CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock vs Anker 575 USB-C Dock (13-in-1)

CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock wins — CalDigit TS4 wins for any dual-4K60 setup, fast card readers, or MacBook Pro 16 users — the 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 bandwi…

Scores: CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock 9/10 · Anker 575 USB-C Dock (13-in-1) 7/10

CalDigit TS4 wins for any dual-4K60 setup, fast card readers, or MacBook Pro 16 users — the 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 bandwidth is a genuine architectural difference, not a marketing spec. Anker 575 wins for single-monitor setups, non-Thunderbolt laptops, and budget-conscious buyers who don't need both monitors at 4K60. The $250 price gap only makes sense if you use both monitors at full refresh.

CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock lists at $399 while Anker 575 USB-C Dock (13-in-1) lists at $149 — Anker 575 USB-C Dock (13-in-1) undercuts CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock by $250 (168%).

Spec-by-spec comparison

	CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock	Anker 575 USB-C Dock (13-in-1)
host_connection	Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps), 98W host charging	USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), 85W host charging
display_output	Dual 4K60 or single 8K30 via Thunderbolt/USB4 ports	Dual 4K30 or single 4K60 via HDMI 2.0 + DisplayPort
ports	3x Thunderbolt 4, 5x USB-A 3.2, 1x USB-C 3.2, SD 4.0, microSD, 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, 3.5mm	3x USB-A 3.0, 2x USB-A 2.0, SD 3.0, microSD, 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, 3.5mm, 2x HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4
total_ports	18 ports total	13 ports total
bandwidth	40 Gbps total host bandwidth	10 Gbps host bandwidth
compatibility	MacBook Pro, Dell XPS, HP Spectre, any Thunderbolt 4 laptop	Any USB-C host (including non-Thunderbolt laptops)

CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock

What works

40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 host connection supports simultaneous dual 4K60 external displays without USB-C's 10 Gbps bandwidth ceiling throttling a second screen
SD 4.0 card reader peaks at 300 MB/s — 3x faster than USB-C docks' SD 3.0 readers; meaningful when ingesting 32GB RAW card takes 110 vs 350 seconds
98W host charging over Thunderbolt 4 cable fully powers MacBook Pro 16 during 4K video editing — USB-C docks often cap at 60-65W under sustained load

What doesn't

At $399 it's $250 more than Anker's 13-in-1 for benefits mainly relevant to power users with dual 4K monitors or fast card readers
Thunderbolt 4 host cable is not included — requires Thunderbolt 4-certified cable at $29-49 extra for full 40 Gbps performance
Driver installation required on Windows for proper Thunderbolt detection on first connection

Anker 575 USB-C Dock (13-in-1)

What works

Works with any USB-C laptop regardless of Thunderbolt support — Dell budget laptops, Chromebooks, and Surface all work; CalDigit requires Thunderbolt 4
85W charging keeps most 13-15 inch laptops powered during typical workloads without thermal throttle
At $149, the price gap vs Thunderbolt dock buys a budget USB hub, an external monitor, or a year of cloud storage

What doesn't

10 Gbps USB-C bandwidth limits dual 4K to 4K30 (not 60Hz) — second monitor at 60Hz requires using only one HDMI port, which degrades both display outputs
SD 3.0 reader peaks at 104 MB/s — adequate for SD cards under 32GB but noticeably slow for large RAW+video card dumps
85W charging is insufficient for MacBook Pro 16 under heavy rendering load — laptop will slowly drain while docked under sustained GPU workload

Bottom line

Our pick: CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock. It edges out the alternative on 40 gbps thunderbolt 4 host connection supports simultaneous dual 4k60 external displays without usb-c's 10 gbps bandwidth ceiling throttling a second screen. That said, Anker 575 USB-C Dock (13-in-1) still wins on works with any usb-c laptop regardless of thunderbolt support — dell budget laptops, chromebooks, and surface all work; caldigit requires thunderbolt 4 — consider it if that single trade matters most for your use.

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