We’ve looked at the specs, done the research and rounded up the best mouse pads on the market today. Whether you’re looking for an ergonomic mouse pad with wrist rest, a mouse pad for gaming or the best mouse pads for designers and drafting, we’ve got you covered. To find our top picks, we made sure each mouse pad had an accurate tracking surface, a good balance between friction and smoothness, and offered enough softness to extend the life of your mouse, whether you’re using an optical mouse or laser mouse.
Our top pick, the SteelSeries QcK Gaming Mouse Pad, is one of the most favored mouse pads among esports pros for a long time, thanks to its micro woven cloth that maximizes accuracy and precision. Keep reading to see more of our top picks.
Top 7 Best Mouse Pads Reviews
#1 SteelSeries QcK Mouse Pad
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Award: Top Pick
WHY WE LIKE IT: This time-tested mouse pad for gaming offers a micro-woven surface that’s helpful not just to eSports players but for designers and anyone else who values precision mouse tracking at work or at their home desktop.
- Best for gaming
- Top choice of eSports pros
- Strong non slip backing and micro woven cloth balances precision with smoothness
- Not a mouse pad with wrist rest gel
- Somewhat plain appearance
It may not appear that way on the surface, but a surprising amount of research and development goes into creating the best mouse pads. The SteelSeries QcK is a favorite mouse pad of gaming enthusiasts, designers and office workers alike. It’s tested by the top mouse sensor manufacturer and features a high thread count, micro-woven soft surface that offers a balance between speed and precision making the SteelSeries QcK easily one of the best gaming mouse pads on the market.
Smooth and silent, yet with enough friction to allow pin point accuracy and steady tracking, this 12.6 inch by 10.4 inch version is the “just right” mouse pad for low dpi to mid dpi settings and average sized desks. Combined with the best mouse, this will give you a great experience. To check out our Top Picks for the best gaming mouse pad, have a look at our review: Best Gaming Mouse Pad.
#2 Belkin Standard 8 X 9 Mouse Pad
Award: Honorable Mention
WHY WE LIKE IT: A clean, unadorned surface and friction-optimized jersey surface make this simple mouse pad excel at smooth control and pin point accuracy.
- Excellent for accuracy
- Non slip neoprene backing
- Unobtrusive, minimalist design
- On the small side
- No wrist rest
Sometimes simple is best, and when it comes to mouse pads for work or home PC use, this Belkin mouse pad does a great job pairing simplicity with aesthetic and functionality. It uses a fine woven jersey surface to balance smoothness and friction, giving you more pinpoint accuracy and better control over your computer.
At 8 x 9 inches, this Belkin standard is among the smaller mouse pads on the market. That means it’s great for compact desks and home work spaces, though you may want to look elsewhere if you’re looking for maximum mouse pad real estate. That said, it makes a perfectly fine mouse pad for gaming for casual users. This one is great because it leaves plenty of desk room for the best keyboard. Match this mouse pad with the best gaming mouse!
#3 Victsing Mouse Pad
Award: Best Budget
WHY WE LIKE IT: A stitched edge prevents fraying on this durable, densely textured mouse pad. Plus, it’s washable and works just as well with optical and laser mouse sensors.
- Great for laser & optical
- Reinforced stitching for durability
- Smooth heat treated surface for fast and accurate tracking
- Not as densely textured as the SteelSeries (our top pick)
- Only 2 mm thick, so may not compensate for surface irregularities as well as thicker mouse pads
- No wrist support
This mouse pad for work and gaming features washable fabric, an anti-fade treatment and reinforced beveled stitching around its edges so that it won’t fray with long term use, making it one of the most durable all purpose mouse pads on the market. It’s also versatile, able to work just as well with laser as with optical mouse sensors. At about 10 x 8 inches, it splits the difference between medium sized and compact desktop mouse pads.
While the durability and ease of cleaning makes this mouse pad a great choice for home office use, it’s on the thinner side and so requires a more perfectly flat surface than thicker, softer mouse pads. And if you use the best wireless keyboards, it won’t interfere with your keyboard use as well.
#4 Victsing Ergonomic Mouse Pad
Award: Best Wrist Rest
WHY WE LIKE IT: A gel filled wrist wrest and ergonomic, rounded shape help stave off carpal tunnel and repetitive motion strain, making this one of the more comfortable mouse pads for long periods of work or other computer activities.
- Supportive gel cushion wrist rest
- Lycra fabric for smooth gliding mouse motion
- ROHS certificated environmentally friendly construction
- Smaller than our top pick, the SteelSeries
- Hardcore gamers may find the surface too smooth
One of the top rated mouse pads with wrist rest on the market, this Victsing ergonomic mouse pad comes with a supportive, yet soft gel filled pad that helps keep your wrist safe from repetitive strain injury and ward off carpal tunnel syndrome. A rounded, ergonomic shape encourages natural mouse movement and good posture, making this one of the best mouse pads for work, especially if you work long hours.
It takes up about the same amount of desk space as the compact mouse pads from Belkin and Victsing, so it should fit fine on most work surfaces, though it may be on the small size for a dedicated mouse pad for gaming. It pairs well with the best tablet keyboard.
#5 Victsing Extended Gaming Mouse Pad
Award: Best Large
WHY WE LIKE IT: Spill resistant construction and reinforced edge stitching make it one of the most long lasting mouse pads on the market, while its broad area and good friction quality make it a great fit for serious gamers.
- Best durable mousepad
- Beveled edge stitching to avoid frying
- Non slip rubber base
- Takes up a significant amount of desk real estate
- Only available in black or black with graphics
This extra large mouse pad for gaming (and productivity, too) is designed to go under your keyboard and mouse as well, giving you more freedom of movement with the mouse. It features a surface with a superfine braided fiber material, aimed at getting just the right balance of friction for precise control and fast movements. This mouse pad’s large size also helps maintain stability for fast keyboard movements.
Like the smaller Victsing compact mouse pad (our #3 pick) this gaming mouse pad comes with a non stick backing and beveled reinforced stitching around its edges for increased durability. It’s also virtually spill proof. You can use your keyboard on the desk with lots of room if you don’t already use the best keyboard stand.
#6 AmazonBasics Gaming Mouse Pad
Award: Best for Work
WHY WE LIKE IT: Offering a high quality cloth surface for precise gaming performance, a simple design and good size footprint for work or gaming, this no frills mouse pad is an excellent value.
- Rubberized base for grip
- Fine fiber surface offers good precision
- Simple, clean design
- Not as ergonomic as the Victsing mouse pad with wrist rest
- More expensive than the compact Belkin mouse pad
Billed as a mouse pad for gaming, this roughly 12.6 x 10.6-inch fine fibre cloth mouse pad is a good size for most work desks. It comes with rubberized backing so that it stays put on any flat, hard surface and it’s thin enough that it lets you move the mouse freely, while offering enough friction for accurate placement. While it lacks some of the frills of the Victsing ergonomic mouse pad (our #4 pick) it’s also one of the less expensive full sized mouse pads on the market.
Its simple design makes it relatively unobtrusive and the surface texture is great for a mouse pad for work, whether you’re doing demanding graphics tasks, programming, web browsing or clerical tasks.
#7 3M Precise Mouse Pad
Award: Best for Optical
WHY WE LIKE IT: Using a lighter colored surface, this mouse pad can extend the battery life of your wireless mouse by a claimed 50%, while affording maximum precision for optical sensors.
- Special pattern reduces errors
- Helps extend wireless mouse battery life
- Non slip backing
- No ergonomic wrist rest
- Light color may not fit in with all desk decor
If you use a wireless optical mouse, this 3M Precise mouse pad for optical mice may extend its battery life by up to 50%. Backed up by lab testing, the 3M mouse pad’s lighter colored, patterned surface allows optical sensor mice to draw less current, boosting battery life significantly compared to using a dark surface.
The 3M Precise mouse pad’s unique pattern is designed to help reduce skips and loss-of-signal errors, providing consistency that allows for faster mouse movements. This makes it great for productivity and multi-tasking.
How We Decided
In order to highlight the best mouse pads on the market, we looked at mouse pads that offered a good balance between smoothness for high speed movements and texture for precision tracking.
We only picked mouse pads that worked well with both optical and laser mice. To that end, we made sure that these mouse pads reduced skip errors and signal loss.
Since the ideal mouse pad depends heavily on use case and your own ergonomic preferences, we looked at a variety of the most common types of mouse pads, including mouse pads for work, ergonomic mouse pads with wrist-rests, and extended mouse pads, as well as those designed for gamers and eSports.
We only considered mouse pads for gaming that featured a micro fiber or densely woven polymer surface, a non stick underside and that were resilient to spills. For extended mouse pads, a good non-stick backing was a must, as well as a width of at least 30 inches.
If you’re in the market for something a little more advanced, check out the Corsair MM1000 Qi Wireless Charging Mouse Pad. This wireless charging mouse pad lets you charge any Qi device wirelessly. This mouse pad also includes adapters (USB Micro-B, TYPE-C, lightning Qi) that enable you to charge other mobile devices as well. And the RGB lighting round the edge is a nice touch.
Mouse Pad Buyer’s Guide
Features to Consider
- Thickness
In general a thinner, harder mouse pad promotes fast movements while a thicker mouse pad is preferable for pinpoint control. Typically, these mouse pads for optical mice are about .1 to .2 inches thick. - Surface Texture
The best mouse pads for gaming tend to seek a balance of speed and accuracy. A smooth surface improves speed and reduces skipping errors on optical mice, while a textured surface enables more exact control of cursor position. The best mouse pads for gamers and for demanding productivity and design tasks tend to use a micro-woven synthetic cloth surface, remaining textured enough to smooth out any surface irregularities of the tabletop while offering a smooth, easy glide. - Ergonomics
Those with carpal tunnel or repetitive strain, or who work long hours at the desktop, may want to look into an ergonomic mouse pad with wrist-rest, such as the Victsing ergonomic gel mouse pad, which offers comfortable wrist support and helps maintain a healthy posture. - Material
Mouse pads should be made of a material that is compliant yet smooth enough to offer seamless gliding motion. Nylon microfiber is a popular choice, and those using a wireless optical mouse may want to look into one with a precision-enhancing pattern like the 3M precise, our # 7 pick.
Mouse Pad FAQs
Are these mouse pads easy to clean/ stain resistant?
All the mouse pads on our list have excellent stain resisting properties, along with washable, easy to clean surfaces. The 3M Precise, our #7 pick, for example, is a moisture wicking design that’s easy to clean with wipe
Will they work with an optical mouse?
Yes, and a good mouse pad actually boosts the accuracy and effectiveness of your optical mouse, even though chances are it will work on just about any flat surface. The 3M Precise mouse pad, with its unique pattern and reflective coloration, even boosts the battery life of wireless optic mice.
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