The Best Mouse (and Mousepad) for Every Kind of Gamer

Picking a gaming mouse is a very personal endeavor. Everyone’s hands are different, everyone’s preferences and needs are different, and we all play different games. That’s why we’re lucky to live in the golden age of gaming mice, with major manufacturers pouring engineering muscle into one-upping one another. The result is a market loaded with high-quality yet relatively inexpensive mice.

We’ve tested quite a few, and while we can’t tell you precisely which mouse is right for you—you may prefer wired or wireless, more or fewer buttons, and obviously everyone’s hands are a bit different—we have a variety of recommendations. These are the best gaming mice for every kind of gamer we can think of, plus a couple of mousepads for good measure. 

Be sure to also read up our other buying guides, like the Best Gaming Headsets, Best Wireless Gaming Headsets, and Best Keyboards, for more gear recommendations.

Updated February 2022: We’ve updated prices throughout and added the Logitech MX Master 3S, and the SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless/Logitech G600. 

Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you’d like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.