The Dell XPS laptop family has always been about offering great performance in a more compact design than you'd expect. The tiny bezels make these laptops extra portable, and with their performance, they're some of the best laptops out there. That small size comes with some sacrifices, though. Like many other ultrabooks, the Dell XPS family relies mainly on Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C) for connectivity, especially with the more recent models. So if you want to connect a lot of peripherals, you'll want to get a dock. That's why we've rounded up the best docks for Dell XPS laptops.
Out of the box, most of Dell's XPS laptops come with a couple of adapters. Laptops like the XPS 13 and XPS 13 Plus come with adapters for a headphone jack (since they don't have one), while the larger ones include adapters for USB Type-A and HDMI. But that's still just a simple adapter, and you might need many more ports, which is where docking stations come in.
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Editor's Choice
Dell Thunderbolt Dock WD22TB4
This official Dell dock gives you plenty of ports, with three display outputs, USB Type-A, RJ45 Ethernet, and more. It even supports up to 130W charging, enough to even juice up the Dell XPS 15 or XPS 17 with discrete graphics.
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Premium Pick
CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock
- Ports
- Three Thunderbolt 4 (one host), three USB-C, five USB-A, DP 1.4, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm combo, 3.5mm in/out, SD/microSD card reader (UHS-II)
- USB Power Delivery
- Up to 98W to host, 20W front USB-C, 7.5W USB-C, 7.5W USB-A
- Power supply included
- Yes
- Warranty
- Two years
- Max display res.
- 8K@60Hz, dual 4K@60Hz
The CalDigit TS4 is one of the very best docks on the market, with a total of 18 ports, including card readers, Ethernet, display outputs, all in a premium and solid design.
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Best Value
Plugable 16-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock
- Ports
- 3 x USB Type-A 10Gbps, 2 x USB Type-A 5Gbps, 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A (7.5W charging), 1 x USB Type-C (10Gbps, 7.5W), 1x RJ45 Ethernet (2.5Gbps), 2 x HDMI 2.0, 2 x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x 3.5mm combo audio jack, 1 x SD card slot (UHS-II), 1 x microSD card slot, 1 x Thunderbolt 4 (to host)
- USB Power Delivery
- 98W power delivery to host, 7.5W USB Type-A, 7.5W USB Type-C
- Power supply included
- 135W power supply
- Max display res.
- Up to 4 x 4K (3840 x 2160) displays at 60Hz (2 x 4K 60Hz on Mac)
- Price
- $299
This top-tier Plugable dock comes with a whopping 16 ports, including two HDMI and two DisplayPort ports, 2.5Gb Ethernet, and lots of USB ports. It also has a power button to easily turn off the dock when you want to save power. This will give you the most ports for your buck.
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Extra compact
Anker PowerExpand 5-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Mini Dock
Most Thunderbolt docks are pretty big, but this one from Anker is much easier to take on the go. It splits a Thunderbolt connection into three ports so you can connect multiple Thunderbolt displays, plus a USB Type-A port.
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Sleek and modern
Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock
Razer is known for its gaming peripherals, but this Thunderbolt 4 dock comes with a super sleek design that fits well into any work environment. It has three Thunderbolt 4 ports, Ethernet, and USB Type-A.
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Just the extra ports
Plugable USB 3.0 Universal Laptop Docking Station
Thunderbolt docks are expensive, but with this dock, you can still get a lot of ports for less. Six USB ports, Ethernet, and two HDMI ports are all included for a much lower price. It doesn't charge your laptop, though, so that's a big downside.
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Portable with 100W charging
QGeeM 12-in-1 USB Hub
$68 $90 Save $22Need to travel without giving up ports? The QGeeM USB-C Hub is a robust option with 12 ports you can connect to wherever you are. It includes multiple USB ports, dual HDMI, Ethernet, and SD card readers.
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Budget pick
Anker 341 7-in-1 USB-C Hub
This dock is more compact than the previous, gigantic stations, but it'll only give you the basics. It includes HDMI, SD card, USB Type-C and Type-A ports, and more. It's a good option if you need more ports but don't want to spend a lot of money.
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Extra slim
Wavlink 12-in-1 USB-C Hub
This is another cheap dock that's easy to take anywhere. In fact, it's the smallest one on this list. Despite that, you now get support for Gigabit Ethernet, two USB ports, HDMI, SD card readers, and power delivery.
That should give you a few options that cover pretty much any use case. You have some very high-end and capable options, starting with the official Dell dock with plenty of ports and the benefit of more capable power delivery. Or you can get something cheap like the Anker PowerExpand+ 7-in-1, which you can take anywhere easily to add ports wherever you are. Ultimately, which dock is best is completely dependent on your use case for the Dell XPS.
If you want to buy one of the Dell XPS laptops, you can use the links below to buy your preferred size and model. If you're still exploring options, check out our roundup of the best Dell laptops, which will also support these docks — though AMD laptops won't support Thunderbolt.
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Dell XPS 13 Plus
- Operating System
- Windows 11 or Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
- CPU
- Up to Intel Core i7-1260P
- GPU
- Intel Iris Xe
- Memory
- Up to 32GB LPDDR5
The Dell XPS 13 Plus is the most powerful XPS 13 ever, with up to a 14-core Intel processor and a super-modern design.
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Dell XPS 13 (2022)
The latest Dell XPS 13 comes in an even more compact design than before and it comes in a couple of interesting colors, too. It's one of the best laptops around for portability.
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Dell XPS 13 2-in-1
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is a tablet with an optional detachable keyboard and XPS Stylus, making it the most portable in the family, and a great choice if you don't need a full-blown laptop.
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Dell XPS 15 (2022)
The Dell XPS 15 is a surprisingly compact 15-inch laptop with more powerful processors and optional Nvidia graphics, making it great for users who need more performance.
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Dell XPS 17 (2022)
- Operating System
- Windows 11 Home
- CPU
- 12th-generation Intel Core i5-12500H, or Intel Core i7-12700H, Intel Core i9-11900H, Intel Core i9-1900HK
- GPU
- Integrated Intel Iriis Xe, Nvidia RTX 3050. Nvidia RTX 3060
- Storage
- 512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
- Battery
- 97Wh battery
- Display (Size, Resolution)
- Touch optional, 17-inch FHD+ 1920 x 1200 or 17-inch UHD+ 3840 x 2400
Essentially a larger version of the XPS 15, the Dell XPS 17 comes with a larger display and more powerful Nvidia graphics, and it's a fantastic laptop for creators.
