The Best Laptop Docking Stations We Tested and Reviewed (2024) | WIRED

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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 Ultimate Work-From-Home Gear, Best USB Hubs, Best Office Chairs, Best Flash Drives, and Best Portable External Storage Drives.

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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—are 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 the top ensures the laptop doesn't slide off.

It has an NVMe solid state drive slot in the bottom too. While no SSD is included, you can plug in your own (something like this will work) to give your dock storage to offload files from your laptop. I found this particularly handy for storing things like 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 like 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 like 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.

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 like a keyboard or mouse adapter, this would be the port for it.

Connects via USB-C.

The Anker 568 Docking Station has seen a substantial price drop since I first featured it, and that has only made it more appealing. It supports a whopping three displays at once, though it's limited to one HDMI port and two DisplayPort connections. Fortunately, most monitors offer HDMI and DisplayPort, so it's not likely a huge issue.

The 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 two front USB-C ports hit up to 900 MB/s transfer speeds in my tests, even while supporting multiple monitors. There are a couple of USB-A 2.0 ports that are relatively slow, making them ideal for connecting peripherals like a mouse or keyboard.

Connects via USB-C.

Satechi's Triple 4K Docking Station serves a similar purpose to Anker's 568 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 ports are faster across the board than the Anker. The USB-C and USB-A ports on the front that were rated for 10 Gbps speeds were able to reach write speeds of around 900 MB/s and read speeds of 800 MB/s, which was in line with the Anker 568. However, they only output 7.5 watts instead of the 30 watts on the Anker. 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.

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, which is so blistering fast that there aren't any devices on the market that can reach faster speeds. In my testing, I regularly reached 900 MB/s speeds, 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 only recently reviewed the very first laptop with a Thunderbolt 5 port. It's unlikely 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 like to keep your desk free of clutter, this is a great option.

Connects via USB-C.

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.

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 running the M1/M2/M3 Max processors can even put out. 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.

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.

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.

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 $190: 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.

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 in our Best USB Hubs guide. 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 like “5 Gbps”) directly onto individual ports. Use these ports for transferring heavy amounts of data, and slower ports for things like your keyboard and mouse.

Thunderbolt is best for lightning-fast data transfers, or high-res displays. Thunderbolt is like 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 like moving uncompressed video files around, as well as things like 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 “passthrough 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.

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