The Best Laptop Docking Stations to Supercharge Your Workstation
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Laptops are ideal for getting work done when you’re out and about, but if you need the functionality of a full workstation, being hunched over a small, flat keyboard can quickly get annoying. However, connecting your laptop to a secondary monitor, a mouse, and a comfier keyboard can turn your desk space into a nest of tangled cables. Not to mention that many of today’s laptops are designed to be as thin as possible and don’t have the ports you may need to connect some peripherals. That’s when it
Laptop docking stations are small boxes that sit on your desk and stay connected to your monitor (or monitors) and peripherals such as speakers, a keyboard, or a mouse. With the right docking station, you can enjoy the portability of a laptop with the flexibility and features of a desktop. These stations can get expensive, though, and it’s hard to figure out which to buy based on a list of ports or specs. I’ve tested many of the most popular options and whittled the list down to the best laptop
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Be sure to check out our other home office guides, including the Ultimate Work-From-Home Gear, Best USB Hubs, Best Office Chairs, Best Flash Drives, and Best Portable External Storage Drives.
Updated August 2026: I’ve added three new docks I’ve tested—the Baseus Spacemate Air 12-in-1, Belkin Connect Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock, and the Belkin Connect USB-C GaN Dock. I’ve also ensured up-to-date links and prices.
Other Laptop Docking Stations to Consider
Analysis
We test a lot of laptop docking stations and, quite frankly, most of them are … fine. They’re fine! We get into the nitty-gritty for specific use cases to find the best, but that leaves a bunch of devices that are great options even if they don’t make our top picks. Here’s a selection of some of our favorites, past favorites, or just alternatives to our picks above.
Baseus Spacemate Air 12-in-1 Mac Docking Station for $200: This is a really great budget option to the Plugable 5-Display USB-C dock above. While that one offers a faster and more full-featured way to get extra external displays, the Spacemate Air 12-in-1 gives you two 4K displays. That’s especially helpful if you own an older MacBook Air or just appreciate the ease of use of connecting all your peripherals, displays, and accessories over a single USB-C cable. But I don’t love the integrated cab
Belkin Connect Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock for $300: This one is a bit expensive for a Thunderbolt 4 dock, but it gets you 12 ports, including support for up to two 4K displays at 60 Hz and 90 watts of power delivery to your laptop. Like the Spacemate Air, it also includes some slower USB-A ports, though.
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