The most effective USB-C hub for 2025

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 may want the pace and accuracy of wired peripherals — to not point out gadgets that don’t have wi-fi counterparts.

5You have two most important 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 may join peripherals like screens or wired mice and keyboards. Docking stations are usually bigger, require AC energy and are often meant to be stationary. A USB-C hub, alternatively, is extra transportable and doesn’t want its personal energy supply. We examined greater than a dozen choices to provide you with the perfect USB-C hub for maximizing your ports, and we’ve included recommendation on what to search for before you purchase.

Finest USB-C hubs for 2025

What to search for in a USB-C hub

Hub vs docking station

The very first thing to determine is whether or not you want a USB-C hub or a USB-C docking station. There’s no set customary for what differentiates the 2, however docking stations are inclined to have extra ports, provide a separate DC energy adapter and price extra, with some reaching upwards of $400. We have now a separate information to the best docking stations to take a look at in the event you’re searching for one thing greater than what we’re discussing right here. USB-C hubs, in distinction, have between 4 and 10 ports, can assist pass-through charging and usually price between $30 and $150.

Hubs, generally additionally referred to as dongles and even multiport adapters, make extra sense for smaller setups with just some peripherals, comparable to a monitor, a wired keyboard and mouse, and the occasional exterior drive. They’re additionally extra transportable, since they’re small and require no devoted energy. That might be helpful in the event you change work areas however wish to deliver 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 transient relocation and if you get again, you solely have to 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, information 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 nicely. The ocean of laptops out there’s huge, so it’s exhausting to make generalizations, however fashionable laptops ought to have at the very least one USB-C port that may suffice, and certainly, each certainly one of our prime picks for the best laptops do.

Subsequent, it’s a matter of discovering USB-C hub that has the fitting connections to your wants. Most hubs provide some combo of HDMI, USB, SD card reader, Ethernet and three.5 mm ports. When you’ve got a 4K monitor and would really like at the very least 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 customary aren’t as widespread simply but. Remember the fact 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’ll assist information with totally different switch charges, usually 5Gbps or 10Gbps. Some ports solely deal with passthrough energy and no information, and a few can do information, energy and video, so it’s greatest to verify the spec listing to be sure to’re getting the assist you want. Remember the fact that a hub could invoice itself as a 7-in-1, however a kind of ports is probably not usable for something aside from charging.

Normal SD and microSD slots are helpful for transferring information 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 deliver again the wired headphone connection that some laptops have ditched.

Energy supply

Practically all the USB-C hubs I examined assist passthrough charging. Which means in case your laptop computer or pill solely expenses through USB, you don’t must 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 elective. The one exception is if you wish to shut the lid in your laptop computer whilst 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 must be plugged into the wall to forestall that from occurring.

Lots of the newer hubs embrace 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 just a little 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, so I want to energy the pc instantly utilizing its personal charger. However for tablets or different gadgets with no further ports, that PD possibility is necessary.

Some PD ports are additionally information ports — which is each good and unhealthy. On one hand, it feels wasteful to make use of a wonderfully good information port only for boring previous electrical energy. However alternatively, USB-C connections that solely carry a cost are much less versatile, and it makes it seem to be 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, just a little smaller than a smartphone, and have an connected 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 each side. All of that is simply to say that aesthetics in all probability gained’t make or break your shopping for resolution.

One variation that would tip the scales is the size of the cable. An extended one gives you extra freedom as you prepare the hub in your desk, doubtlessly even letting you cover it behind your laptop computer. Or it’s possible you’ll want a shorter one to maintain the hub neatly set beside your laptop computer.

How we check USB-C hubs

Earlier than we check something, we check out what’s accessible and the way they’ve been obtained by consumers, forum-goers and different publications. I turned conversant in just a few respected manufacturers after I was testing docking stations, so I regarded into hubs from these firms as nicely. I centered on gadgets that will assist with a median 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 laptop and plugged in equipment that embrace 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 gentle, a USB-A 3.0 Sandisk thumb drive, a USB-C Samsung T7 Defend exterior drive and a pair of wired headphones I obtained without spending a dime on an airplane (I ought to in all probability spend money on 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 information or connectivity points weren’t associated to my gear.

Then I put every USB-C hub by a gamut of primary checks. I checked out what might be plugged in directly, the decision on the monitor, information switch speeds, the general construct high quality of the hub and basic usability elements, like the location of the ports and the size of the cords. And, lastly, the price-to-value ratio helped decide the perfect ones for just a few totally different use circumstances.

Different hubs we examined

HyperDrive Subsequent 10 Port USB-C Hub

There’s loads 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 info transfers are screaming quick. It has the coveted two USB-C information 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 gentle. Having it on at full brightness made the webcam flicker each time. The difficulty went away at 75 % brightness, however the identical downside didn’t occur on every other hub I examined.

Anker 341 USB-C Hub (7-in-1)

There’s nothing mistaken with the Anker 341 USB-C hub. In truth it’s a present advice in our iPad accessories guide and it comes at a fantastic $35 worth. It provides 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 just a little retro. There’s additionally only a single USB-C downstream port and the info switch checks proved to be a contact slower than the opposite hubs. However in the event you’ve obtained a decrease decision monitor and don’t want a couple of USB-C, you gained’t be disenchanted with it.

Startech 4-Port USB-C Hub (information solely)

I solely turned conscious of Startech after I began researching for this information. The standard is first rate and the yellow accents are a welcome little bit of colour within the in any other case very grey world of hubs. The efficiency is stable, with no hiccups that I encountered. The model’s 4-Port USB-C Hub has a protracted twine that wraps across the hub itself, which is exclusive. It doesn’t hassle with energy supply, which isn’t a difficulty in the event you can energy your laptop 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 just a few extra USB ports to your setup.

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