Amazon’s Prime Day is one of the best opportunities for shoppers to score great deals on Thunderbolt docks and their cousins, USB-C hubs. I should know — I’ve been tracking them for years now.
Docking stations and hubs offer an opportunity to connect more peripherals to your desk without breaking the bank. Amazon has been the traditional home of the best deals in both categories, year round, which makes it an even more ideal place to shop during Prime Day — and before. Because while Prime Day runs June 23 through 26 this year, we’re already starting to see juicy sales flow.
Below you’ll find the best deals I found, along with an explanation of why you should buy them.
Best early Prime Day deals on Thunderbolt docks
Best mainstream docking station deal: Ugreen Thunderbolt 4 Revodok Max, 13-in-1, $219.99 ($80 off)
Ugreen
Who is this for? Thunderbolt 4 docks are the current sweet spot of docking stations, so this deal will hit the widest cross-section of potential users. This 13-in-1 dock doesn’t include dedicated display ports, but more high-end displays are now including dedicated USB-C connections which make a direct USB-C to Thunderbolt connection feasible. Also, 96W of laptop charging power is close to the maximum 100W rating. Finally, in my experience, Ugreen’s docks have a solid reputation.
Why is this deal good? We’re in this weird limbo period where tariffs, pre-sale price hikes, and inflationary prices all crash into one another. This dock was priced $10 less for most of June, but has remained close to the $299.99 price for the vast majority of the remainder of the year. I usually think that a good dock should be priced at about $250, and a slightly older Thunderbolt 4 dock being priced at $219.99 works for me. My guess is that Amazon might reduce the price to $209 for Prime Day, but there aren’t any guarantees.
Get UGreen’s Thunderbolt 4 dock for $169.99 at Amazon
Best mainstream USB-C docking station deal: Anker Nano 13-in-1 Laptop Docking Station with Hub, $109.99 ($40 off)
Mark Hachman / Foundry
Who is this for? This is really two docks in one: a more generic USB-C docking station with a travel hub built right in. I’ve personally used and reviewed this hub; I gave it four our of five stars, but no higher. I really do like the “two hubs for the price of one” capability, and the ability to connect to three displays via two HDMI ports and a DisplayPort option. There are three USB-A ports, Ethernet, SD/TF card slots, and more. It’s a solid assortment of I/O.
Why is this deal good? The downside in my review was that I felt that Anker’s dock felt overpriced…and for about $40 off, it feels much more in line with my expectations. Historically, Amazon’s pricing strategy has seesawed between the $149.99 retail price and its discounted $109.99 price. After Prime Day, expect the pendulum to swing back in the other direction.
Get the Anker Nano Docking Station for $109.99 at Amazon
Best premium docking station deal: Plugable Thunderbolt 5 (TBT-UDH2) dock, $279.95 ($70 off)
Plugable
Who is this for? The Apple Mac natively supports Thunderbolt 5, but several Windows gaming laptops do too, and a TB5 dock can future-proof your setup as well as provide a connection to a high-speed single display, if your laptop also supports Thunderbolt 5. Plugable’s dock includes both upstream Thunderbolt connections plus dedicated HDMI ports to eliminate the need for dedicated display adapters. Plus, there’s a140W of laptop charging. There’s a lot here, and I’ve generally been pleased with Plugable’s service and support. Oh, and Macworld loved it.
Why is this deal good? There’s a slight catch: the “price” is essentially the retail price of $349.95, but a clickable “coupon” offer enables the $70 discount. I’m cheap, and I wouldn’t pay $350 for this dock, even with the range of features. At $280, though, this is an acceptable deal and is essentially the lowest price over the last few months.
Get Plugable’s Thunderbolt 5 dock for $279.95
Other great October Prime Day deals
These aren’t the only October Prime Day deals being tracked by the PCWorld team. If you’re looking to supercharge your home setup with the juiciest tech sales, hit the links for only the best expert-curated picks we’ve found.
FAQ
Why should I buy a USB-C hub or Thunderbolt docking station?
Laptops have generally begun replacing all of the legacy ports (the boxy USB-A plug, HDMI, SD card slots, and more) with generic USB-C ports. That’s fine, but what if you have a wired printer or mouse or external SSD? You’ll need to connect it to your laptop, and you might need the right physical port connector.
If you have a fast external SSD or hard drive, the external throughput will certainly help you get the most out of your peripheral. And if you want to connect multiple displays, you’ll need a USB-C hub (and preferably a docking station) with support for two display connectors.
How do I know whether to buy a USB-C hub or a Thunderbolt docking station?
USB-C hubs and Thunderbolt docks use the same physical USB-C connection. A USB-C port (and USB-C hub or dongle) use a basic 10Gbps connection, while a Thunderbolt port increases the throughput to 40Gbps. Ideally, you should see a small “lightning bolt” icon signal a Thunderbolt port, while an unmarked port may be just a generic USB-C port.
Manufacturers, though, aren’t forced to label their ports. Your best bet is to haul out your laptop’s manual and check.
Thunderbolt docks will only work with a Thunderbolt connection. You can buy a USB-C hub or dongle and connect it to a Thunderbolt port, but it will only run at the 10Gbps speed.
USB-C hubs, dongles, and docking stations: what’s the difference?
I use hubs and dongles interchangeably to describe the small devices that hang off your USB-C port with a short cable. A docking station is generally large and heavy enough that it will remain on your desk. Virtually all Thunderbolt devices are large enough to be considered docking stations.
You can buy USB-C docking stations that lack Thunderbolt connections, but those are a bit rarer. A docking station also usually includes a charger so you can use it instead of your laptop charger. I also associate a docking station as something that resides on your desk, all the time.
My laptop has USB4, not Thunderbolt. Can I use a Thunderbolt dock?
USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 are functionally the same. Intel refuses to certify non-Intel platforms like AMD’s Ryzen for Thunderbolt, and the new Copilot+ PCs from Microsoft powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips are in the same boat.
USB-C hubs work with basically anything with a USB-C port on it. Don’t worry about those at all.
How do I know whether to buy Thunderbolt 3, 4, or 5?
Thunderbolt is backwards-compatible, so you can own a laptop with Thunderbolt 4 and connect it to a Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 3 dock without worry. It’s not forward-compatible, however. While Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 both transfer 40Gbps, you’re probably best to play it safe and match the specs of your port to the specs of the device. Thunderbolt 5 has been largely confined to gaming laptops, and doesn’t look to expand to the mainstream anytime soon.
How will tariffs affect the prices of Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs during Prime Day sales?
This is the big wild card.
Many hubs and docks are made in China, which has been a prime tariff target for this administration. On the other hand, dock makers like Plugable have specifically told me that they’ve moved manufacturing out of China, too. But consider: CalDigit announced its TS4 docking station in 2022 for $359.95. Its current list price: $449.95, and it’s “on sale” at Amazon for $379.
You’ll probably go crazy trying to figure out tariffs. Just buy the price.
Some of these docks have had bad reviews on shopping sites. Why?
While Macs adopted Thunderbolt first, some of the Apple M1 silicon couldn’t keep up with Intel Thunderbolt controllers used by Windows PCs, and the Apple MacOS experience suffered as a result. If you see a negative comment, try and determine if it’s a Windows user making it. The experience may be totally different.
Are the best Thunderbolt dock and USB-C dongle deals at Amazon?
Historically, yes. I check other sites, but over the past few years Amazon has consistently offered the best deals on these two product categories. Thats not always the case; Best Buy, for example, is often very competitive in Chromebooks.