Finding the best budget or cheap gaming mouse can be a challenge. With the growing popularity of PC gaming, making an informed choice about which products to add to your arsenal without breaking the bank is tough. Don't lose hope; finding high-quality gaming products at affordable prices is possible. While you might not get all the features of expensive models or a wireless design when you're looking for the best gaming mouse on a budget, there are plenty of great choices for a thrifty gamer.
We've tested over 340 mice, and these are our recommendations for the best budget and cheap mice for gaming. If you want to compare higher-priced options, check out our best gaming mice and best wireless gaming mice articles. Or, if you're interested in a standard mouse for everyday use, look at our list of best mice overall.
The best budget wireless gaming mouse we've tested is the Logitech G305 LIGHTSPEED. While many wireless gaming models come with a price jump compared to similar wired versions, this mouse is a rare exception. It has a very sturdy-feeling, almost egg-shaped body that's comfortable to hold for nearly all hand sizes. Logitech advertises a battery life of up to 250 hours from a single AA battery, and an LED indicator behind the scroll wheel lets you know when your battery is running low. Its companion software offers plenty of customization and allows you to set custom profiles, re-program buttons, and precisely adjust your sensor settings.
Performance-wise, its click latency is excellent and is even lower than some wired options around the same price range. This sensor is an earlier version of Logitech's current flagship sensor and offers good all-around performance for gaming in any genre. Unfortunately, it doesn't have RGB lighting, but there are various color options, so you can match the aesthetic of your setup. Altogether, this mouse offers the freedom of a wireless connection without sacrificing gaming performance, and it's the best budget gaming option out there.
The Logitech G502 HERO is the best budget gaming option we've tested if you play different types of games, especially if they require more buttons, like MOBA or MMO games. It has a more ergonomic, right-handed shape than our best pick on this list, the Logitech G305 LIGHTSPEED, making it a more comfortable option for longer play sessions. It also features outstanding click latency, making it more than capable of delivering stable, responsive performance, even in competitive games. Its companion software allows you to remap any of its 12 buttons, set custom lighting, and make sensor adjustments. Its scroll wheel also has tilt inputs and a free-scrolling mode, a helpful feature for scrolling quickly through web pages outside of gaming.
Although this mouse is a great option for many game genres, it isn't ideal if you only play FPS or fast-paced games—it's pretty heavy, and you can't flick it around as quickly. For this use case, check out our next pick below for the best lightweight budget gaming mouse, the Cooler Master MM720. Or, if you're interested in a similar mouse that connects wirelessly with a USB receiver or via Bluetooth, we recommend checking out the Razer Basilisk X Hyperspeed. It also offers similar gaming performance and is typically around the same price. But it only has six programmable buttons, lacks RGB lighting, and its scroll wheel lacks tilt inputs and a free-scrolling mode.
If you're on a budget but want the lightest mouse on the block, we recommend the Cooler Master MM720. The price of this mouse bounces around quite a bit, but it frequently goes on sale, sometimes for $25 or less. It's a wired model that weighs only 52g, making it the lightest pick on this list. Its unusual right-handed shape may not look like most other mice, but it features a rest for your ring finger and is surprisingly comfortable for most hand sizes. Performance-wise, this mouse has incredibly low click latency and solid sensor performance. The quality of its cable and mouse feet is also outstanding and on par with premium options.
Unfortunately, its build quality is the biggest pain point. The body squeaks and feels like it might crack with enough pressure, and the side buttons have a mushy feel. These issues aren't a dealbreaker for gameplay, but they may be more of a problem for the mouse's general longevity or if you're rougher with your mice.
If you want to be on the bleeding edge of performance without breaking the bank, look no further than the Razer Viper 8KHz, the best budget gaming option we've tested for enthusiasts. While it's priced on the upper limit between what we'd consider budget and mid-range price points, it frequently goes on sale for $50 or less. It's a true ambidextrous mouse with a symmetrical shape and a pair of side buttons on the left and right sides, making it a great choice whether you're right- or left-handed. It's not the lightest mouse out there, but it has great build quality, with no rattling or squeaking in the body.
What sets this mouse apart from the rest is what's under the hood; it has a maximum native polling rate of 8000Hz. Higher polling rates produce slightly smoother cursor movements and marginally improved latency, even compared to flagship mice. Unfortunately, some games still don't fully support these higher polling rate settings, including a few popular competitive titles. It also takes a fairly high-end machine with a powerful processor to take full advantage of this cutting-edge feature. However, most modern computers can take advantage of 2000Hz or even 4000Hz polling rate options. Overall, this mouse offers excellent gaming performance and cutting-edge technology in a well-built and great-value package.
If you're looking for the best cheap gaming mouse, we recommend the Logitech G203 LIGHTSYNC. This wired model is available in several expressive colors to suit your setup. It also has fully customizable RGB lighting that you can adjust using the companion software. This mouse has the same egg-like shape as our best overall pick, the Logitech G305 LIGHTSPEED, which means it's well-suited to left- and right-handed users for nearly all hand sizes.
It may not have the same sensor accuracy as the more expensive options on this list. However, its click latency is low enough to deliver a high-quality experience in all genres, including more fast-paced and competitive games. Its biggest downside is its weight, and while it's much lighter than our multi-genre pick, it isn't as quick and easy to maneuver as our lightweight pick, the Cooler Master MM720. That said, considering its consistently low price point, this mouse offers nearly unrivaled performance for gaming in any genre.
The
VGN Dragonfly F1 Pro Max weighs about the same as the Cooler Master MM720, is wireless, and has a more conventional symmetrical shape. It also performs excellently, and even supports a 4000Hz polling rate with the purchase of a separate wireless dongle.
That said, it's more expensive, being closer to a mid-range than a budget price point.
See our reviewThe ROCCAT Kone Pro is an excellent budget mouse for the price. It's almost as lightweight as the Cooler Master MM720 at 62 grams and has outstanding raw performance and build quality overall. However, its rather unique shape won't be comfortable for everyone, and its price is volatile; it's at its best value when it's $25 or less.
See our reviewWe've removed the HyperX Pulsefire Haste from our Notable Mentions section since its successor offers better performance at a similar price. We've also added the VGN Dragonfly F1 Pro Max to our Notable Mentions section since it punches well above its weight for the price.
Aug 07, 2024: We've updated this article for clarity and verified that our recommendations are available and represent the best choices.
May 10, 2024: We've audited our picks for availability and relevance and added the Keychron M6 to our Notable Mentions section.
Mar 13, 2024: We haven't made any changes to our picks for this update, but we've made some minor text changes for clarity and accuracy.
Feb 09, 2024: We've reviewed our picks for availability and relevance and added the ROCCAT Kone Pro to our Notable Mentions section.
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best cheap gaming mice for most people. In addition to the test results, we factor in the price, feedback from our visitors, and availability.
If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here is the list of all our cheap mice reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no mouse is perfect for every use, most mice are great enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.