The best mouse pads

The best mouse pad overall

With a slick, durable surface, non-skid base, and an eye-catching design the Corsair MM350 Pro is our favorite mouse pad. 

Pros: Smooth surface balances speed and precision, large option to cover desktop, thick padding adds comfort, stitched edges to prevent fraying

Cons: Relatively expensive

Large enough to accommodate your mouse and keyboard, this roomy mouse pad measures 36.6 x 15.7 inches, so it does a great job of protecting your desktop. You can feel the quality as soon as you unravel the Corsair MM350 Pro. This mouse pad feels plush and provides plenty of padded comfort; it’s 4mm thick. I also found this helped to reduce the noise of mechanical keys clacking, as it absorbs the impact of your key presses.

The top is a micro-weave surface, so this is ostensibly a cloth mouse pad, but the textile Corsair uses is silky smooth and dense, making it great for fast and frenetic action that requires sweeping movements. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to sacrifice much accuracy to deliver on the speed, so it’s also good for precise gameplay or everyday work. 

As you would expect, the bottom is covered in an anti-skid rubber base that ensures the pad never slips. The Corsair MM350 Pro is also built to last. There’s tight stitching around the edges where cloth mouse pads usually start to fray after a while. The smooth top layer is also spill proof and by far the easiest to wipe clean of any mouse pad I tested.  

I’m a fan of the distressed metallic sails design, but this does also come in plain black if you want something a bit more subdued. You can also get the same quality design in a smaller and cheaper package by opting for the MM300 Pro, which is more of a standard medium sized mouse pad.

The best budget mouse pad

The Razer Gigantus V2 starts from just $10 and has everything you need in a cloth mouse pad, combing a textured surface, padded comfort, and a non-slip underside.

Pros: Balanced surface for speed and precision, comfortable padding, comes in multiple sizes

Cons: No stitching to protect edges, green sides might not suit everyone

You can’t get much for $10 nowadays, but it is enough to snag you Razer’s Gigantus V2 mouse pad. The medium size measures 14.17 x 10.83 inches, which is a bit larger than similarly priced competitors. It’s also around 3mm thick and comfortable to rest your wrist on.

Crafted from a textured micro weave the top layer is quite smooth to the touch and offers a good mix of speed and precision. It is a bit smoother than the Glorious PC Gaming Race mouse pad, but not as silky as Corsair’s MM350 Pro. There’s a bright green anti-slip layer on the bottom, which shows through around the sides and in the subtle Razer logo tag. 

Unfortunately, this mouse pad lacks stitching around the edges, so there is a risk it will fray and degrade slightly over time. On the plus side, the top layer is easy to wipe clean and feels like it will last. My son has been using the large Razer Gigantus V2 for around three months now and it’s holding up well, in fact, after a wipe with a damp cloth it still looks as good as new.

While the top is plain black, the almost luminous green of Razer’s branding does show around the edges and will fit in best when paired with other Razer gear. If the medium is too small for you, there are larger sizes to ensure you never run out of space. The biggest 3XL option is 47.24 x 21.65, but it costs five times the price.

The best oversized mouse pad

The enormous Glorious PC Gaming Race 3XL Extended mouse pad will coat your entire desktop in mouse friendly padding.

Pros: Largest mouse pad available, comes in multiple sizes, stitched edges to prevent fraying, machine washable

Cons: Open fabric absorbs spills and dirt

If you want something big, then the largest mouse pad from Glorious PC Gaming Race has you and your entire desktop covered. There are lots of different sizes to choose from, but the biggest of the bunch measures 48 x 24 inches. It certainly boosts comfort, adding a 3mm padded layer to your entire desktop.

This is another cloth mouse pad, and it has a textured top layer that strikes a fairly good balance between precision and speed but leans towards precision. It feels quite rough compared to the Corsair MM350 Pro, for example. There’s a non-slip rubber base that stops it from sliding around, which is especially important here as the larger size means you will have everything sitting on top of it.

Neat stitching around the edges helps to reduce the risk of fraying with the Glorious PC Gaming Race mouse pad and it is machine washable. This is vital, as the top surface is plain black and very absorbent. I found that it picked up stains and dust quite quickly, so the fact you can pop it in the machine is great.

This mouse pad is all about substance over style and it has a very plain finish with a single, small logo at the bottom right. It comes in black, white, or stealth, which is a version with a much subtler logo. You can also pick it up in seven other sizes going all the way down to 13 x 11 inches. 

The best hard mouse pad

If you want serious speed and perfect precision with minimal friction, then the Logitech G440 hard mouse pad delivers.

Pros: Slick surface for speed with fine control, durable hard plastic coating, suits mice with high DPI settings

Cons: Not so comfortable to use, only one size

This compact mouse pad measures 13.38 x 11 inches, but you don’t need a lot of space if you ramp up your mouse sensitivity via the dots-per-inch (DPI) settings. This hard surface, with a mouse set to a high DPI, means very slight and quick movements register accurately and you can maneuver extremely quickly in game. The hard surface feels textured, but there’s a little padding thanks to the 3mm thickness.

With a polypropylene top layer, a polystyrene core, and a rubber base for added grip, the Logitech G440 provides a rigid surface with just a little give. It’s a consistent surface and it never slipped around during testing. A simple white G at the bottom right corner is all that breaks up the black surface, but the bottom layer is blue, which shows very subtly around the base of the pad. 

It feels quite durable and it’s extremely easy to wipe clean. Logitech suggests it’s an optimal surface for Logitech mice particularly, but we tested with three different mice from various brands and found it worked well. I prefer a softer surface for long term comfort, but there’s no denying that this mouse pad works especially well with a high DPI, and I found overshooting my mark was less of an issue when using this pad.

The Logitech G440 only comes in one size, but it feels spot on to me and I never found myself wanting more space. Although it’s not especially cheap, it is more affordable than some of the other big brand hard mouse pads and that wins it our recommendation.  

The best mouse pad with lighting

A frame of glowing light around a solid mouse pad design that won’t break the bank makes the Roccat Sense AIMO our pick for RGB fans.

Pros: Bright programmable RGB lighting, textured surface for precision, comfortable padding, comes in two sizes

Cons: Expensive, must plug in, noticeable power control module at top left

Do you need RGB lighting on your mouse pad? Well, no, of course not. Will it make your desktop that bit more interesting to behold? Yes, it certainly will. I was a little skeptical about light up mouse pads, but the Roccat Sense AIMO has won me over.

It comes in two sizes, but we tested the smaller one, which measures 13.77 x 9.84 inches. The first thing to note is that it’s a flexible cloth mouse pad that feels like much like any other. The big difference is that it plugs via an included Micro USB to USB-A cable and has a frame that runs around the outside, beneath the stitching, that lights up different colors. 

This bright RGB light has two programmable zones, which you can tinker with via Roccat’s Swarm software, or you can leave it to the default behavior of cycling through the colors. It will also react to some of the devices and apps you use if you download the Sense AIMO module and leave it on the intelligent lighting setting. There are other effects available, and, if you have accompanying Roccat gear, you can sync it up with your mouse and keyboard.

Beyond the lighting this is a cloth mouse pad that has quite a pronounced textured finish, though I found it much more comfortable than other rougher mouse pads to rest my hand on. Accuracy and speed seem good, though it leans towards precision. There’s also a rubberized non-slip back to prevent any slippage.

You will need a spare USB port to plug this into and it means you have another cable on your desk, which is a definite downside for me. The module the cable plugs into is also quite large, with a brightness control button on it which can be configured via the software. If you use a wired mouse this module is a potential snag point.

The pay off is the vivid colors and bright light it gives off. For RGB fans with light up rigs, mice, and keyboards, this feels like a natural addition. It’s also the most reasonably priced mouse pad with lighting from one of the big brands, but because devices from specific brands can sync together, the best RGB mouse pad for you is likely to be the one that matches your mouse and keyboard.

The best mouse pad with wireless charging

If you have a mouse that supports wireless charging, then the Corsair MM1000 mouse pad will suit you nicely, and it adds a handy pass-through port.

Pros: Charges any Qi wireless charging device, pass-through USB 3.0 port, relatively affordable

Cons: Can’t charge mouse in use, no soft surface option

With wireless charging growing more and more popular in mice, you may fancy a mouse pad that has wireless charging capability built in. There are actually a few to choose from, but the MM10000 from Corsair is the one we recommend. On top of wireless charging, it adds some thoughtful extras, and it nails the basics of a good hard mouse pad, but there are limitations here. 

Finished in a hard textured surface that offers low friction for speedy maneuvers, the Corsair MM1000 measures 14.17 x 10.23 inches. It’s quite thick at 6mm with a large power module at the top left which needs to plug into a USB port. 

The wireless charging zone is a specific area at the top right and can charge any device that supports Qi wireless charging. This sets it apart from competitors like Logitech’s G Powerplay and Razer’s Hyperflux, both of which charge mice anywhere on the pad while in use, though they rely on proprietary technology with support limited to very few specific mouse models. With the Corsair MM1000, you put your mouse on the charging spot when you’re done, and you can’t use your mouse while it’s charging. On the other hand, Corsair’s pad is the only one can charge up your phone while you play. 

The design of the Corsair MM1000 is plain black, with a ring at the top right to highlight the charging zone. The power module bears the Corsair logo and a green light to indicate it’s powered up. There’s also a non-slip rubber base. 

Turning the chunky power module into a positive, Corsair has added a USB 3.0 pass-through port. Corsair also supplies USB to Micro USB, Type C, and Lightning connectors, so you can charge other devices on the charging spot.

While it is quite pricey, it doesn’t cost anywhere near as much as the competition, though you could pair one of the best wireless chargers with our budget mouse pad pick and save yourself quite a bit of money. 

We haven’t been able to test the MM1000 out ourselves yet, but it got a good review from IGN and a positive mention from TechRadar. 

It’s still early days for mouse pads with wireless charging, but this effort from Corsair is the only one we would consider. While Logitech offers extras like a hard or soft surface, and Razer’s pad has built-in lighting, only the Corsair pad uses the open Qi wireless charging standard. This is important because, not only can you charge up your phone while you play, it will also continue to work with Qi devices in the future. If you change your mouse with the Logitech or Razer, then the pad may not work with your new one.

What else we considered

SteelSeries Qck: A former top pick, this basic cloth mouse pad does the basics right, offering padded comfort with a micro-weave cloth surface and an anti-skid rubber bottom. It’s an affordable no frills mouse pad that delivers. Starting from just $10, it’s also very affordable and it’s a great choice if you want a straightforward mouse pad and don’t want to go with our budget pick, the Razer Gigantus V2.

Corsair MM600: This hard mouse pad has an unusual dual sided design with one side designed for speed and the other for precision. Either way round the aluminum frame includes rubber feet for grip. There’s no padding beneath the polymer surfaces, but the precision side is noticeably more textured, and they both wipe clean easily. The stumbling block here is the high price.

AmazonBasics Gel Computer Mouse Pad: Our previous budget pick has been relegated in the latest update and there are two reasons it no longer makes the list. Firstly, it’s extremely small, and secondly, there’s some doubt about whether wrist rests offer any benefit. If you set up your desk, chair, and position ergonomically you shouldn’t need a wrist rest on your mouse pad at all.