Two monitors on a MacBook: what your chip allows and when you need DisplayLink

The short answer: Your MacBook’s chip sets how many external screens it can run, and a dock or adapter doesn’t raise that number. Apple lists one external display for the M1 and M2 MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 or M2. On those models, a second external monitor means a DisplayLink dock, which uses a driver instead of the chip’s own video output. The M3 MacBook Air and M3 MacBook Pro run two with the lid closed. The M4 and M5 MacBook Air, the M4 and M5 MacBook Pro and every MacBook Pro with a Pro or Max chip run at least two over ordinary video cables.

Not sure which chip you have? Choose About This Mac from the Apple menu, as Apple’s identification guide describes.

Find your MacBook: external displays by chip

Supports M1 or M2 Air, or 13-inch M1 or M2 Pro: two external screens · M3 MacBook Air or M3 MacBook Pro · M4 or M5 Air, or M4 or M5 MacBook Pro · MacBook Pro with a Pro or Max chip · Not sure which chip you have

MacBook	External displays	Condition	For two external screens, buy	Apple source
Air, M1 (2020)	1	None	A DisplayLink dock	Specs
Air, M2 (13-inch 2022, 15-inch 2023)	1	None	A DisplayLink dock	13-inch, 15-inch
Air, M3 (13- and 15-inch, 2024)	2	Second display only with the lid closed	Video cables, plus a keyboard and a mouse or trackpad	13-inch, 15-inch, setup
Air, M4	2	Closing the lid doesn’t raise the count	A video cable for each screen	Displays
Air, M5	2	Closing the lid doesn’t raise the count	A video cable for each screen	Displays
Pro 13-inch, M1 (2020)	1	None	A DisplayLink dock	Specs
Pro 13-inch, M2 (2022)	1	None	A DisplayLink dock	Specs
Pro 14- or 16-inch, M1 Pro (2021)	2	None	A video cable for each screen	14-inch, 16-inch
Pro 14- or 16-inch, M1 Max (2021)	4	Up to three at 6K and one at 4K	A video cable for each screen	14-inch, 16-inch
Pro, M2 Pro or M3 Pro	2	None	A video cable for each screen	Displays
Pro, M2 Max or M3 Max	4	None	A video cable for each screen	Displays
Pro, M3	2	Second display only with the lid closed	Video cables, plus a keyboard and a mouse or trackpad	Displays, setup
Pro, M4 or M4 Pro	2	None	A video cable for each screen	Displays
Pro, M4 Max	4	None	A video cable for each screen	Displays
Pro, M5	2	None	A video cable for each screen	Displays
Pro, M5 Pro	3	None	A video cable for each screen	Displays
Pro, M5 Max	4	None	A video cable for each screen	Displays

Apple’s counts are maximums. The linked pages list the resolution and refresh rate allowed in each combination, and several chips drop to lower settings as screens are added. For one external screen on any model, you need only the monitor’s own cable or one cable that matches its input. Apple’s MacBook Pro display page tells owners of models it doesn’t list to check that model’s tech specs. Once you know your row, settle the other half of the purchase — whether one cable will carry both video and the monitor’s power, or you need a second — with the source-by-source check in our portable monitor guide.

Try this first, free

Supports One external screen, any MacBook · M1 or M2 Air, or 13-inch M1 or M2 Pro: two external screens

Count the built-in screen. Apple lists these external displays alongside the built-in display, except in the M3 lid-closed setup. A MacBook beside one external monitor is already a two-screen desk.

Use an iPad you already own: Apple's Sidecar requirements

Use an iPad you already own. Apple’s Sidecar uses an iPad as a second display for a Mac. Apple requires macOS Catalina 10.15 or later on a MacBook Air introduced in 2018 or later or another Mac introduced in 2016 or later, which covers every MacBook in the table. The iPad needs iPadOS 13 or later and must be an iPad Pro, an iPad (6th generation) or later, an iPad mini (5th generation) or later or an iPad Air (3rd generation) or later. Both devices must be signed in to the same Apple Account with two-factor authentication. For wireless use, keep them within 10 meters (30 feet) with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Handoff on. Over USB, the iPad must be set to trust the Mac. With your external monitor already connected, try Sidecar before buying a dock.

Start with the cable in the monitor’s box. If its connector fits a port on your MacBook, the first external screen costs nothing more.

M3 MacBook Air or Pro: two screens with the lid closed

Supports M3 MacBook Air or M3 MacBook Pro

Apple’s M3 dual-monitor page lists three requirements: an external keyboard and a mouse or trackpad; macOS Sonoma 14.3 or later on the MacBook Air or 14.6 or later on the MacBook Pro; and power, over USB-C or from a power adapter with a USB-C to MagSafe cable.

Apple's five setup steps, in order

Apple’s order of steps:

1. Connect the keyboard and the mouse or trackpad.
2. Connect the Mac to power.
3. Connect the first display, at up to 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz.
4. Close the lid.
5. Connect the second display, at up to 5K at 60Hz or 4K at 100Hz.

Apple says that if you open the lid with both displays connected, the second display “will go dark or disconnect.” If a hub or dock only mirrors the screens, Apple says to connect the display to a port on the Mac itself.

M3 MacBook Air ports: which one charges while both screens are connected

Apple lists two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports and a MagSafe 3 port on both M3 MacBook Air sizes. With a monitor in each Thunderbolt port, MagSafe can charge the Mac, and a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse don’t need a port.

Recommendation: If you can work with the lid closed, buy only the cables your monitors need. If the lid has to stay open, the M3 supports one external display. The DisplayLink route below is the purchase to evaluate, within a return window.

M1 and M2: the DisplayLink route

Supports M1 or M2 Air, or 13-inch M1 or M2 Pro: two external screens

Plugable sells both Thunderbolt and DisplayLink docks. Its knowledge base says: “A MacBook with a base M1 or M2 CPU supports only one external display via Thunderbolt. Adding a Thunderbolt dock will not increase this limit due to hardware constraints.” It names DisplayLink docks and adapters, which “send video signals over USB data connections,” as the way to add displays. That is a vendor’s explanation, but it matches Apple’s one-display count for these models. By that account, a DisplayLink dock or adapter is the purchase that adds a second external screen to them.

Diagram: native video compared with a DisplayLink dock

What Synaptics documents about DisplayLink, and four checks for a dock listing

Synaptics, which makes DisplayLink, documents the software side:

• An app on the Mac. Synaptics’ macOS download page lists DisplayLink Manager release 16.2, dated July 17, 2026, for macOS Sonoma 14, Sequoia 15, Tahoe 26 and the Golden Gate 27 beta. It describes the app as streamlining “the setup of multiple displays up to 4K.”
• Screen Recording permission. DisplayLink’s support article says “macOS requires the user to permit ‘Screen Recording’ for DisplayLink driver to work properly.” The permission lets the software read the pixels it sends over USB. The article says DisplayLink Manager “does not send any data or pixels back to DisplayLink/Synaptics.”
• Protected video. Synaptics’ release notes for version 15.1, dated Feb. 13, 2026, list this limitation: “Protected content from iTunes and other players is not visible on built-in graphics when DisplayLink screens are connected.” As written, the limit reaches the screens the Mac drives itself, not only the DisplayLink screen.
• Resolutions. The same notes say “Some resolutions, especially HiDPI/ Retina ones, may be missing on Apple Mx products.”

Before buying, check the listing for:

• DisplayLink by name, or a Synaptics DisplayLink chip. The 15.1 notes list the DL-7xxx, DL-6xxx, DL-5xxx, DL-41xx, DL-3xxx and DL-1x5 series. A “dual monitor” dock that doesn’t name DisplayLink may rely on the Mac’s own video output, which Apple caps at one screen on these models.
• Which outputs use DisplayLink. Some docks mix native and DisplayLink outputs. On an M1 or M2, only one screen can use the Mac’s own video output, so every additional screen has to connect to a DisplayLink output.
• Charging wattage. Compare the dock’s listed power pass-through with the wattage printed on your Apple power adapter. The M1 MacBook Air and the 13-inch M1 and M2 MacBook Pro have no MagSafe port in Apple’s specifications, so a dock that charges them saves their second port.
• macOS support. Confirm that your macOS version appears on Synaptics’ download page.

Find DisplayLink docks for Mac on Amazon. This opens search results, not a specific product or a compatibility recommendation. A listing title is not documentation, so confirm the DisplayLink chip and supported macOS versions with the maker.

Recommendation: For documents, code, spreadsheets and reference windows, a DisplayLink dock is the fix for an M1 or M2 MacBook that needs two external screens. If you watch protected streaming or purchased video on the Mac, or depend on a particular Retina resolution, test those in the first week, or use the built-in screen as the second display instead.

Already supported: buy the simplest connection

Supports M4 or M5 Air, or M4 or M5 MacBook Pro · MacBook Pro with a Pro or Max chip

MacBook Air, M4 or M5. Apple lists two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports and a MagSafe 3 port on the M4 and M5. Put one monitor on each Thunderbolt port and charge through MagSafe. Apple lists DisplayPort output over USB-C, so a USB-C monitor needs a USB-C cable rated for video and a DisplayPort monitor needs a USB-C to DisplayPort cable. An HDMI-only monitor needs a USB-C to HDMI cable or adapter.

MacBook Pro, 14- or 16-inch. Apple’s 2021 specifications list an HDMI port beside three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and its display page lists Thunderbolt or HDMI connections for the M4 and M5 families. An HDMI monitor can use the HDMI port with an ordinary HDMI cable. Use the Thunderbolt ports for USB-C and DisplayPort monitors. On the M2 and M3 Pro and Max chips, Apple lists specific combinations of Thunderbolt and HDMI, so match your screens to the combinations on that page.

Find USB-C to DisplayPort cables on Amazon or find USB-C to HDMI cables on Amazon. These searches may show several configurations. Check the connector at each end and the listed resolution and refresh rate.

When a Thunderbolt dock is worth it, and how to spot one that only mirrors

When a dock is worth it. A Thunderbolt dock with two video outputs turns several cables into one plug at the desk. It doesn’t add screens beyond your chip’s count; Plugable says a dock’s extended displays “cannot exceed what is natively supported by the Thunderbolt ports on your Mac device.” Buy one only if the listing says it extends two displays on a Mac. If it only mirrors, Apple’s advice is to connect the displays to the Mac directly.

Find Thunderbolt docks with two display outputs on Amazon. This opens search results, not a specific product or a compatibility recommendation.

If the second screen needs to travel with the laptop, our portable monitor guide covers USB-C video, monitor power and actual screen sizes. Sharing the desk with a Mac mini? Our desk setup guide compares input switching, USB switches and KVMs.

What to do, by row

The same answers in prose, row by row

M1 or M2 MacBook Air, or 13-inch M1 or M2 MacBook Pro: Use the built-in screen with one external monitor, and try Sidecar if you own a supported iPad. If you need two external monitors, buy a DisplayLink dock whose listing names the chip and supports your macOS.

M3 MacBook Air or M3 MacBook Pro: If you can work with the lid closed, buy cables only and use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. If the lid stays open, treat it like the M1 and M2 row.

M4 or M5 MacBook Air, or M4 or M5 MacBook Pro: One cable per monitor. A dock only for one-plug convenience.

MacBook Pro with a Pro or Max chip: Cables, using the HDMI port on 14- and 16-inch models. Check Apple’s page for three or four screens: the M5 Pro lists three, while the M1 Pro, M2 Pro, M3 Pro and M4 Pro list two.

Check the setup before the return window closes

Four checks before the return window closes: sleep and wake, charging, protected video and lid-closed restart

1. Sleep and wake the Mac with every monitor connected. Each screen should return at its usual resolution and arrangement in System Settings > Displays.
2. Work a normal day with your charger connected through the dock or MagSafe. The battery should charge or hold, not drain.
3. On a DisplayLink dock, play the streaming or purchased video you care about, and confirm the resolutions you use are available.
4. On an M3 with the lid closed, restart the Mac and confirm the external keyboard works at login and both screens return.

Keep the packaging until all of that works, and buy the least expensive setup that passes.