Plugable 10-in-1 USB-C Hub review: Portable dock alternative with 2.5Gb Ethernet

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• Who is the Plugable 10-in-1 USB-C Hub for? This portable, high-power USB-C hub with near-dock capabilities is ideal for Mac users who want more power and faster Ethernet without a full dock. The key trade-offs are limited 10Gbps bandwidth and slower card readers.

Unless you own the Mac Studio, there simply aren’t enough ports on your machine if you are building a pro system.

The Mac Studio hosts 12 top-end ports including six Thunderbolt 5 (or four TB5 and two 10Gbps USB-C), two 5Gbps USB-A, super-fast 10Gb Ethernet, HDMI 2.1, card reader, and headphone jack. Compared, the 16-inch MacBook Pro comes with three Thunderbolt 5, card reader, HDMI 2.1, MagSafe 3 charging port and headphone jack.

Use one of those Thunderbolt ports to add a USB-C/TB hub or docking station and many more ports can be at your disposal.

We’ve tested the best USB-C hubs and best Thunderbolt docks. If you want the very top-end of the port brigade you must go full-in with a docking station, but these are rarely portable and often costs hundreds.

The newly released Plugable 10-in-1 USB-C Hub (USBC-10IN1E) bucks that trend by putting 10 pro ports on a long, slim hub with built-in cable. Passthrough charging is impressive at 125W. The Ethernet port is rated at 2.5Gb rather than the standard Gigabit Ethernet found on every other network-ready hub. The HDMI port supports 8K on a connected display.

Simon Jary

Design: How portable is it compared to a dock?

As a hub, the Plugable 10-in-1 is super portable, especially compared to larger docking stations that require their own bulky power supply.

It’s long and slim, measuring just 8.5 x 1.3 x 0.6 inches (216 x 34 x 15mm) – about the same length as the side of a 14-inch MacBook – with a built-in 8-inch (203mm) cable. It weighs under 4oz (112g), and will slip easily into any backpack, tech organizer bag or desk drawer.

Specs in full

• 10Gbps USB-C to host
• 2x USB-C (10Gbps, 7.5W)
• 1x USB-A (10Gbps, 7.5W)
• 2x USB-A (5Gbps, 4.5W)
• HDMI 2.1
• 2.5Gb Ethernet
• SD card reader (UHS-I, 104MBps)
• MicroSD card reader (UHS-I, 104MBps)

You can buy hubs with more USB ports, but the six available here are still generous, with three at 10Gbps.

Simon Jary

Bandwidth: Is 10Gbps a limitation for Mac users?

Data-transfer speed to the Mac is 10Gbps, where most Macs these days boast 40Gbps to 80Gbps Thunderbolt connections. There are no Thunderbolt hubs—for that you’ll need to step up to a docking station—but USB4 hubs are available if you need 40Gbps bandwidth.

The 7-port Satechi Pro Hub Max Adapter ($69.99) offers 40Gbps but takes up two of the connected Mac’s TB ports, as does Plugable’s own 5-in-1 USB-C hub (AMS-5IN1E).

Only the Satechi USB4 Multiport Adapter uses just one of the Mac’s ports for 40Gbps, and this hub is a close rival to the new Plugable USBC-10IN1E as it boasts nine ports, although the 2.5Gb Ethernet port it once sported has been downgraded to 1GbE.

Bandwidth may be a deal breaker for some pro users, but if 10Gbps is acceptable you can save money and bulk investing in Plugable’s 10-in-1 hub.

Power: Can it fully charge a MacBook Pro?

While the 10Gbps Plugable USBC-10IN1E has a lower data-transfer speed than the 40Gbps Satechi, it wins on passthrough power to the host MacBook—supporting Power Delivery (PD) 3.1 Extended Power Range (EPR).

Few other USB-C hubs offer as much power. While you can supply the hub with PD 3.1’s 140W of power, it uses 15W for its own operation so the maximum your laptop will receive is 125W. The company’s 9-port USBC-9IN1E hub matches the 10-port at 140W in and 125W to the connected laptop.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro requires 140W for full fast-charging, so this hub falls just short, but it’s still outputting more power than the 100W promised by other hubs—and those are also probably pegged back from their maximum by using up some of the power themselves. It should certainly keep even the top-end MacBook Pro powered at full speed even under a heavy workload.

125W should charge the top-end MacBook faster than 100W, if not reaching maximum speed, and it is easily enough to fast-charge the 14-inch MacBook Pro and below.

The USB ports aren’t going to win any prizes on power output, with three supporting 7.5W but that leaves more for the MacBook. If your setup requires more power to connected devices, look to a dock with its own meatier power adapter. What you gain in power, you lose on portability.

Simon Jary

Network: Is 2.5Gb Ethernet worth it on a USB-C hub?

Most pro docking stations now offer faster 2.5GbE wired network access, and the USBC-10IN1E joins them in a much more portable form.

Satechi has a USB-C Hub With 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, but a mere four ports in total—paltry compared to Plugable’s ten. It used to have a Multiport Adapter with more ports and 2.5GbE but has discontinued that product, leaving Plugable to nip in and fill the gap.

Video: What display support do you actually get?

The Plugable USBC-10IN1E supports a single connected 8K display at 30Hz. If that refresh rate isn’t fast enough for you, you can ‘drop’ to a 4K display at a 144Hz refresh rate, which will please video pros and gamers demanding crisper video with lower latency and smoother motion.

That 144Hz refresh rate is possible if the connected Mac has at least an M3, Pro or Max chip and is running macOS 26 or later. Base M1, M2, MacBook Neo, or Macs running macOS 15 or below, have max support for a 4K at 60Hz.

The 40Gbps Satechi USB4 Multiport Adapter matches the Plugable on 8K/30Hz but maxes at 60Hz when connected to a 4K display.

The only hub we’ve tested that beats the Plugable on refresh rate is the $65 Baseus 9-in-1 that can reach 120Hz on a 4K display, although it can’t reach 5K or 8K like the Plugable. While that hub’s two HDMI ports look appealing, you can’t use them both for Extended Mode monitors on a Mac.

If you need more than one external display via a hub, look at the other options we’ve tested and reviewed in our best USB-C hub roundup.

Storage: Are the card readers fast enough?

Although it hosts both an SD and MicroSD card reader slot, the Plugable USBC-10IN1E’s portable storage speeds are not the fastest at 104MBps. Apple’s own SDXC card reader is rated at 250MBps and other hubs boast 312MBps UHS-II card readers. The similar Satechi USB4 Multiport Adapter features the same slow card readers.

This probably isn’t a deal breaker for most users, and there’s plenty of choice if you need faster, such as Plugable’s own 9-in-1 USB-C Hub Multiport Adapter (USBC-9IN1E).

Simon Jary

Price

The Plugable USBC-10IN1E sells for $74.95 or CA$99.99. At the time of writing it was available only in North America.

The 9-in-1 Plugable hub—priced at $49.95—matches the new 10-in-1 with 10Gbps bandwidth and 125W passthrough power but falls short on the 8K video and 2.5Gb Ethernet. If neither is vital to you, the cheaper Plugable may appeal, but there’s future-proofing built into the new 10-in-1.

For faster data-transfer, look to the 40Gbps Satechi USB4 Multiport Adapter (also supporting 8K), although you’d need further adapter for the faster network connection, and it will set you back $149.99.

For more options read our reviews of the best USB-C hubs for Mac or consider a fuller set of connection and charging options with one of the best Thunderbolt docking stations.

Should you buy the Plugable USBC-10IN1E?

It doesn’t have a pretty name but the 10-port Plugable USBC-10IN1E offers a lot of top-end goodies not found together on any other USB-C hub: 125W passthrough PD 3.1 power, 2.5Gb Ethernet, and 8K video. As such it’s closer in firepower to bigger, bulkier docking stations but in a far more portable and convenient slim form.