Alternatives guide
Two recorded alternatives to the TS3 Plus: the Thunderbolt 4 TS4 at 18 ports and 98 W, and the bus powered Anker 555, which needs no socket.
A powered Thunderbolt 3 dock with fifteen ports, up to 87 W of laptop charging and dual 4K display support.
Full product researchThe CalDigit TS3 Plus is recorded as a powered Thunderbolt 3 dock with fifteen ports, up to 87 W of laptop charging and support for two displays at up to 4K 60 Hz each. Two products in this catalogue overlap with it, and they overlap in different classes: one is a later dock from the same manufacturer, the other is a portable hub that needs no power of its own.
The recorded protocol is Thunderbolt 3, the recorded port count is fifteen, the recorded laptop charging is up to 87 W and the recorded Ethernet is 1 GbE. The recorded power source is an external power supply, a 180 W adapter. The recorded display support is two displays at up to 4K 60 Hz each, or one display at up to 5K 60 Hz over Thunderbolt, and the recorded card readers are SD 4.0 UHS-II at up to 312 MB/s. The recorded USB ports are 5 USB-A at 5 Gb/s, 1 USB-C at 10 Gb/s at the rear and 1 USB-C at 5 Gb/s at the front. The recorded weight is 0.47 kg and the recorded dimensions are 131 by 40 by 98.44 mm, with macOS 10.12 or later and Windows 10 or later recorded as the supported operating systems.
The TS4 is the same product type with newer internals. Its recorded protocol is Thunderbolt 4 against the TS3 Plus's Thunderbolt 3, its recorded port count is eighteen against fifteen, its recorded laptop charging is up to 98 W against 87 W, and its recorded Ethernet is 2.5 GbE against 1 GbE.
Its recorded display support is up to 8K on one display on compatible Windows computers and up to 6K on macOS, with dual 6K on Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max, where the TS3 Plus records two displays at up to 4K 60 Hz each. Its recorded card readers add microSD, with SD 4.0 and microSD 4.0 UHS-II against the TS3 Plus's SD 4.0 UHS-II alone. Its recorded USB ports include 3 Thunderbolt 4 at 40 Gb/s, 3 USB-C and 5 USB-A at 10 Gb/s, and its recorded weight is 0.64 kg with dimensions of 141 by 42 by 113 mm. It also records a two year warranty, where no warranty is recorded for the TS3 Plus.
The Anker 555 is a different class of device rather than a rival dock. It is recorded as an 8 in 1 bus powered USB-C hub with HDMI, Ethernet, SD and microSD readers, USB-A and USB-C data ports and pass-through power delivery, at 125 g and 121 by 55 by 15.3 mm.
What it gives up is Thunderbolt. The recorded power source is bus powered rather than an external supply, so it needs no socket and travels in the bag. The recorded Ethernet is 1 GbE, the same as the TS3 Plus, and the recorded card readers are SD and microSD UHS-I. Its recorded display support is one HDMI port, with no display carried over the USB-C ports, and the recorded HDMI output is up to 4K at 30 Hz where the product page lists 4K at 60 Hz. The recorded pass-through is up to 85 W of input, and the record states that the laptop charging wattage depends on the hub draw.
No price is recorded for any of the three products. The Anker's HDMI output is a conflicting figure, with two manufacturer pages giving different refresh rates, and the catalogue publishes that disagreement rather than choosing one. The catalogue holds no compatibility statement between the TS3 Plus and a Thunderbolt 4 host.
One condition belongs on any discussion of the TS3 Plus's two-display support. The manufacturer states that Apple M1 and M2 laptops support only one external display through their Thunderbolt port, while M1 Pro and M1 Max support two.
Methodology
How the products below were evaluated and chosen.
What decides between them
Whether the dock has to be a fixed desk unit with Thunderbolt bandwidth and two displays, which points to the TS4, or a box that travels and takes its power from the laptop, which points to the Anker 555. The TS3 Plus sits between the two classes, and the recorded protocol decides whether it is the right Thunderbolt generation for the laptop in front of you.
Differences
The differences that change the buying decision.
The CalDigit TS4: the same dock on a newer protocol
The TS4 records Thunderbolt 4, 18 ports, up to 98 W of laptop charging, 2.5 GbE Ethernet and up to 6K on macOS with dual 6K on Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max, against the TS3 Plus's Thunderbolt 3, 15 ports, 87 W, 1 GbE and two displays at up to 4K 60 Hz each. It is also recorded heavier at 0.64 kg.
The Anker 555: a portable hub instead of a desk dock
The Anker 555 is recorded as a bus powered 8 in 1 hub with one HDMI output at up to 4K and 30 Hz, SD and microSD readers and 1 GbE Ethernet, at 125 g with no external power supply. It trades the TS3 Plus's Thunderbolt 3 link, 15 ports, 87 W of charging and two-display support for something that travels.
The TS3 Plus itself: what the alternatives are measured against
The TS3 Plus records Thunderbolt 3, 15 ports, up to 87 W of laptop charging, 1 GbE Ethernet, dual 4K 60 Hz display support, an SD 4.0 UHS-II card reader and an external power supply with a 180 W adapter, at 0.47 kg.
Products
Why it is here: The subject of this page. Its recorded Thunderbolt 3 protocol, 15 ports, up to 87 W of charging, 1 GbE Ethernet and 180 W power adapter define what the alternatives are measured against.
Protocol: Thunderbolt 3
Why it is here: The same dock type on a newer protocol, recording Thunderbolt 4, 18 ports, up to 98 W of charging, 2.5 GbE Ethernet and dual 6K on Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max against the TS3 Plus's dual 4K 60 Hz.
Protocol: Thunderbolt 4
Why it is here: The recorded portable alternative in the same category, an 8 in 1 bus powered hub at 125 g with one HDMI output and no Thunderbolt link, which trades the dock's fixed desk role for something that travels.
Port count: 8-in-1
Notes
What the record does not settle
No price is recorded for any of the three products, the Anker 555's HDMI output is a conflicting figure between two manufacturer pages, and the catalogue holds no compatibility statement between a Thunderbolt 3 dock and a Thunderbolt 4 host.FAQ
Two recorded products: the CalDigit TS4, a Thunderbolt 4 dock with 18 ports, up to 98 W of charging and 2.5 GbE Ethernet, and the Anker 555, a bus powered 8 in 1 hub at 125 g that needs no power adapter.
Source:CalDigit official site
Yes. Its recorded protocol is Thunderbolt 4, against the Thunderbolt 3 recorded for the TS3 Plus, and it records 18 ports against 15 and up to 98 W of laptop charging against 87 W.
Source:CalDigit TS4 specifications
No. Its recorded power source is bus powered, so it draws from the laptop. The recorded pass-through is up to 85 W of input, and the record states that the laptop charging wattage depends on the hub draw.
Source:Anker 555 hub page
Not on the record. Its recorded display support is one HDMI port, and the manufacturer states that the hub carries no display over the USB-C ports, where the TS3 Plus records two displays at up to 4K 60 Hz each.
Source:Anker 555 hub page
No. The recorded card readers are SD 4.0 UHS-II at up to 312 MB/s, where the TS4 records SD 4.0 and microSD 4.0 UHS-II.
Source:CalDigit TS3 Plus page
The recorded weight is 0.47 kg, against the 0.64 kg recorded for the TS4 and the 125 g recorded for the Anker 555.
Source:CalDigit TS3 Plus page
Keep researching
The TS3 Plus records Thunderbolt 3, 15 ports, up to 87 W of charging and 1 GbE. The TS4 records Thunderbolt 4, 18 ports, up to 98 W and 2.5 GbE Ethernet.
The CalDigit TS3 Plus is a powered Thunderbolt 3 dock with 15 ports, up to 87 W of laptop charging, 1 GbE Ethernet and support for two 4K displays.
The catalogue holds no compatibility statement between the TS3 Plus and a Thunderbolt 4 host. It records the TS3 Plus as Thunderbolt 3.
