The best gaming mouse of 2023

Pros: Smooth movement, lightweight (74g), good battery life, subtle but cool look (with RGB), truly ambidextrous shape, surface texture, color options

Cons: Bloated Razer software suite

If you're shopping for the best gaming mouse and you want an untethered experience that's free from cables, the Razer Viper Ultimate is our top wireless pick. Aside from a few small qualms (like its pushy software), it offers a high-end gaming experience with an overall responsive and enjoyable feel. 

The Viper Ultimate is Razer's ambidextrous, wireless, and premium gaming mouse. It feels great with smooth performance and has a welcome texture that varies between the palm and sides of the mouse. 

As part of the ambidextrous design, the Viper Ultimate has a two-button cluster on both sides. It also has a compartment on the underside where the USB dongle can be stored for travel. The battery life is good with a rating of up to 70 hours. 

It also comes with a few different buying options, so you can choose your favorite colorway or opt to pay more to get a package that includes a charging dock. Though not entirely necessary, the dock is a nice addition to any gaming setup, and it allows the USB transmitter to sit closer to the mouse. 

The Viper Ultimate stands above the competition for its balance of comfort, premium feel, and strong wireless connection. The mouse is at home playing first-person shooters (FPS) or real-time strategy (RTS) games, running wired or wirelessly, and even outside of games. 

It feels complete without any corners cut and its weight is low enough to be considered ultralight without that being its only selling point. Especially considering how it's often on sale for up to 50% off, the Viper Ultimate should be one of your top considerations when shopping for a new wireless gaming mouse.

Pros: Classic shape, clicky buttons, well-set scroll wheel, four available colors, low price, lightweight (85g)

Cons: Plain cable for a gaming mouse

For buyers who don't want any latency and prefer the simplicity of a wired design, the Logitech Lightsync G203 is an excellent option that manages to have a wonderful shape and a relatively light weight. The sensor is not as fancy as many gaming mice, but the feel, glide, and wired performance should still please most gamers.

It has six buttons and a scroll wheel, with the sixth button letting the user select the mouse's DPI sensitivity. It's a nearly ambidextrous shape but the placement of buttons four and five on the left side does limit some of its utility for left-handed gamers. 

The Lightsync part of the name refers to the mouse's prominent RGB features, and its glowing G logo and light band are its flashiest aspects. On the other hand, the G203's included USB cable is plain and lacks the nylon/paracord style common to most gaming mice. This doesn't detract from the mouse's performance, but it loses some minor style points. 

Whether you want to play games leisurely online with friends or actively spend time training your accuracy and speed, the G203 can well meet your needs. This is an especially great starter mouse for anyone looking to get a wired gaming model.

Pros: Quality shape and materials, four available colors, simple to use, great battery life

Cons: Heftier weight (99g), no RGB lighting, no internal battery or play charge option

If you're looking for a wireless gaming mouse on a budget, the Logitech G305 Lightspeed is our top recommendation. The G305 is simple to get going and easy to use thanks to the Logitech G Hub app on Windows or Mac. The software lets you easily swap between five sensitivity profiles at a time.

Because it lacks RGB or anything that screams "gaming" style, the G305 might not immediately stand out in a sea of gaming mice. But for some, that could be a plus. The radioactive greens and reds of typical gaming gear aren't for everyone, and there is such a thing as too many buttons. The G305 is one of the few mice you can find in colors like lilac, teal, and blue. 

In addition to offering great accuracy, the G305 is very responsive with satisfying clicks across its six buttons. It also has beefy battery life with an estimated 250 hours using a single AA battery, and even holds up better than most mice against abuse.

If there is one thing that holds the G305 back, it's the weight, which is listed at 99g (I measured 97g). Those with a light touch may find it a little too heavy. Also, compared to our top wireless gaming mouse pick, the Razer Viper Ultimate, its simple design just isn't as comfortable.

Pros: Pleasing Pixart sensor, welcoming shape, four skates that ensure a nice glide, flair, lightweight (67g), fair price

Cons: The software is functional but needs some real TLC, side buttons are just OK

The weight of a gaming mouse is just as important as its overall size and sensitivity. And after testing so many different models, it's easy to see the merits of a lighter choice. Comparing two similar gaming mice that differ by 20-40g in weight will present a very noticeable distinction, even to the point of affecting play. 

It's in this weight-focused zone that the wired Glorious Model O really shines. On the outside it easily looks the part of an ultralight gaming mouse thanks to its honeycomb shell, generous RGB lines (even in the scroll wheel) and bearded Glorious logo. And thankfully, it has the internals to match its style. 

The 67g weight and Pixart sensor pair well together in a pleasing design that others manufacturers have yet to nail. It's a good shape, the RGB isn't too distracting, and the super-flexible, braided cord is a nice extra touch. No details have been overlooked, but the software isn't the best. 

Still, the Model O succeeds at everything else it sets out to do, which helps to make it a nice alternative to other mice from bigger brands. If you crave an ultralight mouse to whip your cursor around faster, you can't go wrong with the Model O. I would stick with the matte black or white and avoid the glossy variants, as glossy shells don't wear as well and tend to show damage and dirt.

When testing mice to determine the best gaming mouse, several features come into consideration, some of which weigh more than others. Below you can find some of the most important qualities I looked for, which were grip, weight, wireless power, and build quality.

Grip and feel: Ultimately, if gripping and moving the mouse doesn't feel right, then look elsewhere. A brief period (from a few hours to a week) of readjustment may be necessary, but gaming mice are meant to be responsive and to glide with accuracy. Gaming mice are also meant to serve different kinds of hand sizes and grip techniques.

There is a range starting with ambidextrous mice on one end, classic right-handed mice in the middle, and then extremely ergonomic mice on the other end. Those with larger, heavier hands may find ergonomic mice, like the Razer Basilisk Ultimate, to be suitable to their grip. Others will likely find themselves gravitating between truly ambidextrous and classic right-handed shape.

Of course, even with the right grip, if the buttons aren't responsive, if the wheel isn't consistent, and the tracking is too floaty, then you should keep looking to find the best gaming mouse for your needs.

Weight: A big feature for gaming mice of yore was adjustable weights. Modern trends, however, see gaming mice vying for lighter weight all around. Ultralight mice, a category of gaming mice that are under 80g in weight (and tend to be closer to 60g), are gaming mice focused on being light and responsive even at the cost of fancy features like modular buttons. Weight affects the feel, and feel does affect performance as well as enjoyment. 

Lighter weight correlates to less resistance when moving the mouse, meaning you can whip your cursor around faster. For gamers looking to quicken their reaction time in shooters or action RPGs, a lighter mouse has its benefits. For casual users used to cheaper mice not made for gaming, an ultralight mouse may be too jarring of a transition. 

Wireless power: Good wireless gaming mice are both power efficient when in use and smart about saving power when not. Finding that the mouse has a low battery or, even worse, a dead battery should be a rare thing, even as rare as once a month.

Cheaper wireless gaming mice tend to use AA batteries while more expensive mice have internal batteries. Mice can be charged through their included cable (either micro-USB or USB-C) or in some cases through a charging cradle or even, in the case of the Logitech Powerplay, a charging mouse pad.

Build quality: The best gaming mouse will be built to last. The brands mentioned in this guide, including Logitech and Razer, have a good reputation for build quality. Just be reasonably good to a gaming mouse and it should provide years of excellent performance without issue. 

Aside from the buttons and scroll wheel, gaming mice have almost no moving parts, and the things most likely to wear down first are the feet on the bottom that provide the glide. If a button fails/is failing, the manufacturer should be contacted regardless of what the warranty states.

Is a wired or wireless mouse better for gaming?

The best gaming mouse for an absolute diehard gamer is a wired model. A wired gaming mouse is preferable for having an always reliable connection and zero latency. Wired options also cut out the need for dongles, batteries, and charging. 

If you're anything short of an esports professional, though, a wireless gaming mouse is unbeatable for comfort. Without a cable whipping around or tethering you down, you can game completely worry-free. But in exchange, you do have to be considerate of battery life and potential signal issues. 

What is DPI in a gaming mouse?

DPI is a measure of mouse sensitivity and stands for "dots per inch." Literally, the number translates to how many pixels your cursor travels corresponding to the inches your mouse moves on your mousepad. The higher your DPI, the more sensitive your mouse feels. 

Generally speaking, a lower DPI is good for more precision and accuracy, but requires more desk space to play games. A higher DPI is better for speed, with especially high settings capable of crossing your entire monitor with just the flick of the wrist. Most gaming mice also include the ability to adjust their DPI within a certain range, so you can toggle the sensitivity depending on your style of play.