A gaming mouse is a sure fire way to improve your skill ceiling. Even if a super lightweight, highly sensitive, ergonomic gaming mouse might take a little time to get used to, it'll soon become an extension of yourself. The best gaming mouse for you should ultimately make you more competitive by shaving off microseconds from your reaction times while adding any useful features that might improve your overall playtime, such as wireless connectivity, extra macro buttons or that all-important RGB lighting.
Alongside using a great gaming keyboard, a gaming mouse can make the world of difference to your comfort levels too. Lightweight gaming mice need less force to move around, and those with more supportive ergonomics reduce your chances of developing RSI and carpal tunnel. A great mouse can also add extra features to your gaming experience, like RGB lighting, remappable switches, adjustable weights and an infinite scroll wheel.
Any given gaming mouse rarely offers everything for everyone, but the one you choose should tick the most common boxes while providing features that give you an edge without getting in your way. Whether you want a high-end wireless mouse, something designed to be controlled with your left-hand or need a great budget-friendly solution that will feel like a nice upgrade over a generic mouse, here are some of the best gaming mice you can buy.
- Best Gaming Mouse Overall: Razer DeathAdder V2 Pro
- Best Lightweight Gaming Mouse: SteelSeries Aerox 3
- Best Wireless Gaming Mouse: Logitech G Pro
- Best Budget Gaming Mouse: SteelSeries Rival 3
- Best MMO Gaming Mouse: Corsair Scimitar Pro
- Best RGB Gaming Mouse: Razer Basilisk V3
- Best Left-Handed or Ambidextrous Gamers: SteelSeries Sensei 310
- Best Gaming Mouse for Comfort: Logitech G502 Lightspeed
- Best Razor Gaming Mouse: Razer Naga Pro
Best Gaming Mouse Overall
A Refined Classic
- Specs: 20,000 DPI, 1,000Hz polling rate, 89g, Wireless, Chroma RGB Lighting.
- Pros: Great sensor, Classic ergonomic shape, Bluetooth and Wireless connections, 120 hour battery life.
- Cons: Bulky design.
Razer's DeathAdder is one of the most enduring designs among all gaming mice. The latest version retains the highly coveted spot as the best gaming mouse in the world by refining an already stellar product.
Retaining the same gorgeous ergonomics that have made this mouse such a classic, the V2 Pro takes the DeathAdder into the realm of the wireless, equipping it with a powerful Razer HyperSpeed wireless sensor that makes it faster than most other wireless mice. When combined with the V2 Pro's excellent optical switches, clicks register just as fast as they would on even the best wired gaming mice.
The Razer Focus+ optical sensor offers an admittedly unnecessary 20,000 DPI option for those who need maximum sensitivity in certain niche game settings. What that really means, however, is a more accurate sensor and one that offers every conceivable level of sensitivity a gamer could possibly want.
Battery life is an extensive 120 hours when connected via Bluetooth, and an impressive 70 hours via a HyperSpeed Wireless connection. The charge cable is a little fiddly, but the mouse charges quickly, and you can continue to play while it's plugged in. As a result, there's no downtime with the Razer DeathAdder V2 Pro. If you don't care about wireless and want to save a big chunk of change, the wired DeathAdder V2 Pro is about $60 cheaper, yet offers virtually all of the same great features.
Best Lightweight Gaming Mouse
Super Fast, Super Light
- Specs: 8,500 DPI, 1,000Hz polling rate, 57g, Wired, RGB lighting.
- Pros: Fantastic sensor, super lightweight, mechanical switches, IP54 rated.
- Cons: Limited buttons compared to competition.
One of the hottest new trends in competitive gaming mice is making them as lightweight as possible. After SteelSeries utilized one of the lightest plastics ever created and trimmed the interior PCB as much as possible, it then cut holes in the casing to improve the design and shave off even more weight.
SteelSeries has trimmed so much fat from the Aerox 3 that its weight came down to a mere 57 grams (2.01 ounces). This helps you move faster and react quicker to what's happening in a game, potentially giving you an edge over your adversaries.
Worried about exposed electronics and sweaty palms? Don't be. The Aerox 3 features what SteelSeries refers to as "AquaBarrier" protection. This has helped the mouse earn an IP54 rating, which means dust will have no effect on its operation, plus it's water resistant against splashes from any angle. Don't go dunking this mouse in your fish tank, but if your palm sweats a bit, the Aerox 3 isn't going to let you down.
The sensor is SteelSeries TrueMore Core (Pixart 3331) which is decently accurate. The mouse has a sensitivity of between 200 and 8,500 DPI, adjustable in 100 DPI increments. Most users suggest it's best used on a hard surface, though a dust-free cloth mousepad should be fine too. If you want to ditch the wire and don't mind paying a premium for the privilege, there's also the wireless Aerox 3 ($80 at Best Buy).
Best Wireless Gaming Mouse
Wireless Charging On A Great Wireless Mouse
- Specs: 16,000 DPI, 1ms report rate, 80g, Wireless, Powerplay support with Powerplay mat.
- Pros: Excellent sensor, lightweight design, Powerplay wireless charging, adjustable mechanical switches.
- Cons: Expensive, heavier than super-lightweight designs.
Like many of Logitech's other wireless products, the Lightspeed connectivity at the heart of the G Pro is what sets it apart from other wire-free mice. Its click to register latency is just 1ms, making it extremely responsive. Logitech engineered the wireless transmission process to be as fast and seamless as possible, making this mouse competitive with some of the quickest wired mice when comparing input registration.
A rival for the best gaming mouse overall if it wasn't so expensive, the Logitech G Pro wireless is stupendous; not only for its fast wireless operation and support for left-handed or ambidextrous gamers, but because it's so understated. If you want a gaming mouse that isn't over-designed with sharp-angled plastic and RGB, the Logitech G Pro is one that's well worth considering.
The Logitech G Pro weighs in at just 80 grams (2.82 ounces), and it's lightning fast no matter what kind of grip you have or which game you're playing. What's also useful is the mouse’s 48- to 60-hour battery life.
How long the battery lasts will depend on the mouse’s features you enable. However, if you use this mouse in conjunction with a Logitech Powerplay wireless charging mouse pad (sold separately for $120), you never need to worry about battery life or manually charging your mouse ever again—it’ll automatically charge while you play.
Best Budget Gaming Mouse
Low Price, High Performance
- Specs: 8,500 CPI, 1,000 Hz polling rate, 77g, Wired, RGB lighting.
- Pros: Very affordable, solid sensor, comfortable shape, mechanical switches.
- Cons: Too small for big hands, uncomfortable for palm grip.
SteelSeries' high-end gaming mice are excellent, but so are its more budget-friendly options. The SteelSeries Rival 3 is an awesome gaming mouse with heaps of potential despite its diminutive price tag. For example, Walmart has this mouse on sale for a mere $30.
This mouse features the same TrueMove Core sensor that’s found in the Aerox 3, along with highly durably mechanical switches for the left and right mouse buttons, and gorgeous RGB right at your fingertips.
Designed to cater well to both claw and fingertip gamers, this SteelSeries mouse features a comfortable, lightly ergonomic design. It incorporates twin side buttons and a dedicated DPI selector, as well as a textured scroll wheel.
The mouse’s lighting options are surprisingly versatile considering the price, with both an RGB logo on the rear of the mouse and a light bar around its base. Customizable using the SteelSeries Engine software, you can make this mouse glow exactly how you like - utilizing millions of color options for each of its distinct lighting zones.
The only obvious downside to the Rival 3 is that its sensor is a little susceptible to lift-off tracking, so if you play games at sensitivities that require you to lift and reset the mouse often, there may be better options out there for you. For everyone else, this is one of the best gaming mice you can buy if you’re on a tight budget.
Best MMO Gaming Mouse
All The Buttons You Could Need
- Specs: 18,000 DPI, 1,000 Hz polling rate,122g, Wired, 17 programmable buttons, RGB lighting.
- Pros: Heaps of buttons for MMO and MOBA gamers, comfortable design, well built.
- Cons: Not well suited to shooters.
MMO mice are, like the games they're designed to play, a unique breed. A mouse designed for this type of game offers far more inputs than the average game would require, yet these mice need to be usable outside of one particular game genre, as well as comfortable (even with a heap of extra switches located under your thumb).
This is a wide mouse and better suited to gamers with large hands. The Scimitar sports 12 distinct Omron-switch-powered side buttons that are each infinitely programmable using the excellent Corsair backend software. This software lets you map individual keyboard shortcuts or complicated macros to any and all buttons. You can even save multiple profiles to easily swap controls and settings for each individual game you play.
To make reprogramming the mouse easy, Corsair has included a profile cycle button right in the middle of the mouse, right next to the onboard DPI switcher. There are several distinct lighting zones on this mouse too. Beyond serving as a pleasing aesthetic touch, the lighting also provides a visual indicator of your DPI setting and a reminder for where your thumb rests on the side buttons if you’re playing in the dark.
Find any of the buttons a little hard to reach due your hand size or grip preference? You can slide the entire button assembly forwards or backwards a few millimeters to help make them both more comfortable to use and more readily accessible.
Best RGB Gaming Mouse
Sync Up With Your Other Razer Products
- Specs: 26,000 DPI, 1,000 Hz polling rate, 101g, Wired, Chroma RGB lighting
- Pros: Incredibly versatile sensor, classic ergonomic shape with thumb rest, powerful RGB lighting.
- Cons: Scroll wheel is underwhelming.
As the category name suggests, an RGB mouse is one with an impressive and extensive RGB lighting system and pallet that allows you to add a visual element to your gaming experience as you’re controlling your mouse.
With its 11 programmable buttons (featuring Razer Optical Mouse Switches Gen-2), and 11 separate Razer Chroma RGB Lighting Zones, the Razer Basilisk V3 will be comfortable in your hand and appealing to your eyes. Each of the mouse’s lighting zones can be separately programmed with a choice of more than 16.8 million colors and numerous lighting effects. These effects will react dynamically and automatically as you’re experiencing more than 150 Chroma-integrated games.
This mouse offers a 26K DPI optical sensor which will flawlessly track your movements with pixel-precise accuracy. The Razer HyperScroll Tilt Wheel offers free-spin movement, but allows you to switch to a tactile mode for added precision based on the demands of the specific game you’re playing. Regardless of what game you’re playing, count on the Razer Basilisk V3 to provide superior performance while simultaneously looking spectacular.
Best Mouse for Left-Handed or Ambidextrous Gamers
Great For Left And Right-Handers
- Specs: 12,000 CPI, 1,000 Hz polling rate, 92g, Wired, Ambidextrous.
- Pros: Can be configured for left or right-handed gamers, excellent sensor, comfortable ambidextrous design, suited to different grip types.
- Cons: Not as ergonomic as right or left-handed, specific designs.
Sometimes less is more, especially when it comes to technology that needs to be functional as opposed to offering too many bells and whistles to be practically used in real-world situations. The SteelSeries Sensei 310 is an inexpensive gaming mouse that offers a more simplistic design than many of its competitors, so it’ll function nicely and be comfortable when used with either your right hand or left hand.
This is a wired mouse with a custom TrueMove3 3,500 to 12,000 CPI, 350 IPS optical, 1-to-1 tracking sensor. Thanks to its design, it’ll be comfortable in your hand whether you prefer a claw or palm grip when manipulating your mouse. The SteelSeries Sensei 31o features a two-zone, multi-color Prism RGB illumination system for customizable lighting that can be saved within the mouse itself. The mouse weighs just 92.1 grams (3.52 ounces).
Best Gaming Mouse for Comfort
Fine Tuned Chassis
- Specs: 25,600 DPI, 1,000 Hz polling rate, 114g, Wireless, Powerplay wireless charging.
- Pros: Fantastic gaming sensor, can be recharged wirelessly, 50 hours battery life, adjustable weights.
- Cons: Heavier than lightweight designs, expensive.
For people who find themselves engaged in marathon gaming sessions that last hours at a time, in addition to choosing a mouse that offers precision and nice RGB lighting features, you want one that’ll be comfortable in your hand and that won’t overly tax your wrist muscles.
A lot of technology is packed into the Logitech G502 Lightspeed, including fast wireless connectivity with your PC. This mouse features Logitech’s iconic Hero 25K sensor, which is the company’s most advanced with 1:1 tracking and a 100 to 25,600 dpi sensitivity range.
You’ll discover 11 customizable buttons built into this little beauty, along with a super-fast scroll wheel and an adjustable weight system (that allows you to arrange up to six removable weights inside of the mouse to establish the ideal weight and balance tuning for your personal gaming style).
The Logitech G502 Lightspeed also offers a fully customizable RGB lighting system that’s capable of displaying more than 16.8 million colors that can be synchronized with your game play. This is a wireless mouse with a battery that’ll last up to 60 hours between charges, although it's also PowerPlay compatible. The mouse weighs just 14.24 ounces.
Best Razor Gaming Mouse
Play How You Like
- Specs: 20,000 DPI, 1,000 Hz polling rate, 117g, Wireless, up to 19 programmable buttons, modular design, Chroma RGB lighting.
- Pros: Very low latency clicks, plenty of remappable buttons, swappable side panels, ergonomic shape.
- Cons: Heavier than competition.
Razer is one of the pioneers in offering gaming mice with a superior ergonomic design, visually stunning RGB lighting, and a ton of additional features and functions that never compromise speed, responsiveness or precision.
Of all the gaming mice in Razer’s lineup, perhaps the most impressive is the Razer Naga Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse. This one isn’t cheap, but in this case, you definitely get what you pay for—which is just about everything you could want out of a gaming mouse from an appearance, performance and customizability standpoint.
The Razer Naga Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse is rated as being 25 percent faster than competing wireless mice thanks to its HyperSpeed wireless technology that combines low-latency with interference reduction to provide true wireless freedom. With this mouse, you’ll enjoy a Focus+ 20K DPI optical sensor that provides for on-the-fly sensitivity adjustments using dedicated DPI buttons that are reprogrammable.
This mouse also features faster Razer optical mouse switches that use a light beam-based actuation for registering button presses—it literally works at the speed of light. Another awesome feature of this mouse is its full modular construction. It comes with three interchangeable sizes plates with a 2-, 6- or 12-button configuration. Thus, the mouse can offer up to 19 programmable buttons, along with a customizable Chroma RGB lighting system that supports more than 16.8 million color combinations.
The Razer Naga Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse weighs just 13.4 ounces, offers up to a 100-hour battery life, and is fully compatible with the Razer Firefly V2 gaming mouse mat (sold separately).
What To Consider When Buying A Gaming Mouse
There are dozens of specialized gaming mice on the market, so based on your gaming style, skill and personal preferences, you want to choose one that feels great in your hand and that offers the features and functionality that ultimately serve you well, regardless of what games you’re playing.
These tips will help you make the right choice when it comes to selecting the best gaming mouse for you. Be on the lookout for bundle offers that include a gaming mouse and keyboard from the same manufacturer at a discounted price.
Sensitivity
Mouse sensitivity is a wonderfully big number to slap on a sensor and the mouse it’s connected to. Marketing teams love them. But just how useful is a 20,000 dots per inch (DPI) sensitivity? For gaming, the answer is: Not very.
Most professional players, especially in the FPS space, utilize DPIs between 400 and 800, with some going into the low 1,000s. That's because lower sensitivities let you make more precise movements — but you’ll need to use more arm movement to compensate.
That said, greater sensitivities can be great for general day to day mousing, as it reduces the amount of physical effort involved in moving whatever you’re controlling across the screen. This can be particularly useful if you have an enormous ultrawide monitor set at a super high resolution. In some games, turrets and vehicles can lower your pointer speed for immersive purposes, but having a higher mouse sensitivity gives you the option to counter that and stay fast and fluid if you're able to quickly adjust your DPI.
In reality, when it comes to mouse sensitivity, 20,000, 16,000 or anything over 3,500, is overkill. Don't buy a mouse for its super high sensitivity—buy it because it has a good, accurate sensor and all of the other features you want.
Wired vs. Wireless
Wireless mice have always held the advantage over their wired counterparts in terms of portability and lack of cable drag, but until recently they were typically less responsive. With recent generations of wireless gaming mice, however, that's changed, and thanks to advances in wireless transmission technology and advanced onboard processing, many of the best gaming mice are wireless gaming mice, offering the same kind of responsive performance as wired mice.
Wireless mice still demand a price premium thanks to the additional technology they carry. That often makes them heavier than the lightest wired mice too, but if you want to free yourself from the clutter and inconvenience of wires, there’s no longer a need to make any other sacrifices to do so.
Battery Life
One area where wireless mice will always fall behind wired mice, however, is battery life. Where wired mice are powered by the system they're plugged into, wireless mice must be periodically charged or have their batteries replaced. Battery life has been extended to tens of hours in some of the best wireless gaming mice, but most will still need recharging by plugging them in.
There are some alternative designs, though, including Logitech's Powerplay system or the Razer Fly V2 gaming mouse mat make it so that you never have to actively charge the mouse—it charges while you play. Even with mice where that's not the case, fast charging cables make it so you can use the mouse while it’s charging without it taking too long to get back up to full charge.
Remappable Buttons And Macros
One of the most useful features of gaming mice is the ability to remap the buttons and switches to do whatever you want based on the specific game you’ll be playing. In some games, that can mean mapping keyboard shortcuts for your inventory or favorite weapon so they're more easily within reach. But you can also record macros and have those at your fingertips too.
Macros are sequences of key presses and clicks that would otherwise have to be triggered manually. You can record them once, save them as a macro, and then have those actions play out with the click of a single button. This can be particularly useful for common combination attacks in MMOs, or at the start of an RTS game where your actions typically don’t change from game to game.
Each manufacturer has different methods for recording and storing macros. Some include onboard memory, allowing you to take your settings with you, but most have a robust suite of software tools that make it easy to set macros up with little effort.
If you're playing a fast-paced FPS, you aren't likely to need many macros or remappable buttons, but MOBA, MMO, and RTS gamers may benefit from having their favorite button combinations within easy reach.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Gaming Mouse
Is A Good Mouse Important For Gaming?
A good mouse can make you a faster and more responsive gamer, and they'll give you a more comfortable gaming experience when playing for longer periods of time. You don't absolutely need a fast gaming mouse to win, but it will help.
Combined with a great gaming keyboard, a decent graphics card, and a fast refresh rate monitor, gaming mice are an important tool to help gamers play at their fastest.
What Is Dots Per Inch (DPI)?
DPI, or dots per inch, is a sensitivity rating of mice to show how many dots per linear inch that a device can detect. A higher DPI setting will make the mouse pointer move faster on the screen, where a lower DPI will make it move slower.
Higher DPI is best suited to fast paced action games where frequent radical mouse movement is required. For slower games, or where accuracy is important, lower DPI settings are preferable. Gaming mice with a wide range of DPI options can give you an advantage in a variety of game and role types, making them useful for a wider range of gamers.
What's a Macro?
Macros are sequences of recorded inputs that let you automatically replay them without having to press them all again. For example, you could have a macro that presses a specific sequences of mouse buttons or keyboard shortcuts with a set interval between each command. This can be particularly useful when managing ability cooldowns in MMOs and MOBA games, but it can also be useful for performing sequences of inputs in photo and video editing software too.
