Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
---

Title: The best ergonomic mouse for 2025

Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2025 07:00:38 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessorie...

A mouse may seem like a small consideration for your workstation setup. But
after youΓÇÖve addressed the crucial ergonomics ΓÇö raising your monitor to
eye-level, using the right keyboard and taking frequent breaks throughout
your workdays ΓÇö itΓÇÖs a good idea to make sure the mouse you use is
comfortable as well. People dealing with conditions like carpal tunnel and
wrist pain may be interested in finding the best ergonomic mouse for them.
Vertical and semi-vertical designs turn your palm towards your midline
instead of downwards, creating a handshake position that may feel more
natural. Others employ a trackball to minimize the work your shoulder has to
do in a day. I tested out more than 20 highly regarded ergonomic mice to come
up with recommendations for vertical, semi-vertical, trackball and more,
along with advice about the merits of the different ergonomic designs.

Table of contents

What to look for in an ergonomic mouse

How we test ergonomic mice

Best ergonomic mouse for 2025

Other ergonomic mice we tested

Best ergonomic mouse for 2025

What to look for in an ergonomic mouse

Like everything related to ergonomics, the mouse design that works best for
you will depend on your body and what you need to do on a typical day. So the
shapes, added features and how the mouse communicates with your computer will
determine which you should get.

Types and shapes of ergonomic mice

When weΓÇÖre talking about ergonomic mice for productivity purposes, it
usually refers to mice that look distinctly different from the standard,
typically with shapes that tilt your hand towards a more ΓÇ£handshakeΓÇ¥
position instead of facing your palm downward. A vertical ergonomic mouse has
the most severe up-and-down angle, semi-vertical mice split the difference
and trackball models stay put on your desk while your thumb controls the
movement of the cursor. Gaming mice have an ergonomic category as well, but
that simply refers to a mouse with curves designed to fit either the right or
left hand. It differentiates those mice from ambidextrous models, which
donΓÇÖt conform to a particular hand.

Each of three ergonomic mice shapes can help address different concerns. If
youΓÇÖre trying to avoid twisting your forearm, a vertical mouse could be
what you need. Clicking a vertical mouse feels more like pinching your finger
and thumb together, which could relieve certain other wrist issues as well.

A semi-vertical mouse feels the most like a traditional computer mouse, with
an angle closer to 50 or 60 degrees from your desk. Semi-vertical mouse
clicks can feel easier too, since you're pushing down instead of pinching.
Some vertical and semi-vertical mice have an optional flange that supports
the heel of your palm. Instead of pivoting on those bones to make your cursor
move, your palm and wrist stay aligned and the entire arm controls the
motion.

A trackball mouse can also keep your wrist from bending, as it keeps your
forearm planted. My personal struggle is with neck and shoulder tension, so
trackballs and very lightweight vertical mice work best for me as their
configuration lets me keep my forearm from moving.

DPI, weight and buttons

As this guide focuses on productivity mice, gaming-specific stats like
polling rates and IPS values donΓÇÖt really come into play. (My colleague
Jeff Dunn does a good job of explaining those metrics in his gaming mouse
review guide.) What matters here are numbers like DPI, or dots per inch,
which indicates how sensitive a mouse is. The higher the setting, the faster
your cursor will move across the screen. Low DPI settings let you do
precision work like pixel-by-pixel editing in Photoshop. All the mice here
have at least two and as many as five settings, ranging from 400 to 3,200
DPI. Mice that make it easy to switch from high to low DPI might make sense
if you do a lot of detailed work.

Weight makes a difference in vertical and semi-vertical mice (but not
trackballs, since they stay put). A lighter model will be easier to move
around, which could put less strain on your wrist and arm. That said, a
little weight can make your movements feel more precise. For reference, a
featherweight gaming mouse might weigh 45 grams and a large vertical mouse
with a flange attached might weigh 140 grams. The latter may feel a little
heavy, but if it has smooth feet and is used with a decent mouse pad, it will
feel lighter.

It's always nice to have easily clickable buttons, but that matters even more
when body health is a concern. Pressing hard on a button tenses up my arm and
shoulder like nobodyΓÇÖs business. Since itΓÇÖs an action desk workers
perform hundreds or thousands of times a day, it's essential that it be
effortless ΓÇö nothing ruled out a mouse quicker in my tests than tough
buttons.

Extra features

All mice have the basics: a right and left button and a scroll wheel. All
mice in this guide also have a DPI selector button. Some have other functions
such as a scroll wheel that can click with a press or handle horizontal
scrolling by tilting the wheel to the right or left. Many also have back and
forward buttons for browser windows, and sometimes those two are programmable
to perform different functions in other apps.

More complex mice have additional buttons to customize, typically using a
mouseΓÇÖs proprietary software. Depending on that software, you can set
buttons to mute calls, copy and paste, undo and redo, switch tabs and more.
Performing multiple functions without extraneous movement is a big plus in
ergonomic design. Of course, there are a number of keyboards that let you
program multiple functions into specific keys, which cuts down on superfluous
movement even more, which you can read about in our ergonomic keyboard guide.

Connectivity and compatibility

All the mice here will work with Mac's operating system as well as Microsoft
Windows, and some work with Chrome, Linnux and even iPadOS (though I didnΓÇÖt
test those) as well. They connect in three ways: Wired, via Bluetooth or with
a 2.4Ghz wireless dongle. More devices have incorporated USB-C interfaces,
but most mice still use USB-A. So if you have a laptop that only sports USB-C
ports (looking at you, MacBook), youΓÇÖll need an adapter to use a wired or
dongle-enabled mouse. You can use a hub or docking station for this purpose,
but in testing this guide, I ran into connectivity issues using a wireless
USB receiver in a docking station, particularly when there wasnΓÇÖt a direct
and completely clear path between the mouse and receiver. Everything worked
far more reliably with just a direct USB-C to A adapter.

The difference between wireless and Bluetooth is twofold: a wireless dongle
connection tends to be quicker to set up. You just plug in the accessory,
turn on the mouse (potentially granting permission for the device) and
youΓÇÖre set. For Bluetooth, you need to open the settings menu, activate
pairing mode on the mouse, search for the mouse and then click connect.
ThereΓÇÖs also a bit more latency when using Bluetooth versus a wireless
mouse. ItΓÇÖs not something most people will notice doing workaday stuff, but
if you plan on playing some Overwatch after hours and want to use the same
mouse, you might want to go with the faster, 2.4Ghz route.

How we test ergonomic mice

After many hours of research and reading reviews, I gathered just over 20
mice with good claims to ergonomic design to test in my work setup. I mostly
tried out mice geared towards a work-from-home or office setting, as opposed
to gaming (we have a whole guide dedicated to that topic). I used each mouse
for a few hours or a few days, noting how well they felt as well as how they
performed. I mostly used a MacBook Pro M1 but verified Windows compatibility
with an Asus ROG Strix laptop. For reference, my right hand measures 7.25
inches from the wrist crease to the tip of my middle finger, which is just
under average for a man and large for a woman.

Other ergonomic mice we tried Razer Pro Click V2 Vertical

I was thrilled to see a gaming company announce a vertical mouse. In gaming
peripherals, the term "ergonomic" just means ΓÇ£not ambidextrousΓÇ¥ as in,
designed for the right (or left) hand. To be fair, Razer calls this a
productivity mouse and a rep told me it was meant for those who work often
and occasionally want to game with the same mouse. But still, the Pro Click
V2 Vertical mouse is at least gaming adjacent and has an actual ergo design.
The handshake position is nice and upright, forcing very little twisting in
your forearm. ItΓÇÖs immediately apparent how well built it is, plus itΓÇÖs
lightweight, glides easily and nicely fits in the hand. It has three
connectivity options: Bluetooth, wired or USB-A dongle. And, because this is
Razer, you also get some sweet, sweet RGB lights at the bottom.

Unfortunately, I think RazerΓÇÖs Basilisk V3 is still a better ergonomic
mouse for gaming. Even though it doesnΓÇÖt have the tilted handshake
position, I vastly preferred using it to the Pro Click V2 Vertical. The V2
Vertical has a small flange that supports the pinky, but my palm was left to
pinch against the desk, so I found myself lifting my arm a lot. While the
Hyperspeed dongle is quite responsive, the Bluetooth connection was
consistently slow to wake. Using the mouse wired wasnΓÇÖt great either, as
the weight of the cable was more noticeable with a tilted position. The right
and left buttons required only a light touch if my hand fully grasped the
mouse, but if I backed off the grip a little, the buttons were tough to
click.

Finally, for a gaming mouse, there arenΓÇÖt a ton of programmable buttons:
just right, left, scroll, DPI and a forward/back pair surrounding the thumb
slot. There are some great ideas here and, like most things Razer makes, the
build is top-notch, so IΓÇÖm excited to see if the brandΓÇÖs next effort in
the area of ergonomic gaming mouse addresses a few of this modelΓÇÖs
drawbacks.

Logitech MX Master 3S

Logitech mice have made many appearances in our guides over the years. In our
guide to the best productivity mice, we name the Logitech MX Master 3S the
best wireless mouse you can get. As I considered its merits as a mouse, it
was indeed an impressive option ΓÇö it connected flawlessly, has a useful
sideways wheel as well as the traditional scroll feature and the thumb rest
is a nice touch. But the ergonomics didn't quite do it for me as it holds
your hand in the standard, palm-down, claw-grip position.

Logitech Lift Vertical

The Logi Lift Vertical is likely one of the more popular ergonomic mice out
there. ItΓÇÖs fairly lightweight, has an attractive design with a nice feel
to the exterior. The buttons are easy to click and nearly silent. It also
connects quickly using either Bluetooth or a dongle. Unfortunately, it
doesnΓÇÖt glide across the mouse pad all that smoothly, and the pinch grip
the design requires actually aggregated my wrist. The cursor movements are
fairly precise, though I occasionally had trouble getting the cursor to land
just where I wanted it. Also, itΓÇÖs small; my hands are too large for the
Lift. LogitechΓÇÖs Logitech MX Vertical is essentially a larger version, but
again, the skinnier shape was uncomfortable in my hands and it was tough to
get the cursor to go where I wanted it to.

HP 920 ergonomic vertical

The HP 920 ergonomic vertical also has a flange for resting your palm, but it
makes the mouse overly heavy to move around. Without it, however, it's an
extremely comfortable mouse with a premium feel, rechargeable battery, and
two programmable thumb buttons. Unfortunately, the cursor movement was
frustratingly imprecise and didnΓÇÖt go exactly where I pointed, forcing a
number of corrections ΓÇö and extraneous movement is what weΓÇÖre trying to
avoid in ergonomic setups.

Turtle Beach Pure Air

Apart from the rather loud clicks, I was impressed with the build and
performance of the Turtle Beach Pure Air. ItΓÇÖs lightweight, moves smoothly,
and has impressively accurate cursor movements. But despite being labeled an
ergonomic mouse, itΓÇÖs particularly light on the ergonomics. ThereΓÇÖs a
divot for your right thumb, so it can't be called ambidextrous, but beyond
that itΓÇÖs a pretty standard (albeit quite nice) gaming mouse.

Perixx Perimice 719

The PERIMICE-719 from Perixx is a solid mouse with an exterior that feels
nice to the touch. It has a comfortable, semi-vertical design, accurate
cursor moves and a satisfyingly ratcheted scroll wheel. Plus, it offers
reliable connectivity with a wireless dongle and only costs $22.
Unfortunately, it was too small for my hand. Only folks with smaller glove
sizes (or donΓÇÖt mind adopting more of a fingertip grip) will be able to get
the most out of this one.

Anker 2.4G vertical

The Anker 2.4G mouse could make a decent budget pick for anyone who doesn't
mind using more of a pinch grip on their peripheral. It's lightweight and has
a precise scroll wheel along with back and forward browser buttons. It's
battery operated, but doesn't come with batteries and only connects via the
included USB radio dongle. I also found the buttons a little harder to press
which ultimately eliminated it from the running.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessorie...
120004931.html?src=rss

---
VRSS v2.1.180528