Early Black Friday sales have already begun at several retailers, though sales should ramp up as Black Friday nears. 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.

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 may 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. None of the 2026 mobile processor platforms will integrate Thunderbolt 5 directly, favoring Thunderbolt 4 instead.

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 a few docks and even fewer models of laptops that can support it.

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.

It’s easiest to think of it as a branding issue. Laptops with Intel chips inside include Thunderbolt — in this case, most likely Thunderbolt 4. But Intel won’t certify laptops that don’t have one of its chips inside, so that means a laptop with an AMD Ryzen chip inside includes the generic equivalent, or USB4. Yes, it’s kind of dumb.

There’s a small catch. Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and USB4 all run at 40Gbps across the same connector. USB4 is identical to Thunderbolt 4. But if your laptop runs USB4, it won’t “understand” Thunderbolt 3 protocols. But since Thunderbolt 4 has largely exited the market, it’s not really something to worry about.

Slightly. Physically, they use the same USB-C cable. Functionally, they’re almost the same, and run at the same 40Gbps throughput. However, 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. (For all the gory details, see my roundup of the best Thunderbolt docks and the explanation.)