\nTry shopping for a USB-C cable and you\u2019ll be struck by the confusing disparities in cable pricing and performance claims. These are just cables, right? Can they really be that different?<\/p>\n
At PCWorld we\u2019ve used our share of USB-C cables and can say with total confidence that, yes, they really can. Big differences can arise in the construction quality of a cable and how it performs, whether you\u2019re talking about charging or transferring data.<\/p>\n
Our hands-on evaluation of numerous cables \u2014 ranging from the biggest, most-recognizable brand names to the cheapest of the cheap \u2014 reveals some clear winners.<\/p>\n
For these USB-C cable reviews, we don\u2019t trawl consumer reviews like some \u201creviewers\u201d \u2014 we purchase the cables retail and test each one personally, examining how they are physically wired, the resistance, and the accuracy of the embedded eMarker (if it has one). We performance test them on their claims, be it charge rate, transfer rate, or display support.<\/p>\n
Our picks of the best USB-C cables below are separated into two groups: those cables that are best for charging, and those best for both charging and<\/em>\u00a0fast data transfer.<\/p>\nBest USB-C cable for charging<\/h2>\n\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBelkin BoostCharge 240-watt charging cable\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
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Pros<\/h3>\n\n240W charging rate<\/li>\n Quality braiding and overmolding<\/li>\n Big-name brand<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n
Cons<\/h3>\n\nLacks support for high-speed data transfers<\/li>\n Pricier than others<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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Ever since Apple stopped selling our top big-brand cable for charging, we\u2019ve been looking for a suitable replacement and we may have finally found it with Belkin\u2019s BoostCharge 240-watt charging cable.<\/p>\n
This 6.6-foot, or 2-meter, cable supports the highest USB Power Delivery charge rate, comes from a recognized big-brand, and is a good $10 less than what Apple charges for similar cable specs.<\/p>\n
The good news is that the Belkin BoostCharge 240-watt charging cable is a worthy alternative to Apple\u2019s offering.<\/p>\n
Internally, the cable is just about on par with the Apple cable for cable resistance. That\u2019s a good thing because Apple\u2019s cables are actually internally constructed quite well in our experience. It\u2019s the outside of Apple cables that has a reputation for falling apart and fraying.<\/p>\n
The BoostCharge gives us more confidence than Apple with its pleasant braiding, beefy overmolding and Belkin\u2019s boast that the cable has been tested to more than 30,000 bends.<\/p>\n
The BoostCharge also features dual eMarker chips, which support over-temperature protection. With 240-watt charge rates, that last feature is particularly important as the BoostCharge can detect if it\u2019s overheating and signal the devices to pause until it has cooled down enough.<\/p>\n
The biggest bummer is the lack of wiring to support video output or actual high-speed data transfers. The BoostCharge is basically a plain-Jane charging cable supporting 480MBps transfer rates (vs. 10Gbps or 20Gbps).<\/p>\n
That\u2019s fine though, because most people are simply charging a laptop, tablet, or phone, and don\u2019t need all of those features nor the bulk (data cables tend to be much thicker due to the extra wiring). We actually recommend that most people buy a basic charging cable for the daily abuse of plugging and unplugging devices, and, if necessary, reserving a shorter and higher-capability cable strictly for transferring chores. This should make the pricier fast data and video cable last far longer.<\/p>\n
Sure, the Belkin is $20 and perhaps not the best value, but for someone looking for the warm embrace of a big brand to make them feel better, we think the BoostCharge cable is a good pick. The TLDR is if you would have bought an Apple cable but you\u2019re balking at $29 for the equivalent \u2014 pick up the Belkin BoostCharge instead. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAnker New Nylon Series 3 USB-C to USB-C 2-pack\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
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Pros<\/h3>\n\nGreat value<\/li>\n 12K bend cycles<\/li>\n Better than Amazon Basics<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n
Cons<\/h3>\n\nLimited to 60W charging<\/li>\n Lacks fast-transfer support<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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At the time of our review, the Anker New Nylon 2-pack was the No. 1 best-selling USB-C cable on Amazon and that\u2019s probably for good reason. At roughly $14 for a\u00a0pair<\/em>\u00a0of 6-foot USB-C to USB-C charging cables from a brand-name people trust, it\u2019s a great value, and for most people looking to handle phone-, small laptop-, and tablet-charging duties-, you probably don\u2019t need to read any further. Just click add to the cart, and move on. If, however, you are someone looking for the caveats with this Anker pair of cables, read on.<\/p>\nThe New Nylon 2-pack cables are braided and Anker says they\u2019re tested to 12,000 bend cycles, which is better than most budget charger cables advertise.<\/p>\n
Inside, however, there isn\u2019t much special to the Anker New Nylon 2-pack. As basic \u201ccharging cables\u201d they\u2019re limited to a maximum of 60 watts. If you\u2019re confused by what a \u201ccharger cable\u201d is and whether it can transfer data, just know that the Anker cables can, but only at the minimal 480MBps speeds, meaning it could take minutes to copy large files to your laptop or phone.<\/p>\n
You should also know that the lack of faster data transfers also means the Anker cable can\u2019t be used to hook your laptop up to a USB-C port for video.<\/p>\n
The cables themselves are really nothing special other than on price and the Anker name. Internally, the construction is pretty basic with resistance, or how much electrical drag the wires place on the charge rate, meh as well. The good news is that the Anker New Nylon cables are still better than the Amazon Basics cables we reviewed in 2020 that are even more meh and even pricier at $10 per cable today.<\/p>\n
While cable snobs may turn their noses up at the 60-watt charge performance, in reality, it doesn\u2019t matter that much since even a cable as average as these will perform fine for charging a phone, tablet, or Dell XPS 13- or MacBook Air-class laptop with no issues at all.<\/p>\n
That means if we were a new USB-C iPhone owner looking to replace a pile of obsolete Apple Lightning cables, we\u2019d buy two or four of these Anker New Nylon cables and stop wracking your brain trying to find the \u201cbest USB-C cable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The only reason to skip basic charging cables such as the Anker, would be for those who need to transfer large files or someone who wants to hook a monitor or actual fast USB-C drive to your computer.<\/p>\n
For everyone else, are there better cables? Sure, see above. Higher-quality, with lower resistance and faster data rates and even sturdier construction? Yes, all those can be had \u2014 for more money. But truth be told, if all the cable is going to do is sit plugged into a charger waiting for you to come home and plug it in, who cares? The Anker does the job adequately and it\u2019s from someone you trust at the right price.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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For most people the above cables are what you\u2019re looking for: reliable and fast charging. For those who also want to transfer data or connect a monitor though, these are our picks:<\/p>\n
Best USB-C cables for charging and transferring data<\/h2>\n\n
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Pros<\/h3>\n\nCan transfer data and run a monitor<\/li>\n Long, 6-foot length<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n
Cons<\/h3>\n\nLimited to 20Gbps<\/li>\n Relatively heavy at 3.5oz<\/li>\n Pricey<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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If you\u2019re looking for a high-quality USB-C cable that will give you excellent performance, it\u2019s hard to beat Cable Matters 6-foot USB-C cable. The cable can do it all and do it all well (well, almost) from charging at up to 240 watts, transferring data from your USB C 3.2 Gen 2\u00d72 SSD, or running a monitor. The only area where it doesn\u2019t excel is in Thunderbolt performance, which is limited to 20Gbps. That\u2019s not a ding in our book because that\u2019s the tradeoff of a 6-foot cable. To hit 40Gbps, you\u2019d have to step down to a shorter cable.<\/p>\n
The other cost of this quality is weight and pliability. The cable weighs almost 3.5 ounces, making it one of the heaviest cables we tested. Those thicker gauge wires also mean you can\u2019t roll up as easily or compactly as other cables, too.<\/p>\n
Often selling for around $18, this can be one of the more expensive cables here. But if performance and quality is your jam, the Cable Matters 6-foot USB-C cable will have you humming.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Pros<\/h3>\n\nUSB4 rating<\/li>\n Can charge and fast-transfer data<\/li>\n Quality construction<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n
Cons<\/h3>\n\nOnly 2.6 feet<\/li>\n Stiff<\/li>\n Niche appeal<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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Cable Matters Cable is but 2.6-foot so it lacks the appeal of long cables. What appealed to us enough to buy the cable is its USB4 rating which promises high-performance.<\/p>\n
And no surprise, the cable was able to charge our laptop at 100 watts, and offered the best voltage and lowest resistance thanks to the wires Cable Matters uses and its 2.6-foot length. That also translated into excellent USB 3.1 data transfer rates, monitor support, and the only cable here capable of driving our Thunderbolt 3 SSD at a full 40Gbps data rates.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking for high performance in all things and don\u2019t mind the length, the Cable Matters USB4 cable is our pick.<\/p>\n
Its weaknesses are its stiff feel thanks to the higher-quality, thicker wires and construction Cable Matters uses, and its price. Looked at in dollars-per-foot, this $14 cable is about $6 per foot. With the Amazon Basics USB 3.1 USB-C cable below, you\u2019re only paying $3.17 per foot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That Amazon cable can\u2019t match the Cable Matters USB4 in Thunderbolt performance, but few need it. That makes the cable best suited to niche areas, but it\u2019s fast nonetheless with excellent construction.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Other USB-C cables that we tested<\/h2>\n Compared to our picks above, we wouldn\u2019t advise purchasing any of the other USB-C cables we tested. Why settle for something inferior? But we understand some will want to see which cables didn\u2019t make the cut and why.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDockcase 8.5-inch USB-C cable\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
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The Dockcase USB-C to USB-C cable is the worst value here if you only judge a cable by length and price. In capability though, this 8.5-inch cable is one of the better performers\u2014a consequence of its short length. The shorter the cable, the less the resistance and, well, the better the performance, even with thin wires.<\/p>\n
The Dockcase advertises a 100-watt charge rate, 4K video support, and even Thunderbolt 3 support. The company doesn\u2019t mention it but that Thunderbolt 3 speed is limited to 20Gbps, not the full 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 users expect, so take note. It\u2019s not practical, but we did charge our laptop at 100 watts with the Dockcase.<\/p>\n
Physically, the cable is a flat design with a rubbery outer sheath. The strain relief where the cable connects to the housing is minimal, as well, which makes us question its durability over time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Its length is best suited for an ultra-fast portable USB-C SSD, and can pinch hit for charging or running your monitor. We personally wouldn\u2019t recommend it for use with a high-speed Thunderbolt drive or device though, given its aforementioned limitations with that spec.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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The Amazon Basics USB-C to USB-C USB 2.0 is the cable that epitomizes minimum effort. At 6-feet long, it will do its job to charge your phone or tablet, and even your laptop at up to 60 watts, and that\u2019s about it. Since it\u2019s a USB 2.0 cable, data transfers to or from your computer will be dog slow compared to a USB 3.1 cable. Moving a 1GB file might take a few seconds on a USB 3.1 cable and nearly a minute with the Amazon Basics USB-C Charging cable.<\/p>\n
The cable itself is amazingly light. In fact, it\u2019s probably too light, which means Amazon didn\u2019t really use the thickest wires it could for this cable. That shows up with some of the highest resistance among the cables 6 feet or longer in this roundup, meaning less power delivered to your phone or tablet. Granted, we are talking about 2 percent lower wattage compared to the best of the longer cables here. But still, that\u2019s like a school report card that says \u201cpresent\u201d as its main selling point.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not all bad for the Amazon Basics cable. It does carry a big-name brand. And its lack of wires to support higher-speed USB 3.1 makes it relatively thin and light, and very pliable.<\/p>\n
Would we use this cable to charge our laptop every day? Probably not, but for someone charging a phone or tablet, its lightweight feel can be be a plus.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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This is Anker\u2019s oldest Powerline cable but it\u2019s still available alongside the Powerline II and Powerline III models. As its name tells you: This version is a USB 2.0 (480Mbps) cable, so transferring large files to your phone or tablet from your computer will be tedious at best.<\/p>\n
It has a black plastic sleeve without the tacky rubbery feel some cables have. On the inside it\u2019s about average, with actual charging performance somewhat better than the Amazon Basics USB 2.0 cable but not in the class of the Javex cable, which supports charge rates up to 100 watts instead of the Powerline\u2019s 60 watts. Phones, tablets, and light-duty laptops are its best use cases.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, while it\u2019s a decent cable for certain uses, its pricing hurts it. At its typical pricing of $12 it\u2019s not worth it. We\u2019ve seen it more recently for $8, which makes it slightly more attractive, but even at that price, we\u2019d recommend you buy the Javex instead.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJSAUX USB C to USB C Cable 60W 2-pack\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
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Do you get what you pay for? JSAUX \u201cUSB C to USB C Cable\u201d kinda proves the old adage that says if the price is low, there\u2019s a reason for it. Not only do you get a 6.6-foot \/ 2-meter USB-C to USB-C cable in the box\u2014you get two of them for what other brands might charge you for just one cable. Unlike some lesser-known cables on Amazon, the JSAUX cables are at least properly marketed with warnings that it is NOT a Thunderbolt 3 cable, it can NOT output video, and its charge rate is limited to 60 watts, with data limited to a very slow 480MBps. It\u2019s essentially a basic USB-C charging cable and not the greatest one. We looked at the internal resistance of the cable itself and found it to be pretty mediocre. In fact, we haven\u2019t seen a USB-C to USB-C cable with worse resistance. That pretty much means it skimps on internal wiring and potentially may not hold up over time as the cable is flexed over and over again. With all this said, most people don\u2019t actually need high charge rates on a charging cable (where less resistance would be more valuable) and we think that\u2019s reflected in the more than 31,000 reviews of this top-selling cable\u2014with most of them positive\u2014from around the world. <\/p>\n
We\u2019d pass for a slightly pricier cable, and would even prefer the Amazon Basics cable to it, but we do recognize that for charging a smart phone and tablet, it\u2019ll probably be fine, which explains how there are 31,000 happy customers. There are, however, better choices out there for those willing to pay for it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\nHow PCWorld tests USB-C cables<\/h2>\n We purchased retail USB-C cables for this roundup.\u00a0We physically measured and weighed each cable and examined each connector. A proper USB-C cable should use a one-piece shell rather than a folded shell with a visible seam in it. None of the cables we purchased used the lower-strength folded shells.<\/p>\n
We do want to point out that weight does tend to matter. All cables are essentially tiny metallic wire strands bound together with insulation. Sure, the connector, housing,\u00a0braiding, and outer shell are all factors in its weight, but lighter-duty cables literally have fewer wires and are far lighter. For example, the Cable Matters high-performance USB4 cable is 32-inches long and weighs more than the Amazon Basics low-performance USB 2.0 cable, which is more than twice as long.<\/p>\n
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That\u2019s not always better though, as a cable with more wires that are a heavier gauge\u2014or thicker\u2014are less pliable and also take up more space in your bag.<\/p>\n
You\u2019d think you could tell whether a cable is USB-C 2.0 by looking at the wires in the connector but that\u2019s not the case. Some cables use connectors with pins that aren\u2019t hooked up to anything.<\/p>\n
For example, a USB-C cable that is fine for charging but a dog in data transfer\u00a0will show up as being wired only for USB-C 2.0, as you can see below by the green LEDs. The \u201cCC\u201d LED indicates the Cable Configuration channel is wired up correctly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\nThe basic Amazon Basics USB-C cable is wired only for USB 2.0 data rates.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
A full-featured USB-C cable has additional wires to carry higher-speed data and the USB Cable Checker 2.0 shows this Cable Matters USB 4 cable in the picture below with the correct wiring all available. The small LED display also tells us that the cable has an ID e-Marker chip, the shell is properly grounded to the cable, and it does a quick resistance test too.\u00a0The cable tester also checks to see if the metal shell of the cable is grounded to the ground wire of the cable, which is required by spec. Every cable here was properly grounded.<\/p>\n
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Resistance is futile<\/h3>\n The resistance check from our cable checker is quick and dirty, so we augmented that by also measuring the resistance of the cable\u2019s ground wire and vbus wire using a milli-ohm meter connected via a pair of USB-C breakout boards. The breakout boards at both ends add about 30 mohms to the total. By spec, a USB-C cable should not exceed 83 mohms on the ground wires and 167 mohms on the voltage bus.<\/p>\n
Many of the cables we tested were within spec or close enough that it didn\u2019t matter, since there\u2019s likely even more resistance we\u2019re not able to account for with our method. We definitely could tell which cables used heavier-gauge or thick wires with less resistance to restrict the flow of electricity, and which ones cheaped out.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\nThis Cable Matters USB 4 cable has all the features you want for transferring data or connecting your monitor.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
What did the e-Marker say?<\/h3>\n Since each of the more advanced cables carries an e-Marker that tells the computer what the cable can do, we noted that and the validity of the e-Marker\u2019s claims. All but one of the cables met those claims, but the one that was wrong was way, way wrong. It claimed USB 3.2 10Gbps transfer speeds and a 1-meter length, when it literally didn\u2019t have the wires for the faster transfer speeds and was actually 2 meters long.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\nSome USB-C cables feature a chip or e-Marker that contains information the device reads. This two meter cable\u2019s e-Marker is incorrect.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
We then looked at how fast the cable would charge and transfer data, and whether it supported an alternate mode to run a monitor, using real-world hardware.<\/p>\n
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For charging speeds we recorded the maximum wattage at which the cable could charge an Asus ROG Strix 15 gaming laptop over its USB-C port using USB-Power Delivery with an Aukey USB-PD charger as the source while the laptop was under load.\u00a0USB-PD today is is capable of 240 watts. Any USB-C to USB-C cable should handle 3 amps\u00a0at 20 volts, or 60 watts.\u00a0All of the USB-C to USB-C cables fell into the standard 60-watt, 100-watt, or 240-watt camps.<\/p>\n
We didn\u2019t test the temperature of each cable\u2019s housing, but we did test the cheapest cable by running it at 5 amps and 20 volts for an hour. The housing heated up by 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and the cable itself became relatively warm (see the thermal image below). Not ideal, but it did this without failure. We subjected other cables to two-hour loads without failure, as well.<\/p>\n
For one final charge test, we tasked each cable with a 20 volt, 3 amp and 20 volt 5 amp load (for the 5-amp rated cables) and measured the voltage delivered at the end of the cable using our CT-3 meter.<\/p>\n
The cables with the thinnest-gauge wires add more resistance, which in turn reduces the voltage delivered to your laptop, tablet, or phone.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\nThe thinner the wires used in a cable, the greater the resistance, and the greater the heat as you can see from this thermal image of a $5 6.6-foot USB cable carrying a 5 amp, 20 volt, 100-watt load for one hour.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
For data transfer, we measured the speed using Crystal Disk Mark 8 while plugged into the USB-C\/Thunderbolt 4 port of an MSI Prestige 14 Evo laptop. Since the cables can also be used to transfer data from a Thunderbolt storage drive, we measured how fast that happened using a high-speed SSD-based SanDisk Professional Thunderbolt G-Drive. We found three transfer modes among the cables tested: Thunderbolt 20Gbps performance, Thunderbolt 40Gbps performance, or zero performance because the cable would not work at all with a Thunderbolt drive.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\nBasic USB-C charging cables will not enable advanced drives such as this G-Drive Thunderbolt 3-based SSD, despite the USB-C plug fitting.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Our last test looked at each cable\u2019s capability running an Asus ROG Strix 17.3-inch portable gaming monitor. The monitor is a high-performance gaming monitor with a resolution of 1920\u00d71080 and refresh rate of 240Hz\u2014which is basically the same bandwidth requirements of a standard 4K 60Hz display.<\/p>\n
Why you should trust PCWorld<\/h2>\n PCWorld has been testing hardware since the 1980s. Our reviewers are thorough in putting all products through their paces, evaluating them for performance as well as critical usability standards. If we wouldn\u2019t want a product for ourselves, we won\u2019t recommend it. <\/p>\n
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FAQ <\/h2>\n\n
1.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat are the different types of USB-C to USB-C cables?<\/h3>\n \n
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