A gaming mouse is one of the most critical components of a PC gaming setup. Gaming keyboards have an important place, but their effect on your gaming is minor compared to a gaming mouse. The difference between using a mediocre keyboard and a great one isn’t going to be as significant as the difference between a mediocre mouse and a great mouse.
When you’re playing a PC game where quick and accurate aiming is essential (which is a lot of games!), having a great mouse that’s comfortable in your hand is the best way to ensure you’re playing at your peak. A lesser mouse can introduce latency, add acceleration, or even track poorly. That’ll be a distraction in non-competitive games, but when it comes to serious battles online, that extra time spent aiming can be the difference between winning and losing.
The best gaming mouse can ensure each of your hand movements are accurately and consistently tracked. In this way, you can build up muscle memory in each of your games so that you always know just how far to move your mouse to land on your target. There are many gaming mice that can deliver this solid tracking alongside a whole host of extra features.
The best mouse for MOBA players will be different from the best lightweight mouse that a CSGO player might use. Whether you’re looking for wired or wireless, light or heavy, or with a dozen programmable buttons, there’s a mouse designed just for you. You just have to know where to look.
We’ve tested dozens of gaming mice throughout the year and made a list of those we feel are worth your time. The good news is that the best gaming mouse doesn’t need to cost you hundreds of dollars; we’ve found some great budget options as cheap as $50.
1. Razer DeathAdder V2
The Razer DeathAdder has an overall fantastic shape for all sorts of grips and hand sizes, and I’ve spent hundreds of hours playing games, using Photoshop, and browsing the Internet with it. Despite years of iterations, Razer never messes with the DeathAdder’s shape. There’s no reason to.
The DeathAdder V2 uses a 20,000 DPI Razer Focus+ optical sensor, and while big numbers don’t necessarily equate to quality, here they do. Razer’s newest tech delivers flawless tracking, even if you move the mouse as fast as humanly possible.
For the majority of games and gamers, the DeathAdder V2 is a fantastic mouse. Its design is simple, with two perfectly placed, generously sized thumb buttons. It also has an excellent optical mouse sensor that will work on both hard and cloth pads, and it has the ultimate body shape for a claw or hybrid claw/palm grip.
And if you want to ditch the tail, the DeathAdder V2 Pro takes the same shape, the same sensor, and makes it a fantastic wireless gaming mouse.
2. Logitech G203 Lightsync
There are plenty of affordable gaming mice worth your money today, but few you can have complete confidence in quite like the Logitech G203 Lightsync. It’s an all-around performer, delivering stable and consistent performance in a sleek package, and is the best cheap gaming mouse around today. The Logitech sensor within is rated up to 8,000 DPI if you’re interested, and it’s got responsive switches throughout to ensure smooth operation.
The only significant difference between this and the G203 Prodigy that used to sit here is the inclusion of three-zone RGB lighting on the Lightsync instead of the single-zone lighting on the Prodigy. It’s not a huge change, but one that looks a treat and doesn’t cost extra, in theory. If you can snag a bargain deal on the G203 Prodigy, we highly recommend that you move on it while stocks last.
3. Razer Naga Pro
The form and function of Razer’s Naga mouse have both come a long way over the years, but it has long been the best MMO mouse for our money. And this revision of the Razer Naga Pro is the best yet: a tiny, comfortable mouse with a high-quality sensor and three interchangeable thumb grips, with button arrays ideal for MOBAs, MMOs, or general use.
The MOBA array is the best; it has six buttons laid out in two rows so that there are enough buttons to map multiple abilities, but not so many that they become an overwhelming samey blob.
This year’s Naga offers an improved battery life and works with the Razer Mouse Dock (not included, sadly). The Razer Naga Pro is slightly on the small side for larger hands, with a more squat shape than some gaming mice. It’s comfortable in the relaxed grip suited to MMOs but will still do the job if you play MOBAs, shooters, or other active games.
It’s also worth noting that, while the Naga is an entirely right-handed rodent, Razer has created a southpaw version that features our best left-handed mouse guide. However, the leftie version does only come with a single set of side buttons.
4. SteelSeries Prime Wireless
The Prime Wireless is a no-frills, high-performance machine designed to meld with your palm and make you the FPS god you always dreamed of being. The $139 mouse is part of Steelseries’ Prime lineup of esports-focused peripherals and sits between the cheaper wired Prime and the OLED packing Prime+.
The Prime Wireless immediately felt like it was designed just for my particular hand. SteelSeries says it worked with several esports pros to develop the right shape and weight that feels like an extension of your arm. For once, the product lives up to the hype. The Prime Wireless is designed for right-handers, particularly claw and fingertip grippers. The whole mouse seems to gently slope towards the right so that it cradles in your palm for a comfortable grip.
As a wireless mouse, it has a built-in rechargeable battery rated for 100 hours per charge, which is over a week of average use. However, I should point out those numbers are only achievable when the mouse is running in High-efficiency mode, which tones down some settings like the RGB to save power. For gaming, you’ll want to keep it in performance mode, which will chew through the battery in significantly less time—around 40 hours in testing.
I never expected to like the Steelseries Prime Wireless, but it’s just so damn comfortable to use for work and gaming. Input lag is no issue, and honestly, wireless these days are virtually indistinguishable from their wired counterparts. The battery life is excellent, and that quick charge is something every wireless peripheral should have. At $139, the Prime Wireless is on the pricier side, but it’s a quality mouse that will serve you well.
5. Razer Basilisk V3
The new Razer Basilisk V3 is, as the name suggests, the third iteration of the iconic wired rodent. Initially introduced way back in the beautiful year 2018 B.C. (Before Covid), the Basilisk quickly earned its name as one of the best gaming mice. We loved the follow-up Basilisk V2 and the many improvements it brought. On to this version, three mice, and the improvements aren’t as immediately apparent.
The Basilisk V3 looks and feels practically identical to the V2, which admittedly isn’t a bad thing at all. Designed for right-handers, the $70 Basilisk V3 retains the identical flared and textured thumb rest, iconic thumb paddle, and split mouse button design of the V2.
The Basilisk V3 is a solid iteration on an already great mouse, improving elements without detracting from others. Those improvements are welcome, too, and I honestly can’t get over how good the added Chroma lighting looks. The HyperScroll Tilt Wheel is fun, though ultimately not as valuable for gaming as productivity work. Still, overall I love this new Basilisk, and it certainly leaves me excited for a wireless Basilisk V3 Ultimate. Now that’s going to be some mouse.
6. SteelSeries Sensei 310
The updated version of this Steelseries mainstay, the Sensei 310, subtly reinvented a classic mouse. It needed it. Almost everything is new except the Sensei’s ambidextrous shape, and that’s precisely how it should be. Thanks to a new plastic shell, the Sensei is grippier and can shrug off a sweaty palm. Steelseries uses its custom version of one of the best gaming sensors around, ensuring the Sensei 310 won’t suffer any tracking issues.
The Sensei 310 fits in your hand just like the old Sensei and is an excellent shape for either left- or right-handed gamers looking for a midsized ambidextrous mouse. That means it has a pair of identical thumb buttons on the left and the right, a common issue for ambidextrous mice—it can be far too easy to accidentally click the wrong side’s buttons as you grip with your pinky. In my hours of testing the Sensei 310, that hasn’t happened once.
The size and shape of the thumb buttons have been tweaked, making it easy to rock your thumb upwards to press them but keeping them out of the way of accidental pinky clicks. Anyone looking for a small, light, or ambidextrous mouse: this should be your first stop.
7. Logitech G Pro Wireless
The G Pro Wireless is peerless when it comes to cord-free pointers, packing Logitech’s excellent 16,000 DPI HERO sensor and the kind of latency-free experience you’d expect from a wired mouse. It’s incredibly light, sitting just over the 80g weight mark, but it doesn’t feel cheap or disposable, unlike some lighter mice. Instead, it’s crafted of high-quality materials and exhibits performance to match.
Logitech designed every component in the G Pro Wireless to be as light and durable as possible, including shaving down the thickness of the chassis’ side walls without sacrificing composition or density. Judging from the multiple hard tumbles, the G Pro has survived from my desk; it’s a very sturdy piece of kit.
It also boasts a healthy 40 hours of battery life and is customizable, with buttons on the side panels that can be removed and traded out for smooth inserts, if that’s your preference. You could also pair the G Pro with Logitech’s Powerplay charging mat and never worry about running out of juice again. The only real downside is the price tag: at around $120, the G Pro isn’t cheap, but it can fully justify that cost with quality.
