USB-C vs. Thunderbolt: What's the Difference?

Learn to distinguish between ports, performance, and more

ThunderboltandUSBare two of the most commonly used connector cables.

Although the ports look the same, there are significant differences betweenUSB-Cvs.

Thunderbolt, so you should know which one you need support for before purchasing a new gadget.

USB-C vs. Thunderbolt: Overall Findings

Faster than traditional USB connections.

Outputs HD video and audio with adapters.

Widely available on PCs and Macs.

Faster than USB-C.

Outputs HD video and video via DisplayPort.

Not as widely supported on Windows devices.

USB and Thunderbolt (not to be confused withLightning) are both protocols for transferring data and video.

Look for the Thunderbolt logo to identify Thunderbolt-compatible hardware.

USB 4 supports speeds up to 40Gbps.

USB 3 supports speeds up to 10Gbps.

Power and charge devices at 100 watts.

Thunderbolt 3 and 4 support speeds up to 40Gbps.

Thunderbolt 2 supports speeds up to 20Gbps.

Available on all new PCs.

Not cross-compatible with Thunderbolt (although they use the same ports).

Available on all Apple computers and some PCs.

Cost increases with each port.

Supports USB as a fallback.

All Macs today support both Thunderbolt and USB-C. Thunderbolt connections also require extra hardware that raises the cost of devices.

When you plug a Thunderbolt cable into a USB-C port, it uses the USB protocol to transfer data.

On devices with multiple ports, some may only support USB-C while others support both USB-C and Thunderbolt.

Supports 4K displays with audio using a workaround.

USB 4 and USB 3 use the same USB-C port.

Connect to USB 2 devices with an adapter.

Supports up to two 4K video displays or one 8K display.

Thunderbolt 4 and Thunder 3 use the same USB-C port.

Connect to older Thunderbolt devices with an adapter.

USB-C now supportsHDMIvideo output, but only Thunderbolt currently supportsDisplayPort.

An adapter is required to transfer audio via USB-C, but Thunderbolt natively supports video and audio.

However, Thunderbolt requires an adapter for HDMI.

Thunderbolt can also supportDVIandVGAdisplays through the use of adapters.

That means consumers will have to pay close attention to the versions of USB-C a gadget can support.