External hard drive docking stations are one of the most useful accessories anyone can add to their tech arsenal. They can serve many purposes like recovering data from a failed computer. They are a great solution for people who have accumulated many hard drives over the years. People can clone drives and move files from an old drive to a new hard drive. They are especially helpful for professionals who deal with lots of data and files. They are helpful for organizing files across many different hard drives, and they are a suitable solution for many types of data issues.
Here are some things to consider when shopping for an external hard drive docking station:
- Number of hard drive bays
- Type of USB cable transfer
- Cloning capabilities
- Transfer speed
- Hard drive size in terms of terabytes
What’s the Best External Hard Drive Docking Station in 2021?
| Product | Bays | Max Storage | Our Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inateck Dual Bay Docking Station | Dual | 16TB (2 x 8TB) | 4.8 |
| Wavlink USB C 3.1 Dual Bay | Dual | 16TB (2 x 8TB) | 4.9 |
| ORICO USB3.0 2.5/3.5 Inch HDD Dock | Single | 8TB | 4.4 |
| iDsonix U3102 USB 3.0/2.0 1 Bay HDD Dock | Single | 8TB | 4.5 |
| Sabrent USB 3.0 to SATA Dual Bay | Dual | 20TB (2 x 10TB) | 4.8 |
| WEme USB 3.0 to SATA Dual-Bay | Dual | 16TB (2 x 8TB) | 4.7 |
| UNITEK Aluminum USB 3.0 to SATA Dual Bay | Dual | 16TB (2 x 8TB) | 4.7 |
| Salcar Dual Bay | Dual | 16TB (2 x 8TB) | 4.6 |
Below, we go into more detail about what we feel are the best HDD docking station options on the market this year. Remember, all of the storage sizes listed are maximum storage sizes – you can still store smaller hard drives in them, and you can even use them as a SATA hard drive docking station.
1. Inateck USB 3.0 to SATA Dual Bay Hard Drive Docking Station
With a sleek, gamer design, Inateck’s hard drive docking station adds style to multifunction. It supports Windows, Linux and Mac OS. It has dual docking stations that work with SATA 2.5” and 3.5” hard drives simultaneously. It has the ability to clone hard drives offline, meaning your computer is not attached to it. With an intuitive lighting system to indicate its progress, it clones from drive A to drive B. It has powerful features that include two bays that read up to 8 TB simultaneously for a total of 16 TB. It also has super fast data transfer speeds of up to 6 Gbps.
User reviews for this external hard drive docking station are very positive. It is reported to have very fast upload and download speeds. It can also upload and download at the same time with incredible speed. It has a sleek well built casing that is also a plus for many of the users.
2. Wavlink USB C 3.1 to SATA Dual Bay External Hard Drive Docking Station
The Wavlink dual bay external hard drive docking station is functional and well built. Made with ABS plastic, it has great overheating protection. It has an offline cloning function and supports two 8 TB hard drives measuring at 2.5″ or 3.5″. With a USB 3.0 cable, it is capable of very high speed data transfers up to 6 Gbps.
People who use this docking station generally have positive feedback for it. Many users praise how fast it works, some even saying it is as fast as their internal SATA III. It is also reported to be a high performer when used with many types of computers. With its multi-functions and multi-computer compatibility, most of the reviewers found it to be a dependable choice.
3. ORICO USB3.0 to SATA 2.5/3.5 Inch External Hard Drive Docking Station
Another single bay competitor for the best hard drive docking station, this product supports and 2.5″ or 3.5″ hard drive up to 8 TB. It connects with the high speed of a USB 3.0 cable and also has backwards compatibility for USB 1.0 and 2.0. It guaranteed to be user friendly with tool free installation and instant mount and unmount within 3 seconds.
Reviews for this station are pretty positive. It has a simple user interface and works as expected with high speeds. Many users report that this dock doesn’t overheat their drives as other docks did.
4. iDsonix U3102 USB 3.0/2.0 SATA 1 Bay Hard Drive Docking Station
If dual bays are more than you need in an external hard drive docking station, than you might want to check out this product. With a single bay that works with USB 3.0 and 2.0, this one of the best hard drive dock stations as it is a solid choice for people who prefer to work with one bay at a time. It works with one 8 TB, 2.5″ or 3.5″ hard drive and comes standard with a 3.3 foot USB 3.0 cable.
The majority of people who use this product give it fantastic reviews. It is reported to be well built and works great as an extra storage device. It has a sleek design and doesn’t take up a lot of space which is a plus for people who simply need function.
5. Sabrent USB 3.0 to SATA Dual Bay External Hard Drive Docking Station
With this external hard drive docking station, you can easily transfer data with high speeds of up to 5 Gbps. It works with any 4 TB, 2.5″ or 3.5″ SATA hard drive per bay. It is hot swappable and features plug and play capabilities. It is reverse compatible with USB 1.1 and USB 2.0, and it works with Windows 2000, XP and Vista/7/8/8.1/10.
Reviews for this product are pretty positive. It works as expected, and is reported to be incredibly user friendly. The only downside of this product is that it lacks in the number of operating systems it is compatible with.
6. WEme USB 3.0 to SATA Dual-Bay External Hard Drive Docking Station
This dual-bay external hard drive docking station supports two 8 TB, 2.5″ or 3.5″ HDD/SDD hard drives with super fast data transfers up to 6 Gbps with USB 3.0 cable. With a user-friendly button interface and progress lights, it supports offline cloning from drive A to drive B cloning, but it does not offer online cloning. The highlight of this product is its built-in safety features which include protection from overheating, current leaks, peak voltage, interference and disturbance.
Based on user reviews, this product is reliable and works as advertised without being too bulky on people’s desks. Most reviewers say that it is a great device for its price. While most of the reviews are positive, there were a few complaints about hardware issues such as the power cable not working, so you may want to research it further to find a reputable seller.
7. UNITEK Aluminum USB 3.0 to SATA Dual Bay External Hard Drive Docking Station
This docking station looks sleek with a sturdy aluminum casing designed to protect your drives by regulating heat outside of the docking station. It has dual docks for both 2.5″ or 3.5″ hard drives with high speed transfer rates up to 6 Gbps. It has offline clone capabilities with simple buttons and progress lights to make the transfer and cloning process a breeze. With the automatic sleep mode kicking in after 30 minutes, it offers great features for power saving and overheating protection.
User reviews are mostly positive about its user friendly buttons and lights. It is reported to have fast data transfers, but a few reviewers did report long wait times for their computer to recognize this device, so you may want to do further research when considering this product.
8. Salcar Dual Bay USB Hard Drive Docking Station
This dual external hard drive dock supports two 8 TB, 2.5″ and 3.5″ SATA HDD/SSD hard drives. The casing is made of high quality aluminum that helps send heat created by the hard drives outside of the docking station for overheating protection. It has high speed transfer rates of up to 5 Gbps. It comes with a dependable power cable, USB 3.0 cable and automatic sleep function when station is not in use.
People who have used this external hard drive docking station have very positive reviews. The transfer speeds are very fast and reliable. A very positive feature is the durable construction of this product with reviewers getting up to 5 years of usage and still going strong. If you are looking for a hard drive docking station that will last a long time with continuous reliable performance, then you might want to check out this external hard drive docking station.
Hopefully, you have managed to find the perfect external HDD dock for your needs from this list of the best external hard drive docking stations.
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