Best Thunderbolt 3 Cables In 2022

The Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Cable is a fantastic choice for anybody on the hunt to upgrade their existing Thunderbolt 3 cable. It is available in a wide range of lengths, ranging from 1.6 feet to a highly convenient 6.5 feet that means you can connect it to other devices on the other side of the room without stretching the parts or damaging your USB-C port.

With it, you can experience rapid transfer speeds of either 40 Gbps or 20 Gbps depending on the length you choose, and this makes it suitable for moving large files from one device to another in seconds, meaning you’ll never be waiting around for the progress bar to tick along ever again. The Male-to-Male connector makes it compatible with any device that uses USB-C ports, providing variety, and as this is something you’ll find in the majority of current-generation devices, it eliminates the need to carry multiple cables around.

If you already own plenty of Apple products, you’ve likely come across an Apple Thunderbolt Cable before, or at least the port itself. Well, now you needn’t ponder exactly what it’s for, and you can enjoy all the benefits it brings without feeling left out. At 0.5 meters (1.6 feet), it provides a short but secure connection, meaning there’s no hassle with storage, and you’ll always be able to find the other end.

As for super fast data transfer, this has it in abundance. The dual independent channels can generate up to 10 Gbps of quick media and information transfer between devices to simplify your day and accelerate your tasks to help you finish early. Even if you’re just using it to move photographs from one device to another, you can do so with such swift convenience that you might not even realize its happened.

The Anker Thunderbolt 3.0 Cable is an Intel Certified product that already conjures up ideas of high-quality performance that tech buffs need from their devices and accessories. Anyone who has experience with Anker already knows its quality, but if you’re new to the party, you’re in for a very special surprise.

As you’d expect, it delivers high-speed charging and data transfer that leaves regular USB-C (and even older) cables in the dust. This is made possible thanks to the 100W charging current that will charge your device faster than you ever imagined, meaning those days of worrying about a battery percentage under 20% are a thing of the past. For that, we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

After reading our review of the Apple Thunderbolt 3 cable, you might be wondering – why would I buy a cable from another brand? There are two main reasons – length of the cable and cost – but there are also some less well-known reasons that we’ll talk about in this Buying Guide.

The Nekteck Active Thunderbolt 3 Cable has one distinct advantage over the Apple cable – it’s over 2 meters (6.6 feet) long. That makes it ideal if you need some flexibility to move your Apple MacBook laptop around when it’s connected to an external device. For example, if you are using a compatible display and you want to connect it from a distance, this cable gives you that flexibility.

The Blackjet Thunderbolt 3 Cable is a compact but powerful 0.7 meter cable that would be a welcome addition to anyone who needs a convenient but easily portable Thunderbolt 3 cable while on the move. The passive design makes it suitable for daisy-chaining, and this is also possible because of the dual-protocol support for TBT mode, which further enhances its ability and versatility, making it a standout choice for anyone still wondering which cable is right for them.

The iconic reversible design is exactly what people love about USB-C styles, but aside from saving you precious seconds switching the cable head back and forth, it also provides excellent transfer speeds. With up to 40 Gbps possible, you are not longer at the mercy of shuttering data transfers. Instead, you can quickly send over your favorite vacation snaps and still get out of the house on time, for a change.

If you’re buying a Thunderbolt 3 cable for your Macbook or iMac, it’s a safe bet to buy it straight from Apple. The reason? You can trust the quality, it’s compatible with your Mac devices, and it provides the maximum performance possible. The downside? They’re more expensive than Thunderbolt 3 cables from other brands.

You might already know the specs behind this Thunderbolt 3 cable, but just in case, here they are. This cable provides Thunderbolt 3 data transfer up to 40Gb/s (gigabytes per second), USB 3.1 data transfer up to 10Gb/s, DisplayPort video output (HBR3), and charging up to 100W. You can also use this cable to connect your Mac to Thunderbolt 3 docks, hard drives, and displays. And you can daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt 3 cables.

If you want to save some money, the BrexLink Thunderbolt 3 Cable is one of the cheapest products on this list. Before we jump into the review, though, we’ve got to debunk a claim made in the product description. It states that this cable can be used to transfer data at speeds up to 40Gb/s. But, because this is a passive Thunderbolt 3 cable longer than 18-inches, it doesn’t contain transceivers to regulate the data transfer through the cable. That means it’s probably only capable of data transfer speeds of around 20Gb/s, similar to that of a Thunderbolt 2 cable.

So, why would you buy this Thunderbolt 3 cable if it can’t transfer data at 40Gb/s? Mainly because it’s compatible with USB 3.1, so you can connect your Mac to a USB 3.1 (type C) peripherals. The other benefit is that it’s around $20 cheaper than the Apple Thunderbolt 3 Cable. So, if you want to save some money and you don’t need 40Gb/s data transfer speeds, this cable should be fine. It’s also longer (0.7m) than the standard Thunderbolt 3 cables you’d receive in a Thunderbolt 3 dock, hard drive, and display. You also get a 24-month warranty that covers the cable against any faults or damage. We’re not sure how bulletproof this warranty is, but from what we’ve heard, the company will honor it.

We decided to include Thunderbolt 3 Power Cable A for HP because they are so hard to find. Before we start, it’s not a Thunderbolt 3 cable – if you own an HP ZBook this review is for you. Everyone else move onto the next product. Basically, this cable is to connect an HP ZBook to an HP Thunderbolt 3 ZBook Dock, so it’s pretty specific.

If you’re unlucky enough to have lost the cable that came with your HP Thunderbolt 3 Zbook Dock, you might have been searching for this product for a while. Fortunately, you can get them on Amazon now. The other reason you might want one of these is that it’s longer than the standard cable that comes with an HP Thunderbolt 3 ZBook Dock. That means you can link up to 10 devices to your HP ZBook, but you don’t have to have them cluttering up your home office desk.

This Thunderbolt 3 Cable from StarTech is the perfect option if you want to save a bit of money by not buying a cable straight from Apple. At $33.47 (at the time of writing), this cable is around $7 cheaper than the official Apple cable. So, what’s the difference, and is that $7 worth saving? The answer depends on how much you care about aesthetics. If you’re one of those guys that like to have all Apple-branded tech, the extra money is probably worth it. For everyone else, you might as well keep that money in your pocket.

It has all of the same specs as the Apple Thunderbolt 3 cable – Thunderbolt 3 data transfer up to 40Gb/s (gigabytes per second), USB 3.1 data transfer up to 10Gb/s, charging up to 100W, and DisplayPort video output (HBR3). And, because it’s an active cable, it has transceivers in the cable to regulate the data transfer speed and make sure you are getting the maximum speed possible.

The Monoprice Thunderbolt 3 (40Gb/s) USB-C Cable is one of the most expensive products on this list. At $60.30 (at the time of writing), this is about $20 more expensive than the standard Apple Thunderbolt 3 cables. The reason it’s more expensive is that it’s twice as long. At 1.5 meters (4.9 feet), you shouldn’t have any problems with this cable being too short.

Before you go ahead and buy this Thunderbolt 3 cable, you need to take into consideration that it’s passive. Fortunately, Monoprice is straight up about the fact that it’s a passive cable (which is pretty rare in the world of cable manufacturers). That means it provides data transfer speeds of around 20Gb/s. It’s possible that the speeds could be higher, but if you’re looking purely for high data transfer speeds, pick an active cable.

The last cable on this list is the SIIG Thunderbolt 3 Certified Active Cable. It’s towards the more expensive side of Thunderbolt 3 cables, but we think it’s worth considering. The benefits of this cable are that it’s 1 meter (3.2 feet), it’s active so it can handle 40Gb/s speeds, and it doesn’t cost quite as much as the Cable Matters and Thunderbolt cables we featured earlier. It’s a little shorter than those cables, so you need to measure how much cable you need if you want to save some money.

This cable is covered by a one-year warranty, so you can buy it without worrying about it breaking immediately. The other great thing about buying from SIIG is that they have a California-based customer support team, so it’s easy to get advice and information about your purchase.