Wired gaming mice are great for a number of reasons, but sometimes, you just can’t afford to be tied down. Whether you’re on the go with your gaming laptop, trying to minimize your cord clutter, or simply tired of your cat batting your mouse cable around, going wireless is nice—as long as you don’t have to sacrifice gaming performance to do it.
Once upon a time, wireless mice were a luxury item with sub-100 Hz polling rates that drained whole AA batteries in half a day, but things have changed. Now you can get wireless gaming mice that stack up to (and sometimes even surpass) their corded brethren.
Whether you’re into Overwatch, DOTA 2, or Apex Legends, there’s a wireless gaming mouse out there designed to your specific needs. 🖱️ ✨
Top 5 Wireless Gaming Mice
Some of our hardware guides are pretty beefy, but we’ve kept this one short and sweet. We’ve curated three of the best gaming mice currently topping the sales charts in 2019: a “best overall” choice, a premium pick, and a budget-friendly option. If you aren’t satisfied, you can browse two additional options.
We’ve also put together a value-packed buying guide to help you shop for the best wireless gaming mouse for your needs, on the off chance that you don’t like the ones we picked out for you here. It’s okay, we’re not definitely offended.
Best Choice: Logitech G Pro Wireless
Pros & Cons
- Fast and accurate
- Great battery life
- Removable and customizable side buttons
- Expensive
- Side buttons are hard to press
The Logitech G Pro is one of the fastest, most reliable wireless gaming mice out there.
Key Features
- 1ms reporting rate
- 16,000 CPI
- Lightweight, ambidextrous design
Logitech G Pro Wireless Review
Logitech seems to be quite proud of the fact that they spent over two years developing the G Pro Wireless and consulted 50+ e-sports professionals in the process. Their hard work shows, too; this is a top-tier mouse that’s built for professionals, but neither unaffordable nor too specialized for us filthy casuals.
For one thing, it’s ultra-fast, which is certainly one of the most important things to look for in a gaming mouse. The G Pro Wireless boasts 1ms response times and a 1000 Hz polling rate. Those are impressive numbers by wired mouse standards—they’re downright amazing for a wireless mouse.
This mouse also tracks 400 IPS, which is almost 23 miles per hour. What are you even doing moving it around that fast?
The G Pro Wireless also has outstanding battery life. It can go 50+ hours on a single charge, and that’s with the polling rate and RGB lighting both cranked up to maximum. It charges quickly, too—from dead to full in about four hours. Provided you charge it up every night, there’s no conceivable reason you should ever have battery issues.
Plenty of gaming mice offer lots of extra buttons, but the G Pro Wireless is the only one we’ve seen so far that actually lets you remove some of them. There are four bonus buttons—two on each side—and both sets can be removed and replaced with plugs if you don’t want buttons there.
That’s a good thing because, for some people, the side buttons are positioned pretty awkwardly, especially on the non-thumb side. Several Amazon reviewers complain that the side buttons are so small and shallow that they’re hard to actuate with your pinky, so you might as well just ditch them.
The Logitech G Pro Wireless is a pretty expensive piece of hardware at $135, but you’re getting a lot of tech for the money; it might even be the best FPS mouse out there. We don’t even consider the price a true drawback, but we realize that it may be more than some gamers are willing to spend. Only the so-so side buttons temper our otherwise glowing enthusiasm for this mouse.
Premium Pick: Mamba Hyperflux
Pros & Cons
- Truly wireless, doesn’t even need a cord to charge
- 9 fully customizable macro buttons
- Reliably stays connected
- Twice the price of other nice mice
If you’re willing to spend $200 on a wireless gaming mouse, the Mamba Hyperflux is the way to go.
Key Features
- 16,000 CPI (adjustable)
- Wireless charging
- Reversible hard/soft mat
Mamba Hyperflux Review
Don’t ask us how the Mamba Hyperflux gets power. There’s some kind of sorcery at work that we don’t understand and fear to question. The mouse doesn’t have an internal battery (which makes it nice and light), yet it somehow gets constantly charged in real time by the included wireless charging mat.
Maybe it has a capacitor or something, which isn’t the same as a battery. The point is, it’s pretty cool. No cable drag, no extra weight, and no waiting for hours while a dead battery recharges.
Seven extra buttons are about average for gaming mice, and the Mamba Hyperflux boasts nine—more than enough for any game that’s not an MMO. (We do have a guide to help you pick out the best MMO gaming mouse, for those of you who spend a lot of time in Azeroth or Eorzea).
Each extra button is fully programmable, too; some mice and keyboards have macro buttons that only support single buttons or simple combinations, but if you can do it with your hands, the included Synapse software can probably store it as a macro.
Historically, one of the biggest problems with wireless gaming mice—and with some of Razer’s products, in particular—has been unreliable connectivity. If you’ve ever owned one, you’ve probably had it disconnect in the middle of a game on more than one occasion.
Razer has made significant improvements in this area; reports of the Mamba Hyperflux having connectivity issues are few and far between. It’s fast, too, especially by wireless standards—it features 450 IPS and a polling rate on par with that of the Logitech G Pro Wireless (1ms).
The only real downside to the Mamba Hyperflux is its $200 price tag, but whether or not that even counts as a drawback depends on your budget and preferences. Nothing about the mouse itself strikes us as especially problematic, so go forth and buy with confidence.
Best Value: Logitech G305
Pros & Cons
- Ultra-long battery life
- Nice balance of features, especially for the price
- Comfortable for most hands
- Only 2 extra buttons
- Occasional connectivity issues
If you want a wireless mouse for under $50, you no longer have to settle for digging through the clearance bin at your local office store.
Key Features
- 12,000 CPI
- 1ms response time
- 400 IPS
Logitech G305 Review
Given that bottom-of-the-barrel wireless mice start around $20, Logitech’s ability to pack actual gaming-grade specs into a $50 mouse is pretty impressive. The G305’s 1ms response time and 400 IPS tracking rate are definitely within the “awesome” performance tier, and its 12,000 CPI/DPI earns a silver medal (at least).
A single AA battery powers the G305 for about 250 hours, which is, again, far above average for wireless mice. However, when the battery starts to get low (around 25% or so), the mouse’s otherwise infrequent connectivity issues seem to become a little more common.
If there truly is a causal connection there, it would be pretty weird, because 25% battery isn’t even that low—you still have ~60 hours of life left at that point. Perhaps it’s just coincidence.
Tiny people and giants both love the G305. Its size and shape are just right for most hands, although it’s not technically an ambidextrous mouse. (Lefties could probably use it since it’s almost perfectly symmetrical, but that would put the two extra buttons on the pinky side.)
Speaking of the extra buttons, it’s a mild bummer that there are only two of them. A minimum of four is pretty standard these days, though we suppose Logitech had to cut costs somehow to offer such a great mouse for $50.
We heartily recommend the G305 to all budget-conscious gamers—at least, those for whom the lack of bonus buttons and occasional connection interruptions aren’t total deal-breakers. However, if for any reason you’re not sold on this one, check out our guide to finding the best budget gaming mouse.
Corsair Harpoon RGB
Pros & Cons
- Super comfortable
- Solid core specs
- Usable in wired, Bluetooth, or wireless USB modes
- It’s on the small side
- Limited DPI settings
Key Features
- Battery life up to 60 hours
- Up to 10,000 DPI
- Ultra-durable Omron switches
A gaming mouse’s features and specifications mean little if it’s not comfortable to hold. Corsair seems to know this; they’ve put a fair bit of effort into making the Harpoon wireless gaming mouse just melt into your hand. It’s pretty difficult to design a mouse that will be more or less equally comfortable for all grip styles, but we think Corsair has pulled it off.
One caveat: the Harpoon is on the small side, so if you have enormous hands, this may not be the mouse for you. (My hands are big, but not gargantuan, and I think it would be a fine mouse for me.)
The Harpoon’s core specs aren’t pro-grade, but they’re certainly respectable. Its DPI can be set as high as 10,000, which is more than enough for most people. It can’t be set to any level you want, however—you can only select from a few different presets, so if you want complete control over your DPI levels, that might be a deal-breaker.
We found the Harpoon to be wonderfully responsive. It boasts sub-1ms response times, and that seems plausible based on casual testing, at least in wired or wireless USB modes. The Bluetooth mode feels slightly more sluggish, and there are some connectivity issues, but hey, it’s Bluetooth. We recommend using the wireless USB dongle for maximum reliability.
All in all, $50 is a fair price for the Harpoon. It’s got six programmable buttons and mid-high tier performance, so if you don’t have special requirements based on certain genres of games, it’s a great general-purpose gaming mouse.
SteelSeries Rival 650 Quantum
Pros & Cons
- Great core specs
- Very comfortable
- Sleek, stylish look
- Low-quality, non-braided USB cable
- Somewhat overpriced
Key Features
- 24 hours of battery life on a full charge, or 10 hours on a 15-minute quick charge
- Lift-off distance as low as 0.5mm
- 256 possible custom weight configurations
The SteelSeries Rival 650 Quantum is a mixed bag, so whether you love it or hate it will depend largely on your priorities. First, the good news: the mouse has excellent core specs for gamers, featuring up to 12,000 DPI, tracking speeds of 350 IPS, and a configurable lift-off distance that can get pretty close to zero.
It’s also quite comfortable for hands of almost all sizes. Most palm and claw grippers will find little to complain about, though some tip grippers have left reviews claiming that the mouse’s front end, which is fairly steep and narrow, doesn’t feel quite right for them.
One particularly nice thing about this mouse is its quick-charge feature, which can take the battery from dead to almost 50% in just 15 minutes. Its maximum battery life of 24 hours seems rather low compared to many other wireless gaming mice that can go for 50 hours or longer on a single charge, but really, who needs their mouse to go longer than a full day? If you plug it in before bed every day, battery life should never be a problem.
The mouse is pretty easy on the eyes, with sleek curves, sharp angles, and subtle RGB lights that aren’t bright or numerous enough to be obnoxious.
It’s not a perfect product, though. The included USB charging cable is a cheap thing that kinks and frays easily. Fortunately, if you’ve got a spare braided cable lying around, you can swap it out easily. The mouse is also arguably overpriced at $104.95. Many comparable gaming mice can be had for about $60, so we’re not sure where SteelSeries is getting that extra $45 from.
Should you have a problem with the 650 Quantum, dealing with SteelSeries support staff may not be a pleasant or fruitful experience—several Amazon reviewers have written pretty bad horror stories about trying to get their 650 Quantums repaired or replaced. If you’re pretty sure this is the mouse for you despite its shortcomings, consider spending another couple bucks on a third-party extended warranty, just in case.
Wireless Gaming Mouse: Buying Guide
Wireless gaming mice aren’t as hard to shop for as, say, GPUs or monitors. You don’t need to spend as much time sorting through technical data and Googling what half of it even means; you need to know if a particular mouse is suitable for whichever games you like to play.
We’ll cover some 101-level basics here: polling rates, CPI/DPI, IPS, LOD, battery life, and ergonomics. That should be all you need to shop with confidence.
Polling Rate, CPI, IPS, & LOD
Polling rate or refresh rate describes how often the sensor in your mouse is checking to see where it is now versus where it was a fraction of a second ago. A higher polling rate translates to greater accuracy in terms of how closely your mouse cursor mirrors your hand movements.
Many modern gaming mice boast polling rates of 1,000 Hz, which means it’s checking its position 1,000 times per second (once every 1ms). That’s way more than enough for basically any game ever. Only at the highest levels of professional competitive gaming are an extra few milliseconds going to make any conceivable difference.
CPI (counts per inch) is the more technically correct term for dots per inch (DPI), but they describe the same thing. You can think of this as mouse sensitivity. With higher CPI/DPI, your mouse detects and reacts to smaller movements, meaning your cursor will move farther on the screen with more subtle hand and wrist motions.
A bonkers-high DPI isn’t necessarily always the best, though—if you’re sniping a target 300 meters away or trying to position small units in an RTS game precisely, you probably don’t want your cursor to move 10 feet when your wrist moves 1/32 of an inch. Ideally, a gaming mouse should have adjustable CPI/DPI settings that you can quickly change mid-game.
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IPS stands for “inches per second.” This is how quickly your mouse can move and still report its position accurately. If you move your mouse faster than that, your cursor won’t do what you’re expecting it to do. Top-shelf gaming mice in 2019 often boast thresholds of 400 IPS or more, which is about 22.7 mph. You should never be moving your mouse that fast. I mean, come on.
A mouse’s LOD (lift-off distance) tells you how far it can be lifted off your mousepad before it becomes like a UFO abductee: unable to tell where it is and what’s happening to it. In this case, low numbers—as close to zero as possible—are better. A low LOD minimizes random and undesired cursor movement. If your mouse leaves the mousepad, it’s usually not intentional, and if it is, you probably need to turn up your CPI.
Battery Life
It’s 2019, and some wireless gaming mice don’t even have batteries. How crazy is that?
Wireless mice come in three flavors: rechargeable, non-rechargeable, and… whatever the Mamba Hyperflux does. Rechargeable mice have an internal battery that recharges when you plug it into a USB port overnight.
Some of these mice function as wired mice when plugged in (meaning they switch to transmitting data through the USB cord) and some communicate data wirelessly at all times. If the difference matters to you, check the tech specs of specific mice you’re looking at.
Non-rechargeable mice, like the Logitech G305, use regular AA or AAA batteries, which typically last 150 to 250 hours. Toss or recharge them when they’re drained. We don’t know precisely how the Mamba Hyperflux draws power from its included wireless charging mat without needing any internal battery, but it’s pretty neat (and expensive).
Mice that can do that need to be paired with unique accessories, which drives up the cost, but it also means you can’t just steal the batteries out of the TV remote if the charging device fails.
If you’re keen on going longer between charges, the two best things you can do for your wireless gaming mouse are to tone down the RGB lighting frenzy and drop the polling rate. Most gamers will never, ever notice the difference between a 500 Hz and a 1,000 Hz polling rate anyway. Those two tweaks combined can net you up to 50% more battery life.
Ergonomics
When it comes to mice, developing good ergonomics is a more conscious process than it is with chairs or keyboards. Each of the three main ways of gripping a mouse (palm grip, claw grip, and tip grip) has pronounced benefits and drawbacks. It’s possible to use a claw or tip grip properly, but it takes a fair amount of practice and constant reinforcement.
When you use a palm grip, you allow your whole hand to cover the mouse. Your index and middle fingers lie flat and cover the entire length of the primary and secondary mouse buttons. The palm grip is relatively precise and, ergonomically speaking, it’s the best option, but it’s slow.
Moving your mouse clear across the screen requires either exaggerated hand and wrist movements or a high CPI setting (which is not always ideal, unless you can change it on the fly with a single button).
With practice, a claw grip can be faster and more precise than a palm grip, but it’s also harder on your joints and muscles over time. This grip involves curling your fingers such that their tips rest on the two primary buttons, while your palm still supports some of the weight of your hand. Regular stretch breaks and occasional long rests between play sessions are a must.
The tip grip further emphasizes both the advantages and disadvantages of the claw grip. When using this grip, your palm has little or no contact with the body of the mouse, and almost all movements are initiated purely with the fingertips. Relatively high CPI settings are preferred with the tip grip, but with lots of practice, it’s hands-down the fastest and most precise play style.
Proactive monitoring of your joint and wrist health is mandatory. A disproportionate percentage of gaming-related hand and wrist injuries occur among tip grippers.
No matter what style of mouse grip you use, pay attention to your own body. Pain is a signal that something is wrong. If you experience hand or wrist pain while gaming, stop immediately and take a long rest, if the problem persists, see a doctor. No game, no matter how fun or rewarding, is worth lifelong joint problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are five of the most popular questions gamers are googling about wireless gaming mice.
Are Gaming Mice Worth It?
They are, but it’s worth noting that in the last 3-5 years, the gap between gaming mice and regular mice has narrowed considerably. (Gaming mouse technology has improved quickly, but office/general use mice have gotten better even faster.) Now that it’s relatively cheap to mass-produce $30 office mice that have 1,200+ CPI and sometimes also have decent polling rates, you can get by in many games with almost any mouse.
Still, given that you can now get excellent gaming mice like the Logitech G305 which is one of the best gaming mice under $50, it’s hard to find good reasons to stick with that $30 wireless mouse that came bundled with your laptop. If you can afford the extra $20 to $50, we say go for it.
Is a Wireless Mouse Good for Gaming?
Historically, the biggest problems with using wireless mice for gaming have been response times and connectivity issues. The explanation for the former question is relatively straightforward: All other things being equal, signals traveling through the air will get to their destination a bit more slowly than if they had a wire to move through (your wired Ethernet connection is faster than your Wi-Fi, after all).
Wireless signal speeds are getting better at a fantastic rate, though. Nowadays, there are some high-end gaming mice, like the Logitech G Pro Wireless and the Razer Mamba Hyperflux, that is just as fast as their wired counterparts.
Wireless gaming mouse connectivity issues are also less of a problem than they used to be, but they still happen. The list of reasons that a wireless mouse might suddenly disconnect is pretty long, but most of the prominent manufacturers have finally recognized that gamers hate that and are putting a lot of resources into fixing it. As long as you read reviews and do careful research on any given mouse, you should be fine.
Which Is Better for Gaming, a Wired or Wireless Mouse?
The answer to this question is the same as the answer to the first question, “Are gaming mice worth it?” 5+ years ago, it would have been wired mice all the way, but wireless gaming mice have almost totally caught up.
The performance differences between them are more noticeable at lower price points, so it’s generally better to buy a cheap wired mouse than a cheap wireless one. At about $50 or more, most wired and wireless gaming mice have relatively small differences.
Are Bluetooth Mice Good?
Eh… not really. Bluetooth is excellent for one thing: quick and easy compatibility with a wide range of devices. In terms of its performance, though, it kiiiiind of sucks. Bluetooth operates on a 2.4 GHz frequency, which happens to be the same frequency that a majority of other wireless devices use. This makes it super sensitive to interference, and Bluetooth has reduced range, too.
You’re better off picking up a wireless mouse with a USB dongle. Yes, it’ll take up a USB port on your PC, but that’s a small price to pay for vastly improved range, performance, and resistance to interference. Save the Bluetooth for your headphones or car radio.
Are Cheap Gaming Mice Good?
They’re a lot better than they used to be. Heck, you can even find wireless gaming mice for $20 that have 2,500+ 4- or 5-star reviews. We haven’t reviewed that one, but try it out and let us know what you think.
Conclusion
It’s not 2005 anymore, which means you no longer have to sacrifice performance to cut the cord on your gaming mouse. It also means you no longer have to hear Coldplay in every grocery store and waiting room. It’s hard to say which of those things is better.
Seriously though, wireless gaming mouse technology has come so far that you’d almost have to try to buy a bad one. Even the cheapest, most bare-bones models are often light-years ahead of what the best gaming mice in existence could offer ten years ago. Queue for your next match of Apex Legends with full confidence, knowing that your new wireless gaming mouse can (probably) hold its own against any wired mouse.
If you’re looking for something more game-specific, click over to our guides to the best mouse for Fortnite or the best mouse for Overwatch.