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

Ever since Apple stopped selling our top big-brand cable for charging, we’ve been looking for a suitable replacement and we may have finally found it with Belkin’s BoostCharge 240-watt charging cable.

This 6.6-foot, or 2-meter, cable supports the highest USB-Power Delivery charge rate, comes from a recognized big-brand, and is the same price as Apple’s 100-watt cable that used to sell for $19.99 all day.

What happened to Apple’s 100-watt charging cable? In keeping with updated USB power delivery specs, which moves the bar from 100 watts to 240 watts for faster charge rates, Apple dumped the 100-watt 6.6-foot cable for a new 240-watt cable and *cough* increased the price from $19.99 to $29.99.

The good news is the Belkin BoostCharge 240-watt charging cable is a worthy alternative to Apple’s offering.

Internally, the cable is just about on par with the Apple cable for cable resistance. That’s a good thing because Apple’s cables are actually internally constructed quite well in our experience. It’s the outside of Apple cables that has a reputation for falling apart and fraying.

The BoostCharge gives us more confidence than Apple with its pleasant braiding, beefy overmolding and Belkin’s boast that the cable has been tested to more than 30,000 bends.

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’s overheating and signal the devices to pause until it has cooled down enough.

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).

That’s fine though, because most people are simply charging a laptop, tablet, or phone, and don’t 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.

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’re balking at $29 for the equivalent — pick up the Belkin BoostCharge instead. If the Apple brand makes you feel more comfortable, read on.

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’s probably for good reason. At roughly $14 for a pair of 6-foot USB-C to USB-C charging cables from a brand-name people trust, it’s a great value, and for most people looking to handle phone-, small laptop-, and tablet-charging duties-, you probably don’t 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.

The New Nylon 2-pack cables are braided and Anker says they’re tested to 12,000 bend cycles, which is better than most budget charger cables advertise.

Inside, however, there isn’t much special to the Anker New Nylon 2-pack. As basic “charging cables” they’re limited to a maximum of 60 watts. If you’re confused by what a “charger cable” 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.

You should also know that the lack of faster data transfers also means the Anker cable can’t be used to hook your laptop up to a USB-C port for video.

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.

While cable snobs may turn their noses up at the 60-watt charge performance, in reality, it doesn’t 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.

That means if we were a new iPhone 15 owner looking to replace a pile of obsolete Apple Lightning cables, we’d buy two or four of these Anker New Nylon cables and stop wracking your brain trying to find the “best USB-C cable.”

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.

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 — 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’s from someone you trust at the right price.

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.

Do you get what you pay for? JSAUX “USB C to USB C Cable” kinda proves the old adage that says if the price is low, there’s a reason for it. Not only do you get a 6.6-foot / 2-meter USB-C to USB-C cable in the box—you 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’s 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’t 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’t actually need high charge rates on a charging cable (where less resistance would be more valuable) and we think that’s reflected in the more than 31,000 reviews of this top-selling cable—with most of them positive—from around the world.

We’d 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’ll 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.

There are a number of different types of USB-C to USB-C cables including: USB 2.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1, USB 3.1 Gen 2, and Thunderbolt 4.

The main difference between all of these is their data transfer rates and their charge rates. Basic charge cables give you very slow data transfer speeds and typically only up to 60 watts. For a phone, tablet, and even most small laptops such as a Dell XPS 13 or MacBook Pro 13 that’s fine. As you move up to larger laptops such as a Dell XPS 15 or MacBook Pro 16, 60 watts will limit how fast you can charge.

The other key differentiator is speed. USB 2.0 is a plodding 480Mbps. USB 3 cables range from 5Gbps to 20Gbps. While USB4, and Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 can support up to 40Gbps of throughput.

Thunderbolt, USB4, and many USB 3 cables also support display support using DisplayPort.