Best USB-C cables 2023: Get quality charging and data transfers

Let’s be honest, most people don’t need a USB-C to USB-C cable for much more than charging devices—so why the premium for all that high-speed data-transfer, Thunderbolt stuff? Look no further than the Amazon Basics “Aluminum Braided” 100W USB-C to USB-C 2.0 cable then. Before you get too excited, the “aluminum” in its name probably should be “aluminum-colored”—if you wanted an actual aluminum exterior, you won’t get it. This is a pleasant, shiny cloth-like braid. The cable features a stiff plastic overmold for strain relief and is wired strictly for USB 2.0 data transfer speeds. That means you should expect no more than 480Mbps versus the much faster 5Gbps to 40Gbps of cables wired for higher speeds.

The good news is that as a charging cable, you’ll be able to charge up to 100 watts—enough power for a Dell XPS 15 or MacBook Pro 16-class laptop. Although our testing didn’t find it to be quite as good as the Javex cable we’re bumping from our top perch—it’s close enough it doesn’t matter. During testing, we also subjected the Amazon Basics Aluminum Braided cable to a continuous 100-watt load for more than 30 minutes without issue so charging won’t be a problem. Even better, it’s less than half the cost of the Javex charging cable we previously recommended for those on a budget. Sure, it’s not quite as pliable as the even more basic Amazon Basics cable USB 3 to USB-C below, this one is currently cheaper, isn’t limited to 60 watts, and doesn’t feel like it will fall apart.

We’ll be honest, we didn’t know what to expect of the stock 6.6-foot Apple USB-C Charge Cable Apple includes with its MacBook laptops and sells as a replacement item. Yes, we’ve heard the stories and seen the pictures of the sleeving on many Apple cables that fall off if you look at them too hard.

In the end, Apple’s USB-C Charge Cable won us over and is actually our recommended cable for those who want a big name on the box and intend to use it for mostly charging. When we say the box, we mean it, because Apple oddly doesn’t include any branding on the cable itself, which is a mistake because you just might mix it up with a lousy cable.

In the end though, it’s what’s inside a cable that matters the most and the Apple USB-C cable has top-notch wiring materials that can deliver the most power to your laptop, phone, or tablet. Want to charge your laptop at 100 watts all day? That shouldn’t be a problem for the Apple USB-C Charge Cable.

Obviously, as a charge cable it’s terrible for data transfer and can’t drive Thunderbolt devices nor your monitor, but as a charging cable it’s excellent.

Another ding is its price of $19, but if you want a name-brand cable, it’s hard to beat this. Plus you can buy it from an Apple store or retailer so you know you’re actually getting what you paid for and not some counterfeit.

If you’re looking for a high-quality USB-C cable that will give you excellent performance, it’s 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 100 watts, transferring data from your USB 3.1 SSD, or running a monitor. The only area where it doesn’t excel is in Thunderbolt performance, which is limited to 20Gbps. That’s not a ding in our book because that’s the tradeoff of a 6-foot cable. To hit 40Gbps, you’d have to step down to a shorter cable.

The other cost of this quality is weight and pliability. The cable weighs almost 3.5 ounces, making it the the heaviest cable we tested outside of the 4-meter (13-foot) cable we looked at above. Those thicker gauge wires also mean you can’t roll up as easily or compactly as other cables, too.

And no surprise, high performance and high quality mean it’s not cheap. At $18, it’s among 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.

Cable Matters USB3 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.

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.

If you’re looking for high-performance in all things and don’t mind the length, the Cable Matters USB4 cable is our pick.

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 $20 cable is about $8 per foot. With the Amazon Basics USB 3.1 USB-C cable below, you’re only paying $3.17 per foot. 

That Amazon cable can’t match the Cable Matters USB4 in Thunderbolt performance, but few need it. That makes the cable best suited to niche areas but it’s fast nonetheless with excellent construction.

There’s a lot to like about the Amazon Basics USB 3.1 Gen 1 USB-C cable. This 6-foot cable features rubber sleeving and hefty wires that give it a substantive feel without the stiffness you get from some cables.

Its Amazon Basics logo helps prevent you from mixing up this cable with the generic cables you have laying around, and the SuperSpeed logo assures you it’s fast for data transfers.

In our testing, we were able to able to push the limits of our USB 3.2 10Gbps  SSD and could also drive our 240Hz 1080p panel. It also was capable of driving our high-performance Thunderbolt 3 drive at its 20Gbps data rate but not at its 40Gbps data rate—which is expected of a 6-foot cable. And despite its USB 5Gbps rating, we could hit 10Gbps speeds anyway which says the cable’s signal integrity is good despite its length. Why not label it USB 10Gbps? Amazon is sticking to the rules which say a 10Gbps isn’t supposed to work on a 6 foot cable.

Also oddly, Amazon specifically claims there’s “no alt-mode” support for this cable so driving a monitor won’t work. Except it does just fine since the alt-mode on USB-C just uses the wires included for the higher-speed USB 3.1 data transfers to run the monitor. We could even drive our high-performance Thunderbolt drive at 20Gbps transfer rates so way to sell yourself short Amazon.

The only real disappointment with the cable is charging is limited to 3 amps which means it tops out at 60-watt charge rates. That’s fine for a Dell XPS 13 or MacBook Pro 13, but not enough for a Dell XPS 15 or MacBook Pro 16. In fact, that’s the primary reason we didn’t give the cable the nod for best brand-name cable pick.

It does carry Amazon’s name which has value to some, but at $19, it’s hardly a steal. With that said, this is a fine cable, but there are indeed ones with more capability too. 

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—a consequence of its short length. The shorter the cable, the less the resistance and, well, the better the performance, even with thin wires.

The Dockcase advertises a 100-watt charge rate, 4K video support, and even Thunderbolt 3 support. The company doesn’t mention it but that Thunderbolt 3 speed is limited to 20Gbps, not the full 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 users expect, so take note. It’s not practical, but we did charge our laptop at 100 watts with the Dockcase.

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. 

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’t recommend it for use with a high-speed Thunderbolt drive or device though, given its aforementioned limitations with that spec.

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’s about it. Since it’s 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.

The cable itself is amazingly light. In fact, it’s probably too light, which means Amazon didn’t 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’s like a school report card that says “present” as its main selling point.

It’s 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.

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. 

This is Anker’s oldest Powerline cable but it’s 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.

It has a black plastic sleeve without the tacky rubbery feel some cables have. On the inside it’s 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’s 60 watts. Phones, tablets, and light-duty laptops are its best use cases.

Unfortunately, while it’s a decent cable for certain uses, its pricing hurts it. At its typical pricing of $12 it’s not worth it. We’ve seen it more recently for $8, which makes it slightly more attractive, but even at that price, we’d recommend you buy the Javex instead.

Among the small-brand cables that support all the features of a USB-C to USB-C cable, the Rampow ranked as probably the best. The 6.6-foot cable supports USB 3.1 10Gbps data transfer rates, up to 100-watt charge rates, and could run our high-refresh USB-C monitor. Although its USB drive performance was a few points off the faster cables here, it could run our high-performance Thunderbolt drive at 20Gbps just fine.

Are there better cables? Sure, obviously, for a charge-only cable we’d take the Javex over the Rampow, and the Cable Matters 6-foot USB-C cable is a better full-feature cable, as well.

But we know, you just like the way it looks. The fact that it’s not expensive at $14 doesn’t hurt either. For a small-brand cable, it’s not too bad and you could do worse.