The best wired or wireless gaming mouse you can buy

Finding the right gaming mouse amid all the options available can be a struggle. There are a lot of factors to consider, like how it looks, how it feels in the hand, the button selection and arrangement, the quality of its sensor, and whether you want a mouse that’s wireless or wired. These details, minor as they seem, can have a major impact on your experience with the mouse you choose to buy. On the other hand, sometimes mice have features that get overblown and don’t actually work as well as advertised.

However your taste leans, you almost certainly want the best wireless gaming mouse that your budget allows for. We’re going to make this decision easy for you. The best gaming mouse is Logitech’s G502 Lightspeed. It’s the most well-rounded choice if you want comfort, a long-lasting battery, and the best selection and arrangement of buttons. The model’s design accommodates multiple grip styles, and Logitech’s companion software is unobtrusive and a breeze to use. It also has rock-solid wireless connectivity so you don’t have to deal with a wire entangling your gameplay.

If you don’t want a wireless mouse and are looking for the best wired gaming mouse, look no further than the Razer DeathAdder V2. It’s unbeatable in the ergonomics department, with a design that feels like a natural extension of your hand. And while this model has a fairly simple layout and button selection, it’s all just within reach and responsive.

That’s not to say that several mice released more recently haven’t tested the throne, so to speak. Our latest update ropes in a few of the latest wireless and wired models from Logitech, Razer, SteelSeries, and other brands.

The best wireless gaming mouse: Logitech G502 Lightspeed ($150)

The Logitech G502 Lightspeed is a great gaming mouse for discerning gamers who don’t want to compromise, as well as people who have no idea what they should look for in a mouse. It’s comfortable, feature-packed, and even though it’s wireless, it’s a fast and accurate performer that doesn’t feel at a disadvantage against opponents using wired mice.

At $150 (though sometimes sold for around $100 these days), the best doesn’t come cheap. But if you’ve tossed around the idea of making an investment in a high-end wireless mouse, no other model that I tested for this buying guide justified its price so easily. The G502 Lightspeed has Logitech’s best features for its gaming and general-use mice rolled into one. The main buttons deliver a satisfying bounce response when you tap them, and unlike some other popular models, they click easily no matter how you grip your hand on the mouse.

This mouse also features a quick-release button, a feature borrowed from other Logitech consumer-focused and gaming mice. By default, the scroll wheel staggers down a webpage with each step, which is how you expect a scroll wheel to work. Tapping the button releases the mechanism gripping the wheel, allowing it to freely sail to the bottom of a long page. It’s a small feature, but one that gives the mouse more versatility in certain situations, like being able to quickly scroll through your inventory when in a game.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Another nice feature is the inclusion of 16 grams of additional weights you can insert into the mouse to give it more resistance. A mouse’s weight comes down to personal preference, and that could vary from game to game. This mouse is among the few modern wireless devices to give you the flexibility to change up the weight.

The fact that the G502 Lightspeed is wireless makes it that much easier to bring along with you wherever you go. But if you just can’t swing the $150 price, I suggest that you check out the $50 Logitech G502 Hero, which is the wired version of this mouse. It has almost every feature that you’ll find in the wireless model — except, you know, wireless capability.

Before moving on, it’s worth mentioning where Logitech’s lineup of wireless gaming mice fits in comparison. The G Pro X Superlight is a $150 option made for people who want a very lightweight mouse. It has the same Hero 25K sensor, so the tracking is just as good as the G502 Lightspeed, but it doesn’t have any extra features. In addition to being far lighter, it’s more plainly designed, with far fewer buttons. In fact, it’s pricier and has fewer buttons than the G Pro Wireless.

You’ll likely know if this is something you’d want more than our top pick, but since it’s more expensive than our top pick and less ergonomic, we still recommend the G502 Lightspeed for most people.

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The runner-up: Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro SE ($90)

A cheaper alternative to the best wireless gaming mouse

Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge

Corsair’s Dark Core RGB Pro SE high-end wireless gaming mouse comes dangerously close to dethroning our top pick. It has a comfortable, ergonomic build with a high arch that makes it easy to relax with during long gameplay sessions or to power through work. Its design is less angular and sharp-looking than the G502 Lightspeed, so you might take to it more quickly based on looks alone. Though, when I’m not paying attention to how the two mice differ in appearance, they feel equally comfortable.

It offers USB-C charging and supports Qi wireless charging if you have a wireless charger. This mouse can switch between 2.4GHz wireless mode via its included USB dongle (cleverly tucked under its removable, magnetic wing), or Bluetooth. Of course, you’ll get better results by using the dongle, but it’s great to have options. I found that the battery life, while decent, wasn’t quite as long-lasting as the G502 Lightspeed.

Some smaller, but equally welcome, features here come in the form of that removable magnetic wing I just mentioned, which snaps onto its right side to let me comfortably rest my ring and pinky fingers on.

The Dark Core held up nearly just as well in-game as Logitech’s mouse above, though the omission of two features made me miss using the G502 Lightspeed. It doesn’t have a dedicated sniper button, and there were a few instances where the model that I tested had a squeaky left mouse button. I don’t think it made a noise more than once every few hundred clicks, and it was tough to replicate it when I tried.

Outside of the price differences, these two play a game of teeter-totter with features. Depending on who you ask, the Dark Core might have one or two up on the G502 Lightspeed. But Logitech’s mouse edges it out with better build quality, extra buttons (not to mention the excellent scroll wheel), and optional weights.

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Image: SteelSeries

Other good wireless options

The SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless weighs significantly less than the top and runner-up picks at just 66 grams. That’s a big perk, as is its USB-C charging, which is still a rarity among other popular models from Razer and Logitech. It can operate on 2.4GHz wireless with its included USB-C dongle, or Bluetooth, and the Aerox 3 Wireless features an IP54 rating to protect it from some water and dust. It isn’t as ergonomic as the options above. While that might not be much of an issue for people who use it simply to game, it’s not particularly comfortable to use as an all-day device. Also, I noticed that it loses connection with my PC regularly, but rather than a connectivity issue, it seems like it falls asleep to preserve power if you don’t use it for a few minutes.

Though, you don’t have to pay around $100 to get a solid wireless mouse that’s made for gaming. The $69.99 Orochi V2 improves on Razer’s previous battery-operated gaming mouse, the Basilisk X Hyperspeed, in some big ways. The marquee feature is its long-lasting battery life. Razer claims that a single AA battery can last for up to 950 hours in this mouse’s Bluetooth mode (or up to 425 hours by switching the bottom-mounted toggle over to the 2.4GHz Hyperspeed mode that offers lower latency).

The Orochi V2 is an ambidextrous mouse, though it only features thumb buttons that cater to right-handed gamers. It has a similar arch in the palm section to the Basilisk X Hyperspeed that should cater to people who use a palm or fingertip grip in and out of gaming, though it’s more compact than most of Razer’s other gaming mice and might not fit larger hands well. Given the low price, you won’t find Razer’s best sensor inside, nor are there optical switches under the mouse buttons for the fastest performance.

The best wired gaming mouse: Razer DeathAdder V2 ($70)

Razer’s DeathAdder V2 is proof that a wired mouse doesn’t need countless features to be worth the money. It just needs to be extremely good at the fundamentals, including being comfy enough to use for hours at a time with games that require quick reflexes, having a simple assortment of buttons that take little to no time to master, and, of course, great performance. If this matches what you want in a mouse, the $70 Razer DeathAdder V2 is the one you want.

Of all the wired gaming mice that I tested for this buying guide, no other mouse felt like a more natural extension of my hand. That’s crucial when you’re playing a game that requires precision, and it’s good to have when you just want to feel support while you’re using your computer in general.

The DeathAdder V2’s design provides a lot of palm support, whether my fingers are flat and relaxed over the mouse or arched when I need to use faster reflexes. I use my index finger to left click and middle finger to right click; unlike most mice, this design gives me enough space on its right side to keep my ring and pinky fingers from dangling off the side and dragging on the mouse pad. That’s something I didn’t know I wanted out of a mouse until I started using this one.

Those design features keep things comfortable, but I think the part of the mouse that sold me is where my thumb rests. Many mice etch out an area for your thumb to relax and laze around. That’s fine, but I find that it necessitates more arm movement when the action ramps up. I prefer this mouse’s solution: its ergonomic design keeps my thumb wrapped around its side, naturally resting upon the edges of the customizable macro buttons. It’s good to have multiple buttons within reach, and the thumb location makes it easy for me to push the mouse around using just my wrist. It’s comfortable and has the dual purpose of keeping me limber in case I need to make sudden movements.

(Note: It’s worth mentioning before digging into specs that this mouse is rather large. If you want something a little smaller, but with the same design perks, check out the $49.99 DeathAdder V2 Mini. It doesn’t have the same sensor as the larger model, topping out at 8,500 DPI versus 20,000, but the complimentary grip tape that’s included is a small consolation. Alternatively, if you like the larger size of the DeathAdder V2, but want a wireless version instead, you can get that in the DeathAdder V2 Pro, usually less than $100.

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The runner-up: BenQ Zowie’s EC2 ($69)

Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge

BenQ Zowie’s EC2 may be an equally good, if not better, option for some people. This $69.99 mouse is my favorite of the company’s current catalog. It’s shaped similarly to the DeathAdder V2, in that it’s ergonomic and sloped to give your palm a comfortable surface to lay on while you game or browse. What’s more, there’s a generous amount of thumb space underneath the side buttons that I found to be spacious and equally accommodating to my grip style. All of Zowie’s mice are delightfully no-frills in terms of their design, but the EC2 is the most curvy mouse the company offers.

The no-frills philosophy extends into the feature offering, but that’s not to say it’s lacking. I think the EC2 offers exactly what most gamers need, and perhaps of equal importance, nothing they don’t. This mouse features four buttons (two main, two side) and a DPI button that can be adjusted on the mouse’s bottom side. Even the more advanced settings, like adjusting lift-off distance or USB report rate, are done by holding down a unique sequence of buttons when you plug it in.

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Other good wired options

If $150 for Logitech’s wireless G502 Lightspeed is too much for you to spend, you might want to consider this wired version, the G502 Hero. It has the same design as our pick for the best wireless gaming mouse — actually, it’s basically the same in almost every way, down to the kind of sensor it uses and its adjustable weights. That makes it almost as good, though some might take issue with its thick braided cable and the somewhat slippery plastic used on the scroll wheel that isn’t on the Lightspeed model.

The Basilisk V2 is the wired mouse that I’d recommend to people who want the advantages of a modern Razer wired mouse, like the thin, braided SpeedFlex cable, fast performance, PTFE feet that let the mouse glide across your mouse pad, and, of course, LEDs. Despite having a design that might not fit well in everyone’s hands, it’s a smaller mouse that has more features than the DeathAdder V2.

For instance, the Basilisk V2 has a removable sniper button that’s easy to reach. Perhaps my favorite feature here is the scroll wheel that has an adjustable tension. It’s not quite as cool as the Logitech G502’s free-spinning wheel, but you’ll probably love it if you want a custom feel to your wheel. One of the best things about this mouse is that it has most of the same features found in the more expensive Basilisk Ultimate, Razer’s wireless version of this mouse.