Update: We’ve added the Cherry MC 4000 Precision in at #9. Find out why it’s deserving of that spot below!

In the fifty-odd years since its invention we’ve seen the humble mouse improve considerably, with the addition of weight systems, laser sensors and masses of buttons and flashing lights.

The best mice combine all these elements in sleek, ergonomic shells or have a unique selling point that justifies their consideration.

Choosing which is the best mouse for you comes down to a number of factors, and all the mice in our round-up come with a range of different features. Read on to find out what mouse will suit your click-happy digits.

1. Logitech MX Master

DPI: 1000 | Interface: Bluetooth (pairs with up to three devices) | Buttons: 5 | Ergonomic: No | Features: Hand-sculpted comfort contour, Speed-adaptive scroll wheel, Thumb wheel, Darkfield Laster Tracking, Dual Connectivity, Rechargeable battery

Thumb wheel and adaptive scrolling

Pairs with 3 PCs

It’s a lot of money for a mouse

May be a bit big for some

Logitech’s flagship is a mighty mouse indeed. Hand-sculpted for comfort, the MX Master connects via Bluetooth or USB dongle and it can pair to up to three devices. The rechargeable battery lasts for up to 40 days and goes from flat to a day of power in four minutes, and you can use it while it’s charging. The scroll wheel’s a two-state job with click-to-click and unrestricted speedy scrolling, there’s a thumbwheel for side-to-side scrolling and you can reprogram the buttons to suit your way of working.

2. Anker Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse

DPI: 1000 | Interface: USB | Buttons: 5 | Ergonomic: vertical | Features: No

Good for RSI sufferers and prevention

Cheap as chips

Thumb buttons don’t work on Macs

Unrefined

Let’s get the weird one out of the way first: Anker’s mouse sits vertically, so you hold it as if you’re shaking hands with someone. It feels strange until suddenly it doesn’t: it’s comfortable and doesn’t make you twist your arm as normal mice do. The price means a few corners have been cut – where other mice are a collection of curves the Anker has a couple of sharp bits to jab the unwary – but it’s a good and inexpensive choice for anyone who has or fears RSI.

3. Apple Magic Mouse 2

DPI: 1300 | Interface: Bluetooth | Buttons: 0 | Ergonomic: ambidextrous | Features: multi-touch

Looks fantastic

Multi-touch is clever

Expensive

Spectacularly uncomfortable (for us; your mileage may vary)

It has its critics – including your correspondent, who thinks it’s the most spectacularly uncomfortable mouse ever made – but the Magic Mouse has plenty of fans and the second version is a big improvement over the first generation. It boasts a trackpad-like multi-touch surface and moves more smoothly around your desk than the first version, and it doesn’t require normal batteries thanks to a built-in rechargeable battery. Unfortunately the position of the Lightning port means you can’t use it while it’s charging.

4. Logitech Triathlon M270

DPI: 1000 | Interface: Bluetooth (pairs with up to three devices) | Buttons: 8 | Ergonomic: No | Features: 24-month battery life on one-AA battery, Sculpted design, Free spinning scroll wheel, Easy-switch tech, Logitech Options Software

Pairs with up to three devices

Long battery life

Not as responsive as a wired mouse

Like the MX Master, the Triathlon M270 can pair with up to three devices using Bluetooth, making switching between them in a snap. However, the Triathlon is more affordable and much more comfortable to hold if you prefer a smaller rodent. It also gets the Master’s free-spinning scroll wheel, letting you zip through documents or webpages. Logitech promises up to 24 hours of use before the Triathlon gives up the ghost on one AA battery. The only drawback? Due to Bluetooth, the Triathlon isn’t quite as responsive as the wired Logitech Proteus G502 – our daily driver.

5. Logitech M330 Silent Plus

DPI: 1,000 | Interface: 2.4GHz wireless | Buttons: 3 | Ergonomic: No | Features: Quiet buttons, 10-meter wireless connectivity, 2 x AA batteries (claimed 24-month battery life)

Near-silent operation

Compact

Short on buttons

No Bluetooth connectivity

Sometimes a peripheral comes along that has the potential to change all others in its category. Logitech’s M330 Silent Plus, a prime example of this, features left and right buttons that barely sqeak – ahem – click, when pressed. Using it for the first time is like booting up a fanless laptop for the first time – quiet, inconspicuous and curiously satisfying. Simply put, using the M330 feels great. With only three buttons, however, it isn’t the most feature-packed mouse on the market, but its silent and compact nature, comfortable design and leggy battery life make it a great choice – and not just for frequent travellers or people with easily irritated co-workers.

6. Mad Catz R.A.T. ProX Precision Gaming

DPI: 8200/5000 | Interface: USB | Buttons: 10 | Ergonomic: right-handed only | Features: swappable modules, analog strafe

Enormously customisable

Looks like a Transformer

Ruinously expensive

Overkill for most

If you’re going to drop £150 on a mouse it might as well be a fun one, and the R.A.T. ProX is definitely that: it’s the Transformer of mice, with swappable sensors, swappable scroll wheels, swappable palm rests and what Mad Catz calls “analog strafe”, which enables the scroll wheel to act as an analog stick. It looks amazing, costs a fortune and if it were a game it’d be Broforce: ridiculously over-the-top, completely crazy and an absolute hoot.

7. Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Mouse 3600

DPI: 1000 | Interface: Bluetooth | Buttons: 2 | Ergonomic: ambidextrous | Features: No

Really, really cheap

Comfortable

Smaller than most mice

Basic

We’ve a soft spot for the good old Microsoft Mouse, and the 3600 uses Bluetooth to deliver wireless connections without dongles. It runs for up to a year on a single battery and is that rare thing, a mouse that’s designed for both left and right handed use. It doesn’t have 32 billion buttons, a sensor capable of tracking atoms or the ability to turn into a car and save the universe, but if you want a good, comfortable, reliable mouse to take wherever you go the 3600 is a winner.

8. Razer DeathAdder Chroma

DPI: 10,000 | Interface: USB | Buttons: 5 | Ergonomic: right handed | Features: lighting effects

Very comfortable

Very accurate

Lighting feels a bit gimmicky

Software can be a bit flaky

You just know that a mouse called the Razer DeathAdder Chroma isn’t going to come in pink with My Little Pony stickers. Offering high-end performance for a pretty reasonable price, the Chroma’s USP is its 16.8 million-colour lighting effects coupled with a 10,000 dpi optical sensor. It’s blazingly fast, exceptionally accurate, offers on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment and looks fantastic, which is probably why it’s so popular among e-sports athletes. It also has a seven-foot braided cable, which is handy if your PC is quite far away.

Read the full review: Razer DeathAdder Chroma

9. Cherry MC 4000 Precision

DPI: 1,000 – 2,000 | Interface: USB | Buttons: 5 | Ergonomic: Ambidextrous | Features: High-speed motion detection (1.5 meters per second), 360-degree sliding pad, two-color illumination

Ambidextrous design

Glides smoothly thanks to frictionless underside

Slightly too small for large hands

Better known for its mechanical keyboard switches, Cherry has made a no-frills ambidextrous mouse in the MC 4000 Precision, which is a step up or two from the basic mouse that may have come with your computer. Featuring an ambidextrous symmetrical design, the MC 4000 lights up red or blue to indicate whether it’s in 2,000 DPI mode (the former) or 1,000 (the latter), with the higher value modes being useful when using 4K and other high-resolution displays. It’s a smooth mouse to use thanks to a sliding surface that covers the entire bottom of the mouse and provides a solid base for using it on a variety of surfaces.