Best Budget Gaming Mouse 2020 – 10 Affordable Mice That we Love

I love when the more prominent brands keep on making more affordable options but still keep all their trademark quality. The SteelSeries Rival 100 is an exceptional mouse for its price tag, and it is a chance to get an entry level mouse that is produced by experts with many years of experience in the field.

With its TrueMove1 optical sensor, it can handle speeds up to 7200CPI with an acceleration of 30g and 240 IPS. All of which is rather impressive for a mouse in this price range.

The general ergonomics of the Rival series is very well done, especially with the Rival 300. However, this might be my second design grip of any of the Rival mice, and it is so rare to get such an affordable mouse with such outstanding grip and overall design.

The price is quite similar to the Redragon. However, this mouse lacks the customizability that the Redragon offers. An ideal grip style for this mouse is with your Claw or Fingertip. If you are used to a palm grip, then this mouse can get a bit uncomfortable for you. This mouse is one of the best budget options on the current market.

Although not as powerful as the G Pro it has more than enough firepower for the average gamer and can even do well in competitive settings. It is able to report up to 1000 times per second, making it at least 8 times faster than the average PC mouse.

The design is lightweight and ambidextrous, and as mentioned earlier it is modeled after the G Pro which just so happens to be one of the most popular gaming mice among professional gamers, and that is in no small part due to its highly ergonomic design.

It comes with an optical sensor that offers consistently high-level tracking, and while we not as powerful as the Hero sensor from Logitech, it is still very solid and will certainly help you improve your performance.

In my mind, there is no doubt that the G203 Prodigy is one of the very best budget options for serious gamers on the market. It offers an incredible amount of quality and performance for your money and can help you utilize your full potential.

The Essential version of the DeathAdder doesn’t have as powerful a sensor as the regular or Elite version but it comes close enough that most wouldn’t know the difference. It has a 4G optical sensor that can go as high as 6400 DPI with great precision and acceleration. 6400 might not sound as much when some other mice on this list can go as high as 24.000 but trust me, 6400 is more than enough for most gamers and anything above 5000 is usually just for show.

One of the things that make the Razer DeathAdder the most popular gaming mouse in the world is it’s beautiful and very ergonomic design. Luckily, this is one of the things that have not been stripped away and the Essential uses the exact same design as the high-end models. This is a big deal as the DeathAdder is by far one of the most comfortable gaming mice on the market.

You don’t get the fully customizable RGB lighting that the other versions offer, but it still has the classic Razer green LED light.

While I would recommend getting the Elite version if you can spare the extra cost, the Essential is an absolutely fantastic compromise and has more than enough firepower for most gamers.

Another factor that enables the mouse to perform well is down to how light it is. It’s one of the most lightweight mice on our list, and it moves exceptionally smoothly & accurately this is perfect for FPS scenarios among other things too. It doesn’t come with adjustable weights like the higher end mice, so you need to be sure you like having a lightweight mouse from the start. Fears of fatiguing can be put to rest with this mouse.

The mouse is pretty easy to set up, but the CUE software (Corsair Utility Engine) can definitely divide opinion. There were instances of the sensitivity varying randomly over time or the software experiencing glitches when updated, but these weren’t too major in our eyes. It’s not the cheapest of budget mice in relative terms, but the quality on offer makes it worth the money.

The DPI is excellent at 16000, something which you usually find only in higher end mice. The durability of this mouse is quite excellent as well. The performance the M901 delivers stems from the high precision Laser sensor, and the presence of a high-end fiber USB cable.

The Redragon just like most mice on the list isn’t completely flawless. We found that the scroll wheel was not adjustable and could have been designed better. Nonetheless, for the price, this mouse is a steal. A must-have for any serious gamer, not just for those on a budget.

Performance wise we were impressed by how responsive this little mouse was. The DPI is a modest 250-2500 & you can make adjustments based on the surface you are using the mouse on. The ease of use regarding software is something we expect every excellent mid-range mouse to have and the G300s fits that category. You can set custom configurations based on specific games as well.

The overall construction can feel a bit flimsy to hold, but we didn’t find any pressing issues of the mouse breaking apart immediately. Again, we view this as being meant for modest use, so this might not be ideal if you plan to game for extended hours. The mouse buttons are rated for about 10 million clicks, but in reality, many users mentioned it failing after a year or two. Although considering the price & the ever-changing gaming requirements we feel that it’s an adequate time frame for a budget mouse to last.

The heart of the excellent performance it offers is the PMW3325 optical sensor which gives you high responsiveness. The mouse is quite cheap, but the feel is quite the opposite. This is one of the sturdier options. It even comes with a much longer lasting braided USB cable. Ergonomically, this is another that’s meant for right-handers specifically and is exceptionally comfortable.

Comfort & grip is one of its strong points as the shape gives the feel of a high-end gaming mouse. The rougher section on the side helps you maintain your grip even when gaming for long hours and this is one of those mice you can hold onto when you make the transition from a casual to a frequent gamer.

Concerning customization things like LED settings and even profiles this mouse, we would say get a solid B+ in this department. The lighting and design make it look really cool, but we thought the software could be a bit better. There are instances where it doesn’t quite work on different systems and doesn’t work on Macs. So if you happen to use the same mouse to work on a Mac and game on your PC its fine but if you need the macros for the Mac you might look elsewhere.

To begin with, the M711-FPS looks downright awesome and slick. The RGB lighting with almost complete customization makes this one of the aesthetically better options out there. Regarding ergonomics, the M711 fares well too. Size wise it’s not too big or small and excellent for right-handers. This isn’t an ambidextrous design like the G300s, so that’s a minor negative.

The software to customize lighting and selecting profiles is reasonably easy to use. You can adjust the DPI in a couple of ways on this mouse. You can go up in increments between 1000 and 12000 with five default dpi settings, or you can opt for the adjustment in increments of 100 which takes you up to a whopping 24.000 DPI. Which, if you ask me, is overkill but it’s never bad to have options. Another positive is that you have seven programmable buttons which can be customized and their positioning made the whole experience quite comfortable.

The biggest star of the show is the Pixart 3360 optical sensor, widely regarded as one of the best sensors on the market. It provides the M711-FPS with excellent tracking and seeing this sensor in a budget option is incredible.

The Redragon is capable of incredible performance, and I am honestly not quite sure how they manage to keep their prices so consistently low with products like the M711-FPS Cobra.

The answer is that it does, to some extent. When we compare this to a high-end mouse like the G502 by Logitech, for instance, it comes up short. Having said that this mouse could definitely give a mouse like the G402 a run for its money concerning performance in some situations. Ergonomically this mouse is pretty much meant for right-handed claw grippers.

It’s incredibly light, even after adding the weights in the difference is quite marginal. This is another that glides effortlessly across surfaces and is very accurate which means that it’s an excellent option for FPS gamers. The Omron switches on the side were a nice touch, and many users also felt that it was a bargain for the price involved. The USB is braided and has a gold plated connector which is perfect for maintaining a stable connection needed for gaming in the long term.

The major downside with this mouse was the software. While the descriptions seem clear setting up the macros proved to be a difficult task at times for many buyers. The appearance of the software interface is quite good though, and there weren’t any issues when swapping between different OS versions.

The specifications for the MS794 is also a lot higher than what you might expect from most mice of this price range. With 6 adjustable DPI modes that go from 500-4000, you will most likely find a speed that suits you perfectly. While some might think 4000 is rather low, it is not just about the number but how the sensor processes it. However, if you are a competitive gamer that is used to some hefty specs, this might be a bit underwhelming.

One of the only real downsides are the Havit software which I don’t think is particularly user-friendly, but it is still decently easy to understand once you spend a bit of time on it. So if you don’t care a lot about customizing the buttons or lighting, then you might want to play with the default set up, which luckily is quite good.

The MS794 is the ideal intro level mouse for any gamer that wants to start taking things a bit more serious. It functions well as a plug-n-play mouse which is really what most players are looking for but also allows you to customize a bit if you so wish.

It looks, feel and performs very well, and unless you are looking for a mouse for really competitive gaming, then this mouse has everything you might need.

We noticed that the mouse was quite precise for a wireless mouse, thanks to its 2.4GHZ wireless tech.

The DPI function can be adjusted, and the mouse has a total of 7 different keys with different features. This mouse is also plug and play. The scroll wheel is quite good, and the mouse, on the whole, felt very light but sturdy.

Usually, a concern with any wireless mouse, not just gaming mice, is that the battery tends not to last very long. With the ZELOTES you don’t have to worry about that if you turn off the LED lights. It’s mostly a trade-off for you. If you want it to last long, you might have to switch off the LED during use. This seems doable, considering the mouse still looks super cool when you are not using it. Definitely another option ideally suited for the FPS beginner.

The mouse is a tad wide and feels a bit bulky. This can be good or bad depending on your preferences.

You have 4 adjustable DPI options and 4 adjustable colors for the outside. The aesthetics of this mouse are pretty cool. In our opinion, this mouse is a great stepping stone or even a backup, when you are just starting out, or like to game casually.