A Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 5 dock is the absolute best way to charge and add ports and to your MacBook Pro with one cable. Here are AppleInsider’s recommendations for the best Thunderbolt docks, updated on May 20, 2025.
One of the problems when buying a MacBook is that you’ll feel like there aren’t enough ports for all of your hardware. The answer to that is to acquire a dock, which immediately adds a variety of ports to your computing setup.
However, not all docks are created equal. We know, because we’ve tested about all of them.
Many docks on the market offer USB-C connectivity. This may seem similar to Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 5, and USB 4, especially because of the use of a USB-C Type-C connection.
The problem is that, since USB-C connections max out at 10Gb/s, you’re limited in terms of how much data can go between your Mac and your peripherals. When you’re plugging a USB-C hub into a Thunderbolt 4 port, you’re ignoring 75% of the available bandwidth.
The amount of ignored bandwidth grows if you were plugging a USB-C hub into a Thunderbolt 5 port. At 80Gb/s normally and up to 120Gb/s in certain scenarios, that’s a lot of bandwidth left on the table.
The end result is that you may not be able to use fast external drives, multiple displays, and other hardware simultaneously using a USB-C hub because of the limited bandwidth.
By getting a Thunderbolt dock, you’ll ensure that all of the offered bandwidth is available to your hardware. The 40Gb/s of Thunderbolt 4 is more than enough for most user’s bandwidth needs, with Thunderbolt 5’s increased bandwidth very much suitable for professional endeavors.
This is especially useful in cases where you have external drives connected to the dock. The last thing you want is slow read and write speeds to the drive because other peripherals are consuming the constrained USB-C bandwidth.
What follows below are AppleInsider’s recommendations for docks to use with your Mac hardware, which supports Thunderbolt and USB 4 connections, as of May 20, 2025.
Best Thunderbolt 5 dock for port selection – CalDigit TS5 Plus
Continuing the Thunder Station line, the CalDigit TS5 Plus updates a great dock to include support for Thunderbolt 5. All while continuing to offer a considerable selection of ports.
As our review discusses, the design is one that existing CalDigit users will be familiar with, consisting of a reasonably discrete box in an Apple-style aluminum enclosure.
Able to work at up to 120Gbps, the TS5 Plus has support for dual 6K displays, and even 8K versions. The bandwidth increase is key, as it means more is available for the connected hardware over the 40Gbps limit of Thunderbolt 4.
This time, there are 20 ports, with the front having a 7.5w USB-A port, 3.5mm audio combo jack, a pair of USB Type-C ports, and UHS-II SD and microSD card readers.
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At the back are three more USB-C ports, as well as three Thunderbolt 5 ports. DisplayPort 2.1, four USB-A ports, a 10-gigabit Ethernet port for networking, and dedicated audio in and out complete the list.
The CalDigit TS5 Plus is priced at $499 from CalDigit directly.
Best Thunderbolt 5 dock for storage – Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock
Our review discovered the Sonnet Echo 13 is an excellent dock for users in multiple ways. That’s not even taking into account its built-in storage.
The dock has a good selection of ports, including four Thunderbolt 5 ports, with one providing the host with 140W of power delivery. There are also three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 version, 2.5Gig Ethernet, UHS-II microSD and SD card slots, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
There’s also space for an M.2 NVMe SSD inside, so you can have storage without needing a separate enclosure. Sonnet offers storage-included versions from 1TB to 4TB, with claims of 6,000MB/s read and 5,000MB/s write speeds.
Part of this speed is helped by the use of Thunderbolt 5. The sheer amount of bandwidth available means that each connected device should get more than enough bandwidth to work alongside others without fighting for capacity.
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The Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock is available from Sonnet directly, starting from $439 for 1TB, rising to $749 for 4TB. It’s also available from Amazon, from $439 to $749.
Best Thunderbolt 4 dock for port selection – CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4
The CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4, or TS4, is a highly regarded Thunderbolt dock at AppleInsider, with it being frequently recommended as one of the best of its kind. In our CalDigit TS4 review, we gave it the highest possible score, because it’s seriously that good.
There are 18 massive ports around the front and back. The front 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.
The rear side continues with 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.
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Along with the generous power output to the USB-A and USB-C ports, it’s also great for connecting to a MacBook Pro for recharging, since it offers 98W of upstream power delivery. That 20W USB-C connection on the front is ideal for recharging your iPhone, either directly or using MagSafe (Apple’s MagSafe charger is on sale at Amazon).
Add in the wide port selection with fast data transfer speeds, and the CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4 is one of the most versatile and essential Mac expansion tools on the market.
The CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4 is priced at $379.99 on Amazon and at B&H Photo.
Best Thunderbolt 4 dock for portability – CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub
If you’re looking for a tiny Thunderbolt hub to slip into a bag with your MacBook Pro, the CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub is the way forward.
Its compact size makes it a no-brainer for workers on the move, with its aluminum enclosure being more than enough to handle the knocks of travel. In the AppleInsider CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub review, our team of testers gave it a 4-star rating out of 5.
Due to its size, it only handles two types of connections. Aside from the host Thunderbolt connection on one end, one side has three Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the other has four USB-A connections.
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For many people, this will be more than enough for port expansion while on the go. Even so, it’s possible to use it to drive a single 8K display or two 6K displays at 60Hz, if you need
The CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub is available at B&H for $179.99 and on Amazon for the same price.
Best Thunderbolt 4 dock without a power brick – OWC Thunderbolt Go
Sure, a dock can be small, but sometimes that’s accompanied by a large unsightly power brick. The OWC Thunderbolt Go, as reviewed by AppleInsider, eliminates the extra element by incorporating it into its enclosure.
While not as small as some of the others, the OWC Thunderbolt Go has an aluminum enclosure to dissipate heat, and runs quiet without a fan.
At the end of the dock is a Thunderbolt 4 port for connecting to the Mac, which also has 90W of power delivery. At the front are a USB-C 3.2 port, a USB 2.0 port for peripherals, a combination audio port, and a memory card reader.
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At the back are two more Thunderbolt ports, two USB-A 3.2 10Gbps ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port. For video, it can allow you to connect an 8K display or two 4K displays.
The OWC Thunderbolt Go dock is available directly from OWC, priced at $199.99. OWC via Amazon also has it for the same $199.99 price.
Best Thunderbolt 4 dock for storage – Sonnet Echo Dual NVMe Dock
We have covered docks with storage earlier, but this is the one to get if capacity is important and if Thunderbolt 5 isn’t. As the name indicates, the Sonnet Echo Dual NVMe Dock can hold two single or double-sided M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe SSDs, up to a maximum capacity of 16TB.
What’s more, these drives can be accessed as a single SSD at up to 1,500MB/s, but also as a RAID 0 set. Doing it this way, you can achieve transfer speeds of up to 3,000MB/s.
As discovered in the AppleInsider review, these drives can be easily accessed by removing seven Philips-head screws. Those drives can also be fitted with heatsinks, to help keep them cool and maintain speed under load.
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Alongside the storage-centric features, there is still a selection of ports available to use. Along with the Thunderbolt port to connect to the host, it has a second Thunderbolt port, two USB-C ports, and a pair of USB-A connections.
The Sonnet Echo Dual NVMe Dock is available for $249.99 from Amazon.
Best Thunderbolt 4 dock for basic portability – Hyper Thunderbolt 4 Power Hub
Another compact example of a dock, the Hyper Thunderbolt 4 Power Hub is fairly simple in its execution. For a start, it is a compact hub thanks to using an integrated Gallium Nitride power source, which also eliminates the power brick.
Our review found it to be impressively small, measuring 4.9 inches square and 1.2 inches tall. That’s easily small enough to fit into a spare pocket in a bag.
The hub has a total of four Thunderbolt 4 ports, with one used for the host and the others for downstream connections. Each connection can work at up to 40Gbps.
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Each port also has up to 15W of power that can be used to charge peripherals, though the host also benefits from up to 96W of power delivery. There’s even support for an 8K 30Hz display or two 4K 60Hz screens.
The Hyper Thunderbolt 4 Power Hub can be acquired from Amazon, priced at $269.99.
