The Best Ergonomic Mouse to Keep Wrist Strain at Bay
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The best ergonomic mouse can improve not just your workflow but your entire computing experience. Next to a keyboard, the mouse is one of the most important parts of your home office setup: a direct interface with your system that you use every time you boot up your computer. Sure, you can get a cheap $30 mouse, or buy a fancy gaming mouse optimized for speed, but an ergonomic mouse can help you with wrist strain.
Finding the perfect ergonomic mouse can be a challenge, especially when so much of today’s focus is on gaming mice and the numbers they put down. That’s why I’ve spent hours testing not only the performance, but also how it feels to use. My top pick is the Logitech MX Master 3S, a long-standing classic, but there are several other options to consider.
To fill the rest of your home office or workspace, read our other guides, including the Best Mechanical Keyboards, Best Office Chairs, Best Standing Desks, and Best Webcams.
What's an Ergonomic Mouse?
If you picture a computer mouse in your mind, what likely appears is something fairly simple and robust: an oval with two buttons on the front, and a wheel between them. The entire design is symmetrical, and it’s not shaped like your hand at all. How can that be ideal for you to use? It’s not. Many mice aren’t designed with the shape of hands in mind. Because of this, constant use can cause anything from mild discomfort to potentially serious injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, or other repetitive strain injuries (RSI).
Ergonomic mice are designed to fit your hand better. Studies show that angled and vertical mice can reduce discomfort without significantly impacting the accuracy of your movements. This is because the position required to use a vertical mouse is more similar to the natural resting position of your wrist, which means less pressure on the required muscles.
A vertical mouse is not the only type that can help your comfort when working. Sculpted horizontal mice can also improve comfort by giving you a more ideal shape to rest your hand on. These types of mice typically have non-symmetrical designs, curvature that mirrors the shape of your hand, and buttons placed with accessibility and ease-of-use in mind.
Ergonomic vs. Gaming Mice
This guide looks at any mouse oriented toward comfort during long-term use. This includes vertical mice and horizontal mice—a device that's specifically designed with the shape of the human hand in mind.
Most gaming mice today have very little focus on ergonomics or comfort, especially with the influx of ultralight mice that shave off as much unnecessary mass as possible to create the lightest peripheral imaginable. While many comfort-focused or ergonomic mice today can certainly be used for casual gaming, their specs typically lag behind the cutting edge of gaming-focused hardware, which will leave you lacking in fast-paced games where every frame (and every gram of weight) counts.
With this in mind, there are typically two options. You can find one mouse that works great for work and gaming (I have a recommendation below), or—and this is what I do—you can have two mice, with one focused on ergonomics and the other on gaming. If you decide on this route, read our Best Gaming Mice guide for more picks.
What to Look for
Whether you pick a vertical or horizontal mouse, there are a few adjustments you can make to your setup to ensure you’re working as comfortably as possible. We've compiled several tips on how to set up your desk properly here, but here are some mouse-related specifics.
Adjust your chair’s height and armrests. You want your elbows to rest directly on your armrests, with your wrists in line with your elbows, to reduce strain on your wrists and tendons during prolonged use. Ideally, your arm should be in an L shape.
Position your mouse directly in front of your elbow. This ensures the resting position of your mouse doesn’t put unnecessary strain on your wrist or arm, and that you can maintain a full range of motion during use.
Keep your mouse sensitivity high. All of the mice on this list have adjustable sensitivity, and both macOS and Windows let you adjust cursor speed within the operating system as well. A high mouse sensitivity can limit the amount of movement you need to navigate your computer and reduce both long-term strain and the risk of repetitive strain injuries.
Put your mouse and keyboard close together. The same as your mouse, your keyboard should be placed directly in front of you, so that your arms can be as close to straight forward as possible. Keeping your mouse in front of one arm, and your keyboard in front of the other, can help to both improve ergonomics and limit movement when swapping between your mouse and keyboard.
How We Test
I test each mouse for at least a week of consistent use, and often longer. During this time, I try to do a bit of everything, from writing and gaming to photo and video editing, and even basic tasks like web browsing. During all of this, I keep track of what I like, dislike, and discover with each mouse. Once I’m done with a mouse, I compare it to some of my other picks to see where it succeeds and where it falls short.
When curating this guide, I looked at countless different metrics. I specifically prioritized build quality, customizability, and the associated software’s ease of use. As far as ergonomics go, I have relatively large hands, but I also had friends with smaller hands test these mice to get input and feedback from multiple hand sizes. I try to provide my best insights on ergonomics and comfort, but it is ultimately subjective, so what’s best for me might not be best for you.
Best Ergonomic Mouse
The MX Master 3S is the most comfortable and practical standard-grip mouse available today. With a fantastic shape that molds to your hand, a rigid and hefty construction, and multiple easy-access thumb controls, this mouse hugs your hand and feels intuitive from the moment you start using it. The thumb buttons, horizontal scroll wheel, and gesture buttons can all be easily remapped to any feature you want, and can be assigned software-specific functions, all of which I found easy to customize with Logitech’s Options+ app. The vertical scroll wheel can be swapped between traditional ratcheted scrolling and smooth scrolling, and the silent mouse buttons still have a satisfying “click” feeling when you press them, even if you (and your neighbors) don’t hear them.
The 3S also keeps mainstay features from Logitech’s MX line, such as multidevice connectivity and an included dongle, which is great for devices without Bluetooth and pairing-free connectivity. The mouse also has USB-C charging and a super-accurate high-dots-per-inch sensor that I found to work on pretty much any solid surface, including glass. However, if you prefer lightweight mice, this may not be for you: The 3S weighs 141 grams, which is around double the weight of an ultra-light gaming mouse, and around 40 grams more than your average mouse. However, I’ve found the added heft preferable for anything that isn’t gaming, since a heavy mouse typically feels more substantial and easier to control.
The largest downside of this mouse is its polling rate: Measuring at only 125 Hz, it will fall short in situations that need high-speed accuracy, such as competitive gaming, but it won’t be an issue for office work or slower-paced games.
Best Vertical Mouse
The Hansker vertical mouse (9/10, WIRED Recommends) was designed with both style and substance in mind, using clinical research to inform its shape and ergonomics, and filling in founder Alex Muñoz's own need for a vertical mouse that both performed well and looked good on a desk. The Hansker Productivity feels great, looks fantastic, and has a powerful Pixart 3325 sensor that makes it shockingly competent for gaming. My hand can easily and comfortably rest on the mouse, and with a prominent angled lip at the bottom, it’s the only vertical mouse I’ve tested that I was easily able to lift and move without it slipping out of my hand (something not even the Logitech Lift was capable of, ironically enough).
I tested the Productivity model, which retails for $115. This model comes in beige, has a lesser sensor, and has some added weight to make the mouse feel more substantial. The Hansker Performance is nearly identical but retails for $140, comes in black, weighs less, and uses a more precise 3395 sensor. It's spendy, but the Hansker mouse feels smooth, refined, and thoughtfully made in a way that none of the other mice I’ve tested are.
Best Ergonomic Mouse for Gaming and Work
This mouse blew me away during my time with it. While the styling may be too “gamer-y” for some, it's a great mouse underneath, and I found myself using almost every feature it came with. The high-speed sensor is crisp and responsive for both general work and gaming, and the dual-mode scroll wheel is either incredibly notchy or impressively smooth, depending on the setting. The multitude of buttons means this mouse can be packed with different functions, and they’re easy to program with Razer's intuitive Synapse software.
The best part, though, is a feature I didn’t even know I needed: the sensitivity clutch. This is a button, located just in front of your thumb, that changes the mouse's DPI for as long as it is held down. This is great for everything: Precise creative work, pixel-perfect adjustments, or even swapping to a higher sensitivity to speed up navigating large spreadsheets. It also has its uses for gaming when lining up the perfect shot or making other precise adjustments (like getting aim-down-sights-like accuracy when hip firing).
Best Budget Ergonomic Mouse
While the MX Master 3S is the peak of Logitech’s ergonomic mouse line, the Master 2S is still incredibly competitive, especially at its lower price. This mouse has most of the same standout features, such as gesture controls, a horizontal scroll wheel, and a smooth-scrolling vertical wheel, and some users even prefer the scroll wheel of the 2S, which uses a physical pin to swap between smooth and ratcheted scrolling instead of a magnet.
However, the 2S misses out on the minor upgrades of the 3S, such as a USB-C charging port, silent switches, improved thumb button placement, and a faster 8,000-dpi sensor compared to the 4,000-dpi sensor. For a budget-minded buyer, I'd recommend the 2S, but for the best performance possible, the 3S is the more compelling option.
Other Ergonomic Mice to Consider
Keychron M6 for $50: If you like the design of the MX Master line, but would prefer a more gaming-oriented mouse, the Keychron M6 is a nice alternative. While the M6 doesn’t have Logitech’s advanced gesture controls or soft-touch exterior, it maintains the dual-mode scroll wheel, horizontal wheel, and general ergonomics while adding a 4,000-Hz refresh rate and shaving off almost half the weight of the 3S at only 78 grams. However, some small issues of build quality and a loss of functionality make this a less-than-ideal choice for most users—the dual-mode scroll wheel rattles during use, and the mouse feels lightweight to a fault. The higher-performance model’s wireless receiver requires a USB-C cable to connect to a device, which is a lot less convenient for laptop users compared to the low-profile dongle included with the 1,000-Hz model (and most other mice today).
Keychron M4 for $50: While you can realistically transport any of the mice on this list in a backpack or computer bag, I was impressed by just how compact the Keychron M4 is. I could easily slip it into a laptop bag or jacket pocket without any issue, and I even used it as a travel mouse for quite a while. While the shape isn’t great, or even good, ergonomically, I found the claw grip quite comfortable even during prolonged gaming sessions. However, it isn’t good enough that I would recommend it to anyone for daily use on a desktop setup unless they want the lightest mouse possible. The only real complaint I had with this mouse was the dongle: The 4,000-Hz model comes with a receiver shaped like a tiny keyboard with a USB-C port on the back, which meant I needed a cable to connect the receiver and a flat surface to place it on. Meanwhile, the 1,000-Hz model came with a simple USB dongle that could plug into the side of a laptop.
Logitech Pro X Superlight 2 DEX for $180: While this mouse is intended for high-intensity competitive gaming, I found its sculpted shape to be practical and comfortable for any long-term use, and its lightweight (60 grams!), no-frills design was quick and snappy for both spreadsheets and shooters. The mouse felt incredibly sturdy despite its weight, and the 8-kHz polling combined with a 44k-dpi sensor makes it the best-performing mouse on this list. While pricey, the Superlight DEX is a great single-mouse solution for someone who works from home and immediately starts queueing up after clocking out. It has a far more gaming-focused lean than the Razer Basilisk V3, which, while not bad, means you’re making a few more sacrifices to productivity in exchange for gaming performance.
Logitech MX Vertical for $120: While this mouse’s size and general shape both feel good for regular use, I found the shape to be a bit uncomfortable to fully grip and lift: A prominent ridge on the back dug into the space between my thumb and index finger, and the shape was just a bit too narrow to get a good hold on. However, the MX Vertical is still comfortable to hold with a looser grip, and it is perfectly serviceable for general office work and browsing, while putting less strain on the wrist than a standard horizontal mouse.
Logitech Lift for $80: As one of the smaller vertical mice on this list, the Lift is just a bit too small. I found it difficult to comfortably grip this mouse for prolonged use, and friends with smaller hands found the same. That said, WIRED reviews editor Julian Chokkattu says his 5'2" wife uses the Life and finds it perfect for her small hands, so your mileage will vary. Regardless of hand size, a larger vertical mouse is typically more comfortable for most people. It's worth noting that the Lift is one of the only vertical mice I've tested with a left-handed configuration.
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