The Best Budget Gaming Mice
AFFORDABLE MICE THAT WILL STILL HELP YOU TO COMPETE
It’s easy to end up spending a lot of money on a top of the range gaming mouse, and there are a lot of great choices out there. However it is possible to get a functional and accurate mouse without breaking the bank. We’ve compiled our list of tried and tested budget gaming mice that will let you keep up and compete on the highest of levels, but won’t cost a fortune.
What’s important?
There are a few factors that can affect how cheap you can go with a mouse and stay competitive. It’s important to prioritise the factors that are important to you, and that are most necessary in the sorts of games that you play the most. For example, gamers who play mostly MMO’s do not need to pay for the absolute, precise level of accuracy that FPS players need. But all the mice suggested here are vetted to meet certain minimum standards across the board, including accuracy, speed and most importantly when dealing with budget gaming mice; durability.
Our suggestions
We’ve picked out the best on the market at the moment, weeding out all the mice that will most likely break, perform slowly and inaccurately or track poorly. This is so that you can pick from our list of the top mice with confidence and find your personal preference.
Red Dragon M901 Perdition
You’ve probably heard of the Razer Naga MMO gaming mouse. It’s the one with the twelve buttons on the side, designed to give MMO or heavy macro players a lot of options for assigning custom abilities. But the Naga is far from cheap, and there are alternatives out there that will give you similar extended controls, that don’t cost quite so much. The best by far of these alternatives is the Red Dragon M901 Perdition, at half the cost of the Naga.
This is a mouse that has all the features you’ll ever need from a gaming mouse and those that you’d expect to see only as extended features of the most premium, expensive models. There are the twelve side macro buttons, and even another seven across the rest of the mouse meaning you’ll never go without enough programmable macro buttons. The 3500 DPI of this mouse is enough to cover everything from high speed RTS settings to a slower, precise FPS headshot setup. There is an eight piece weight tuning set in the bottom of the mouse, each weighing 2.4 grams, giving you a bit of control over how weighty a mouse you want to use. Other features include five separate programmable memory profiles for quickly switching between setups for different games, and there are also coloured LED’s on the mouse that breathe through five colours. The cable is just under 2 meters long and the mouse will work fine on Windows, including Windows 10 and on Macs.
TeckNet Raptor
TeckNet are a smaller computer peripherals and accessories company that produce equipment for business and gaming with lower end price tags. But the price does not reflect the quality of the products, as items like the Raptor mouse maintain a 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Amazon, even after over 2,200 customer reviews. There are a few variations available, but the non-wireless Raptor is the best choice as a mouse with a cable is definitely better for gaming, giving quicker feedback than wireless is capable of. Especially at the lower price ends, you don’t have to worry about the quality of the wireless and whether you’ll experience any slow responsiveness. The wired Raptor mouse is also half the price of similar models that go up to 16400 DPI, which is far far too much and is just wasting money on settings you should never use. The 2000 DPI offered by the Raptor is plenty for pretty much every game, giving you the quick mobility required for RTS / MOBA games, with the option to switch down to 1600 and 600 for games that require a bit more precision like MMO’s or FPS’s.
This is an optical mouse with an ergonomic yet ambidextrous design, with 40 grams specifically added to fine tune the weight to a comfortable norm (though at 150 grams this is still not a particularly heavy mouse). There are blue LED lights and a 1.5 meter (5 feet) high quality braided cable (not common at this price) with a USB connection. As well as the two normal mouse buttons, there is a scroll wheel with a DPI fast switch button beneath it. There are also two buttons on the thumb side, if being used by a right handed person. These are always useful as give you some quick access to a bit more macro without having difficult to reach, obtrusive buttons all over the mouse (they’re also great for navigating back and forth between web pages quickly). The Raptor works fine on Windows (including 10), Mac and Linux. TeckNet offer an 18 month guarantee with every mouse. There’s no software to install with this mouse, it’s simple to plug in and and use.
HAVIT HV-MS720
Havit are a similar company to TeckNet, described above, offering a range of computer accessories and gaming peripherals. And like the Raptor mouse above, this HV mouse maintains a very positive 4.5 starts out of 5 rating on Amazon, even after nearly 300 reviews. There are a few variations available, but the HV-MS720 is the best, rounded option for the best price. The MS720 is the newest iteration of a line of HAVIT MV mice, including the popular MS672 (which nearly made it onto this list). The 720 is worth the small amount extra for the slightly better build quality, design and increased reliability. The mouse has a very slick design with subtle green “breathing” effect lighting that contours the edges of the mouse, highlighting its shape and form. The mouse is built ergonomically for right handed users.
The cord is 1.6 meters long and braided with a USB connection. There are the two regular buttons, a scroll wheel, a quick DPI switch button and two thumb buttons. The quick DPI switch button rotates through the four DPI options of 800, 1600, 2400 and 3200 DPI, which covers every eventuality you are going to realistically need in almost any game in any genre. Havit offer a full 1 year manufacturers warranty as standard with every mouse, and it works well with all versions of Windows, Mac and Linux. The Havit HV-MS720 is a good budget alternative go the G502 Proteus Core from Logitech.
Gigabyte GM-M6800
You’ve probably heard of Gigabyte as they are quite a monster of a brand to appear on the budget mouse list, and at under £10, this is not something to skip over. Gigabyte are a huge company that don’t just make headsets, mice and keyboards, but also graphics cards, motherboards and complete PC’s. They’re even often seen supporting tournaments or players in certain pro teams. The Gigabyte GM-M6800 is probably most comparable and the best budget match for something like the Corsair CH Gaming mouse. It clearly doesn’t look to exaggerated like lots of gaming mice do, in the sense that it has no flashing lights, excessive decals or long list of features, meaning it’s also a great choice for use in other work or study situations.
It’s still a great choice for gaming though, as this optical mouse hits up to 1600 DPI, which is a good target level for most games, allowing quick switching between 800 and 160
With over 300 reviews, this mouse maintains 4.3 stars out of 5 on Amazon and is praised heavily. It is a simpler mouse that has a lot of applications and use outside of gaming too, and is a well finished product from a superior manufacturer.
Ankher 8200
The Ankher 8200 is one of the more expensive budget gaming mice on this list, but at only £25.99 it’s a not in the same price range as others that are often above £5This is a mouse that will give you a lot of the customization options of more expensive models, without the large price tag. It has a very ergonomic shape, again suited primarily to people who use the mouse with their right hand. The left hand side has a grip where your thumb lies, as well as three thumb buttons. There are numerous lights across the mouse, highlighting certain areas subtly and which can be controlled via the software and saved to two onboard programmable profiles. A mouse that costs twice as much may boast 10, 12 or 20 profiles, but you’ll have difficulty finding any use for more than two.
There is an eight piece (grams each) weight tuning set that’s accessed and changed from a panel on the bottom of the mouse. This is a very useful feature that you only usually see in very high end, very expensive mice. The mouse comes with some software which allows for extensive customisation of the nine mouse buttons, onboard profiles and lighting settings. Again, usually only higher end mice come with extensive software and this is a very nice feature for such an affordable piece of kit. The software allows for recording of custom macros and is generally reported by users to be very useful and reliable. It has a high quality braided cable that’s 1.9 meters (6 feet) long. The Ankher 8200 is a great alternative to the Cooler Master Sentinel Advance 2, which is £10 more.
DLand Zelotes
There are a wide variety of Zelotes mice on Amazon, which are all incredibly popular, especially for a less well know brand. The DLand Professional LED Optical 7200 maintains over 4 out of 5 stars even after over 320 reviews. Like most of the budget mice in this category, it arrives in simple packaging with nothing but the mouse and an instruction booklet, meaning the price isn’t pumped up by five layers of packaging, booklets and useless inserts.This is a right handed ergonomic mouse with a few areas that are illuminated by LED lighting that rotates slowly through several colours.
The onboard DPI switch button will cycle through 1000, 1600, 2400, 3200 and 7200 DPI, going a bit higher than will ever probably be useful, but the option is there. Two extra macro buttons sit in the usual spot by the thumb, with an extra button a little further forward. Again even though this is a budget optical mouse, it has a high quality braided cable and works via a USB connection. This mouse is only £10 and is incredibly good value for money, but may not last as long or be quite as precise as a mouse that costs double to five times as much. Definitely a great option for someone who does not want to invest too much into a gaming mouse right now.
Red Dragon Centrophorus 2000
The Centrophorus marks the second Red Dragon mouse to make it into this list, and not without good reason. The Perdition is definitely similar to the Razer Naga, but the Centrophorus is more comparable to the Razer DeathAdder. At just under £14 this is an incredibly affordable but feature rich, quality budget gaming mouse that is one of the most popular available online, maintaining a 4.5 out of 5 star rating after over 700 reviews.
The design is symmetrical but there are, as usual, two thumb buttons designed for right handed users. Below the mouse wheel there is the standard DPI switching button, which will swap between pre-sets of 1000, 1600 and 2000 DPI. The extra macro buttons can be programmed for custom macros and functions by downloading the driver software. The cable is a high quality braided material and is a 1.8 meters long with a USB connection. There are several areas of the mouse that light up with red LED’s when the mouse is plugged in. There are also 8 adjustable weights in a small compartment on the underside of the mouse, each weighing 2.5 grams.
This device is often reviewed favourably compared to others in terms of its comfort and build quality. Hundreds of Amazon reviewers often comment on the comfort of the mouse for long periods of use, and the quality of the finish. For a lot of people, this will be the best choice available and will represent the best value for money.
VicTsing Professional Optical Mouse
Although you won’t see pro-gamers or the highest level competitive teams using wireless gaming mice, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t for everyone. Often the advantage of having a wireless mouse will be huge, like when using with a laptop, when used for other things than gaming, playing films and media etc. For the majority of gamers, games are played just for fun, and if you wanted to put effort into trying to be the best, there are usually 100 things you could change before your choice of wired or wireless mouse would begin to make any real impact. So on this list we’ve included this wireless optical mice to give the best possible option to those who are looking for a wireless device.
VicTsing produce a wide range of computer peripherals, accessories and gadgets, but their budget gaming mice are becoming a stand-out product. The first thing to note is that this mouse does require a single AA battery to power it, and which it does not come with . This mouse is very solid, quite compact and relatively light at 118 grams. The design is simple and stylish, symmetrical but again designed for right handed users with two extra macro buttons sitting on the thumb rest. There are two buttons beneath the scroll wheel changing DPI settings up or down, between 800, 1200, 1600, 2000 and 240There are a few subtle LED highlights on areas of the mouse, with a button at the bottom controlling the ability to turn the mouse off, on or on with LEDs enabled. It is not necessary to turn the mouse off when not using it, as it won’t sit there and burn through the battery as it will enter a power saving mode after 8 minutes of inactivity. Obviously there’s no cable, but the receiver requires a USB connection and works with USB 1.1 and 2.0 and will allow the mouse to work from up to 10 meters away.
CSL Computer SM620
CSL-Computer are another manufacturer of a lot of different computing products like cables and wires, switches, controllers, adapters and optical mice. The SM620 is a good budget replacement for something like the Cooler Master Sentinel Advance 2, as it is a simple and stylish mouse that focusses on including the key essentials of a gaming mouse with a little but of subtle style. This optical mouse has a button below the mouse wheel and three indication lights that switch between different DPI settings of 1200, 2400 and 3000, and colour options of red blue and green.
There are two small, comfortable ‘back’and ‘forward’ macro buttons in the normal spot against the thumb. The cable is 1.9 meters long and braided. At under £10 this mouse is a more classy, subtle looking device with all the features necessary for gaming. It maintains a 4.4 out of 5 rating on Amazon already with only just over 50 reviews, and very few negative points at all! This is definitely a newer, less well known device, but is easily a competitor for the top 1 or 2 options on this list.