Do I need a Thunderbolt dock or is a cheaper USB-C hub enough?

It depends on your workload. Across the reviewers we read, simple USB-C hubs (often $15-$40) are fine for a single 4K@60Hz display, file transfers, and charging a laptop. If you need dual or triple high-refresh displays, daisy-chaining, or 40Gbps+ data, specialist communities consistently steer people toward a Thunderbolt 4/USB4 or Thunderbolt 5 dock, which costs significantly more but is far more reliable for multi-monitor setups.