The best docking station for MacBook Pro lets you to connect lots of devices to your Apple laptop. Because while they're lovely in many ways, the latest MacBooks are unfortunately quite limited in terms of ports.
With the right dock, though, that's no longer a problem. You just need to plug it into your MacBook's USB-C port, and you'll be able to connect everything else, including monitors, mice, external hard drives, smartphones, and headphones.
And that's not all! Some of the best docks for MacBook Pro also offer wired internet, SD card slots, and passthrough charging, so you can power up your laptop at the same time.
We list the best docks for MacBook Pro on the market today below but beware. They vary wildly in price, so we'll explain what each dock offers in terms of ports and other capabilities, and which one is likely to suit your needs the best.
Best docking station for MacBook Pro: our top picks
Best overall
The Corsair TBT200 Thunderbolt 4 Dock is expensive, at over $300 / £300 at the time of writing. But if you have the money to spend, it does have a lot to offer.
Best for value
The Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Dock doesn't have the video smarts of the Corsair TBY200 Thunderbolt 4 Dock, but for a much lower price, it has a pretty similar array of features.
Best for Thunderbolt 3
Don't have Thunderbolt 4, and want as many ports as possible? Then you'll love the CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 Dock, which has 15 in total.
The best dock for MacBook Pro in 2023
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If you have one of the latest Apple laptops, such as the Apple Macbook Air M2 (2022), the Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (2021), the Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch or the MacBook Pro 13-inch M1, you'll have Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, which allow you to transfer data at the highest current speeds. So you'll want a dock that supports Thunderbolt 4, and here's our favourite.
The Corsair TBT200 Thunderbolt 4 Dock is expensive, at over $300 / £300 at time of writing. But if you have the money to spend, it does have a lot to offer. Delivering up to 96W of power to your computer, this nifty dock includes four Thunderbolt 4 ports (one host facing, three downstream facing) for the fastest possible connections.
Alongside that, you get a USB-C port, three USB-A ports, an SD 4.0 card reader, a 3.5mm audio combo, a 2.5G Ethernet port and a Kensington slot. No, there's no HDMI slot, but the Corsair TBT200 supports video to two (4K, HDR) monitors at 60fps via two included cables: USB to HDMI and USB to DisplayPort. The all-metal design is pretty stylish too.
Yes, it's a lot of money for a dock, and overkill for most people, who may prefer one of the cheaper devices below. But if you're a content creator wanting to transfer 4K video or tons of photos quickly, or a hardcore gamer looking for smooth performance on your monitor, this Rolls Royce option may be very tempting.
See our guide to the best USB-C cables
The Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Dock doesn't have the video smarts or included cables of the Corsair TBY200 Thunderbolt 4 Dock, number one on our list. But for a much lower price, it has a pretty similar array of features.
That includes a generous four Thunderbolt 4 ports, one of which is used as the host, with 96W Power Delivery. You also get four USB-A ports for older devices, Gigabit Ethernet, a UHS-II card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Plus it's sleek, nice looking, and easy to use: just plug and play. However note that again, there's no HDMI slot.
Don't have Thunderbolt 4, and want as many ports as possible? Then you'll love the CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 Dock, which has 15 in total. These include five USB-A ports and two USB-C ports, which should be enough for pretty much anyone alive today.
This dock also provides a ton of power back to your MacBook Pro, a heady 87W. You can connect up to two 4K monitors, or a single 5K display. Either way, you get a super-smooth 60Hz refresh rate. All this plus slots for an SD card reader, audio-in, audio-out and a Gigabit Ethernet port adds up to a fantastic array of connectivity. The main omission here is HDMI, plus the DisplayPort 1.2 standard is a little outdated.
Here's another good option if you have one of the latest MacBooks and want to take advantage of Thunderbolt 4. With a massive 180W of power, you can charge plenty of devices simultaneously, and you get a huge range of ports to choose from, including four Thunderbolt 4 ports (one up, three down) and four USB-A ports, as well as an SD slot, Gigabit Ethernet and an audio jack. It's quite expensive at time of writing, though, so we've ranked it third for that reason.
Need an HDMI port? The Corsair TBT100 offers not just one but two. These allow you to connect two 4K monitors simultaneously, with both supporting a 60Hz refresh rate. You also get four USB ports (two USB-A and two USB-C), which should be plenty for most people's needs.
Then there's an SD card reader, a Gigabit Ethernet jack and an audio jack to boot. And to round things off nicely, it efficiently delivers up to 85W of power to your MacBook Pro. So while this is quite expensive, you do get value for money.
Need a dock that's easy to carry about and take from place to place? Then let us recommend the Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core. Weighing just 220g, and measuring just 1.3.8 x 13.2 x 16.5cm, this device is beautifully compact and portable. Yet it still manages to deliver 60W of power to your MacBook Pro, as well as providing an impressive array of connectivity.
To get specific, this dock supports dual 4K 60Hz monitors, via a dedicated DisplayPort and an HDMI 2.0 port. You also get two USB-A ports (3.0 and 2.0 respectively) and one USB-C power delivery port, along with two 3.5mm audio jacks and a Gigabit Ethernet jack. Note, though, that the cable can’t be replaced, so you’ll need to take good care of it.
Wouldn't it be great if there was a dock for MacBook Pro that also provided wireless charging for your phone? Well, there is, and it's called the Moshi Symbus Q. With a Qi-EPP-certified wireless charging pad built in, you can stick your iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel on top and boost their battery without any need for extra leads. You won't even need to remove your phone from its case, as long as it's 5mm thick or less.
Besides that you also get one HDMI slot, which supports 4K video at 30Hz or 1080p at 60Hz, along with a Gigabit Ethernet jack, and two USB-A ports. Note, though, that you can't use this dock to power your MacBook.
One of the highlights of the Iogear Thunderbolt 3 Quantum Docking Station is that it supports 5K. Alternatively, you can use it to connect two 4K monitors to your MacBook Pro at 60Hz, via its dual Display Ports.
This dock also provides you with three USB-A ports, an audio jack, and a Gigabit Ethernet jack, giving you a host of options to connect up your kit. A Thunderbolt 3 expansion port is also provided, to daisy chain up to five additional Thunderbolt 3 devices, such as a portable hard drive or an external GPU video box. And you can charge your MacBook Pro with up to 15W of power too.
Another light and compact dock for MacBook Pro, the OWC Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock is a solid choice if connecting to one or two 4K monitors is a priority. Its two HDMI ports can each be linked up to a 4K display, and the dock supports HDMI precision multi-channel audio (LCPM, DTS, and Dolby Digital). It's also compatible with the HDCP 2.2 standard, making for smooth streaming of 4K content indeed.
And that's not all. You also get two USB-A ports (3.1 and 2.0), along with a Gigabit Ethernet jack. On the downside, there's no audio jack and you can't use this dock to charge your MacBook Pro.
The lightest on our list of the best docks for MacBook Pro, the StarTech.com Mini Thunderbolt 3 Dock weighs in at just 145.15g. At just 25.4 x 12.19 x 2cm, it's pretty tiny too. And yet it stick packs in plenty of possibility for connecting devices to your MacBook Pro.
Two DisplayPort outputs allow you to connect two 4K monitors, or a single 5K display, both at 60Hz. There's also a Gigabit Ethernet jack and a USB-A (3.0) port. MacBook charging, however, is not supported, and there's no audio jack.
Want to connect three monitors at once to your MacBook Pro? The Ugreen USB-C Triple Display Docking station will let you do so, thanks to its two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort, which can support up to 4K at 60Hz and 8K at 30Hz.
You also get 13 ports in total, including one for charging: these include USB-C, USB-A, Ethernet port, SD and Micro SD card slots, and an audio jack. Note that there's no support for Thunderbolt or M2, though.
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