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.
Should you trust us? Our team of experts evaluates every mouse using the same standardized tests to ensure fair, unbiased comparisons—and we purchase each one ourselves to stay completely independent. See just how we test mice and judge for yourself.
We've tested over 350 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 pick for the best cheap lightweight gaming mouse, the ROCCAT Kone Pro. 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 and lacks RGB lighting, and its scroll wheel doesn't have tilt inputs and a free-scrolling mode.
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.
We recommend the ROCCAT Kone Pro if you're on a budget but want something lightweight. This wired mouse's price tends to jump around a bit, but it's usually available for around $20, making it a very competitive choice at that price. This mouse has a curvy, right-handed design that provides support for your hand and can keep you comfortable during longer play sessions. It's well-suited for palm or claw grippers, but it's on the bigger side, so it has a generous feel in the hand.
It has superb raw performance with outstanding click and sensor latency. It delivers an incredibly responsive-feeling gaming experience suitable for both casual and competitive play. This mouse also has RGB lighting that shines through the translucent left- and right-click buttons that's perfect if you want a pop of color in your gaming setup. Overall, this is a great pick if you're willing to contend with a wired option and are okay with something that has a slightly unorthodox shape.
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 ROCCAT Kone Pro. That said, considering its consistently low price point, this mouse offers nearly unrivaled performance for gaming in any genre.
The Keychron M3 Mini is a great alternative to the Logitech G305 LIGHTSPEED if you're looking for something that's lighter and has a built-in rechargeable battery. The two deliver the same raw performance, but the Keychron is more expensive and closer to a mid-range price point.
See our reviewThe Keychron M6 is an excellent wireless mouse designed for productivity and gaming. It features a lightweight, supportive, and right-handed shape and touts PixArt's flagship 3395 gaming sensor. That said, its raw performance isn't as good as the Logitech G502 HERO, and its shape isn't as accommodating for larger hand sizes.
See our reviewThe
VGN Dragonfly F1 Pro Max weighs even less than the ROCCAT Kone Pro, 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 reviewWe've renamed our 'Best Budget Lightweight Gaming Mouse' category to 'Best Cheap Lightweight Gaming Mouse' and replaced the Cooler Master MM720 with the ROCCAT Kone Pro due to availability. We've also added the Keychron M3 Mini as a Notable Mention as it's a great lightweight alternative to the Logitech G305.
We'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.
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.
What do you think of our picks? Let us know below.
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Update: We’ve renamed our ‘Best Budget Lightweight Gaming Mouse’ category to ‘Best Cheap Lightweight Gaming Mouse’ and replaced the Cooler Master MM720 with the ROCCAT Kone Pro due to availability. We’ve also added the Keychron M3 Mini as a Notable Mention as it’s a great lightweight alternative to the Logitech G305.
What do you think of these changes? Let us know
Hi risn, Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We’ve heard great things about the VGN Dragonfly F1 and the Attack Shark X3, and they’re currently among the leaders in our most recent user poll. The Darmoshark M3s Mini and the Zaopin Z1 Pro are also on our list of mice that we’re considering. If we see enough interest in those mice, we’ll buy and test them. If you have any other suggestions of mice we should test, please let us know!
VGN Dragonfly F1 VXE Dragonfly R1 Attack Shark X3, X6 Zaopin Z1 and Z2 Michose A5 8Khz Deathadder V3 (Wired) Damoshark M3, M3s Ajazz AJ139, AJ199 Delux M800 Ultra Metaphyuni Metapanda01
Most of these companies operate from the same factories as the big companies and are of similar quality to the superlight etc. They also tend to send out review samples.
Update: We’ve audited our picks for availability and relevance and added the Keychron M6 to our Notable Mentions section.
What do you think of these changes? Let us know
Your budget recommendations are crapology. They don’t reflect the budget mouse market in its current state. There are dozens of infinitely better mice available on places like aliexpress.
Hi risn,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We’ve heard great things about the VGN Dragonfly F1 and the Attack Shark X3, and they’re currently among the leaders in our most recent user poll. The Darmoshark M3s Mini and the Zaopin Z1 Pro are also on our list of mice that we’re considering. If we see enough interest in those mice, we’ll buy and test them.
If you have any other suggestions of mice we should test, please let us know!