USB 3.0 Hubs

A USB 3.0 hub — also labelled USB 3.2 Gen 1 — runs at 5Gbps, which is roughly ten times USB 2.0 and fast enough that an external SSD is limited by the drive rather than the hub.

The decision that matters is power. A bus-powered hub shares the host port’s power between everything connected. That is fine for keyboards, mice, headsets and flash drives. It becomes unreliable with portable hard drives, which draw more, and with anything you expect to charge. A self-powered hub has its own supply and gives each port full current.

Also check the host connector: hubs come with a USB-A plug for older machines and a USB-C plug for modern laptops. They are not interchangeable without an adapter.

One practical point: all ports share the 5Gbps, so copying from two fast drives at once will not give each of them full speed.

The range covers UGREEN, Lindy, Anker, Kensington, Genius and Dell. For hubs that also add HDMI and Ethernet, see USB-C hubs.