Best Thunderbolt 5 Docking Stations for Mac Studio (2026)

Executive Summary

The Thunderbolt 5 dock market matured through 2025, and there are now solid options for Mac Studio owners. However, there is a critical constraint: only one TB5 dock currently offers 10GbE — the CalDigit TS5 Plus. All others max out at 2.5GbE.

The Mac Studio 3 Ultra has Thunderbolt 5 ports, so you should be buying a TB5 dock to exploit that 80Gbps bandwidth. The CalDigit TS5 Plus checks every box: upright form factor, aluminum build, TB5 bandwidth, self-powered, 10GbE, 20 ports, and 36W downstream charging.

If 10GbE in the dock is not a hard requirement — for example, if you can use the Mac Studio’s built-in 10GbE port for NAS access — then the Anker Prime TB5 is the best all-around choice for its compact vertical design and built-in power supply.

Why Not the Baseus SpaceMate

The Baseus SpaceMate is a USB-C hub, not a Thunderbolt dock, and it fundamentally mismatches with a Thunderbolt 5 workstation. It has only Gigabit Ethernet (10x slower than 10GbE), is bus-powered (no external PSU), measured only 113 MB/s in storage performance benchmarks, and outputs only HDMI 2.0 (4K/30Hz for triple display). PCWorld called it “too clever for its own good” with “subpar performance.”

At $90-200, when a real Thunderbolt 5 dock like the Kensington SD5000T5 is just $209, there is no reason to waste your Mac Studio’s TB5 ports on a USB-C hub.

The 10GbE Reality Check

Of all Thunderbolt 5 docking stations currently available, only the CalDigit TS5 Plus has 10 Gigabit Ethernet. If the TS5 Plus doesn’t work out, there are alternatives:

Option A: Mac Studio’s built-in Ethernet. The Mac Studio 3 Ultra has a built-in 10GbE port. Connect your NAS directly and choose any TB5 dock based on other criteria.

Option B: Separate TB5-to-10GbE adapter. OWC, Sonnet, and QNAP make Thunderbolt-to-10GbE adapters ($100-180). Pair any TB5 dock with a dedicated adapter on another port.

Option C: Accept 2.5GbE in the dock. If your NAS workflow tolerates 2.5GbE, the entire field opens up and the Anker Prime becomes the top recommendation.

Final Recommendations

If 10GbE in the dock is a hard requirement: CalDigit TS5 Plus. No other TB5 dock has it. It meets every criterion.

If 10GbE can come from the Mac Studio’s built-in port: The Anker Prime TB5 ($340) is the best choice for its compact vertical form factor, built-in PSU, and 45W front USB-C charging.

If you want maximum port density and CalDigit quality: CalDigit TS5 ($400). Three TB5 downstream ports, 15 total ports, 180W PSU.

If budget matters: Kensington SD5000T5 at $209 is the cheapest real TB5 dock and delivers the fundamentals competently.

Technical Notes for Mac Studio 3 Ultra

Display limitation: macOS limits each Thunderbolt port to 2 external displays, regardless of dock capability. The Mac Studio supports up to 8 external displays total across all ports.

TB5 backward compatibility: All TB5 docks work with TB4/TB3/USB4 at reduced speeds. Using a TB4 dock on a TB5 port limits you to 40Gbps.

Host charging is irrelevant: All these docks advertise 140W host PD. Meaningless for Mac Studio (which has its own PSU). What matters is downstream power — CalDigit TS5 Plus (36W) and Anker Prime (45W front USB-C) excel here.

Cable matters: Use the cable included with the dock for full TB5 speeds. TB4 cables limit to 40Gbps. Passive TB5 cables work up to 0.8m; active cables extend to 2m.