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Apple’s MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are remarkable laptops, but they don’t make for the best desktop alternatives right out of the box. Like Henry Ford’s Model T, which gave you a choice of colors (so long as you chose black), modern MacBook Airs give you your choice of ports, so long as they are USB-C ports. MacBook Pros offer some extra options—an HDMI port and an SD card reader—but they’re still limited by desktop computer standards. So, if you don’t want to rely on a whole host of USB-C adapters or dongles back at your desk, a docking station can be your best solution short of buying a desktop Mac. This guide to the top MacBook docking stations for your Apple laptop will help you find the desktop peripheral setup that’s right for you. You can trust our recommendations, which adhere to our rigorous editorial standards and are based on our extensive knowledge of the market and years of experience testing Macs. (For a higher-level overview of docking-station options, check out our deep-dive guide to how to pick a laptop docking station.)
Recommended by Our Editors
Anker 675 USB-C Docking Station
We have a confession to make: We once used a stack of books as a monitor stand. You can do a lot better today with the Anker 675 USB-C Docking Station, a $199.99 aluminum alloy display stand (its legs are plastic) that’s also a 12-in-1 connection hub. Besides the 100-watt USB-C connection to your laptop, the nonskid stand provides five 10Gbps USB ports (two Type-C and three Type-A); SD and microSD flash card slots; a 3.5mm audio jack; a gigabit Ethernet port; and an HDMI port for a 4K, 60Hz monitor.Besides improving your posture by elevating your display, the stand offers built-in cable management to reduce desk clutter. It’s also a Qi wireless charging station that delivers up to 10 watts to a Samsung smartphone or 7.5 watts to an iPhone.
Ugreen Revodok Max 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station
Thirteen might be your lucky number with the Ugreen Revodok Max 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station ($399.99). The device’s rear panel contains a 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 connection for your MacBook; a Gigabit Ethernet port; two 5Gbps USB 3.0 Type-A ports; and three ports capable of driving an 8K monitor at 30Hz—one DisplayPort 1.4, one HDMI 2.1, and one Thunderbolt 4. (M1, M2, and M3 MacBooks can use a single external monitor, while laptops with Pro or Max chips can drive two via Thunderbolt and either HDMI or DisplayPort, or three monitors if the last two are mirrored.)Up front, you’ll find two 10Gbps USB-C 3.2 ports, one with power delivery; a 10Gbps USB-A 3.2 port; an audio port; and SD and microSD (TF) card slots. The Revodok Max provides up to 60 watts of charging to the host.
Corsair TBT200 Thunderbolt 4 Dock
Lots of docking stations can give you a 1Gbps Ethernet port, but what if you want a faster 2.5Gbps office network connection? Check out the Corsair TBT200, a $299.99 dock with no fewer than four Thunderbolt 4 ports (for one host and three devices). Corsair’s Thunderbolt Dock Utility enables you to eject all drives at once, with support for Apple’s SuperDrive and keyboard. The device comes with USB-C to HDMI and USB-C to DisplayPort adapters for dual 4K monitors.The TBT200’s front panel offers an SD card slot, a 3.5mm audio jack, and two 10Gbps USB ports (one 15-watt Type-C and one 7.5-watt Type-A). Two more USB-A ports join the Ethernet port, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a Kensington security lock slot around back. The aluminum dock charges your MacBook with up to 96 watts of power.
Baseus Joystar 7 in 1 USB-C Hub
If you just want to connect a couple of non-Thunderbolt or non-USB-C peripherals to your MacBook without spending a bundle, Baseus hopes you’ll check out the Joystar 7 in 1 USB-C Hub, priced at only $19.99.This economy dock provides three 5Gbps USB 3.0 Type-A ports, one USB-C port with 100 watts of power delivery, one SD card slot, and one HDMI port capable of driving up to a 4K monitor at 60Hz. It measures 4.5 by 1.7 by 0.63 inches and weighs just 2.7 ounces.
J5Create M.2 NVMe USB-C Gen 2 Docking Station
Its 10Gbps USB-C interface isn’t as fast as a laptop’s internal PCI Express connection, but J5Create’s model JCD552 M.2 NVMe USB-C Gen 2 Docking Station ($149.99) is a unique way to expand your MacBook’s storage: The 1-by-12.5-by-3.1-inch gray and black aluminum dock has a compartment for an NVMe or SATA M.2 solid-state drive (up to size 2280; not included). It connects to your laptop using two USB-C cables and offers 100 watts of Power Delivery pass-through.The docking station has 4K DisplayPort and HDMI video outputs, a gigabit Ethernet port, SD and microSD card slots, and three USB Type-A ports (one 5Gbps and two 10Gbps) in addition to the M.2 SSD slot. A security cable lock slot keeps it from walking away from your desk.
Kensington SD2500T Thunderbolt 3 Dual 4K Hybrid Nano Dock
Kensington has stepped into the modern age with a compact Thunderbolt 3 dock in the form of the SD2500T Thunderbolt 3 Dual 4K Hybrid Nano Dock ($279.99).This dock supports MacBooks and Windows laptops and provides you with one USB-C port, two DisplayPorts, three USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a gigabit Ethernet jack, a 3.5mm audio jack, an SD card reader, and even a microSD card reader. The included power adapter supports 60-watt power delivery.
OWC Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock
The OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock ($109.99) is a portable docking station that turns a single Thunderbolt 3 port into a desktop-worthy array of one USB 3.1 Type-A port, one USB 2.0 Type-A port, two HDMI ports (both supporting 4K displays), and a gigabit Ethernet port.The compact (0.7 by 4.9 by 2.6 inches, HWD) aluminum dock also includes OWC’s Dock Ejector software, which safely disconnects external drives connected to the dock and ensures all data is written before disconnection.
Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station with DisplayLink
Satechi boasts that its new Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station with DisplayLink resolves the single-external-monitor limitation of M1 and M2 MacBooks, letting you connect two displays via HDMI DisplayLink software. The new M3 MacBook Air teams with the device to support two 4K 60Hz screens in clamshell mode, allowing a total of four external displays.The $299.99 docking station provides one upstream and three downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports (the latter supporting up to 6K/60Hz on Mac and 8K/30Hz on Windows), two HDMI 2.0 ports, two 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, an Ethernet port, an SD card slot, and an audio jack. It measures 8.4 by 3.8 by 0.72 inches and weighs 17.3 ounces.
Plugable Thunderbolt 4 & USB4 HDMI Docking Station with 96W Charging
Plugable sells a variety of USB-C docks, but its newest desk accessory raises the ante with Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. The Thunderbolt 4 & USB4 HDMI Docking Station ($289.95; model TBT4-UDX1) has three 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 ports—one for your laptop and two for peripherals—plus three 10Gbps USB-A ports, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, an HDMI 2.0 monitor port, a fourth front-mounted USB-A port with device charging, an SD card slot, and an audio jack.Capable of charging an M1, M2, or M3 MacBook Pro from 0% to 50% in half an hour (though the 96 watts for the host drops to 81 watts with one Thunderbolt peripheral connected and 66 watts with two), the Plugable dock can drive two 4K 60Hz monitors through HDMI and Thunderbolt (it comes with a USB-C to HDMI adapter). The dual display feature is only available on systems with M2 or M3 Pro or Max processors. The station measures 1.2 by 7.9 by 3 inches and weighs a pound.
VisionTek VT7400 Triple Display 4K USB-C Docking Station
Talk about making the most of a USB-C port: VisionTek’s VT7400 docking station ($349) allows you to connect up to three 4K displays and up to seven accessories with a little black box (1.2 by 8.8 by 3.6 inches). Fully compatible with M1 MacBooks, the device provides up to 100 watts of USB-C power delivery and four front-mounted 10Gbps USB ports (two Type-A and two Type-C) plus an audio jack.Around back, you’ll find a gigabit Ethernet port, two more USB-A ports, two DisplayLink DisplayPort connectors, and three HDMI ports (two DisplayLink and one DP Alt Mode). This allows for a dizzying array of external monitor connections; you’ll want to check VisionTek’s handy chart on page 3 of this PDF file, which breaks down your options by connection type, operating system (it works with Windows, too), and display resolution. Finally, IT managers will like the VT7400’s support for Wake-on-LAN and PXE Boot technologies.
For More Key Laptop Accessories and How-To Advice…
Which M3 Laptop Should You Buy? Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch vs. MacBook Pro 14-Inch
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