(Pocket-lint) – USB-C is a wonderful thing – it’s taken a fair amount of time for the standard to truly spread around the industry, but now more laptops and computers than ever ship with USB-C ports that can be used for all manner of things.

Whether it’s charging, display connections or any number of peripherals, it’s a port that lets you do it all, but one downside to the revolution it’s brought with it has been that some laptops and tablets have taken the opportunity to make it the only port they come with.

• Best cheap home printer: The best printers for documents and photos

If you’ve only got one port to play with, doing things like charging and passing your display to a monitor at the same time can be a nightmare. That’s why we’ve rounded up some amazing hubs for you to take a look at.

These devices let you hook your laptop or tablet up to a whole variety of accessories and other devices, making them a must for anyone working from home or looking to have the option to do so more comfortably. 

Our pick of the best USB-C docks and hubs to buy today

Kingston

Kingston Nucleum USB-C adapter

squirrel_widget_209463

This is a hub that’s closer to a dongle, given how small and smart it is, and that’s a really good thing in our books. Kingston has shrunk down its hub to include only what you need, most importantly getting two USB-C ports on board to let you charge and hook up to a monitor at the same time. You also get standard USB ports and memory card slots.

There’s an HDMI slot, too, to round it out, which ticks off the ports we’d ask for. If you need a wider range, you might have to get a bigger hub, but for a really reasonable price, we think this is likely to be the best hub for most people. 

Twelve South

Twelve South StayGo

squirrel_widget_263797

Simple and elegant, this is another superb hub from Twelve South, which makes a wide range of impressive accessories for laptop users. The hub has loads of the connections you’re likely to want, including 4K HDMI, two USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet, SD and micro SD slots and more. 

That makes it great for users who might needs a variety of uses out of it, and it’s also impressively small and really portable, even including its own cable to connect to your computer with, built into the body itself. 

Belkin

Belkin USB-C 4-Port Mini Hub with Tethered USB-C Cable

squirrel_widget_209464

Another really solid option is offered by this swish little hub from Belkin, which strips the form even further back, and gets the price down, too. If all you’re looking for are a couple of USB-C ports and a couple of USB-A ones for older accessories, this’ll do the job nicely. That said, the Kingston offers a few more ports at nearly the same price, which sees it win out.

Still, we really like the design of this hub, and the if your external display is equipped with a USB-C cable then you won’t need HDMI. It’ll very much depend on the individual as to which is perfect.

Elgato

Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Dock

squirrel_widget_209465

Of course, there will be some people reading who want a true hub, not just a couple of extra ports, which is what the expensive but effective Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Dock options. It’s far less portable, needing its own power supply, but will effectively expand your laptop or notebook’s capabilities. Whether it’s an ethernet connection, dual display support and 5K resolution pass-through or just USB-C options, there are ports aplenty here.

It’ll sit happily on your desk as an extension of your computer, effectively, with headphone and microphone jacks making it useful if you normally have your laptop on a stand by your workstation. If you’re deadly serious about working from home this could be a powerful tool.

Satechi

Satechi Aluminum Multi-Port Adapter V2

squirrel_widget_209532

This hub from Satechi is much like those we started the list with, although it’s got a significantly higher price. The addition of an ethernet port makes it a pretty comprehensive option for people with limited ports, though.

It’s got a nice brushed metal design and the option of different colours, but one drawback is that there’s only a single USB-C port, which is an issue for some people with newer peripherals and displays. 

Anker

Anker USB C Hub Adapter, 5-in-1

squirrel_widget_209584

Some people won’t be on the lookout for dozens of ports in one hub, though – a simple little dongle might just be all they need. Apple’s own official USB-C dongle, for example, only has three ports, but it represents pretty poor value compared to this option from Anker. 

It’ll let you hook up memory cards, an HDMI cable and two USB-A cables, which might not be the most cutting-edge range of options, but is likely to be more than enough for a lot of people who just want a couple of extra ports to play around with.

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.