I Tested 12 Different USB-C Hubs - Here Are My Top 5
So I bought 12 of Amazon's most popular USB-C hubs. And here's the thing...the highest rated ones on Amazon, performed the worst. The best USB-C hub is going to cost a few more dollars that the top rated Amazon ones BUT you're getting so much more functionality out of them!
Here are the Top 5 USB-C Hubs (w/ Amazon affiliate links):
1. UGreen Revodok Pro 7 in 1 - mreh.ca/4bz4ff6
2. Benfei USB-C Hub 7 in 1 - mreh.ca/49ruceA
3. Anker 553 PowerExpand+USB-C 8 in 1 Hub - mreh.ca/4bwjIMQ
4. Anker PowerExpand+ USB-C 7 in 1 Hub - mreh.ca/3HRNiia
5. Zmuipng USB-C Hub Multiport Adapter 9 in 1 Hub - mreh.ca/3HTCb8p
In this video:
0:00 Intro
0:19 #4 and #5
2:57 Top 3
#reviewernotinfluencer #mobilereviewseh #reviews
5. Zmuipng USB-C Hub Multiport Adapter 9 in 1 Hub - mreh.ca/3HTCb8p
-Among the top 5 tested, with significant drawbacks.
-Slowest charging speed, failing to charge a MacBook Pro in Game mode and losing charge despite claims of 100W (effective 87W after hub consumption).
-Overheats at 110°F, the highest in the test group.
-Below-average USB 3 data transfer speeds.
-Redeeming features include two USB-C ports for data and charging, avoiding the "hanging dock look" due to a longer cable.
4. Anker PowerExpand+ USB-C 7 in 1 Hub - mreh.ca/3HRNiia
-Considered the bare minimum standard for USB-C hubs.
-Larger size with 7 ports but below-average USB 3 port performance and inadequate iPhone charging in demanding conditions.
-Main advantage: decent SD and MicroSD card transfer speeds, despite not fully supporting SDXC2 speeds.
3. Anker 553 PowerExpand+USB-C 8 in 1 Hub - mreh.ca/4bwjIMQ
-Superior to the 7-in-1 model in almost every aspect.
-Priced higher at $50, which may deter budget-conscious buyers.
-Slightly slower flow-through charging.
-Highlights include top 3 SD card reading speeds, fast USB 3.0 data transfer, quicker charging through ports, and a metallic cover for a premium feel. Comes with a carrying bag.
2. Benfei USB-C Hub 7 in 1 - mreh.ca/49ruceA
-Surprisingly high performer for its price, making it the best budget option.
-Performs averagely well in most tests except for poor SD card reader speeds.
-Suitable for those needing basic peripheral connectivity without high demands on SD card usage.
1. UGreen Revodok Pro 7 in 1 - mreh.ca/4bz4ff6
-The best overall based on comprehensive criteria.
-Heavier than average but lacks an ethernet port.
-Average SD card reader speeds but excels with a longer connection cable, significantly faster USB A port data transfer speeds (800 mb/s), and 25% faster charging through USB A ports.
-Unique for having a second USB-C port, a rare feature among tested hubs.
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The main reason I like this channel is because he points out the little annoyance stuff that I wouldn’t think about. One of the best product reviews channels out there.
Monty is on fire!!! Best reviews for mobile accessories by far is here. Thanks for sharing!
I've been subbed to you for a while and enjoy+appreciate your videos on phone accessories! I wanted to say that this is a helpful overall comparison video but technically speaking you should distinguish between Megabits (Mb) and Megabytes (MB) to do an accurate comparison of USB or SD card transfer speeds. You say bits throughout the video when the SD cards indicate their bytes figure on them (8 Mb = 1 MB), but your on screen graphics say MB and mb at different times. According to Samsung, your T5 SSD is advertised with a max transfer rate of 540 MB/s which is 4320 Mb/s which is >86% the theoretical bandwidth of USB 3.0/3.1/3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gigabits per second or 5000Mbps). With no bottlenecks, good heat management, and good/lucky flash memory, you might be able to temporarily meet or exceed that spec of 540 MB/s. But probably not on a 5Gbps connection; there will always be overhead/a buffer with a theoretical bandwidth, you'll never be able to meaningfully "access" or "use" the full 5000Mbps. Regardless whether you're using USB C or USB A, the hub you're using will have a theoretical throughput of either 5 Gbps (625 MB/s) or 10 Gbps (1250 MB/s) depending on the advertised specification of the USB hub. For a given product, provided specifications/marketing materials/images should indicate whether the USB ports are 5Gbps (USB 3.0/3.1/3.2 Gen 1) or 10Gbps (Gen 2). Even in the manual for the T5 SSD, Samsung says you must use a USB 3.1 Gen 2 (i.e. 10Gbps) connection for the max data transfer speed. Of the top 4 hubs you linked, only #1 wouldn't cause a bottleneck for the T5 because the UGreen has 10Gbps USB ports. The Anker 553 is 5Gbps, but the 555 which loses an HDMI port is 10Gbps (it looks like a major selling point of the 553 is the dual 4K HDMI ports which likely made them cut costs on the USB). I couldn't find the Zmuipng through your link but given its price, it's probably safe to assume it's 5Gbps. All this to say that it's a given that a 10Gbps USB connection will perform better than a 5Gbps connection if a storage device can utilize the additional bandwidth. Also USB (and HDMI) naming conventions are absolute garbage. A couple disclaimers though: I'm assuming you used the T5 (shown in the video) in your transfer tests, which is why I'm confused how the T5 SSD performed at 400MB/s (500 on the Anker 553?) on "average" hubs but with the UGreen you got 800MB/s, if the max speed of the T5 according to Samsung is 540MB/s? Those numbers don't make sense to me but maybe you were using a different SSD (T7?) or somehow you did a test of the connection somehow and not a transfer test? I also can't speak to the transfer speed of SD cards because I don't know as much about them but it's obvious that most hubs are cheaping out on the SD card reader slots. Thank you for testing that and determining which ones are usable and which aren't. Hope you see this and can address if you have the time. Thanks!
Reviews just at the right time!!! In the market for a new USB-C hub! Thx! Its great to have the truth with no frills!!!
Great content as always. Thanks. I bought myself the Acasis hub last year. Has capacity for an SSD. It’s more expensive than the ones you reviewed, but in my experience, it’s been great. Only complaint is it runs hot.
Thanks for the reviews, I went through this exercise (on paper) weeks ago and picked an Orico 10 in 1 hub. It seemed to tick all my check boxes which were multiple USB A ports, HDMI, power to laptop, etc. Of course no USB C ports aside from power distribution and also you have to buy a strong external adapter to use this correctly as it needs more power than the original laptop adapter - hence I got also a Tunnu 130w adapter to work with it.
Subscribed man. Great review. Thanks for going through so much pain for our sake. 😊
Thanks for your honest reviews I have watching the channel for the channel for a couple years & always use your links for buying the products! Would love to see an HDMI cable review!! 🎉
You didn’t mentioned HDMI performance. Are they all 30khz or 60?
4K30, 1080p60
Wish you reviewed one that you loved, but the Ugreen was better than expected. Also, I like your humor, the fact that you said 'by' accident, that you didn't play loud and annoying music... also, your puppy that looks like a little old man... and that I thought was stuffed it was so chill.
One of the BEST detailed Tec channels out there. Love it!
Many of these USB C hubs only support 4K HDMI at 30 Hz, which is headache inducing lag. I bought the Anker 555 because it has 4K 60 Hz. IMO, the Anker 555 is the more rounded one *if* external monitor is important.
Is it good? I am thinking to buy it
I purchased the anker after reading your comment and comparing it to the ugreen revodok pro 6-1 that I had ordered the day before. I have them both now and it seems the ugreen is better. Here are some tests I ran. Havent done data transfer speeds yet but the anker claims to do 10Gbps as where is ugreen is 5Gbps. The ugreen is also capable of 8K 30Hz. discharge rate: idle no device connected -620mA anker -1350mA ugreen - 870mA connected to hdmi anker -1800mA ugreen -1120mA charging amps with anker quick charger but using stock samsung cable anker 1100ma ugreen 1750mA Resolution refresh rate displayed on 1080P 240Hz monitor anker 120Hz ugreen 144Hz The anker does have an ethernet and SD reader which is nice.
USB C Docking Stations next!
How do these differ from a USBC docking station as there are Dell Universal USB-C docking stations available but like $312 from our corporate help desk which is insane
Great notes and details, very helpful, thanks
Thank you for your wonderful and thorough review! Can the USB-C power cable detach from the "UGreen Revodok Pro 7 in 1"? The included cable appears to be too short for my needs and I was planning on adding a USB-C extension cable to make it longer.
This guys a hero. Doing the work nobody else will. 😂👍 Oh yeah. Best co host ever! What a gentlemen.
realy love how you explained things. is your dog stayed that way all the time while you filming? really cute.
thanks for this review simple und clear!!
ok every time I need a peripheral, I come to this channel. been following this guy for more than a decade now.
Great video! I'd love a similar one on thunderbolt "docks". They are similar, but they add things like HDMI, VGA, and LAN ports. I bought one on Amazon to use with my ThinkPad X3 tablet to add additional IO, but also additional capabilities like HDMI output. But the experience has been flaky at best. It'd be great to find out if there's any decent options out there!
One thing was missing and that was HDMI specs. The hubs vary a lot regarding the maximum frequency they support and if they support AMD Freesync or not.
One thing I wish you had looked at was using hdmi with an iPad/iphone. I went through my older usb c dongles and tried to use the hdmi on my iPad. Only one actually worked. The test was a 10ft hdmi 2.1 cable to a 1080p input while the iPad as getting pass through power.
Same thing here. I found that my charging while using a hub to use my iPad on an external screen was extremely slow. Im thinking of giving the u green one a try
Nice… and yes I can confirm of all the USB-C Hubs in that price range and size / style I used/tested the UGREEN HUBS work the best, fastest and reliable.
Thanks !
Loved this video. I have a hub and am not planning to buy another one, but your video was very instructive. Love your style and delivery. Subbed after seeing this and will check out other videos. Great stuff!!
One could stand to learn much from your editing style. I liked it. Well done video. Only thing I wish I knew is how well they hold up over time ? New vid ? Thx
Would love to see a review of the Dockcase Explorer hubs. It's one of the few hubs I found that has a UHS-II SD card reader, but I found it to be somewhat picky about certain things (cable, computer).
I think you got MB/s (pronounced "megabytes") and Mb/s (pronounced "megabits") mixed up in this video. 800 Mb/s is very very slow for an SSD
That make sense. Usb 3 is incapable to perform that amount of MB.
Another tech blogger who does not differ between megabits and megabytes.
When complaining to your local ISP, this becomes a crucial difference. 😅 8 bits = 1 Byte
@@RustySeatbeltAnother annoyance are specs where they use 1000 instead of 1024
Your Ugreen link has a funny typo - Ungreen. It confuses things a little, but made me laugh. Great presentation!
Thanks for the review, wondering if you've tested any UNI products? I have their USB-C card reader and I can read 2 SD cards at once. I also have both of the mini dock and full-size Doc although I don't use those as often.
I hope the ugreen is true to all its usb hub variants as i ended up ordering the 5 in 1. I only plan to use it on my phone. Thanks for the reviews. Witty.
Great realistic Tips, Tipping for Day to Day use with a Sense of Humour 😅😅😅
Hi, first of all thank you! Which would be the best hub, for almost permanent connection of macbook to external screen hdmi, 2 usb a sockets, 2 usbc sockets, ethernet and a sound socket for connection to external speakers. thanks so much, really enjoying your prof and clear reviews!
Best Hub I’ve ever used is the one built into my monitor the LG DuelUp 28MQ780-B but also it doesn’t have SD card readers however using a good reader through the usb 3.0 or C ports gives you same speeds as if directly connected to my MacBook
I appreciate this channel because of his unbiased insight and he points out the little annoyance stuff that I wouldn’t think about. Best product reviews channels out there.
Thanks for this. I wanna order the Ugreen 7/1 but there's a little confusion because therey have so many Pro models. I clicked the link you provide but still not sure which is which. Could you point me to the axact one you reviewed?
There you are!!! Duuuude. Been forever.
Entertaining. Toyota Camry never won any awards for performance or style but over time it ended up being one of the most reliable cars ever. Some of the data speeds you mention may be a mixed bag and thankfully you pointed out the good, bad and ugly with them. For those looking to purchase there may be one to suit. Big thanks for the time you took to help those who have no clue. (me included).
You should review the DockCase USB hub. One of the best usb hub with a mix of usb3/c and dual monitor (hdmi/displayport) support
Thank you for your honest opinion & for explaining there positions in a reasonable time
While looking through amazon i found the ugreen revodok pro 211 and anker 556, decided to buy the anker becaude it has a seperate cable and i dont need the card readers. Both seam to be a good mix between a giant thunderbolt dock and a small usb hub.
since you already have all those usb hub, can you test it for "iphone 15 pro camera rig's usb hub" ? so using that hub as intermediary to iphone 15 pro to charge, record to external ssd (following apple recommended speed), mic recorder..
What micro card reader is best?
on the ugreen can i plug in 2 c ssd drives and transfer data between the 2 and or the pc? Thank you great video.
That is the most obedient dog I have seen.
Would have been nice to see a usb-c hub that supports higher refresh rates (like 1080p or 1440p 144hz) over hdmi in addition to some usb ports
the dog's in love with you bro
not comprehensive review, didnt mention the hdmi spec of the hubs, only focused on transfer speeds. The Ugreen hub recommended here only supports 4k30hz aka ancient hdmi 1.4, whereas anker supports 4k60hz, hdmi 2.0 which hub is better depends on your requirements honestly.
Yep this is completely ignoring a lot of hubs or "docks" which can do dual monitors, full speed charging, Thunderbolt etc (but cost 2-5x). The hubs he's chosen are all in a narrow price range so they are just quite similar to one another. If you are looking for something for a home office then these are worth looking at.
Is there a UGreen with 3-4 USB-A ports? I got a new Dell laptop from work that has 3 USBC ports be of which has to be used for the monitor and I assume power delivery at the same time. I have USBA mouse, keyboard, headset type dongles in the side of my Lenovo right now. As long as it can pass DisplayPort over USBC and charge the laptop and plug in my USBA devices I should be golden as I can’t use SD/MicroSD cards or for that matter USB thumb drives on corporate laptop so speed thing not an issue
When travelling, THE most important task is backing up camera SD cards to an SSD. Which makes the 4 accessories I need: 1. Decent USB hub, 2. SD card reader, 3. SSD drive, and 4. Powerbank. Thanks for the warning about SD readers - seems a merger of items 1 and 2 is NOT a good idea. Can you suggest a better reader?
Kingston MobileLite Plus USB 3.2 microSDHC/SDXC UHS-II Card Reader This is one of the few card reader that can do 150-200 MB/s reads with Samsung/Sandisk. Those use non compliant UHS-I spec of 104MB/s limit. Can also fully read UHS-II cards too
Is the Ugreen fully compatible with M1 iPad Pro? Had a lot of issues with adapters not working well with the iPad Pro (eg no HDMI output, or difficulty with multiple things being connected simultaneously not working eg the HDMI stops working once I add on PD)
Thanks for mentioning ipad a lot I feel like a lot of creators don’t since there hasn’t been a new one in a while. Charjen has a hub with uhs 2 speeds finally. I just want a nvme hub enclosure with uhs 2 speeds but haven’t found one.
Can you recommend a hub or solution that has a Thunderbolt 2 input /output (used with my G Technology 4TB external drive) and SD card input.that works with high speed SD cards..(my 2013 iMac has built in ports for these connectors and I am looking at buying a M3 iMac.
I've been using a small UNI hub on my desk and out with my laptop for years and it has been incredibly reliable. Buy it!
Great review
I don’t need a hub, but I can’t stop watching your videos. In Monty we trust! 🦅🦅
Different criteria for me, Wanted to connect to my KVM (Displayport-version) and to the LAN and to Power Delivery so the potential rivals are very limited. As there are only a few DP-Versions things like SD-card speed are neglegable, only question do they work.
I would agree with you on ugreen, I have the UGREEN Revodok 5 in 1 USB C Hub; slim line, portable, no sd card slot though... I've to find out the best usb c sd card reader....
I use those Sony SD cards - what card reader do you recommend?
Ethernet port with LINK LIGHTS is important! What do you think about the Baseus 8-in-1
great video sir but its quite annoying that all of them have short cables what i want is detachable cable so i can swap it with 2m length cable when i use an extension cable its seems like some of the ports dont work ex: i pluged a webcam on the usb port, its didn’t work
do you have any opinions on hubs that plug directly into the end of a tablet, ie, no cable? I feel like they're tidier but perhaps you didn't like or review them for a particular reason? Cheers
your dog is cute haha hes listening to you while youre vlogging :D
Waiting to see which one would take the first place, just to find out that it’s exactly the one I ordered 5 days ago. Ummm that feeling!
I suppose you can use a USB A micro sd adapter? Maybe that would help with the transfer speeds?
Great reviews. You've saved me a bunch of time. One nit-pick however - the ability to power/charge the MacBook through the hub is almost unnecessary. My MacBooks all have MagSafe charging and for those without MagSafe, I charge through the on-board USB-C port. And if you have a Hub, you likely won't use the other on-board USB-C for data (only for charging). So, it's almost a negative that the hubs offer Power Delivery - I will never use it.
Not going to kid you but you're so good at how you present your reviews. I look forward to these reviews and that dog always looks locked in on you. You got the charisma and make it enjoyable. Keep doing what you do and I will keep watching them.
Did you measure speeds in Megabits or Megabytes? The voice over says bits but the text on the video says bytes (MB)?
My thoughts exactly, I suppose Megabytes for SD card because that's standard, and Megabits for the rest because the Samsung T5 maxes out at 500MB rw (couldn't be 800, then)
Damn - wish I thought to check your channel before buying a hub
What I do for those cables is use 90 Degrees C-C adapters that support 100W+ charging. makes it look much sleeker
i spent almost 1-3 days to find the best hub bro, can you do the NVMe. M.2 please ! LOL
Does the ugreen one have a speaker static when doing a transfer from laptop to external storage ?
Please review the best mini dac dongle for connecting good headphones USB C iphone
well done sir!
hi im from philippines im looking for usb c hubs, i would like to ask you if the u green can connect from your macbook to gaming monitor? or can i transfer files from sony zv e 10 to macbook.. hope you can read this. thank you sir
If you have all these hubs, you could make a video for the ones who don’t want to use a laptop. We are a lot of photographers who want to travel light and need to transfer photos from a sd card reader to a little ssd hard drive all without the need of a laptop, only an iPhone and a power pack.
If I have two display port to USB C type cables, will my two external monitors be able to work on the #1 pick?
All the hubs/ docks are below average and tend to fail after while if u use ethernet and hdmi simultaneously. Even large expensive docks like dell 150-300€ have the same problem. Have you tested any hub with ethernet/hdmi and would you recommend any?
Would you be able to check which of these work with Chromecast with Google TV ? At least ethernet and usb ( i think unfortunately Chromecast with google tv only works with FAT32 ... kinda sux even for better full HD rips .. even worse for the 4K version :D ) Oh yeah - the original charger for Chromecasr with google TV only outputs 7,5W, most likely wont work if a hub takes its share .. gotta get a more powerful PD charger.
That puppy is just ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Can you do a review for a hub for samsung dex. A hub which has a Usb-C hub with charging and passthrough for usb-c monitor. For example the j5create jcd401, which is a usb4 hub.
Very entertaining video. Made a boring tedious subject fun.
Wow those things suck. I have had several as well that do not preform as advertised. Hard to find food peripherals nowadays, thanks for doing the hard work to research for us!
I have collected a nice collection of USB-C hubs after buying a new (Lenono Ideapad Slim) laptop. But I haven’t found one with an UHS-II SD card reader. I use a Lexar (like you do) card reader for that. And I found just one, Orico, USB-C hub that had a 2.5 Gbps ethernet connection. But it almost square form and the ethernet port is next to the short stiff cable that connects to the laptop. So that design sucks. The quest for the ultimate USB-C hub continues!
Would you possibly do a review ontge bodyguardz apex screen protector
That #1 product has different length cable in different photos on Amazon Australia . Some it looks Long some not
What's the little orange and white thing on the fireplace?
I needed this! I have an Apple superdrive to burn some old cd’s and I can’t find anything sub $300 to power it. Also need the card reader. FRUSTRATING!
I bought the Ugreen based on your review, does not work with my iPhone 15 Pro Max. I noticed another user on amazon who reviewed the product has exact issue. Connect and disconnect (cycles) you can see it connecting and disconnecting in the Dynamic Island. I'll return as
I need a hub that can pass through 4k 120Hz (or better), power the MacBook Pro (M1 15" or later), has a network cable hub (CAT5 or better), and I can't find them anywhere. It's too much data throughput for one cable, apparently.
Does anyone know if the flow-through charging is necessary to power the adapters? Or can I use them by just plugging them in to my laptop?
I am looking for a hub with Ethernet, 100 W power and lots of UBS-C to add back up drives. Any recommendation?
Favorite victory type for Civ 6?
Why do people who review USB-C hubs have huge arms
can the second usb c port be use for a second screen on the number one pick
Which one of these supports carplay and charging at same time? I can’t find one that works for both
Maybe because I am a long time mac person but I have been using USBC for so long that I am not starting to get into the problem where I need more USB-C ports as I have very little USB-A anymore... but there are so few if any UBB-C hubs. Like you found, you may get a port if you are lucky. I have had to use USB-C to USB-A converters to plug my USB-C stuff into my hubs... 😡 I think it's about time to start making hubs with MORE type C ports..
You seem to have missed my favorite, which ticks off just about every box for me. It is more than worth the price, when you see what it does and compare its build quality. DOCKCASE Visual Smart USB C Hub (10-in-1) with 4K@60Hz HDMI and DP, Gigabit Ethernet, 1 USB-C and 3 USB-A Ports, 100w PD Power Delivery, UHS-II TF/SD Card Slot
I buy one of these almost every year. Always something failing on them. and with a macbook for work they’re basically essential as they don’t have enough ports. Latest one I just have my webcam constantly just stop working unless I unplug/replug it. Which isn’t too bad except its taped under my desk to be hidden..
Thank you so much
What’s the best usb hub with Ethernet? Thanks.