One of the best USB-C hub for 2025

It’s spectacular what tablets and ultraportable laptops can do. However to get essentially the most performance out of them, it’s your decision a couple of extra ports at your disposal, which is the place a USB-C hub comes into play. By connecting to only one port, these useful units provide you with additional USB connections, HDMI slots, SD card readers and Ethernet jacks. Plus most supply pass-through charging so you may maintain your pill powered when you work with all of your peripherals connected. We examined greater than a dozen fashions to provide you with a couple of nice picks for various conditions and customers. Listed below are the most effective USB-C hubs primarily based on our testing.

Desk of contents

Finest USB-C hubs for 2025

Picture by Amy Skorheim / Engadget

The “109” in UGreen’s Revodok Pro 109 USB-C hub doubtless stands for the nine-in-one declare in its advertising and marketing supplies, however since a type of ports is energy solely, the variety of downstream connectors makes it extra of an eight-in-one. But it surely’s a great-performing hub nonetheless. It has all of the hookups that may be lacking from a contemporary laptop computer, together with SD slots, USB-A ports, an Ethernet connection and a 4K HDMI hookup.

The 4K decision and 60Hz refresh price appeared nice on my take a look at monitor and the information switch charges have been forward of different hubs in its value vary. The velocity take a look at on an Ethernet cable was on par with that of a dearer USB-C dock, and I appreciated the design of the microSD slot. Most readers have you ever insert the cardboard all the way in which in, counting on a spring mechanism to push it again out once you’re executed. Right here, the top stands proud simply sufficient you can merely pull the cardboard out. These spring-loaded ejectors by no means work on the primary attempt for me, so this can be a extra elegant answer.

There’s only one usable downstream USB-C port; the opposite is just able to delivering energy to your system. I want there was simply one extra USB-C so it may deal with each, say, a USB-C keyboard and webcam. However the three USB-A ports, with one supporting as much as 10Gbps charges, largely make up for that oversight. General, the hub performs effectively and gives a well-rounded collection of connectors. When you’d desire a DisplayPort connection and do not want the information card slots, try UGreen’s 8-in-1 Revodok hub.

It was truthfully a tricky name between this and the Anker 555 8-in-1 for the highest suggestion. They’ve a fairly related port array and the Anker USB-C hub is $15 cheaper. However the UGreen hub has a extra premium construct and a wire that is about two inches longer, plus there’s one additional USB-A port that would actually come in useful.

Professionals

Good array of ports
HDMI 2.0 helps 4K screens at 60Hz
Beneficiant 10-inch cable
Three USB-A ports

Cons

Only one downstream USB-C port

$38 at Amazon

Picture by Amy Skorheim / Engadget

This was my first expertise with a Wavlink product, as I used to be beforehand solely accustomed to them as a Wi-Fi router and extender model. My preliminary impression of the Wavlink USB-C 4K@60Hz was disappointment at its generic title, however the performance-to-price ratio is so spectacular, it will get a cross for the shortage of branding pizazz.

It’s slimmer than most hubs at about an inch-and-a-half large, but the cable itself is a pair inches longer than the norm. The unit and the cables simply tuck behind a laptop computer, notably for the reason that ports run alongside only one edge, with the HDMI connection on the finish.

The cable can also be braided, making it really feel extra premium than its $30 price ticket would recommend — which is the overall theme right here. The HDMI 2.0 port can deal with a 4K exterior monitor at 60Hz, which ought to be lots zippy sufficient for a median workday, and I discovered the decision and lack of lag to be simply as marketed.

One of many two USB-A ports helps speedy 10Gbps transfers and the one USB-C jack is able to the identical price. The webcam carried out effectively, even with a USB-A streaming mild at full brightness (one thing different hubs had bother with), and I discovered information switch speeds to exterior drives to be on par with and even sooner than dearer hubs.

In fact, having only one downstream USB-C connection places a restrict in your setup: You’ll be able to have, for instance, a USB-C webcam or a USB-C keyboard plugged in, not each. However for those who want one thing with good monitor output, a few high-quality USB ports and a compact design, this can be a good choose.

I additionally advocate Plugable’s equally cleverly named USB-C 4-in-1 hub. It’s a greenback cheaper than the Wavlink choice with an analogous array of ports that every one carried out effectively in my exams. Finally, its shorter tethered cable and single USB-C port that both delivers energy or runs a peripheral led me to desire Wavlink’s mannequin. However for those who don’t have to cost your system by the port, you get a very good hub for the cash with Plugable’s system.

Professionals

Slim and compact
Beneficiant 10-inch cable
Nice value

Cons

Only one downstream USB-C port

$20 at Wavlink

Picture by Amy Skorheim / Engadget

One difficulty with most USB-C hubs is an ironic lack of obtainable downstream USB-C ports. Many high out at two, and a type of usually delivers energy solely and may’t run peripherals. Throughout three keyboard guides, our suggestions overwhelmingly require USB-C connectivity, all however considered one of our recommended webcams use USB-C and plenty of exterior storage drives depend on that port as effectively. Which means in order for you a hub that connects your keys, digicam and a drive on the identical time, you must hunt for one thing appropriate.

The EZQuest Slim Gen 2 hub provides you not only one or two usable Kind-C ports, however 5 of them. It’s additionally one of many few hubs that has a removable cable (and the provided one is a beneficiant 20 inches lengthy). One port is for video output with a claimed 4K output at 60Hz — simply notice that this connector doesn’t assist audio or drive different peripherals. The remaining 4 ports adhere to the USB 3.1 Gen 2 customary, delivering as much as 10Gbps. As with all hub, the extra gadgets you’ve gotten plugged in, the decrease the speeds every port will be capable to ship, in order that max 10-gigabit price is for one port at a time.

The connections have been lots for my setup, dealing with a keyboard, mouse, webcam and streaming mild all on the identical time. (Since I haven’t got a USB-C monitor, I plugged the HDMI cable immediately into my laptop computer). Even absolutely loaded, the unit stayed comparatively cool. Whereas the included cable is lengthy, the hub itself is tremendous compact and in regards to the dimension of a Skor bar. All of the ports come out of 1 facet, so just like the finances choose above, it’s simple to rearrange all of your connections to look neat in your desk.

Professionals

Loads of USB-C ports
Removable and lengthy 20-inch cable

Cons

No USB-A ports
No HDMI port (helps USB-C video)

$80 at Amazon

Picture by Amy Skorheim / Engadget

At $140, the worth of Belkin’s Connect Universal hub is edging into docking-station territory. But it surely doesn’t require a devoted energy provide and it has a compact construct, so it’s nonetheless decidedly a hub. That value bump does get you a couple of options that the majority hubs don’t have, specifically the choice of three USB-C ports (one port can be utilized for both energy supply or accent assist) and twin prolonged shows with an Apple MacBook (after you obtain the SiliconMotion driver).

Quite a few the hubs I examined had twin HDMI ports, however the second exterior show was solely able to mirroring the primary monitor and invariably dropped the decision of each supplemental screens. SiliconMotion’s InstantView software program will get round that by basically “sharing” a view of a tertiary display screen with the second monitor. That second monitor has a most refresh price of 30Hz for 4K resolutions, however the first exterior show retains its 4K@60Hz visuals. I haven’t examined each choice on the market, however from what I’ve seen, that’s fairly good for a USB-C hub — something extra and also you’re doubtless a docking station.

The Join Common 8-in-1 is on the bigger finish of the spectrum for this class, measuring about the identical as an iPhone however about twice as thick. The multitude of plugs meant I may run a webcam, keyboard, mouse, Litra mild, two screens and join an Ethernet cable. There was nonetheless one USB-C port left over for an exterior drive or energy (although I simply used my MacBook’s MagSafe port). And since they’re all on one facet, the association on a desk appears tidy, avoiding the spidery look of a hub with ports on all sides.

Shunting all of this connectivity does make the unit get fairly sizzling: it appeared to get hotter than the entire different items I attempted. Whereas I by no means seen any in poor health results because of this, I solely used it over the course of a pair days and wonder if there’d be any heat-related points with prolonged use.

Professionals

Plenty of ports
Good number of ports
Driver permits for 2 prolonged exterior shows

Cons

Costly
Will get extremely popular throughout use

$140 at Belkin

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 likely to have extra ports, supply a separate DC energy adapter and value extra, with some reaching upwards of $400. We’ve got 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 usually price between $30 and $150.

Hubs, generally additionally known as dongles and even multiport adapters, make extra sense for smaller setups with just some peripherals, corresponding to 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 deliver your equipment with you, or if you wish to substitute your laptop computer with a more powerful tablet. A docking station or Thunderbolt dock 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 once you get again, you solely have to plug in a single cable to get all of your equipment reconnected. In fact, for those who simply have to plug in a single peripheral, chances are you’ll not want a hub or a dock, a easy USB-C adapter, like HDMI to USB-C or USB-A to USB-C, might do the trick.

Ports

For a USB-C hub to work, it wants to hook up with a port in your laptop computer or pill 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 Thunderbolt 4. The port, after all, must be Kind-C as effectively. The ocean of laptops out there may be huge, so it’s laborious to make generalizations, however fashionable laptops, together with Home windows and Apple fashions, ought to have not less than one USB-C port that can suffice, and certainly, each considered one of our high picks for the best laptops do — together with our high choose, the M4 MacBook Air.

Subsequent, it’s a matter of discovering a very good USB-C hub that has the precise connections on your wants. Most hubs supply some combo of HDMI, USB, SD card reader, Ethernet and three.5 mm ports. You probably have a 4K monitor and would really like not less than a 60Hz refresh price, 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 frequent simply but. Remember the fact that a low refresh price 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 USB Kind-A or USB Kind-C. They will 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 finest to examine the spec checklist to be sure you’re getting the assist you want. Remember the fact that a hub might invoice itself as a 7-in-1, however a type of ports might not be usable for something aside from charging.

Customary SD and microSD playing cards are helpful for transferring information from cameras and the like or for offloading information out of your laborious drive, and plenty of hubs have these slots. Ethernet ports might ship sooner 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

Almost the entire USB-C hubs I examined assist passthrough charging. Which means in case your laptop computer or pill solely prices by way of USB, you don’t should take up one other port in your laptop computer to maintain every thing topped up. Not like a docking station, powering a hub is non-compulsory. 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 must be plugged into the wall to forestall that from taking place.

Lots 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, iPad or Android pill (the hubs take a bit of of the juice for themselves, therefore the 15-watt or so distinction). In my exams, a powered USB hub ran hotter than when it wasn’t passing the cost by, so I desire to energy the pc immediately utilizing its personal charger. However for tablets or different units with no additional ports, that PD choice is necessary.

Some PD ports are additionally information ports — which is each good and dangerous. On one hand, it feels wasteful to make use of a wonderfully good information port only for boring previous electrical energy. However then again, 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 truly does.

Design

There’s surprisingly little design variation amongst hubs. Most appear like a flat slab, a bit of smaller than a smartphone, and have an hooked up Kind-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 in all probability received’t make or break your shopping for choice.

One variation that would tip the scales is the size of the cable. An extended one offers you extra freedom as you organize the hub in your desk, doubtlessly even letting you cover 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 out there and the way they’ve been acquired by consumers, forum-goers and different publications. I grew to become accustomed to a couple of respected manufacturers after I was testing docking stations, so I appeared into hubs from these corporations as effectively. I centered on gadgets that might 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 might 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 working MacOS Sonoma 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 Defend exterior drive and a pair of wired headphones I bought without cost on an airplane (I ought to in all probability spend money on some wired headphones, however the wire 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 exams. I checked out what may very well be plugged in directly, the decision on the monitor, information switch speeds, the general construct high quality of the hub and common usability elements, 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 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 high-speed information transfers are nice. 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 way in which our unit dealt with a streaming mild. Having it on at full brightness made the webcam flicker each time. The problem went away at 75 % brightness, however the identical drawback didn’t occur on another hub I examined.

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

There’s nothing improper with the Anker 341 USB-C hub. In actual fact it’s a present suggestion in our iPad accessories guide and it comes at an important $35 value. 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 a bit of retro. There’s additionally only a single USB-C downstream port and the information switch exams proved to be a contact slower than the opposite hubs. However for those who’ve bought a decrease decision monitor and don’t want multiple USB-C, you received’t be disillusioned with it.

Anker 555 8-in-1

It was a tricky name between the UGreen Revodoc Professional 109 and the Anker 555 8-in-1 for our high suggestion. Each have an analogous port array with an HDMI, Ethernet, two USB Kind A, a PD USB-C and a USB-C 3.2 on the 555. And the Anker USB-C hub is $15 cheaper. We went with the UGreen hub for its extra premium construct, additional USB-A port and longer wire that provides you two additional inches to work with. However if you wish to save a couple of bucks this hub is a worthwhile choose.

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

I solely grew to become 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 an extended wire that wraps across the hub itself, which is exclusive. It doesn’t hassle with energy supply, which isn’t a problem for those who can energy your pc immediately. However the 4 USB ports (three Kind-A and one Kind-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.