MacBook Docking DISASTER Averted: Unlock HIDDEN Power!

• Type:80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 Dock
• Ports:20
• Power:140W PD 3.1; 330W max
• External displays:Up to 2x 8K at 60Hz or 1x 8K at 60Hz

If you desire the ultimate in MacBook docking stations, the CalDigit TS5 Plus has just about everything you need—indeed probably more than you need. Alongside super-fast Thunderbolt 5 you get an unmatched number of top-end ports including 10Gb Ethernet and an incredible 330W power supply.

Somehow CalDigit has included an incredible clearly labelled 20 ports into the compact dock—all of which can be used simultaneously—including ten 10Gbps USB ports (five USB-C and five USB-A), the fastest Ethernet available, top-rated card readers and audio ports front and back. There are three 80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 ports: one upstream to connect to your computer and two downstream for speedy data-transfer devices.

CalDigit has sacrificed a possible third downstream TB5 port for a dedicated DisplayPort in the knowledge that most dock users run at least one external display and so the extra TB5 port would be used for a monitor connection anyway. Depending on the display capabilities of your MacBook, the maximum resolution is 8K at a 60Hz refresh rate, with a possible refresh rate of 240Hz for 4K or 500Hz for 1080p HD.

The TS5 Plus is the first dock with dual 10Gbps USB controllers, one controller for the front ports and one for the ports at the back of the dock for increased USB bandwidth. Each of the USB ports offers 7.5W of power except the front-facing 36W USB-C port. The two downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports also offer 36W. As it has the highest power supply of any dock tested here (330W), all can output at a maximum at the same time—something that’s not possible with most other docks.

• One upstream Thunderbolt 5 port(80Gbps, 140W)
• Two downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports(80Gbps, 36W)
• Five USB-A ports(10Gbps, 7.5W)
• Four USB-C ports(10Gbps, 7.5W)
• One USB-C port(10Gbps, 36W)
• One DisplayPort 2.1
• Ethernet(10Gb)
• UHS-II SD card reader(312MBps)
• UHS-II microSD card reader(312MBps)
• 3.5mm combo audio jack(front)
• Two 3.5mm In/Out audio jacks(back)
• 330W power supply

Who should buy the CalDigit TS5 Plus?

There isn’t a docking station available now that rivals the CalDigit TS5 Plus for number and quality of ports. Each one is rated as high as they go. Priced at $499 in the US (£469 in the UK) it’s significantly more expensive than the Sonnet Echo 13 ($369) and OWC ($329) and Plugable Thunderbolt 5 ($299) docks but none can match the CalDigit TS5 Plus on sheer number and speed of ports and highest-level features. Power users who want the very premium end will pay top dollar for the best. If you can cope with a little less, consider the 15-port CalDigit TS5 reviewed below.

• Type:80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 Dock
• Ports:12
• Power:140W PD 3.1; 180W max
• External displays:2x 6K at 60Hz

This Thunderbolt 5 docking station boasts four 80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 ports plus the bonus of integrated internal SSD storage of up to 4TB: choose from 1TB, 2Tb or 4TB..

That internal SSD is installed at purchase and is not user upgradeable, so pushes the price to the high-end of all the docks reviewed here. However, it’s well worth it if you can afford to pay the extra. This internal SSD is super-fast, and in our tests nearly matched the native storage in the Mac itself! Having extra storage that’s so fast will save you money on your next MacBook purchase as Apple’s SSD options cost nearly as much as buying one of these docks by itself.

Sonnet offers port flexibility by not swapping one of the Thunderbolt 5 ports for a dedicated DisplayPort or HDMI video port, as found on the CalDigit TS5 Plus reviewed above. You can attach up to two external 6K displays using either direct Thunderbolt connections to supporting monitors or adding video adapters for DisplayPort or HDMI screens.

If you have the right router, you can take advantage of super-fast wired Internet access with the Echo 13’s 2.5GbE Gigabit Ethernet—2.5x faster than standard Gigabit Ethernet, with which it also works on standard networks.

• One upstream Thunderbolt 5 port (80Gbps, 140W)
• Three downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports (80Gbps, 1x 60W, 2x 15W)
• Two USB-A ports (10Gbps, 7.5W)
• One USB-A port (5Gbps, 7.5W)
• Internal M.2 NVMe SSD (1TB / 2TB / 4TB)
• Ethernet (2.5Gb)
• UHS-II SD card reader (312MBps)
• UHS-II microSD card reader (312MBps)
• 3.5mm combo audio jack (front)
• 180W power supply

Who should buy the Sonnet Echo 13?

This is a top-end solution for owners of Thunderbolt 5 Macs who want to add a range of extra fast ports and super-charge their storage, but owners of Thunderbolt 3 or 4 Macs can future-proof their purchase (as TB5 is backwards compatible with TB4 and TB3) for the same result. Sonnet offers a similar Thunderbolt 4 docking station, the Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock (see later in this list), which also offers an internal SSD, but this is optional, user-installed and not as super speedy, and so is more affordable.

• Type:80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 Dock
• Ports:11
• Power:140W PD 3.1; 180W max
• External displays:2x 6K at 60Hz

While the CalDigit TS5 Plus boasts a mighty 20 ports and 330W of power output and the Sonnet Echo 13 comes with a built-in SSD, this Thunderbolt 5 docking station represents great value by keeping the number of ports to what might be the sweet spot for many users.

The Plugable TBT-UDT3 dock packs four 80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 ports, 2.5Gb Ethernet, fast card readers and a few USB ports. We would have preferred a high-powered USB-C port on the front so you can fast-charge your iPhone while sitting in front of your screens, but then maybe the price would be higher as a result. As it is, it’s the least expensive Thunderbolt 5 dock we have tested so far.

You can attach up to two external 6K displays using one or two of the Thunderbolt ports to USB-C monitors or adding video adapters for DisplayPort or HDMI screens.

• One upstream Thunderbolt 5 port (80Gbps, 140W)
• Three downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports (80Gbps, 15W)
• Two USB-A ports (10Gbps, 4.5W)
• One USB-A port (5Gbps, 7.5W)
• Ethernet (2.5Gb)
• UHS-II SD card reader (312MBps)
• UHS-II microSD card reader (312MBps)
• 3.5mm combo audio jack (front)
• 180W power supply

Who should buy the Plugable Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station?

Other TB5 docks might crow about their many ports or other lust-worthy benefits but if you need a dock to connect a couple of high-res screens and take advantage of Thunderbolt 5’s mega bandwidth plus new network speeds, the Plugable TBT-UDT3 quite likely has you covered for the basics and more.

• Type:80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 Dock
• Ports:15
• Power:140W PD 3.1; 240W max
• External displays:Up to 2x 8K at 60Hz or 1x 8K at 60Hz

The CalDigit TS5 Plus is the ultimate Mac docking station but as we mentioned in its review at the top of this chart, it probably hosts more than you need and is priced accordingly.

Its maker CalDigit therefore also offers a less armed and notably more affordable TS5 model without the Plus at the end of the title. Instead of 20 ports this more compact dock has 15, which is still a lot. It has half as many 10Gbps USB ports but its three USB-C and two USB-A should be enough for most Mac mortals. Its 2.5Gb Ethernet is not as fast as the TS5 Plus’s 10GbE but is still 2.5 times as fast as mere Gigabit Ethernet.

Yet it has the same two top-rated card readers and three audio ports. Indeed its has one more downstream Thunderbolt 5 port than the TS5 Plus that ditched one for a dedicated DisplayPort. The plain TS5’s TB5 ports are rated at the standard 15W of power output compared to the TS5 Plus’s 36W Thunderbolt ports, but it does have a 20W USB-C port at the front for fast iPhone and iPad charging.

• One upstream Thunderbolt 5 port (80Gbps, 140W)
• Three downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports (80Gbps, 15W)
• One USB-C port (10Gbps, 20W)
• Two USB-C ports (10Gbps, 7.5W)
• One USB-A port (10Gbps, 7.5W)
• One USB-A port (480MBps, 7.5W)
• Ethernet (2.5Gb)
• UHS-II SD card reader (312MBps)
• UHS-II microSD card reader (312MBps)
• 3.5mm combo audio jack (front)
• Two 3.5mm In/Out audio jacks (back)
• 240W power supply

Who should buy the CalDigit TS5?

If the $499 TS5 Plus is too over the top for your docking station needs and frankly a little expensive as a result, the cut-down but still impressive $399 CalDigit TS5 could be the more affordable choice that offers everything you need. The Plugable Thunderbolt 5 Dock, reviewed above, knocks a few more ports and can push a little less power to your devices and is another $100 cheaper if you need to cut further.

• Type:40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 Dock
• Ports:13
• Power:96W PD 3.0; 160W max
• External displays:2x 4K at 60Hz

The Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Triple Display Docking station is a bit of a misnomer for Mac users as it can handle only two external 4K displays in Extended Mode on Macs at 60Hz. The third display would just mirror one of the others. That’s a Mac limitation, not one by Wavlink.

That aside, the dock is a well-priced and loaded Thunderbolt 4 dock. It sacrifices two of the potential three downstream TB4 ports in favor of two HDMI 2.1 ports. Use one of these for one external display and the downstream TB4 port for the other. The spare HDMI port would host the mirrored display, or a third extended display on Windows PCs.

The USB ports are fast, as are the two card readers and the backwards-compatible 2.5Gb Ethernet. Thunderbolt 4 allows for 40Gbps data transfer to the laptop.

Power delivery to the laptop is 96W, enough for the 16-inch MacBook Pro. There’s a handy 30W USB-C charging port at the front, which also supports 10Gbps data transfer.

• One upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40Gbps, 96W)
• One downstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40Gbps, 15W)
• Two HDMI 2.1 video ports (4K at 60Hz)
• One USB-C port (10Gbps, 30W)
• Two USB-A ports (10Gbps, 4.5W)
• Two USB-A ports (5Gbps, 4.5W)
• 2.5Gb Ethernet
• UHS-II SD Card reader (312MBps)
• UHS-II MicroSD Card reader (312MBps)
• 3.5mm audio jack
• 160W power supply

Who should buy the Wavlink Triple Display Dock?

If you want a generous set of extra ports and to connect a couple of 4K displays, this affordable yet able Thunderbolt 4 dock is a great solution even for budget-conscious TB5 Mac users.

• Type:80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 Hub
• Ports:9
• Power to laptop:90W PD 3.0; 180W max
• External displays:2x 6K at 60Hz; 2x 4K at 240Hz

The CalDigit Thunderbolt 5 Element 5 Hub isn’t a full dock because it doesn’t feature anything other than Thunderbolt and USB ports—no Ethernet, SD card reader or audio port.

But it boasts so many top-end Thunderbolt and USB ports that you can customize it to your every desire. It has one more than its Thunderbolt 4 predecessor, the 8-port Element 4 Hub, reviewed below, and more than the OWC Thunderbolt 5 Hub, also reviewed below, although is priced higher as a result.

There are four TB5 ports (one upstream to your computer placed handily on the side, and three downstream to other devices), two fast 10Gbps USB-C and three 10Gbps USB-A ports.

You can use two of the three downstream TB5 ports to connect directly to USB-C- or Thunderbolt-equipped monitors or HDMI or DisplayPort screens using inexpensive adapters. It can connect to dual 6K/60Hz or dual 4K/240Hz extended displays on Macs.

That still leaves you a spare TB5 port and the five USB ports to add further devices, such as an adapter for Gigabit Ethernet and/or SD card reader, SSDs, memory sticks and so on as your requirements demand, so there is no port wastage.

Its 90W laptop charger is powerful enough for most MacBook charging needs (the OWC Hub boasts a 140W PD), and beats the Element 4’s rather underpowered 60W PD. Its 180W power supply is also generous for what calls itself just a hub.

It’s small enough to be portable, and its external power supply is also pretty dinky.

• One upstream Thunderbolt 5 port (80Gbps/120Gbps, 90W)
• Three downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports (80Gbps, 15W)
• Two USB-C ports (10Gbps, 7.5W)
• Three USB-A ports(10Gbps, 7.5W)
• 180W power supply

Who should buy the CalDigit Element 5 Hub?

This is the most compact Thunderbolt 5 port replicator. As a hub it doesn’t offer the variety of port types you find on a dock but it has nine TB/USB that can (with the right adapters) handle anything you need.

• Type:80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 Dock
• Ports:11
• Power:140W PD 3.1; 180W max
• External displays:Up to 2x 6K at 60Hz

While the CalDigit TS5 Plus boasts 20 ports and super power output and the Sonnet Echo 13 includes an integrated SSD, this Thunderbolt 5 dock offers the basics any modern TB5 docking station should carry: four 80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 ports, 2.5Gb Ethernet, fast card readers and a few USB ports.

There’s no dedicated video port as OWC gives you the flexibility to chose how you want to use the three downstream TB5 ports rather than sacrifice one for a DisplayPort or HDMI.

There are three USB ports but all are legacy Type A, leaving the Thunderbolt ports to be your Type C options. Thunderbolt is a very able type of USB-C but rated at just 15W for power output it’s not capable of being used to fast charge an iPhone, which Apple states requires at least 18W. Other docks include at least a 20W USB-C port for that purpose.

• One upstream Thunderbolt 5 port (80Gbps, 140W)
• Three downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports (80Gbps, 15W)
• Two USB-A ports (10Gbps, 7.5W)
• One USB-A port (5Gbps, 7.5W)
• Ethernet (2.5Gb)
• UHS-II SD card reader (312MBps)
• UHS-II microSD card reader (312MBps)
• 3.5mm combo audio jack (front)
• 180W power supply

Who should buy the OWC Thunderbolt 5 Dock?

Other than the lack of fast-charging USB-C port, the OWC Thunderbolt 5 Dock has a useful set of ports including four Thunderbolt ports and fast Ethernet. At a reasonable price it may offer just what you need without throwing in extras you don’t require.

• Type:80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 Dock
• Ports:14
• Power:140W PD 3.1; 232W max
• External displays:Up to 2x 6K at 60Hz

Apple has always been fond of a square and stylish desktop designs, from the original Macintosh through the G4 Cube and all the way to the latest M4 Mac mini. Yet, accessories such as docking stations that are meant to sit next to these Macs are usually either tall and thin or long and slim. The Anker Prime 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station looks rather like the latest Mac mini and Mac Studio with the same aluminum finish and port arrangements. It measures 4.6 x 4.6 x 3.0 inches; the M4 Mac mini, 5 x 5 x 2 inches.

While the M4 mini uses Thunderbolt 5, this compact dock is aimed more at the latest TB5-packing MacBooks, which lack as many ports and will link to the dock’s array via a single TB5 cable connection.

Anker could have included three downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports but has chosen to offer a choice of dedicated video ports, either top-end HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 2.1. These are helpful if your monitors require one of these connections rather than a direct USB-C or Thunderbolt monitor connection. Dropping the potential third downstream TB5 port for dedicated video ports is convenient for some users—those with HDMI or DisplayPort monitors—but less flexible for those with USB-C or Thunderbolt monitors.

Other docks include faster UHS-II card readers that support speeds of 312MBps, so Anker has cut a corner here in comparison. That said, the card readers work well for users who just want to add inexpensive storage to their setup.

• One upstream Thunderbolt 5 port (80Gbps, 140W)
• Two downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports (80Gbps, 15W)
• One HDMI 2.1 port
• One DisplayPort 2.1 port
• Three USB-A ports (10Gbps, 1x 7.5W, 2x 4.5W)
• Two USB-C ports (10Gbps, share 45W)
• Ethernet (2.5Gb)
• SD card reader (UHS-I, 104MBps)
• microSD card reader (UHS-I, 104MBps)
• 3.5mm combo audio jack (front)
• 232W power supply

Who should buy the Anker Prime 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock?

The Anker Prime 14-in-1 TB5 Docking Station is a powerful dock that’s built for the new class of Thunderbolt 5 Macs and will add Apple-like grace and style to your desk space. It has a wide range of well-placed fast ports. Price is at the high-end but if its looks appeal you can rest assured that the quality is high.