Tablets and laptops are solely getting more powerful, however hardly ever are there sufficient ports to harness all that potential. Whereas Bluetooth equipment definitely have their place, you would possibly desire the velocity and accuracy of wired peripherals — to not point out objects that don’t have wi-fi counterparts.
5You have two principal choices for including extra connectivity to your pill or laptop computer: a docking station or a hub. Each present some mixture of additional USB, HDMI, SD card slot, Ethernet and/or 3.5 mm ports so you possibly can join peripherals like screens or wired mice and keyboards. Docking stations are typically bigger, require AC energy and are often meant to be stationary. A USB-C hub, however, is extra moveable and doesn’t want its personal energy supply. We examined greater than a dozen choices to give you the most effective USB-C hub for maximizing your ports, and we’ve included recommendation on what to search for before you purchase.
Desk of contents
Greatest USB-C hubs for 2025
What to search for in a USB-C hub
Hub vs docking station
The very first thing to resolve is whether or not you want a USB-C hub or a USB-C docking station. There’s no set normal for what differentiates the 2, however docking stations are likely to have extra ports, provide a separate DC energy adapter and value extra, with some reaching upwards of $400. Now we have a separate information to the best docking stations to take a look at for those who’re on the lookout for one thing larger than what we’re discussing right here. USB-C hubs, in distinction, have between 4 and 10 ports, can assist pass-through charging and sometimes value between $30 and $150.
Hubs, generally additionally known as dongles and even multiport adapters, make extra sense for smaller setups with only a few peripherals, resembling a monitor, a wired keyboard and mouse, and the occasional exterior drive. They’re additionally extra moveable, since they’re small and require no devoted energy. That may very well be helpful for those who change work areas however wish to carry your equipment with you, or if you wish to change your laptop computer with a more powerful tablet. A docking station makes extra sense for somebody who wants a strong setup for his or her laptop computer, together with a number of exterior screens, webcams, stream decks, microphones and so forth.
Each docks and hubs make it simple to seize your laptop computer off your desk for a gathering or different temporary relocation and while you get again, you solely must plug in a single cable to get all of your equipment reconnected.
Ports
The primary port to think about is the one in your laptop computer or pill. For a USB-C hub to work, it wants to connect with a port that helps video, knowledge and energy — all of which is roofed by something listed as USB 3.0 or higher, together with USB4 and Thunderbolt 3 and 4. The port, in fact, must be Sort-C as properly. The ocean of laptops out there may be huge, so it’s onerous to make generalizations, however fashionable laptops ought to have no less than one USB-C port that can suffice, and certainly, each one in all our prime picks for the best laptops do.
Subsequent, it’s a matter of discovering a very good USB-C hub that has the precise connections on your wants. Most hubs provide some combo of HDMI, USB, SD card reader, Ethernet and three.5 mm ports. In case you have a 4K monitor and would really like no less than a 60Hz refresh fee, you’ll want a hub with an HDMI 2.0 port — HDMI 1.4 solely goes as much as 30Hz. HDMI 2.1 will deal with 4K at as much as 120Hz, however hubs which have adopted that normal aren’t as frequent simply but. Understand that a low refresh fee could cause your display screen to really feel laggy, making your mouse seem glitchy and your webcam actions to look delayed.
Further USB ports on these equipment are often Sort-A or Sort-C. They will assist knowledge with totally different switch charges, sometimes 5Gbps or 10Gbps. Some ports solely deal with passthrough energy and no knowledge, and a few can do knowledge, energy and video, so it’s finest to verify the spec checklist to be sure to’re getting the assist you want. Understand that a hub could invoice itself as a 7-in-1, however a kind of ports will not be usable for something apart from charging.
Customary SD and microSD slots are helpful for transferring knowledge from cameras and the like. Ethernet ports could ship quicker web speeds than your Wi-Fi and a hub with a 3.5mm jack can carry again the wired headphone connection that some laptops have ditched.
Energy supply
Almost the entire USB-C hubs I examined assist passthrough charging. Which means in case your laptop computer or pill solely prices through USB, you don’t should take up one other port in your laptop computer to maintain all the pieces topped up. Not like a docking station, powering a hub is optionally available. The one exception is if you wish to shut the lid in your laptop computer when you work on an exterior monitor. Most computer systems will go into sleep mode if the lid is closed with out energy, so both the laptop computer or the hub will should be plugged into the wall to stop that from occurring.
Most of the newer hubs embody a 100W USB-C energy supply (PD) port, with a wholesome 80 to 85 watts going to your Mac, PC or pill (the hubs take slightly of the juice for themselves, therefore the 15-watt or so distinction). In my checks, a powered USB hub ran hotter than when it wasn't passing the cost by way of, so I desire to energy the pc instantly utilizing its personal charger. However for tablets or different units with no further ports, that PD choice is vital.
Some PD ports are additionally knowledge ports — which is each good and dangerous. On one hand, it feels wasteful to make use of a wonderfully good knowledge port only for boring previous electrical energy. However however, USB-C connections that solely carry a cost are much less versatile, and it makes it look like it has extra accent hookups than it really does.
Design
There’s surprisingly little design variation amongst hubs. Most appear to be a flat slab, slightly smaller than a smartphone, and have an hooked up Sort-C host cable. The hues vary from a silvery black to a silvery grey. Some are thinner than others, some have all ports on one edge and a few have ports on either side. All of that is simply to say that aesthetics most likely gained’t make or break your shopping for choice.
One variation that might tip the scales is the size of the cable. An extended one will provide you with extra freedom as you prepare the hub in your desk, probably even letting you conceal it behind your laptop computer. Or chances are you’ll desire a shorter one to maintain the hub neatly set beside your laptop computer.
How we take a look at USB-C hubs
Earlier than we take a look at something, we check out what’s accessible and the way they’ve been acquired by consumers, forum-goers and different publications. I turned aware of a couple of respected manufacturers after I was testing docking stations, so I appeared into hubs from these firms as properly. I centered on objects that will assist with a mean day of productiveness — not high-end setups or demanding gaming conditions. As soon as I settled on a dozen or so that will make good candidates, I had them shipped to my humble workplace within the desert and began testing them out over the course of some weeks.
I used an M1 MacBook Professional because the host pc and plugged in equipment that embody a 4K Dell monitor, a ZSA USB-C ergo keyboard, a Logitech USB-A gaming mouse, an Elgato USB-C 4K webcam, a Logitech streaming mild, a USB-A 3.0 Sandisk thumb drive, a USB-C Samsung T7 Protect exterior drive and a pair of wired headphones I received without spending a dime on an airplane (I ought to most likely put money into some wired headphones, however the twine dangling on my chest drives me nutty so all my earbuds are wi-fi). I used high-end HDMI and USB-C cables to make sure that any knowledge or connectivity points weren’t associated to my gear.
Then I put every USB-C hub by way of a gamut of primary checks. I checked out what may very well be plugged in without delay, the decision on the monitor, knowledge switch speeds, the general construct high quality of the hub and basic usability components, like the position of the ports and the size of the cords. And, lastly, the price-to-value ratio helped decide the most effective ones for a couple of totally different use instances.
Different hubs we examined
HyperDrive Subsequent 10 Port USB-C Hub
There’s lots to love about HyperDrive’s Next 10 Port USB-C Hub. The tethered cable is a lavish 13 inches lengthy, the HDMI 2.0 port outputs clear and crisp 4K visuals at 60Hz and the information transfers are screaming quick. It has the coveted two USB-C knowledge ports plus a PD port, and there’s even a headphone jack. The one factor that holds again a full-throated endorsement is the best way our unit dealt with a streaming mild. Having it on at full brightness made the webcam flicker each time. The difficulty went away at 75 p.c brightness, however the identical downside didn’t occur on another hub I examined.
Anker 341 USB-C Hub (7-in-1)
There’s nothing unsuitable with the Anker 341 USB-C hub. In reality it’s a present suggestion in our iPad accessories guide and it comes at an ideal $35 worth. It offers you two USB-A ports in addition to SD slots. However at this level, a 1.4 HDMI connection, which solely helps 4K decision at 30Hz feels slightly retro. There’s additionally only a single USB-C downstream port and the information switch checks proved to be a contact slower than the opposite hubs. However for those who’ve received a decrease decision monitor and don’t want a couple of USB-C, you gained’t be dissatisfied with it.
Startech 4-Port USB-C Hub (knowledge solely)
I solely turned conscious of Startech after I began researching for this information. The standard is respectable and the yellow accents are a welcome little bit of coloration within the in any other case very grey world of hubs. The efficiency is strong, with no hiccups that I encountered. The model’s 4-Port USB-C Hub has an extended twine that wraps across the hub itself, which is exclusive. It doesn’t hassle with energy supply, which isn’t a difficulty for those who can energy your pc instantly. However the 4 USB ports (three Sort-A and one Sort-C) max out at 5Gbps and there’s no HDMI connector. It goes for $46, and sadly for it, there are cheaper methods to get a couple of extra USB ports on your setup.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/equipment/best-usb-c-hub-120051833.html?src=rss
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