5 best reasons to use a docking station with your laptop (2024)

Looking at a lot of the best laptops on the market today, generous port selection beyond Thunderbolt/USB-C has been sacrificed in the name of mobility. Even if your laptop still holds onto USB-A, HDMI, or an SD card reader, it might not have enough native ports to connect all of your favorite accessories.

This is where a docking station can truly shine. It's a piece of hardware I recommend to just about anyone primarily using a laptop, especially if it's for a work-from-home situation. Why, you ask, does a laptop docking station make such a big difference? Here are the top five reasons you should add one to your laptop.

5 Streamlined cable management

One cable to connect them all

Having a bunch of cables connected to your laptop's ports makes for a messy setup. Unless you're using a gaming laptop where the main ports are located along the back edge, you'll likely have cables coming out the sides, getting in the way of your other devices and accessories. Having cables draped across your desktop is not ideal, but a dock can solve the issue.

With a laptop docking station, you usually have just one cable connected to your laptop. In my case, I use my laptop sitting in front of me connected to a dock at the back of my desk. The dock is the main connection point for my webcam, monitor, SD card readers, and mouse, with the cables running down behind my desk and out of sight. It keeps my desktop uncluttered ... just don't look behind it.

4 Multi-monitor support

Takes the guesswork out of multiple displays

While most laptops still have some form of native external display support — usually an HDMI or Thunderbolt/USB-C port — adding more than one external monitor can be a pain if not completely impossible when you're short on connectivity.

The best laptop docking stations allow you to connect multiple displays with relative ease, at least when you're connected to a Windows PC. External monitor support on macOS is still a mixed bag.

A best-case scenario when connected to a powerful dock will have your laptop running three external displays from HDMI, DisplayPort, or Thunderbolt/USB-C, allowing you to better multitask. Once you get used to using a multiscreen setup, it's very hard to go back to just one display.

3 Constant power

Keep your laptop charged

One docking station benefit that often goes unnoticed involves the ability to charge your laptop while it's connected. For example, the CalDigit TS4 that I use every day provides up to 98W of charging power back to any connected laptop. Unless you're connecting a power-hungry gaming laptop or workstation, that should be enough to keep your laptop's battery topped up at all times.

On top of charging the host laptop, many docks offer charging capabilities through its secondary USB-C and USB-A ports. You won't get the same high-power charging as the host connection, but it's usually enough to top up a phone, wireless mouse, headset, or e-reader.

This does mean that most docking stations come with a separate power supply to provide enough power. This does add some bulk behind your desk, but we're now seeing some docking stations — like the OWC Thunderbolt Go — incorporate the PSU for a more streamlined package.

2 Multi-device convenience

Plug-and-play with most modern laptops

This benefit won't impact everyone, but those who often switch between laptops will quickly find out how useful a docking station can be. Due to wide compatibility with most laptops, docking stations make it very easy to switch between devices. In most cases, you can simply plug in and have everything work across platforms. For example, our favorite docking station for most people, the Kensingson SD5780T, works across Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, USB4, and USB-C devices; many other docks offer similar compatibility.

My line of work involves testing many different laptops, sometimes within the same day. Being able to disconnect one cable and plug it into another laptop — with all my accessories and monitors already set up to go — is a huge boon to productivity. Those who often collaborate or use different laptops for work and for personal use can also benefit.

Even if you aren't in an office setting, having a permanent desktop setup prepared with external monitor and accessories ready to go for the family's laptops is super convenient.

1 Ports, ports, ports

Can you ever have enough?

This benefit is really a no-brainer, but many people still underestimate how much connectivity can improve with the right docking station. I hate using dongles and adapters unless absolutely necessary — like when I'm traveling — but my workflow requires more ports than most modern laptops have to offer.

The beauty of the docking station market is that there are plenty of options with slightly different port arrangements, allowing you to get pretty much exactly what you need. For example, some docks come with HDMI video connections, while others use DisplayPort. Some docks have more USB-A than USB-C, while others add SD and microSD card readers. Or, in the case of the CalDigit TS4, you can get pretty much everything you'll need all in one great Thunderbolt dock.

Do you have a laptop docking station?

A laptop docking station is one of the first things I recommend to anyone working from home, especially when they begin to add external monitors, keyboards, mice, webcams, and external storage. And even if work isn't involved, laptop users can essentially turn their mobile device into a desktop PC without a mess of cables running everywhere.

There are countless docking stations on the market, and you need to be careful that you buy something compatible with your laptop. Most modern devices now ship with Thunderbolt 4/USB4 or at least USB-C, and you should be able to find a suitable dock that works with those connections.