Best mouse for PCs and Mac in 2021: Perfect pointers for work and play

(Pocket-lint) - There's thing incorrect with a trackpad, per se, but let's beryllium honorable - adjacent if they're getting amended each year, there's inactive thing rather similar utilizing an existent rodent for your machine - particularly if you enactment from home. 

If you're yet bushed of surviving that trackpad life, then, you mightiness beryllium connected the lookout for a caller rodent that doesn't needfully presume you're a hardcore gamer whose biggest precedence is stacks of relation keys and flashing lights. In fact, astir of america conscionable privation thing compact we tin usage connected the determination oregon thing close but elemental for usage astatine a desk. 

• Best keyboards: Our prime of the apical PC and Mac keyboards

We've taken a elaborate look astatine the marketplace and here's our roundup of mice to assistance you see what rodent is cleanable for you, and person tested each of these options to ascertain which are the astir comfy and reliable.

Looking for a gaming mouse? Check retired our usher to the champion gaming mouse instead.

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What is the champion rodent disposable to buy? Our apical proposal is the Logitech MX Master 3. Also worthy considering are the Logitech MX Anywhere 3, the Logitech G203 Lightsync, the Microsoft Intellimouse Pro and the Logitech Pebble.

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Our Top Pick: Best Mouse

Logitech MX Master 3

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For

• Superb comfort
• Great artillery life
• Superb control

Against

• Quite expensive

Logitech lone released the MX Master 3 recently, but it's rapidly rocketed up to the apical of our database — this is an perfectly superb rodent utilized by astatine slightest 2 of the Pocket-lint team. It's weighty successful the close way, portion inactive retaining a gliding feeling of power that's hard to beat. 

It's besides wireless, which isn't wholly essential, arsenic this database volition demonstrate, but does assistance with the feeling that you tin usage it successful immoderate mode you like. The ergonomic plan is casual to hold, the clicks of its buttons are satisfying but easy done; it's the full package. The lone hesitation is that it won't enactment for left-handers, an all-too communal malaise successful the satellite of the machine mouse. 

You tin usage it with Logitech's Unifying USB receiver oregon with Bluetooth.

Other rodent options worthy considering

The Logitech MX Master 3 mightiness beryllium our favourite prime to urge close now, but we besides admit it's not the close acceptable for each benignant of user. That's wherefore we besides deliberation it's worthwhile delving into the 4 different choices elaborate below.

Logitech MX Anywhere 3

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For

• Silky creaseless scrolling
• Smaller form
• Great artillery life

Against

• Also pricey

If you privation a much compact rodent that inactive has a batch of the superb touches that marque the MX Master 3 truthful good, the Anywhere 3 could beryllium perfect. It's large for smaller hands oregon a workplace that moves astir a lot. 

You besides get superb ergonomics, large clicking and an uneatably bully scroll-wheel, conscionable similar connected the larger version. It's disposable successful a fewer colours to suit your taste, and artillery beingness is stellar too, rechargable by USB-C. 

Logitech G203 Lightsync

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For

• Great for gaming
• Well-priced
• Reliable

Against

• Wired

It won't beryllium the past connected this list, but portion the G203 Lightsync mightiness beryllium branded arsenic a gaming mouse, we deliberation it's subtle capable and usable capable to judge that tag. 

The information that it's wired keeps the terms truly debased for this device, and the show you get from it is hard to reason with. It's lightweight and glides nicely, and has six buttons that you tin reprogram if needed, for example, to unfastened your most-used applications. Although it does person immoderate LED lighting that is simply a small "gamery", it's beauteous subtle and tin beryllium controlled to suit your taste, and the achromatic mentation we've been utilizing is peculiarly handsome.  

Microsoft Intellimouse Pro

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For

• Really simple
• Reliable
• Comfortable

Against

• Quite ugly

That's right, your eyes don't deceive you. Chances are you retrieve the supra plan from somewhere, whether it's a schoolhouse IT lab, an office, oregon a beforehand desk. Well, wherever that spot was, their bosses haven't scrimped connected equipment, due to the fact that contempt its austere looks, the Intellimouse is simply a earnestly large mouse. 

With a subtle but effectual ergonomic curve, and nary unnecessary bells and whistles, there's a crushed wherefore Microsoft's rodent plan hasn't changed overmuch down the years. 

Logitech Pebble

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For

• Truly portable
• Works nicely

Against

• Pretty flimsy
• Not ever that comfortable

If you're moving remotely, oregon if you person a moving commute — oregon adjacent if you conscionable instrumentality the unusual enactment trip, you'll cognize the worth of portability. Logitech, which you mightiness beryllium noticing arsenic a spot of a repetition diagnostic connected this list, has a large enactment for those who privation a much diminutive, easy transported mouse. 

The Pebble is bully and tiny, but inactive truly comfy to use, and has Bluetooth for casual pairing. It's got a large clicking enactment for specified a tiny mouse, and is truly silent, which we person a batch of clip for. If you're successful the request for a rodent that travels, Logitech has got you covered here, and astatine a truly awesome price, too. 

Other products we considered

When trying to fig retired what we judge to beryllium the champion rodent options connected the market, we spent hours moving each sorts of applications and utilizing the devices successful a scope of situations. We see a fig of factors erstwhile it comes to recommending mice - and besides erstwhile a caller instrumentality enters our apical 5 selections. It's not each judged connected our testing, either - we besides effort to origin successful user reviews, marque prime and value.

In each of our roundups, determination are besides galore products we trial that don't marque the last cut. Since they whitethorn beryllium the close acceptable for immoderate people, however, we've listed them below.

• Anker Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse
• Razer DeathAdder Essential

How to take a rodent for your PC oregon Mac

There are a batch of options retired determination erstwhile it comes to pointers for your computer, but we've got immoderate adjuvant questions to assistance you constrictive things down.

Do you request a wireless mouse?

Back successful the bully aged days each rodent had a cablegram attached to really link it to a device, but wireless options are connected apical now. Most radical volition astir apt privation a wireless rodent ideally, to escaped them up arsenic overmuch arsenic possible, but deliberation astir whether that applies to you!

After all, idiosyncratic similar a gamer who wants minimal effect times whitethorn opt alternatively for a wired instrumentality for that unbeatable responsiveness.

What signifier suits your hand?

Another large adaptable betwixt the options we've highlighted present is the signifier of the rodent - immoderate are bigger, others are smaller, and immoderate similar our apical prime person an ergonomic ridge to them that takes immoderate getting utilized to. While we deliberation they'll each suit astir people, if you've utilized a signifier of rodent that you've either peculiarly liked oregon disliked previously, that'll beryllium good worthy remembering.

Are you left-handed?

One large happening to see (and you astir apt already person done) is what manus you usage dominantly. While astir rodent options, successful peculiar those from Logitech, fto you swap fastener mapping around, they're not each built for left-handers and right-handers both, which means that a much symmetrical rodent mightiness enactment out.

What's your budget?

Of course, determination are immoderate large gaps successful the prices of immoderate of the mice we've highlighted, and portion we judge the much costly options are worthy it successful the agelong run, it's a bully thought to cognize however overmuch you're readying to walk truthful that you don't find yourself going into indebtedness conscionable for the involvement of a nicer mouse.

Is portability important?

Another question that volition find what benignant of rodent you privation is astir whether you'll beryllium utilizing to to enactment connected the determination - if you're sticking to 1 desk, life's easy, but for anyone who moves astir a bunch, having a wireless rodent that doesn't measurement a ton and isn't excessively delicate mightiness marque sense.

More astir this story

Every merchandise successful this database has been tested successful real-life situations, conscionable arsenic you would usage it successful your day-to-day life.

A rodent mightiness not beryllium the astir eye-catching oregon costly portion of your enactment setup but it's a hugely important adaptable - utilizing a sub-standard 1 time in, time retired volition instrumentality its toll. Upgrading to a much comfy oregon premium illustration tin beryllium game-changing.

We're funny successful however comfy these mice are, what other functions they bring and however elemental it is to some link and usage them.

As with immoderate roundup, it's not imaginable to present a database that works for each benignant of user, but we thin connected the experiences and opinions of the wider Pocket-lint squad - arsenic good arsenic thoroughly assessing the areas supra - successful bid to bash our champion successful this regard.

What we ever thin to debar erstwhile compiling these picks are needless spec comparisons and selling lines; we conscionable privation to supply an casual to recognize summary that gives you an thought of what each rodent is similar to use. Our verdicts are concise, but this is purely successful the involvement of brevity. Rest assured each the devices connected this database person been afloat tested.

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills. Editing by Conor Allison. Originally published connected 6 January 2020.