Blog

Nov 30, 2023

The 6 best wireless mice you can buy

Jeff Dunn - May 14, 2020 11:30 am UTC It wasn't long ago when buying a

Jeff Dunn - May 14, 2020 11:30 am UTC

It wasn't long ago when buying a wireless mouse was an iffy proposition. You could avoid relying on a touchpad and get another cable off your desk, but to do so, you usually had to deal with less stable performance and anemic batteries.

So if you're interested in cutting another cord, you're in luck. We've researched the wireless mouse market and tested about a dozen models over the past few months to find the ones most worth buying in 2020. Whether you're trying to get through office work, rounds of CS:GO, or (eventual) road trips, let our research and recommendations guide you toward a wireless mouse that will make your computer time more comfortable.

Note: Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

The best mouse for most people is the Logitech MX Master 3. It's not cheap, but its design and versatility are befitting of a high-end accessory. It's supremely comfortable, first and foremost, with an ample thumb rest, a gentle slope for your middle three fingers, and a slight flare-out for the pinky. There's a significant hump at the mouse's base, but holding it, the design feels like it was sculpted with a hand fitted around it. It works excellently for both palm and claw grips, and while it's relatively weighty, the heft adds to its premium feel. So does its finish, which is plastic, but hard, textured, and grippy.

The trade-off is that a mouse this big may not be comfortable for those with especially small hands. There's also no left-handed option, which is unfortunately common for heavily sculpted mice in general. Still, most people should find the MX Master 3 a treat.

The signature piece of the MX Master 3 is its electromagnetic scroll wheel. This uses small magnets to simulate resistance; it's not quite as predictable as the interlocking gears used by traditional wheels, but it's close enough, and it should prove more durable over time given that it uses fewer physical parts. Plus, it's noticeably quieter. It also allows the wheel to adjust dynamically: if you spin slowly, you’ll get a sense of springy feedback, but if you spin forcefully, it’ll drop all resistance and enter an infinite scrolling mode. A button on top of the mouse lets you switch between the two modes manually, but you don't need it, which is convenient. Like the rest of the mouse, the chrome plating around the wheel feels polished. The click buttons surrounding it, meanwhile, are quick and tactile.

Along the thumb side of the MX Master 3 is a horizontal scroll wheel and two side buttons, both of which are comfortably sized. The former is handy for moving side to side across large spreadsheets and the like, while the latter can be customized to control various macros (copy/paste, forward/back, etc.). At the end of the thumb rest, meanwhile, is a gesture button that lets you access more shortcuts when you move the mouse in a particular direction. It's not the most intuitive thing to press—which may be a net positive, since you won't hit it by accident—but you can, say, access Mission Control on a Mac by holding down the button and gesturing the mouse down.

If you use Logitech's Options software—which works on Windows and macOS—you can customize how these features work on an app-by-app basis. For example, you could set the horizontal scroll wheel to navigate between tabs in Chrome, control zoom in Photoshop, and scroll horizontally in Excel, and the mouse will know to adjust automatically. All these features can be a lot to take in, but they genuinely help the mouse speed up routine functions.

The MX Master 3 uses Logitech's Darkfield laser sensor, which performs well for everyday tasks. It has a 4,000 CPI at maximum and polls at a standard 125Hz; the Options app lets you customize the former but, unfortunately, doesn't provide an exact CPI number. A slightly higher resolution would have been nice for ultra-precise design work, but the mouse should present no noticeable issues with latency, acceleration, or consistency if you stick to the office work and Web browsing for which the mouse is designed. That it tracks reliably on a variety of surfaces, glass included, is a nice bonus.

Logitech rates the MX Master 3's rechargeable battery at 70 days a charge. Given that we’ve only had to recharge a couple of times in our 5 to 6 months of testing, that sounds about right. It tops up quickly over a USB-C port, but sadly you can't operate it with a wire in a pinch. Instead, it connects over a USB receiver or Bluetooth. We’d have liked a built-in place to store the receiver on a mouse this expensive, but connecting is at least easy, and Logitech lets you quickly swap between three device profiles. The mouse also supports Logitech's handy Flow software, which allows you to move between multiple devices as if they’re separate monitors, even if they’re running different operating systems.

In all, the MX Master 3 packs reliable performance, a cutting-edge scroll wheel, a premium design that feels natural, and legitimately useful productivity features. It looks professional to boot. While Logitech's software doesn't have the best reputation with bugs, we didn't encounter anything egregious in testing, and Options itself is simple enough to grok. For excelling at the essentials, then doing more, this is a superb choice for people who use a mouse all day.

If the MX Master 3 is priced out of your budget, or you just want a similarly productivity-focused mouse in a smaller size, get the Logitech M720 Triathlon. It's decidedly less premium than the MX Master 3: the scroll wheel is looser and louder, its device-switcher button is mushy, its wheel-mode button is hollow, and it won't work on glass. It lacks most of the productivity-oriented features of the MX Master 3, and its smaller shape may be uncomfortable for those with larger hands who use a palm grip. It doesn't have an infinite scroll mode, either.

All that said, the M720 Triathlon gets the basics right. For most people, its contoured sides and high arch should slide naturally into the hand. Its matte plastic finish is nicely soft and easy to grip, even if it feels cheaper than the MX Master 3's material. The click panels are a little deep but plenty responsive, and the side macro buttons are easy to press without adjusting your thumb. The sensor is mostly similar to the one in the MX Master 3, so we don't recommend it for more involved tasks, but it's still reliable and predictable enough for everything else. It tracks well on non-glass surfaces, too.

The M720 Triathlon runs on a single AA battery, not a rechargeable pack, and Logitech rates its battery life at two years of average use. We’re not close to running out of juice after a couple months of testing, so this shouldn't be a concern. The mouse connects over a USB receiver or Bluetooth, and there's a handy storage unit for the dongle within the mouse's battery compartment. Like the MX Master 3, you can use Logitech's Options app to adjust basic CPI and scrolling settings, as well as Logitech Flow to work across computers. You can still keep up to three device profiles connected to the mouse at a time, and having a button to switch between them on the side—rather than on the bottom, as with the MX Master 3—makes the mouse particularly convenient for cross-device control.

Though it's a few years old, the M720 Triathlon is still a dependable mainstream mouse. You can certainly do better, but its sacrifices aren't ruinous for the price point, and it's both comfortable and convenient.

If you want the most performant wireless mouse possible for gaming or design work, get the Razer Viper Ultimate. It is designed for competitive-minded gamers, and it shows: its sensor is exceedingly precise and tangibly more responsive than the office-focused mice in this guide.

We had virtually no instances of acceleration or smoothing—i.e., when a mouse tries to predict a user's movement, throwing off their in-game aim in the process—in games of Apex Legends and CS:GO, while the ultra-high polling rate helps the mouse stay consistent. It has a high tracking speed of up to 650 inches per second (IPS), so it can withstand hyper-fast movements, and its lift-off distance (LOD) is low, so you won't have to take the mouse high off your desk to get it to register a quick movement in-game. You can also customize that LOD if you prefer to play with a low sensitivity (as many pros do) and move the mouse around more actively.

Speaking of sensitivity, the Viper Ultimate has a massive CPI range of 100cpi to 20,000cpi: that maximum is overkill for just about anything, per usual, but you can adjust the CPI in increments of 50, which is fairly granular. A button that lets you switch between five CPI presets is located on the bottom of the mouse, which we don't mind since it's tougher to accidentally press in the heat of a game. Latency, meanwhile, is more or less imperceptible when you connect the mouse to Razer's USB receiver. We tested the Viper Ultimate alongside Razer's wired Viper mouse, and while it may sound hyperbolic, we think most people would be hard-pressed to notice any difference between this and a quality wired option.

All of these gaming chops are aided by the Viper Ultimate's design. The mouse is certainly in the "gamer" mold with its RGB Razer logo (which can be turned off) and aggressive angles on the top, but it's tremendously lightweight (74g) and sized just right. Its build quality is great, with no creaking or rattling, springy click panels, grippy sides, and PTFE (aka Teflon) feet that glide more smoothly than the usual plastic. It's a truly ambidextrous design, too, with a pair of macro buttons on either side. Like many ambidextrous mice, its shape is relatively flat, but it's arched just enough to be comfortable with all grip types. It’ll be more comfortable with a claw or fingertip grip, but it should work fine with a palm grip unless you have larger-than-usual hands. Our one complaint here is with the scroll wheel: it's precise enough and far from an outright problem, but it's stiffer and slower than those of our other picks. It lacks an endless scroll feature, too.

The Viper Ultimate has a rechargeable battery that Razer rates as lasting 70 hours on a charge. We got close to a week's worth of use with RGB lighting on, but you should be able to get more by turning it off. Of note is that Razer sells an SKU that pairs the Viper Ultimate with a wireless charging dock. It adds another $20 or so to the already substantial price, but it's quick to charge and makes it so you can use the mouse wirelessly at all times. It's more fun than essential.

The mouse can't connect over Bluetooth, so you’ll need an adapter if you ever want to use it with a new MacBook, but it can work over an included USB-A to microUSB charging cable. We think any premium product like this should use USB-C these days—particularly when the microUSB port here is recessed enough to not work with many third-party cables—but the included cord is extremely flexible and resistant to tangling, which is great. There's also a nifty storage compartment for the USB receiver built into the back of the mouse.

Razer's Synapse software is another suite that isn't exactly known for its robustness, but we didn't encounter any major issues in testing, and the app itself makes it relatively easy to adjust RGB patterns, CPI presets, polling rate, and the like. The version the Viper Ultimate uses is only supported on Windows, unfortunately, though it's not like macOS is much of a gaming platform to begin with. The mouse itself can store up to five settings profiles on its own internal memory.

The Viper Ultimate is a no-brainer recommendation on its own merits. The only thing seriously holding it back is its high price, but if you’d like a wireless mouse for heavy-duty gaming or design work, it's a fantastic buy.

If you don't want to spend more than $50 or so on a gaming mouse, get the Logitech G305 Lightspeed. It doesn't match the Razer Viper Ultimate in any one area, but for a fraction of the price, it's close enough to be commendable. It's small (4.59x2.46x1.5-inches) and light (99g) enough to travel with a gaming laptop, and while it's primarily made of plastic, nothing about it feels loose or overtly cheap. Its short size isn't ideal for larger hands to use with a palm grip, but it shouldn't present many comfort issues otherwise. It's also an ambidextrous design, for the most part—there's a pair of customizable side buttons on the right side only, but its general shape is symmetrical.

The G305 Lightspeed is a decidedly minimalist mouse: there's no RGB lighting, no rubber grips on the sides, and little in the way of extra features. But those aren't big trade-offs given how well it performs for the price point. We found no noticeable latency, connection, or acceleration issues in testing, and though the sensor here isn't as hyper-accurate as the one in the Razer Viper Ultimate, it's plenty robust for twitchier first-person shooters, with a high polling rate that helps it translate movements consistently. Again, it's more responsive than the non-gaming mice in this guide, and it's powerful enough to be overkill for non-gaming use. A nifty button on top of the mouse lets you switch between CPI presets, and you can adjust the polling rate and set up different profiles for specific games in Logitech's G Hub software, which works on Windows and macOS. The main and side buttons give good feedback, while the ridged scroll wheel is serviceable if not a standout.

Logitech rates the G305 Lightspeed's battery life at 250 hours, but it runs off a single AA battery instead of a rechargeable unit. A tiny light on the top of the mouse will light up when you’re down to 15-percent power, but there's no way beyond that to check how much life you have left. The mouse also only works over its included USB receiver, not Bluetooth or a cable. You wouldn't want to use Bluetooth for gaming anyway, and there's a handy storage slot for the dongle built into the mouse itself, but the mouse won't be as convenient for laptops without USB-A ports. Still, this is a fantastic little mouse at a good price. It's not flashy, but it impresses at the fundamentals and can work both at home and away from the desktop.

If you want a secondary mouse for working and Web browsing on the go (whenever travel becomes normal again), consider the Microsoft Surface Mobile Mouse. It was originally released alongside Microsoft's Surface Go tablet, and indeed it works best as a highly portable companion for equally portable devices. It measures just 1.02 inches thin and weighs a slight 78g, making it easy to slip into a handbag or even a jacket pocket without fuss.

Unlike many other travel mice, it also doesn't completely sacrifice width to be compact. This means most people can use it without scrunching up their fingers. It's a flatter design as a result but one that should remain more comfortable over time than most mobile-first mice, particularly if you have average or larger-sized hands. It almost demands you use a claw or fingertip grip instead of a palm grip, but that's something of an inherent issue with all mice designed for portability first and foremost.

Performance on the Surface Mobile Mouse is perfectly fine for office work and casual use, albeit a step below our top picks. It only connects over Bluetooth using the 2.4GHz frequency, so those on especially busy networks may see the occasional stutter more than they would with a mouse connected to a dedicated dongle. But we had few issues in our own testing, and the mouse consistently tracked reliably on and off a mousepad. (Just note it won't work on clear glass.) Through Microsoft's Mouse and Keyboard Center software, you can adjust the mouse's CPI from 400cpi to a lower-but-adequate 1,800cpi, in 200cpi increments. Bluetooth support means the device works with virtually anything, too, including Android phones and recently updated iPads. And while the mouse did well in our lift-off distance test, it's clearly not meant for gaming: it's relatively smooth and not laggy with everyday tasks, but it'll handicap you if you venture into Steam.

The design here is all about simplicity. There are no buttons beyond the scroll wheel and basic left- and right-click. The main click buttons aren't as crisp as our top picks, but they aren't a nuisance given the price point, and they’re impressively well-sized given how small the mouse is as a whole. The notched scroll wheel, meanwhile, has the right amount of tightness. It's also fully ambidextrous. The device runs on two AAA batteries instead of a rechargeable unit—we wish that that requirement was cut in half, but Microsoft says you’ll get a year of battery life per pair, and a magnetic battery door on the bottom is easy to pop open, at least. For what it's worth, we think the "minimalist pebble" aesthetic looks sharp, too.

Pairing the mouse with a device is as straightforward as any other Bluetooth device, though a "Swift Pair" feature on newer Windows builds can expedite that initial setup. Microsoft's companion software is light on additional features, but really, it doesn't need to do much: for casual work away from your workspace or making your tablet a little more productive, the Surface Mobile Mouse's simple-yet-smart shape, reliability, and low price make it a good value.

If you’ve developed wrist strain after years of using traditional mice, you may want to try using a vertical mouse. These taller, radically angled devices are designed to be held like you’re giving a light handshake. They’re not cure-alls: you’ll still want to keep your wrist straight, hold the mouse lightly, and make movements from your elbow, among other best practices, either way. But the idea is that the vertical design can make practicing those good ergonomics more natural. If you have to retrain your muscle memory to alleviate joint pain anyway, it may be easier to do so with an entirely new form factor, even if it means getting through a learning curve for the mouse itself.

Logitech's MX Vertical is the best vertical mouse we’ve tested. It's hefty, but that size helps prevent you from lifting and flicking your wrist as wildly as you might with a lighter mouse. Its wave-like handle gives an innate place to hold without twisting your arm, buttressing the thumb against the mouse's base and letting your fingers rest along the other side. While it may take some time to get used to, this shape does encourage you to keep hand movements to a minimum and instead use your shoulder and elbow to move the cursor around. It should be comfortable for palm and claw grippers of all hand sizes, though it's likely too big for a fingertip grip.

While we’d like less plastic on a $100 mouse, the MX Vertical feels sturdily put together. The ridged texture on the device's side helps make it grippier by default, reducing the need to clamp down with your thumb. The asymmetrical click buttons are ample-sized, crisp to press, and placed naturally beneath the index and middle finger. The scroll wheel lacks an infinite scrolling mode and doesn't feel quite as sturdy in place as the rest of the device, but it's precise. There are two programmable buttons on the thumb side, which are useful even if they’re placed a smidge too high up. An additional button on the handle lets you adjust pointer speed on the fly; thankfully, it's difficult to hit by accident. The one big downside is that it's far from ambidextrous, and Logitech doesn't sell a lefty option.

For everyday use, there's little wrong with the MX Vertical's performance. Its optical sensor can reach up to 4,000cpi, and its polling rate is the standard 125Hz. It's not unlike the MX Master 3 or M720 Triathlon: for typical work and Web browsing, it's smooth, consistent, and accurate enough. Any click latency isn't noticeable in those use cases, either. You’re still likely to be less precise if you’re just switching to a vertical mouse for the first time, and the shape and sensor are very much not suitable for gaming. Taken for what it is, though, the mouse works as it should.

Unlike the MX Master 3, the MX Vertical can be used wired over a USB-C cable in addition to the usual USB-A receiver or Bluetooth. Logitech says the MX Vertical's rechargeable battery can last four months per charge; we clocked in slightly beneath that, but your usage may vary, and either way you likely won't be charging this more than three or four times a year, which is great. It uses the same Logitech Options software as our picks above: there's less to customize than with the MX Master 3, but you can still adjust CPI, scroll speed, and button assignments. It supports Logitech's Flow software, too, and lets you switch between three device profiles at once.

All told, the MX Vertical isn't necessarily something we’d suggest unless you want to address wrist discomfort first and foremost. But if you feel like it's time for a change, it can bring genuine relief without compromising as a quality wireless mouse for the office. Just be patient with the shape.