Best Thunderbolt 2 Docks

Updated January 2019
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BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers.
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.
Bottom Line
Pros
Cons
Best of the Best
CalDigit
TS2 - Thunderbolt 2 Dock
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Bottom Line

Great way to expand your connectivity with a single Thunderbolt 2 cable.

Pros

The ports allow users to easily connect up to 5 devices as it comes with 3 USB 3.0 ports and 2 eSATA 6G ports for blazing transfer speeds. It also has one HDMI port for display output and an audio jack.

Cons

It doesn't have any lights for the Ethernet port.

Anker
Dual Display Universal Docking Station
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Bottom Line

A convenient universal display that works with your Thunderbolt 2.

Pros

Supports simultaneous HDMI and DVI displays, allowing you to expand your desktop to 3 monitors. It manages the performance of your devices and it has a smart chip that prioritizes bandwidth usage, giving you smooth, stable connections.

Cons

Some units arrived faulty and the company's customer support is subpar.

Best Bang for the Buck
Akitio
Thunder2 Dock
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Bottom Line

2 amazing Thunderbolt 2 ports that offer lightning-fast speeds.

Pros

You can get speeds of up to 20Gb/s and it has 2 eSATA host ports that reach speeds of up to 6Gb/s. Has one 7 watt bus-powered FireWire 800 host port and 2 bus-powered USB 3.0 host ports (supports UASP). Plus, it supports 4K monitors and displays.

Cons

Some users got a product that worked a few times, but the video function crashed after that.

Elgato
Thunderbolt 2 Dock
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Bottom Line

Solid port to connect everything to your MacBook or Ultrabook at once.

Pros

Has 2 Thunderbolt 2 ports that allow you to daisy chain up to 4 more Thunderbolt devices. Comes with built-in HDMI port to directly connect 1 display with up to 4K resolution. Includes built-in Gigabit Ethernet for increased network performance.

Cons

The documentation supplied is very dense.

Sonnet Technologies
Thunderbolt 2 Docking Stations
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Bottom Line

A great Thunderbolt 2 dock with flexible internal storage options.

Pros

You can either connect an optical drive and 2, 2.5” SSDs or connect an optical drive and 1, 3.5” HDD. Connect your peripherals to the Echo dock or connect your computer and disconnect it from the dock. Supports any Mac with a Thunderbolt port running OS X 10.9.5+.

Cons

The fan is not as quiet as other models.

How we decided

We purchase every product we review with our own funds — we never accept anything from product manufacturers.

  • 28 Models Considered
  • 6 Hours Researched
  • 1 Experts Interviewed
  • 129 Consumers Consulted
    • Zero products received from manufacturers.

    We purchase every product we review with our own funds — we never accept anything from product manufacturers.

    Why trust BestReviews?
    BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.
    BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers.
    BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.

    A Thunderbolt 2 connector is essentially an alternative to USB. Developed by Intel, it allows you to connect various devices to a laptop or desktop. A Thunderbolt 2 dock makes it convenient to keep multiple devices connected to your laptop, since the only cable that needs to be plugged into the computer is the Thunderbolt — the rest sit in the dock. Thunderbolt 2 docks typically come with ports for USB 3, eSATA, and HDMI, but some have others, such as Firewire and Ethernet. Some allow you to “daisy chain” devices, meaning you can connect devices to one that’s connected to the dock so that they can all interact. You need two Thunderbolt ports to achieve this, so a dock that includes them expands connectivity options.

    The team that worked on this review
    • Enid
      Enid
      Editor
    • Melinda
      Melinda
      Web Producer
    ×

    CalDigit

    TS2 - Thunderbolt 2 Dock

    CalDigit

    TS2 - Thunderbolt 2 Dock

    Great way to expand your connectivity with a single Thunderbolt 2 cable.
    $179
    ×

    Anker

    Dual Display Universal Docking Station

    Anker

    Dual Display Universal Docking Station

    A convenient universal display that works with your Thunderbolt 2.
    $99
    ×

    Akitio

    Thunder2 Dock

    Akitio

    Thunder2 Dock

    2 amazing Thunderbolt 2 ports that offer lightning-fast speeds.
    $149
    ×

    Elgato

    Thunderbolt 2 Dock

    Elgato

    Thunderbolt 2 Dock

    Solid port to connect everything to your MacBook or Ultrabook at once.
    $229
    ×

    Sonnet Technologies

    Thunderbolt 2 Docking Stations

    Sonnet Technologies

    Thunderbolt 2 Docking Stations

    A great Thunderbolt 2 dock with flexible internal storage options.
    $299

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