Malcolm Owen
If you want to add more connectivity to your Mac, you should consider a Thunderbolt dock. We've made a list of some of the best docking and port-expanding accessories you can buy.
Most modern Mac models ship with at least a few USB-C or Thunderbolt 4 ports, but that may not be enough for everyone. One answer to this is to acquire a Thunderbolt dock, which takes up one Thunderbolt port but provides you with many connection options.
With quite a few docks on the market to choose from, these are our picks for the best ones to purchase.
Belkin 6-in-1 Core GaN Dock
One of the big featured docks of CES, the Belkin 6-in-1 Core GaN Dock uses Gallium Nitride, which helps make it a very small device. Measuring 3.14 inches square and 1.88 inches tall, it's an extremely compact dock that's made for transportation.
The use of GaN also makes it powerful, as it somehow squeezes in a 130W power supply, which offers 96W power delivery to the host and 7.5W to connected hardware.
Aside from the power input, it has six ports, including USB-C with PD 3.0 to the host, another USB-C 3.2, two USB-A 3.2 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and a HDMI 2.0 port capable of handling a 4K image at 60Hz.
The Belkin 6-in-1 Core GaN Dock is available now, priced at $139.99 on Belkin's website.
Belkin Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock
Belkin's Connect Pro Thunderbolt 4 dock is a 12-port dock with a wide variety of port options and a sleek design. However, it does also have a hefty price tag of $349.
The dock sports two Thunderbolt 4 ports, with one used for upstream data and the other for downstream. It also has a pair of USB-A 3.1 ports, two USB-A 2.0 ports, and a single USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 port with support for USB-C PD 3.0.
There's also an SD 4.0 card slot, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a combination audio jack.
A total of up to 90W can be used to charge any devices. It's also able to handle a single 8K resolution display, or dual monitors at up to 4K resolution.
That said, due to limitations within Macs, Apple users aren't able to use both HDMI ports simultaneously. If you want to run two monitors with a Mac, you'll have to use one HDMI port and the Thunderbolt 4 port.
This makes the second HDMI port a waste of space for Mac users, with Belkin targeting the PC market with this offering.
The Belkin Connect Pro dock retails for $349.99.
CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4 (TS4)
An excellent dock that can suit the needs of most Mac users, the CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4 has a massive 18 ports, as well as a familiar design and fast data transfer speeds.
The front of the dock has a UHS-II SD4 card reader, a UHS-II SD 4 microSD card reader, an audio combination jack, a USB 3.2 port with 7.5W of power output, a USB-C port with 7.5W of power output, and a USB-C port with 20W.
Around the back, there are even more ports, consisting of four USB-A 3.2 ports, a USB-C port, 2 downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4 port, audio input and output ports, and a 2.5Gb Ethernet port.
In short, you won't be left wanting for more wired connectivity options with this port.
On power delivery, it can offer up to 98W, which is more than enough to handle a MacBook Pro. Video-wise, it can drive a single 8K or 6K display, or a pair of 6K displays.
Data transfer speeds are fast, the dock is neutral enough to look great in any setup, and the price is right at $399.99 at B&H and on Amazon.com.
OWC Thunderbolt Dock
The OWC Thunderbolt Dock offers additional ports in a fairly sleek and stylish manner.
On the front of the dock, there's a 96W Thunderbolt 4 port, a combination audio jack, a USB-A 2.0 port, and an SD 4.0 card reader.
The dock's power supply is to the back, along with, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and three USB-A 3.0 ports with data transfer speeds of up to 10Gb per second.
You can use it to drive two dual 4K displays or a single 5K, 6K, or 8K display. Neatly, it also includes support for high-performance storage, such as NVMe, and other accessories.
The OWC Thunderbolt Dock doesn't deliver the port variety or abundance of some of the other docks on this list, but it does cost less at $229 at OWC and on Amazon. It could be a good option for users who are on a stricter budget.
Plugable TBT4-UDX1
We reviewed the Plugable TBT4-UDX1 favorably in January, as powerful 11-port Thunderbolt 4 dock. It's a seamless and convenient option, and it even included a HDMI-to-USB-C adapter for multi-monitor setups.
The included ports range from three Thunderbolt 4 ports to one HDMI, four USB 3.0 connections, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, an SD card reader, and a combo audio jack.
It's a robust docking solution that can also handle dual 4K displays at 60Hz or one 8K screen. However, it doesn't support DisplayPort.
Power delivery is still admirable at 96W, so it can charge a MacBook Pro halfway in about 30 minutes.
Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub
The Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub aims for simplicity by multiplying the number of Thunderbolt 4 ports available rather than adding a dozen other port types. There are four Thunderbolt 4 ports available, with one that attaches to the user's Mac.
There's up to 100W provided to the upstream Mac via an oversized power supply. It also includes an extra USB-A 3.2 port for using an extra SSD or accessory.
The uses of the Thunderbolt 4 ports are limited based on the connected Mac. It can support two 4K screens at 60Hz, one 8K screen at 30Hz on compatible PCs, or one 6K screen at 60Hz, when used with M1, M2, or M3 Macs.
Get the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub for $199.99 from Satechi. It's also available for purchase on Amazon.com.
Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock
The Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock received a 5-star review from AppleInsider and will likely be the best dock this site will test for quite some time. It also sports the best price-to-feature ratio to date.
The front ports include a pair of USB-A 10-gig ports, two USB-C 10-gig ports, an SD 4.0 slot for memory cards, a combo headphone and microphone port meant for headsets with a TRRS jack, and a power indicator off to the right.
At the back are three Thunderbolt 4 ports, consisting of one for connecting the dock to the host Mac, and two more for connecting to peripherals or displays.
It also has two USB-A 10-gig and two USB-C 10-gig ports at the back, along with a HDMI 2.1 port for video, and a 2.5Gb Ethernet port. It also has a typical 3.5mm jack for a microphone accompanied by left and right unamplified RCA outputs, essential for high-end speaker connections.
In the base is an M.2 NVMe SSD slot to provide extra storage memory expansion. It's fast for transfers at about 2,500 megabytes per second to that storage, depending on its specifications. .
The connected MacBook can receive up to 100W of power through the Thunderbolt connection.
Get the Sonnet Thunderbolt 4 dock for $299.99 on Amazon.
Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub
If you're looking to maximize the number of Thunderbolt 4 ports on your hub or dock, the CalDigit Thunderbolt Element Hub is a great choice for most users.
The accessory itself is more of a USB hub than a dock, but it fills a unique role among potential Mac accessories. On the front, you'll find four Thunderbolt 4 ports that are rated at 40Gbps and 18W. That's more ports than most other hubs on the market.
In addition to the Thunderbolt 4 ports, you'll also find four USB-A 3.2 ports. While there are several options on the market, there's no hub with a four-Thunderbolt, four-USB configuration.
You can even daisy-chain the Element hub with CalDigit's TS4 port to expand the number of Thunderbolt connectivity options you have. It can drive up to two 4K displays at 60Hz, or a single 8K display. Of course, it doesn't have a DisplayPort to HDMI port, so you'll need to use a dongle.
The Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub is a great choice for forward-thinking users who want the most Thunderbolt 4 ports in this type of form factor. It's priced at $199.95.
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Christine McKee
William Gallagher
Andrew Orr
