Best Black Friday Thunderbolt dock deals 2025: Nov 28

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Best Black Friday Thunderbolt dock deals 2025: Nov 28

At-a-glance

Top Black Friday Thunderbolt dock picks:

Black Friday deals on laptop docking stations and Thunderbolt docks are here, and I’m on the hunt for the best docking station sales for the 2025 holiday season. Welcome to Black Friday, which will continue on to Cyber Monday.

I’ve tracked the best laptop docking-station sales for the past several years. For 2025, I’d expect to see predominantly Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 (the generic equivalent) docks to be on sale this holiday season, since Thunderbolt 5 docks are generally aligned with gaming PCs.

I’ve listed each dock deal below, together with an explanation of why I picked them. Although I check multiple retailers and e-tailers, the vast majority of the top deals in years past have been on Amazon. Feel free to review the deals below, or else review my list of the best Thunderbolt docks and check to see how those prices have been affected for Black Friday sales. I’ve attached a FAQ at the end of this page with additional buying advice.

How I chose these deals

I’ve authored and our list of the best Thunderbolt docks for several years now, personally testing many docks myself. My colleagues at Macworld have done the same. I use my own knowledge of what the MSRP should be for each dock, the quality of the brand and the dock (especially if we’ve tested it or a related dock) as well as its capabilities as guidance for my recommended deals. This year, I made the decision this year to phase out older Thunderbolt 3 docks, as the functionally equivalent Thunderbolt 4 docking stations provide a better experience.

Deals checked and updated on Nov. 28 at 9:14 AM PT.

Best Black Friday Thunderbolt dock deals

I think the Ugreen Thunderbolt 4 dock offers the best deal. Our sister site TechAdvisor reviewed the Ugreen 8-in-1 dock we recommend, and assigned it four out of five stars. I reviewed the slightly larger Ugreen Revodok Max 213 myself. I’ll let those reviews speak for what Ugreen’s docks do well. (The 8-in-1 dock was priced at a hair less, or $160, for Amazon’s Prime Day.)

Price matters, and Amazon and Kensington raised the price of the SD5000T5 partway though Black Friday. Do that, and your ranking in our deals roundup will fall. Otherwise, Kensington’s SD5000T5 suffered a bit as the first Thunderbolt 5 dock I looked at, and you’re still saving close to $200 alone on this excellent deal. Note that this dock supports up to three displays via three Thunderbolt 4 ports, with legacy USB-A ports for keyboards and mice. I’d recommend using one of those high-speed TB4 ports as an interface for an external SSD, personally.

The other Thunderbolt 5 deal, the CalDigit E5, is a bit more geared toward Mac users but Windows laptop owners will find value there as well. CalDigit’s TS4 is also pretty pricy, but it earned top marks from our sister site, TechAdvisor. This is usually one of those docks everyone wants to buy, and it’s on a decent sale.

If you’re considering other docks on this deals list, here’s a bit more context for those.

I’ve reviewed OWC’s Thunderbolt Go dock, and it earned four out of five stars. It’s $100 off MSRP. OWC’s Thunderbolt 4 dock also performed quite well in TA’s review, too. I also reviewed the Anker 778 and loved it — my only criticism was that it was overpriced. Grab this holiday sale and make sure you click the coupon box!

A DisplayLink dock or USB-C hub are other alternatives, working equally well with Thunderbolt ports or older laptops with a generic USB-C port instead. One, listed above, is Plugable’s DisplayLink docking station which works on a generic USB-C port but does require a software driver. The other is Anker’s Anker Prime Docking Station is 40% off or $161.49 on Amazon, but that’s a USB-C docking station that uses a 10Gbps connection.

Don’t forget accessories!

More and more docking stations are choosing to provide Thunderbolt outputs, rather than specific display ports. What this means is that you’ll need to know something about the displays you’re plugging them into. If you own a monitor with a USB-C input, you’ll probably just need a basic USB-C cable to connect to it.

If your display has an HDMI or DisplayLink input, you’ll need a cable that with a USB-C (Thunderbolt) connection on one end, and either a DisplayPort or HDMI connection at the other. (Check your monitor to be sure.) DisplayPort is slightly preferred here, but it honestly shouldn’t matter. Match the speed of your cable to the type of dock that you have, however. I’ve listed what you’ll want to buy, below.

Ignore any nonsense about Macbook-only cables; these will work just fine on Windows PCs.

Black Friday: The best PC deals around

Check out our roundups for the best PC-related deals in a wide variety of categories!

  • LIVE real-time Black Friday deals, picked by PCWorld’s experts
  • Best Amazon Black Friday tech deals
  • Best Buy’s best Black Friday tech deals
  • Best Black Friday laptop deals
  • Best Black Friday Chromebook deals
  • Best Black Friday mini PC deals
  • Best Black Friday desktop computer deals
  • Best Black Friday monitor deals
  • Best Black Friday USB flash drive deals
  • Best Black Friday SSD and storage deals
  • Best Black Friday power bank deals
  • Best Black Friday office chair and desk deals
  • Best Black Friday VPN deals

FAQ

1.

When is Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

Officially, this year’s Black Friday takes place on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. Cyber Monday is the following Monday, or Dec. 1, 2025. Amazon’s Black Week kicks off Nov. 20.

2.

What should you pay for a Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal on a Thunderbolt dock?

Premium Thunderbolt docks usually retail for about $220 to $270 or so, depending upon the features. I usually hope for $200 or less, but we’ll see.

Though Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 (and USB3 and USB4) docks all include the same basic feature set, it’s likely that retailers and e-tailers have sold through their old Thunderbolt 3 hardware. (If this confuses you, please see our list of the best Thunderbolt docks and the explanation for the different features.) This probably leaves Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 as the default choice.

I recommend one or two deals on Thunderbolt 5 docking stations, but Thunderbolt 5 is a premium platform with little need for you to buy it right now unless you want to future-proof your setup. (Ironically, some of the TB5 dock deals are better than I expected, making this a viable strategy!) Still, based on my reporting, none of the 2026 mobile processor platforms will integrate Thunderbolt 5 directly. That makes Thunderbolt 4 the preferred choice.

3.

When do Black Friday deals on Thunderbolt docks begin?

Black Friday begun weeks early at several stores. Retailers haven’t been shy about using early sales to unload inventory before the Black Friday craziness begins.

Over the years, I’ve found that certain retailers simply outdo others in specific product categories. I routinely search sites like Newegg, B&H, Target, and Walmart, but Amazon typically has the best collection of deals on docking stations of all stripes, including Thunderbolt docks.

4.

I have a USB-C port on my laptop. How do I know what to use with it?

Consult your laptop’s manual. A Thunderbolt port may be labeled with a small lightning-bolt logo, but that icon can sometimes be used to signal that the port can be used for charging, too. If nothing else, a USB-C dongle/hub will always work with a USB-C port.

5.

I still don’t understand the difference between USB-C and Thunderbolt. How does it all work?

USB ports have been around for years. USB-C (the oval-shaped port) replaced USB-A (the rectangular port) because USB-C was more versatile, with higher speeds and a reversible port connector. USB-C ports can be rated for either 5Gbps or 10Gbps, just like a normal USB-A port. But some USB-C ports connect to a Thunderbolt chip inside your laptop, and this allows the port to run at a higher 40Gbps speed. Physically, the connector looks exactly the same. It’s just what it can do that’s different.

Thunderbolt 5 is slowly entering the market, but with only one or two docks and a tiny number of laptops right now. I thought you wouldn’t see any major sales on Thunderbolt 5 docks this holiday season, but I’ve been since proven wrong!

6.

What’s the difference between a USB-C hub and a Thunderbolt dock?

Speed and features. A USB-C hub connects to a single 4K (or 1080p) display and provides a mix of ports: USB-A, SD card slots, and so on. You can usually plug your laptop’s USB-C power cable (if it uses one) right into it.

A Thunderbolt dock supplies even more bandwidth for more ports. There are two key differences: It has enough bandwidth to drive a pair of 4K displays, and many docks come with their own power supply that can charge your laptop as well as your phone. All that occurs via the Thunderbolt cable that connects your laptop to the dock.

7.

My laptop has USB 4, not Thunderbolt. Can I use a Thunderbolt dock?

Yes and no. Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and USB 4 all run at 40Gbps across the same connector. USB 4 is identical to Thunderbolt 4. But if your laptop runs USB 4, it won’t “understand” Thunderbolt 3 protocols. USB 4 laptops, which are still rare, have AMD Ryzen chips inside.

8.

Is Thunderbolt 4 better than Thunderbolt 3?

Physically, they use the same USB-C cable. Functionally, they’re almost the same, and run at the same 40Gbps throughput. Thunderbolt 4 was released almost as a patch to Thunderbolt 3, ensuring that everything worked properly. If your laptop has Thunderbolt, you should be able to buy either a Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 dock without any problems.

Since Thunderbolt 3 is being phased out, you’ll probably find more discounts on the older Thunderbolt 3 hardware. (For all the gory details, see my roundup of the best Thunderbolt docks.)

9.

I own a desktop PC. Do I need a Thunderbolt dock?

Possibly. Historically, the back of a desktop has been chock-full of I/O ports, especially DIY models that you build yourself. Desktops usually have extra room for internal SSDs, SD cards, and so on. However, if your desktop lacks these things, and if it includes an external Thunderbolt port, you can always add these additional components externally via Thunderbolt.

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