The Best MacBook Accessories of 2025

This year, be sure to upgrade your MacBook and iPad accessory game with these awesome gadgets and tech. Docks, risers, and stands can improve your laptop experience by a long shot, and it may be worth it to you to invest in some of these products now to avoid a pain in the neck later!

Thunderbolt 4 Docks

The latest generation of Macs offers Thunderbolt 4 ports with blazing fast 40 gigabits per second transfer speeds, faster than many hard drives can read or write! These ports are perfect for hubs and docks. With a good dock, you can place your laptop on your desk, then hook up your monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, printer, and whatever else you want, all with a single cable plug. Banish all the cable clutter and make disconnecting from your desk a breeze!

CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Hub ($379.99)

If you want the best Thunderbolt 4 dock on the market, this is it. Construction is robust, electronics are silent and effective, and it offers the most ports of any hub we tested. On top of its two Thunderbolt 4, three USB-C, five USB-A (all at 10 Gb/s), a Display port, SD, and Micro-SD card readers, it’s alone in offering a 2.5 GbE Ethernet port. Truly, this is the dock to unleash the power of your Thunderbolt 4 port.

CalDigit Element Hub ($249.99)

This is the cheapest Thunderbolt 4 hub we tested, but it’s still a solidly built little device that looks great as it moves all the ugly peripheral cables out of sight. If you don’t need an Ethernet port but still want to take advantage of the Thunderbolt 4’s awesome speeds, then this is your best choice.

Also Tested:

Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Mercury ($322.31) – Beautiful minimalist design and RGB lighting.
Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt™ 4 ($369.99) – Better cable management and look than the CalDigit options.
Belkin Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock ($399.99) - Offers two HDMI ports

USB Hubs and Docks

If you’d like to spend less, then consider using a USB-C dock instead of Thunderbolt. These won’t break the bank, will work with more computers, and come with a wider range of options.

Twelve South StayGo ($84.99)

This sturdy little device expands a single USB-C port into an Ethernet port, HDMI monitor port, SD and Micro-SD card-readers, and three USB-A ports at 5 Gb/s, all in a form-factor that will work just as well on your desk as at a hotel. With a slightly longer cable, you can still use it to move your cable clutter off your desk, but it’s also lightweight and doesn’t need its own power supply, making it a great fit for your carry-on.

Rosonway 10 Port USB 3.1 Hub ($47.99)

You can find a hundred similar items on Amazon but this is the one to get. The build quality is impressive, the lights aren’t too bright, the internal electronics actually hold up to robust use, and the 10Gb/s transfer speeds work as advertised

Aten 2-Port USB-C Gen 1 Dock Switch with Power Pass-Through ($242.80)

If you own both a laptop and a desktop, then it can be frustrating to get into what we call a “swivel-chair” workflow, where you’re constantly rotating between your two keyboards. To fix this, try the Aten 2-Port Switch, which plugs your mouse, keyboard, printer, etc. (but not monitor) into both computers at the same time, and then with the press of a button, you can swap from one computer to the other.

Cable Matters 201048-BLK USB C Hub ($42.99)

If you’re looking to spend the minimum but don’t want to sacrifice build quality, this little hub is easy to use, cheap, and built to last. It may not support the speeds of the (much) more expensive options listed above, and its cable may be too short to move the clutter out of sight, but it will net your laptop two more USB-A ports, power-passthrough, and Ethernet.

Laptop Risers

Lifting your laptop up off the desk is more important than it may sound at first. Looking down at your screen all the time can be a literal pain in the neck! A good riser also lines the laptop screen up with a second monitor for an aesthetically pleasing and efficient workspace.

HumanCentric Laptop Riser ($79.99)

The real wood surface and aluminum base of this riser wins our award for most beautiful of the laptop risers. It looks great on your desk even when the laptop is absent and could easily serve as a book holder or magazine stand. Why buy an awkwardly shaped piece of aluminum when you could have a lovely little lectern for your laptop?

ObVus Minder Laptop Tower Stand ($69.99)

If you’re looking for maximum height, this is the riser for you. The obVus Minder offers sturdy support with plenty of flexibility to customize exactly the position you want, with easily the highest heights of any riser we tested.

Rain Design M-Bar Pro+ ($56.09)

Of the dozens of laptop risers I tested, this is the one I actually use. Its minimal design looks great, it folds up to fit in a satchel or purse, and its limited surface area allows the laptop to cool effectively

iPad Stands

If you’re building the perfect home desk setup for your new MacBook, you should consider a dock or stand for your iPad too! You can use your iPad as a second monitor with Sidecar, or you can take control of your iPad with your Mac’s keyboard and mouse using Universal Control.

Kensington StudioDock ($375.60)

The Kensington Studio Dock is way more than a stand: it securely holds and charges your iPad (while wirelessly charging your phone and AirPods) and expands the ports on your iPad for Ethernet, USB, and an SD card reader! Truly this is the Bentley of iPad stands.

Twelve South HoverBar Duo ($59.99)

The HoverBar Duo has won many awards as an iPad stand, and it’s easy to see why. Your iPad clips in and out easily and can be repositioned into any position you need. It even comes with a clamp to mount the stand to a rail or the edge of your desk