Which Thunderbolt 5 dock is worth the money?
The $300 Plugable. It pays for itself in 139 working days.
New verdicts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Every tool sends a bill. We work out what it pays back.
Independent research on software, AI and home-office hardware. Every verdict ends in hours and dollars, so you know before you buy.
Flip through recent receipts
The Ledgeras of 2 Oct
- Plugable TBT-UDT3$299.95one-time
- OWC Thunderbolt 5 Dock (11-port)$329.99one-time
- CalDigit TS5$399.99one-time
- CalDigit TS5 Plus$499.99one-time
- Google Groups collaborative inbox$0included with Workspace
- Missive Starter$14.00per user / month
- Help Scout Standard$21.00per user / month
- Missive Productive$24.00per user / month
- Confluence Standard$6.70per user / month
- Jira Standard$9.05per user / month
- Teamwork Collection Standard$15.00per user / month
- Jira + Confluence Standard$15.75per user / month
- Jira + Confluence Premium$31.50per user / month
This week’s questions, answered
Every articleHow do you stop five people reading the same email?
Give the address one owner a day. About 10 hours a week comes back.
Will Atlassian’s new meters raise your bill?
Yes. Switching to the Teamwork Collection saves about $1,950 a year at 50 seats.
The Ledger
Every price we quote, in one table, with the date we checked it. When a vendor changes a price, this is where you’ll see it first.
Open the Ledger| Product | List price | Billing | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plugable TBT-UDT3 | $299.95 | one-time | 8.5 |
| OWC Thunderbolt 5 Dock (11-port) | $329.99 | one-time, retailer listings | 8.2 |
| CalDigit TS5 Plus | $499.99 | one-time | 8.3 |
| Google Groups collaborative inbox | $0 | included with Workspace | 7.8 |
| Help Scout Standard | $21.00 | per user / month, annual | 8.2 |
| Missive Productive | $24.00 | per user / month, annual | 8.0 |
All prices as of 2 Oct 2026 · next re-check January 2027
Three research desks
AI assistants, automation platforms and business software, judged on published pricing, documentation and independent reviews. Every verdict is priced per seat and in hours saved at $65 an hour.
Scored on
- Cost efficiency
- Time saved
- Output quality
- Admin & security
Monitors, docks, desks, webcams, headsets and networking for people who work from home. We compare published specs, independent reviews and list prices, then work out the cost per working day.
Scored on
- Performance
- Build quality
- Value
- Setup
Playbooks for the work around the work: reporting, handoffs, onboarding and inbox triage. Each one lists the steps, the tools and their monthly cost, with time savings shown as a model.
Scored on
- Time saved
- Setup effort
- Tool cost
- Adoption
Run your own numbers
Our verdicts use our assumptions. These tools use yours.
- Remote desk builderPick how you work and a budget. Get an itemised home office with a cost per working day.
- Seat and renewal plannerMonthly or annual billing over 24 months as your team grows, including the renewal price rise.
- Stack auditEvery tool you pay for, what it costs and the hours it saves. Find the one that doesn’t earn its keep.
- Home-office internet plannerHow much download and upload speed your household needs for calls, streaming and backups.
Three promises, kept in public
- 1 / 3
We read everything first.
Price pages, documentation and independent reviews, each one dated and linked. Then we do the maths where you can see it.
Read the method - 2 / 3
Nobody pays for a score.
Affiliate links and deals are added after scoring and never change it. Sponsored slots are labelled, always.
How we make money - 3 / 3
Every number has a date.
Prices expire. We re-check every quarter, and when we get something wrong, it goes on the corrections page.
See corrections