Best gaming mouse 2023: The highest-rated for all gamers

The Razer Viper 8K is the best wired gaming mouse we’ve tested yet. It offers one of the best sensors available on the market, combined with a powerful polling rate that ensures it’s extremely responsive.

We found this to be a comfortable mouse to hold and is solidly built, with a sturdy black plastic shell and rubberised side grips for extra comfort. In addition, both lefties and righties alike can use this as it’s ambidextrous with buttons on both sides.

The main star of the show here though is Razer’s Focus+ sensor that gives you 20,000 DPI’s worth of sensitivity. In testing, this translated to some marvellously responsive results within FPS titles. In conjunction with this, an 8000Hz polling rate makes it incredibly speedy, and means this is an immense choice, especially for the most professional gamers.

For its lighting, the Viper 8K’s is bright and vibrant, coming courtesy of Razer’s usual Chroma lighting engine. It’s purposeful and smart, with just a couple of RGB zones to pick from. In addition, it works well with Razer’s Synapse 3 software, which we think gives you some of the best software-driven customisation out there.

All in all, the Viper 8K is a great choice if all-out power is your top priority, but Razer does a wide range of gaming mice that we rate pretty highly. For instance, if you’re looking for more of a contoured shape, the Basilisk V3 is an incredible option, whilst the DeathAdder V2 is a fantastic all-rounder.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full review: Razer Viper 8K review

The Razer Viper V2 Pro has set a new benchmark for a wired gaming mouse, making it the absolute best option for gamers who crave the ultimate performance.

Sensitivity has hit new heights, with Razer flaunting an impressive 30,000 DPI, making the Viper V2 Pro the most responsive gaming mouse on the market. During testing, we found the 30,000 DPI to be too sensitive for the vast majority of games, but it’s easy enough to dial back for the sensitivity and it’s great to have the option.

Our tests also showed it to have a faultless wireless connection and a marvellously lightweight 58-gram design, ensuring this mouse is good enough for the eSports crowd. However, it does miss out on flashy features, such as RGB lighting, in order to ensure it offers the best possible performance.

It features a symmetrical ambidextrous design. And if you want a mouse designed specifically for right-handers, there’s always the option of the Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro which essentially packs the same features.

The Viper V2 Pro is incredibly expensive, so is only worthwhile if you are very serious about improving your performance in online multiplayer games. Otherwise, you’re better off checking the Razer DeathAdder V2 X HyperSpeed which is available at a significantly more affordable price.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full review: Razer Viper V2 Pro review

For more casual players, gaming mice don’t need to have ridiculously powerful sensors or myriads of RGB zones, and the Logitech G203 Lightsync represents a brilliant value wired gaming mouse for casual players that keeps things simple.

Inside, its 8000 DPI sensor is actually at the higher end for more casual-oriented mice (compared to the likes of the Razer DeathAdder Essential, for instance) and works well for FPS titles especially. In playing some CS:GO and Apex Legends, we found that the G203 Lightsync felt nicely responsive. As this is more of a mouse for less-hardcore gamers, it also works well in day-to-day tasks with more than enough sensitivity to get by.

Its construction is nice and hard-wearing for the price, with the G203 Lightsync’s black plastic outer shell feeling robust. It’s worth noting this is a good looking mouse too, with a minimalistic aesthetic as put forward by it only having the most essential of buttons. This can also be looked on as quite a cute mouse, given its smaller size that makes it great for travelling, as well as the fact it’s available in a multitude of colours, including black (pictured), white, lilac and blue.

To complement the outer shell, the G203 Lightsync features some configurable RGB lighting that looks bright and vibrant, with two zones, namely the large ‘G’ and an associated light bar that sweeps around the back of the mouse. All this, and more, is customisable within Logitech’s G-Hub software.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full review: Logitech G203 Lightsync review

The Roccat Kain 200 AIMO represents one of the best value wireless gaming mice out there today. It gives a lot more expensive mice a good run for its money with its sleek design, powerful sensor, and bright RGB lighting.

Its outer shell isn’t made of the usual plastics, and instead features this smooth rubberised coating that feels especially comfortable and soft. During a day’s working and gaming, we found that the Kain 200 AIMO was immensely comfortable and pleasing to hold. For our money, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more comfortable mouse for the price.

16,000 DPI’s worth of sensitivity also makes this quite the responsive mouse, as was apparent during a few rounds of CS:GO to test it out. In addition, Roccat’s Titan Click feature offers up some purposeful and precise inputs that translate well into those intense gaming sessions. Its 35 hours of battery life, with full RGB on, isn’t bad for the money, although it does fall short a little compared to other wireless gaming mice at similar prices, such as the Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro SE. 

The Roccat Swarm software that the Kain 200 AIMO uses is pretty good overall, with a decent amount of functions available to customise, from RGB to DPI levels and button functions. The only real issue here is that it’s a real pain to install, involving you downloading and unzipping the file and then having to update firmware for both the mouse and bundled wireless dongle. It’s a bit of a faff, but once you get inside, the functionality available within Swarm is very good.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full review: Roccat Kain 200 AIMO review

Lightweight gaming mice seem to be becoming more and more common, and the Asus TUF Gaming M4 Air is an immense option for those wanting a powerful sensor within an incredibly light package.

It clocks in at just 47g, which is even lighter than the excellent Razer Viper V2 Pro. We found that this helps to make the mouse incredibly nimble during games, as became apparent during a few rounds of CS:GO and Fortnite. It’s made of sturdy plastics, although that low weight can make it appear to feel a little cheap at times. Its open housing looks good, although it is likely to be a magnet for any dust or moisture. To combat this, Asus says the M4 Air is IPX6 resistant.

The 16,000 DPI sensor here offers up sharp and accurate gaming, but it can take some getting used to that lighter weight and high power combo. It’s versatile too, with the M4 Air being able to be used with pretty much all grips, whether you’re clawing with it, or using it with a palm grip.

The lightweight nature of the M4 Air is also reflected in its additional software, which comes as Asus Armoury Crate. It offers the most essential functions for customisation for the M4 Air, with you being able to change the DPI in four stages as well as reprogram functions and apply any firmware updates. During testing, we found it to be nice and convenient to use. For those wanting an easy software experience, you won’t find a better option than this. 

Do note, that there isn’t any RGB lighting here, which would certainly have increased the weight. So it’s worth noting whether you’d prefer a lighter wired mouse, or one with RGB. For a powerful wired mouse with RGB that offers you some transparency, you’ll want to check out the Roccat Kone XP.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full review: ASUS TUF Gaming M4 Air review

Not everyone can fit a large gaming mouse in their hands, and the Razer Viper Mini provides those with smaller hands a chance to get in on some gaming mouse action. 

It’s dainty with a weight of just 61g, making this nearly as light as the Asus TUF Gaming M4 Air, and is made of sturdy black plastics that also help it feel hard-wearing and well made. With this also comes the same design cues as the larger, and more powerful Viper 8K, complete with buttons on both sides of the mouse, meaning this is an ambidextrous option.

Inside the smaller chassis comes an 8500 DPI sensor that we found felt especially great during testing in a few FPS titles, especially when combined with the smaller size and weight of the Viper Mini. There are also Razer’s optical switches inside which offer some rather precise inputs and also feel good under finger, even if it’s not all too possible to feel the difference between optical and traditional mechanical switches. 

The lighting on offer with the Viper Mini is kept plain and simple with similar zones to the Logitech G203 Lightsync, with just the Razer logo and a small bar present. This means it’s a good option for minimalists, as well as those who just want purposeful lighting and looks. Synapse 3, Razer’s companion app, takes care of any customisation too, and feels convenient and easy to use during testing.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full review: Razer Viper Mini review

The Roccat Kone Air is a fantastic choice for a mid-range gaming mouse. We thought that it offered up a comfortable chassis that made it easy to use for long periods of time. The construction of the mouse is solid with a textured plastic finish, with rubberised side gripes that gave us a good hold during gameplay, even if you happen to have particularly sweaty palms.

The battery life is where this mouse really shines; it has a quoted battery life of up to 800 hours, which is more than enough for a wireless mouse. It runs off two AA batteries and, during our review period, we didn’t have to change out the batteries once, making this ideal for gamers who are looking to sink multiple hours into their favourite games at a time. 

Moreover, the Roccat Kone Air comes with a 19,000 DPI sensor, which we thought was fantastic for the asking price. We did note that some other mice in this bracket may be lighter, but since they offer lower DPI figures, it’s a bit of a tradeoff. In our testing, we thought that this mouse worked brilliantly in FPS titles such as CS:GO and Apex Legends with excellent responsive tracking that was also very accurate. 

If you are moving over from a lighter mouse then the Roccat Kone Air may take some getting used to, as this model is a tad heavy, weighing in at 119g. The weight was not an issue for us, but you may prefer a model like the Asus TUF Gaming M4 Air or Razer Viper V2 Pro if you’re after something that’s extremely lightweight. 

Overall, the Roccat Kone Air is a great gaming mouse and comes in at under £60, making it a great choice if you’re picking out a gaming mouse for the first time. With a comfortable build and accurate tracking, this should be more than enough for most gamers out there. 

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full Review: Roccat Kone Air Review

We gave the SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless a 4.5 star rating out of 5, cementing it as one of the best gaming mice on the market right now. Our review claims that it is possibly the best wireless MOBA/MMO mouse out there, with 18 programmable buttons making it a superb option for games such as Dota, League of Legends and World of Warcraft.

Coming in at only 89g, this SteelSeries gaming mouse is incredibly lightweight. The lightweight design doesn’t have a negative impact on the build quality, either; we thought that the hard plastic design felt good to hold, and there was no rattling or disturbance of the materials during use.

It boasts an 18,000 DPI, making this a very nippy mouse. During use, we thought it worked fluidly and was more than responsive enough for fast-paced games. It can also be connected to a PC via Bluetooth and the bundled 2.4GHz USB receiver, with both options slowing little noticeable latency, even if we did prefer the receiver to Bluetooth. The battery life here is also incredible, offering 180 hours over Bluetooth and 80 over the USB receiver.

The one major issue? It’s very expensive with an RRP of £139.99. You can find more affordable options with similar specs if you’re willing to forgo a wireless connection, with the Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite Mouse an excellent alternative. But if you’re keen to go wireless and are looking to improve your MMO skills, then the SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless is the way to go.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full review: SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless Review

The Asus ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition is perfect for anyone looking for a high-end performance gaming mouse. The 36,000 DPI sensor is incredibly powerful and is one of the highest DPI mice that we’ve ever tested; it’s ridiculously quick and very accurate, with our reviewer noting how a minute flick of the wrist can send you flying around the map in order to kill enemies in FPS titles, which is where this mouse really shines.

The battery life is nothing to sniff at, as Asus claims that it hit over 90-hours using the USB receiver and 98-hours when using Bluetooth. We didn’t need to charge our unit during testing, making this ideal for anyone who is interested in gaming for hours at a time without being interrupted.

Downloading ROG Armoury gives users the chance to remap the Harpe Ace’s buttons and configure the single lighting zone that is on offer. If you want to take full advantage we recommend downloading Aimlab, since that gives you access to a vast level of functionality, with options to change the DPI, switch up the angle tuning and customise the mouse’s lift-off distance. The only downside is that you will need 12GB storage for Aimlab, but we think it’s well worth it.

This mouse is also seriously lightweight, with our reviewer claiming that it is the lightest model they’ve ever used. The outer shell is comprised of nylon and has a sturdy build overall, with the textured finish making it feel comfortable to use for long periods of time.

This is easily one of the best gaming mice out there. If you’re looking for something a little more affordable, the Logitech G203 Lightsync and Roccat Kain 200 AIMO are good picks, however, for under £140 this is a fantastic mouse that can help any professional gamers improve their skills.

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full Review: Asus ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition