort 1.4 ports (4K at 60 Hz)
  3x HDMI ports (4K at 60 Hz)
  1x Ethernet (1 Gbps)
  1x 3.5-mm audio out

• Best Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station

  

  Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft

  to wishlist

  Satechi

  Thunderbolt 4 Slim Pro Hub

  $200

  Amazon

  $170 $136 (20% off)

  Best Buy

  $200

  Satechi

  Sometimes, simpler is better. This docking station from Satechi is small, made of sturdy aluminum, and comes with three Thunderbolt 4 ports on the rear, each of which is capable of up to 40 Gbps. That’s so blisteringly fast that there aren’t many devices on the market that can reach faster speeds. In my testing, I regularly reached 900 MB/s, which is more a limitation of the storage devices I have and not the docking station itself. The only spec capable of faster speeds is Thunderbolt 5, and I reviewed the very first laptop with a Thunderbolt 5 port not that long ago. It’s unly you have anything so fast that this dock can’t handle it.

  On the front, there’s one USB-A 3.2 port and one more Thunderbolt 4 port, though this is an upstream port meant to connect to your laptop. It can deliver up to 96 watts of power, which is more than enough to charge your laptop as long as the docking station is plugged into a power source. This layout is surprisingly clean, with only a few cables coming out of the back, and one running to your laptop. If all you need is to connect to a couple of monitors or high-speed data storage, and you to keep your desk free of clutter, this is a great option.

  Connects via USB-C.

  Ports
  3x USB-C Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps, 8K/4K at 60 Hz, 15W PD)
  1x USB-C Thunderbolt 4 Upstream (40 Gbps, 96W)
  1x USB-A 3.2 (10 Gbps)

• For Media Professionals

  

  Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft

  to wishlist

  Satechi

  Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock

  $350

  Amazon

  $350

  Best Buy

  $350

  Satechi

  If you do any heavy video editing, game design, or other types of work that involve huge amounts of data, this dock has all the bells and whistles for you. It’s a thick dock, made of sturdy aluminum, and it can either lie flat on your desk or stand upright on its side. I prefer the former, but it’s nice to have the option to take up less space.

  The docking station uses a Thunderbolt 4 port to connect to your laptop, which has plenty of bandwidth to handle a lot. It supports a lavish four displays at once, each up to 4K at 60 Hz, and it’s stacked with high-speed data transfer ports. In my testing, the fastest ports reached speeds of up to 900 MB/s, which is essential for transferring huge media files back and forth. I used this docking station to transfer raw 6K video footage, and it made short work of one of the most demanding tasks I could throw at it. Best of all, it has UHS-II SD card slots on the front, so you don’t need a separate adapter for those either.

  Connects via USB-C.

  Ports
  1x Thunderbolt 4 Upstream (40 Gbps, 100W)
  1x USB-C PD (10 Gbps)
  3x USB-A (10 Gbps)
  2x USB-A (5 Gbps)
  1x USB-A 2.0 for charging (7.5W)
  2x HDMI 2.1 (4K at 60 Hz)
  2x DisplayPort 1.4 (4K at 60 Hz)
  1x microSD card slot
  1x SD card slot
  1x Ethernet (2.5 Gbps)
  1x 3.5-mm audio out

• Best for MacBook Pro Power Users

  

  Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft

  to wishlist

  Ivanky

  FusionDock Max 1

  $440 $380 (14% off)

  Amazon

  $440

  Ivanky

  It’s hard to overstate how excessively luxurious this dock is. It’s specifically for MacBook Pro users and can tackle up to four 6K screens, something only recent MacBook Pros support. The Ivanky FusionDock Max 1 accomplishes this via four USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, each capable of 40 Gbps data transfer speeds.

  That connection enables a massive array of high-speed data transfer ports. There are five separate USB-A ports, each of which managed to exceed 800 to 900 MB/s speeds in my testing, and it was the same story for the six USB-C ports. Short of building a media workstation that would make a VFX studio blush, it would be difficult to push this thing to its limits. The only downside is that this docking station is Mac-only. But if you’re building the beefiest media workstation you can for the most powerful MacBook Pros on the market, this is it. Just put it all on the company card, because it’s expensive.

  Connects via two USB-C ports.

  Ports
  2x Thunderbolt 4 Upstream (40 Gbps)
  6x USB-C (10 Gbps)
  5x USB-A (10 Gbps)
  2x HDMI (4k at 60 Hz)
  1x Ethernet (2.5 Gbps)
  1x microSD card
  1x SD card
  1x optical audio out
  2x 3.5-mm audio out

• Best 8K Docking Station

  

  Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft

  to wishlist

  Ugreen

  Revodok Max 213 Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station

  $300 $228 (24% off)

  Amazon

  $300

  Ugreen

  Few people need an 8K display—or multiple 4K displays—but those who do know how difficult it can be to find gear that supports their exorbitant needs. Fortunately, the Revodok Max 213 from Ugreen fits that bill. The DisplayPort 1.4 port can handle up to an 8K display at 30 Hz. It also comes with a Thunderbolt 4 upstream port that runs to your laptop, and, more importantly, a pair of downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports, which is another rarity among the docks I’ve tested.

  When you get to this level of data transfer, you’re unavoidably going to start generating a lot of heat. Fortunately, this docking station is built to handle it. It features a unique pleated aluminum surface, which provides plenty of airflow. That surface is then wrapped in a second aluminum shell, allowing it to dissipate heat without making the whole docking station hot to the touch. It’s a clever design. If you need to transfer a ton of media from various sources into one machine, connected to some seriously high-res displays, this is the dock that can handle it all.

  Connects via USB-C.

  Ports
  1x USB-C PD (10 Gbps, 20W)
  2x USB-A (10 Gbps)
  2x USB-A (5 Gbps)
  1x Thunderbolt 4 Upstream (40 Gbps, 90W)
  2x Thunderbolt 4 Downstream (40 Gbps)
  1x DisplayPort 1.4 (8K at 30 Hz)
  1x Ethernet (2.5 Gbps)
  1x microSD card slot
  1x SD card slot
  1x 3.5-mm audio out

• Best Mobile Docking Station

  

  Photograph: Luke Larsen

  to wishlist

  Kensington

  Triple Video Mobile Dock

  $90 $83 (8% off)

  Amazon

  $100

  Lenovo

  A mobile docking station might sound a contradiction, but in the case of the Kensington Triple Video Mobile Dock, it makes a lot of sense. Using the included two HDMI ports and the DisplayPort, this little device can power three 1080p displays or two 4K displays—all at 60 Hz. It also has a USB-C port with 85 watts of pass-through charging, which is enough to charge most laptops.

  It’s a unique accessory in that it straddles the line between USB hub and full-on docking station. It doesn’t have a separate power source, and it only weighs 0.6 pounds, making it the perfect solution for someone who needs additional monitor support on the go without the extra bulk. The downside is that it only supports a single 4K monitor on MacBooks, as the dual 4K support is only for Windows devices.

  Connects via USB-C.

  Ports
  3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1
  2x USB-C
  1x SD card slot
  1x microSD card slot
  2x HDMI
  1x DisplayPort
  1x Gigabit Ethernet port

Other Laptop Docking Stations to Consider

We test a lot of laptop docking stations and, quite frankly, most of them are … fine. They’re fine! We get into the nitty-gritty for specific use cases to find the best, but that leaves a bunch of devices that are great options even if they don’t make our top picks. Here’s a selection of some of our favorites, past favorites, or just alternatives to our picks above.

Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $440: Sonnettech’s Echo 13 was one of the first Thunderbolt 5 docks out on the market. As it turns out, it’s also one of the most unique offerings out there, including just about every port imaginable as well as an integrated M.2 storage slot with a Kingston SSD inside. While handy, I don’t that the drive isn’t user accessible. The cheap plastic chassis is disappointing for the price too.

Anker 568 Docking Station for $350: This docking station excels at powering all your other gadgets. The two front-facing USB-C ports are capable of putting out 30 watts of power each, which is more than enough to rapidly charge most phones or tablets. And the USB4 port that connects to your laptop supports a whopping 100 watts of power delivery. I normally charge my phone at my desk and typically need a separate charger for my laptop, but with this docking station, I can power everything while only taking up one outlet. The problem is, it’s quite expensive.

Satechi Multimedia Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock for $350: If you do any heavy video editing, game design, or other types of work that involve huge amounts of data, this dock has all the bells and whistles for you. It’s a thick dock, made of sturdy aluminum, and it can either lie flat on your desk or stand upright on its side. I prefer the former, but it’s nice to have the option to take up less space. The docking station uses a Thunderbolt 4 port to connect to your laptop, which has plenty of bandwidth to handle a lot, though it’s now been outdone by Thunderbolt 5.

Plugable UD-3900C Dual Monitor Docking Station for $100: This was our top pick for a while, but it’s a little long in the tooth. It has two HDMI ports for dual-monitor setups, but it doesn’t come with a power supply and has fewer USB 3.0 ports than many of our other, more modern picks. It is fairly inexpensive, though, if you need a cheap dock.

Plugable 13-in-1 USB-C Triple Monitor Docking Station for $180: This was our previous triple monitor pick, but the Anker 568 improves on it in almost every way, including price. However, if you find this one on sale, it’s still a solid pick.

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Luke Larsen is a product writer and reviewer at WIRED, covering laptops, PCs, Macs, monitors, and the wider PC peripheral ecosystem. He’s been reporting on tech for over a decade, previously at Digital Trends as the senior editor in computing, where he spent seven years leading the publication’s daily coverage. … Read More

Product Writer & Reviewer

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