The best 5 laptop docking stations of 2022

The Ugreen USB-C multifunction docking station is the best overall docking station. It provides ample ports and power, and offers the added flexibility of DisplayLink to ensure that almost any laptop you connect to it will be able to become the core of a multi-monitor workstation. 

The right laptop docking station for you will depend on what factors you care about and what you need the docking station for. Below, we’ve laid out what each product is great for to help you decide:

We compared important docking station specifications, including price, connection types, power, video outputs, ports, audio input/output, and wired ethernet to find the best option for you. 

In this guide, we list some popular, well-reviewed dock options. But they’re not all equal. Before you choose one for your work-from-home office, here’s what you should look for.

• Connection type. This is probably the most important item on your sorting list. Most newish laptops support USB Type-C connections, which offer robust expansion options; before you choose one of these docks, though, you’ll need to know if your laptop supports Thunderbolt 3 or 4 connections. If you have a Microsoft Surface device, your choices also include the blade-type connector that those devices use for external connections. Also, If you have an older PC or Mac that doesn’t support one of those standards, you still have the option to use USB 3.0, but that will curtail some of the more advanced resolutions and data speeds available to you.
• Power. For a true one-cable connection, your dock needs to supply power to the laptop. Some less expensive docks skip this feature completely, assuming you’ll connect a power supply and use the dock exclusively for connecting to peripherals. Others require you to use your laptop’s included power supply to power them, while they in turn pass that power back to your laptop via a PD port.
• Video output(s). Look very closely at the specs for video connections. If you need to drive only a single full HD (1920 x 1080) display using an HDMI cable, just about any dock will do. Things get complicated quickly if you need support for a 4K or 8K display (you’ll need DisplayPort or a more recent version of HDMI for those resolutions). The same is true if you want to run two or more external displays simultaneously.
• Ports. Does the dock you’re considering have enough external ports to connect to the devices you have on your desktop? Pay special attention to USB ports, which can be Type A or Type C, with or without the ability to power devices like a smartphone.
• Wired Ethernet. One of the great advantages of a docking station, if your network router is nearby, is that you can free yourself from sometimes flaky Wi-Fi connections and plug in directly. The participants on your weekly Zoom calls may thank you.
• Audio input/output. You probably won’t think of these connections until you need them. But having dedicated external speakers and a 3.5-inch audio jack to plug an external microphone into can dramatically transform your audio quality. This isn’t just true for those that do webinars or guest appearances on broadcast media or podcasts, it’s also noticeable for everyday Zoom warriors too. 

In making our selections, we focused on docking stations designed for use with Windows laptops or MacBooks (preferably both). If you’re looking to expand your Chromebook to the desktop, we recommend checking compatibility carefully. Among third-party hardware makers, only Kensington offers a wide selection of docks with ChromeOS support.  

A docking station lets you easily connect a single, or multiple, external displays, external storage devices, webcams and other devices to your laptop. It essentially allows your laptop to behave the same way as a traditional desktop tower while letting you multitask across multiple screens or more easily access different storage devices.

There are universal docking stations available, and they will not only work with multiple models of Windows-based laptops, but also MacBooks. However, there are also many models out there which are made to work with specific brands or models. Apple, Microsoft, and several other PC makers produce docking stations that will only work with their products, but if you get a third-party docking station, it should work with anything you have; although you should check the specifications to be sure.

A USB hub is a device that adds more USB ports to give you additional ways to connect peripherals like mice and keyboards, as well as thumb drives and external hard drives. A docking station can do that as well, but they also have ports for connecting monitors via DisplayPort, HDMI, or Thunderbolt so you can have a second (or third, or fourth) screen for easier multitasking when you need to work on your laptop. They can also add wired networking to laptops that are normally Wi-Fi only.

The options below are more basic docking solutions that will get you most of the way there, but may not offer the same level of functionality as those chosen above (with the exception of the Apple entry). That said, they may be all you really need, and can be had for far less than most of the more complex docks above.