The 9 Best Laptop Docking Stations

For most people with a recent Windows laptop or MacBook, the Plugable TBT4-UD5 turns one Thunderbolt cable into a desk. It runs a pair of 4K monitors over HDMI, adds wired internet, a card reader and USB ports, and feeds the laptop up to 96 watts. There's no driver to install, and Tom's Guide gave it an Editor's Choice award. It needs a Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 port, and a base M1 or M2 Mac lights only one screen.

When you want a port for everything, the CalDigit TS4 packs 18 of them into an upright aluminum tower that takes little desk space. Three Thunderbolt ports, front card readers, audio jacks and a network jack faster than the usual kind sit alongside plenty of USB, and it charges a laptop at up to 98 watts. It works with Macs, Windows and Chromebooks. There's no HDMI port, so many monitors and TVs need a DisplayPort cable or an adapter.

If you need a cheap way to hook a laptop to two monitors at home or in a hotel, the Anker PowerExpand 8-in-1 is a small bar on a short attached cable. It adds two HDMI ports, wired internet, card slots and a pair of USB ports, and it passes your laptop charger's power through. It has no power supply of its own. A Mac shows the same picture on both screens, and two 4K screens at once look choppy.

Offices that mix laptop brands can settle on the Dell Pro Dock WD25, which charges Dell and non-Dell laptops at up to 100 watts over a plain USB-C cable. Dell says it can run up to four screens through its HDMI, DisplayPort and USB-C outputs, and it adds wired internet and six USB ports. The attached cable can leave from either side. It isn't a Thunderbolt dock, and how many screens you get depends on the laptop's port.

A MacBook with a base M1 or M2 chip normally drives just one outside monitor, and the Plugable UD-3900PDZ gets around that limit. It sends video to two extra screens through a small graphics chip and a free driver, so you can run three HDMI monitors in all, and it charges the laptop at up to 100 watts. Install the driver first. Two of the screens top out at full HD, fine for email and spreadsheets but not for games.

Phones, tablets and a laptop can all charge at once from the Anker Prime 14-in-1, whose three front USB-C ports can each deliver up to 100 watts from one shared supply. It also adds two HDMI ports, wired internet and fast USB data, and it works over ordinary USB-C, so Thunderbolt isn't required. Screen trouble is common, with flicker or monitors dropping out on some laptops. Two screens stay below 4K, and a Mac mirrors them.

Anyone who works in a quiet room will like that the UGREEN U707 13-in-1 has no fan, so it never hums. It gives a Thunderbolt laptop three more Thunderbolt ports, fast USB, a card reader and wired internet, charges at up to 96 watts, and can stand upright or lie flat. The only video jack besides Thunderbolt is DisplayPort, so an HDMI monitor needs an active adapter. It's a newer model without much of a track record.

Older laptops with only rectangular USB ports still have a dock option in the Plugable UD-3900, whose cable carries both plug types. It adds two HDMI screens, wired internet, audio jacks and four USB ports, and it has been sold for about a decade. A free driver handles the video. It won't charge the laptop, and the screens top out at full HD, which suits office work but not games or protected streaming video.

Laptops with Thunderbolt 3 ports are what the CalDigit TS3 Plus was built for, and it has years of steady use behind it. It packs lots of ports into an upright aluminum case, including optical audio for older speakers and a card reader, and it charges at up to 87 watts. It also works with newer Thunderbolt laptops. Its single video port and standard network jack show the design's age, and stock is running low.