CalDigit’s TS3 Plus is the best Thunderbolt 3 dock for most people because it offers more USB-A ports than almost all of the competition and provides USB-C ports and an SD card slot without sacrificing other important inputs. It’s also one of the most compact models available, so it takes up less room on your desk—especially if you stand it on its end, an option you don’t get with most docks. And the 85 watts of power it can send to a connected laptop means it’s capable of charging even a 15-inch MacBook Pro at full speed, or a 16-inch MacBook Pro at close to that. The TS3 Plus is more expensive than some other docks we tested, but if you truly need a Thunderbolt 3 dock rather than a USB-C one, this model makes the fewest compromises.

The back of the CalDigit dock has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, as well as four USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, Gigabit Ethernet, S/PDIF audio out, and a DisplayPort connector.

The front of the CalDigit dock has (from right) one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, audio-in, audio-out, and an SD card slot. Photo: Michael Murtaugh

The back of the CalDigit dock has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, as well as four USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, Gigabit Ethernet, S/PDIF audio out, and a DisplayPort connector.

The front of the CalDigit dock has (from right) one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, audio-in, audio-out, and an SD card slot. Photo: Michael Murtaugh 1 of 2

The TS3 Plus provides two Thunderbolt 3 ports, five traditional USB (USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A) ports, an SD card slot, DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet, separate audio-in and -out jacks, S/PDIF digital audio, and two USB-C ports, one of which (the one on the back) supports the faster USB 3.2 Gen 2 transfer speeds.

In our USB-A testing with Samsung’s Portable SSD T3, we measured average read speeds of 340 MB/s and write speeds of 264 MB/s on four of the five ports. Those speeds are about 20 to 30 percent slower than the results we got when we plugged the drive into the Mac directly. However, the other docks we tested provided similar results—our test drive exhibited similarly slower speeds with every dock. The fifth port (the lowest one on the back of the CalDigit dock) produced faster speeds of 422.7 MB/s read and 383 MB/s write. The USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 read and write speeds were almost identical to those of the slower four USB-A ports, while the Gen 2 port was in line with the faster USB-A port.

We also measured transfer speed with SanDisk’s Extreme 900 Portable SSD, which CalDigit provided and which we returned after testing. SanDisk advertises this drive as supporting read and write speeds up to 850 MB/s (compared with a max of 450 MB/s for the Samsung T3 drive). USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports can’t take advantage of this additional speed because they max out at 5 gigabits (or 625 megabytes) per second, but 10-gigabit USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports can. We found that USB-A speeds were slightly faster with the SanDisk drive, hitting an average read speed of 347 MB/s and a write speed of 309.7 MB/s, though that bottom USB-A port was once again noticeably faster, measuring 419.3 MB/s and 373.7 MB/s read and write, respectively. The more striking difference was between the two USB-C ports: The slower port, on the front of the dock, averaged 351 MB/s read and 313.3 MB/s write, whereas the rear (Gen 2) port was about twice as fast, with read speeds of 736.3 MB/s and write speeds of 605.7 MB/s. We saw even faster speeds when we plugged the SanDisk drive into the dock’s open Thunderbolt 3 port using the drive’s included USB-C cable: 829.7 MB/s read and 734.3 MB/s write. All this is to say that the TS3 Plus supports fast transfer speeds when paired with the right hardware.

The TS3 Plus is one of the most compact docks available, so it takes up less room on your desk—especially if you stand it on its end.

In our tests using LaCie’s Bolt 3, a Thunderbolt 3 drive, the TS3 Plus’s Thunderbolt 3 read and write speeds were many times faster than its USB results, but—as with all the docks—still a bit slower than when the test drive was connected directly to the computer via Thunderbolt, and slower than the maximum speed LaCie advertises. With the drive hooked up directly to our Mac’s Thunderbolt 3 port, read speeds averaged 2,229 MB/s (17.83 Gbps); with the drive connected through the TS3 Plus, they were close, at 2,173 MB/s (17.39 Gbps). Write speeds saw a much bigger drop-off, going from 953.3 MB/s (7.63 Gbps) via direct connection down to 704.7 MB/s (5.64 Gbps) through the dock. Again, these numbers are comparable with our test results across the rest of the docks, and these figures still indicate blazing-fast speeds next to those of most connection types. However, you shouldn’t buy this dock (or any dock, for that matter) expecting to see the same performance as you’d get with a direct connection between your computer and the fastest Thunderbolt 3 drives.

The TS3 Plus’s SD-card transfer speeds were on a par with those of every other SD-equipped dock we’ve tested: Read speeds averaged 88.7 MB/s, and write speeds averaged 77 MB/s. That’s slower than what we measured with a standalone card reader for our guide to the best SD cards, but it’s still respectable.

Four of the CalDigit dock’s USB-A ports provide 7.5-watt charging each (1.5 amps at 5 volts), which is slower than what you can get from a good standalone USB charger but comparable to the results from other Thunderbolt docks. The fifth port—the one closest to the end of the dock—provides slower, 2.5-watt charging (0.5 amp at 5 volts), making it better suited for transferring data than for charging phones or tablets. (Unfortunately, the dock has no label to tell you that port provides less power than the others.) Both USB-C ports also support only 2.5-watt charging.

Most Thunderbolt 3 docks, including this one, use DisplayPort for video output. We measured a proper 60-hertz refresh rate when the dock was connected to a 4K DisplayPort monitor.

Almost every other Thunderbolt dock we tested is long and flat, designed to lie horizontally on your desk. The TS3 Plus, on the other hand, can stand vertically or sit horizontally. It measures 5.2 by 3.9 by 1.6 inches, so when it’s standing on its shortest edge, it takes up only about 6.25 square inches of desk space, compared with the 26.6 square inches required for the 8.43-by-3.15-inch CalDigit USB-C Pro Dock, our budget pick.

Reviews of the TS3 Plus have been very positive, matching our findings. “Of all the Thunderbolt 3 docks I’ve tested so far, CalDigit’s TS3 Plus is my new favorite,” writes Eric Slivka of MacRumors. In another review, 9to5Mac’s Jeff Benjamin writes, “[T]he TS3 Plus’ diminutive design, and 15-ports in total, make CalDigit’s latest dock a very compelling option for Mac users.” And Mike Wuerthele of AppleInsider calls it “a superb choice.”

Cale Hunt, who tested the TS3 Plus with a PC for Windows Central, also praises its performance and versatility: “With 15 ports, great performance, and a small footprint, the TS3 Plus is about the best Thunderbolt 3 dock you can buy today.”