What is the best gaming mousepad? Whether you call them mousepads, mouse pads, or mouse mats, they're a genuinely essential part of any PC gaming setup, unless you only game on a controller of course. Good mousepads provide smooth but precise gliding, a consistent surface for your mouse to track accurately, and some can even charge your mouse and add to your RGB lighting display. Whatever your needs, we've tested and can recommend an option for you.
The best gaming mousepad overall is the SteelSeries QcK, thanks to its simple but quality construction, wide range of sizes and designs, and low price. For the luxury of never needing to charge your wireless mouse again, the Logitech PowerPlay 2 is the only choice. Meanwhile, if you're after a choice of mouse surfaces, the SteelSeries QcK Performance provides three different options to suit your play style. For more reviews, check the list below, and if you need some help choosing, the how to choose a mousepad and FAQ sections of this guide will help you out.
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SteelSeries QcK
Best mousepad overall
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| Surface material | Cloth |
| Base material | Rubber |
| Sizes | Standard, Extended, 3XL |
- Good quality
- Wide range of sizes and styles
- Cheaper than other big-brand options
- Thinner than other big-brand options
- No stitched edge
If you're looking for a simple, inexpensive, but dependable gaming mousepad, the SteelSeries QcK is it. Available in many sizes, and quite a few designs too, many other competitors, such as Corsair's MM range, offer similar quality, but the QcK is noticeably cheaper.
At just $14.99 for a large 17.7 x 15.7-inch pad with no stitched edge, even no-name options are hardly any cheaper, yet you're getting a reliable brand and a mousepad that's plenty big enough for most gamers.
The main downside here is that the lack of a stitched edge means the pad isn't as resistant to fraying as some more premium options. It's only 2mm thick, too, which compares to 3mm or more on some options. Still, for its price, it's a great choice.
Read our SteelSeries QcK review for more information.
Amazon Basics Gaming Mouse Pad
Best budget mouse pad
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| Surface material | Cloth |
| Base material | Rubber |
| Sizes | Mini, Standard, Extended, XXL |
- Affordable, even at larger sizes
- Good for general use
- Machine washable
- Not built for gaming
- Very thin
- Logo is prominently visible
If even the $14 price of the SteelSeries QcK is a stretch for you, the Amazon Basics Gaming Mouse Pad is actually a perfectly ok mouse mat option. It provides a decently soft mouse pad surface with smooth and accurate tracking all for a price under $10.
Amazon even claims this pad is machine washable, making it the ideal model if you're a clumsy eater or spill your drink. We'd still suggest checking out how to clean a mouse pad (hint, it's safer not to use a washing machine), but we won't judge you for taking the easy route with this cheap and cheerful pad.
SteelSeries QcK Performance
Best control mousepad
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| Surface material | Cloth |
| Base material | Rubber |
| Sizes | Large or XL |
- Choice of three surfaces to suit your style
- Thicker than standard QcK mats
- Expensive for standard pad
- Only available in two sizes
The SteelSeries QcK Performance is the company's new premium soft mousepad range that uses a thicker 3mm foam and has a stitched edge. Its key feature, though, is that it comes in three different surfaces: Speed, Balance, and Control.
Speed is like many typical premium soft mousepads, with a surface that's as smooth as possible for fast mouse movements. Control, though, has a much grainier texture that dampens your twitchy movements and stops your mouse more quickly, which some gamers prefer for certain styles of game where steady precision is more important than outright speed. Balance, meanwhile, offers a middle ground between the two.
In my review of all three pads, I found I preferred the Balance mat, followed by the Speed, then the Control, but it's great that the options are there for users to try. Each does cost $40, so it's not a cheap option to try them all, but at least the option's there.
Read our SteelSeries QcK Performance review.
Logitech Powerplay 2
Best mousepad for wireless mice
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| Surface material | Cloth and rubber pad |
| Base material | Hard plastic charging pad |
| Sizes | One size (344 x 340mm / 13.54″ x 13.38″) |
- You'll never run out of battery
- Lower price than previous PowerPlay
- Only works with Logitech Lightspeed mice
- Only comes in one size
- Fewer features than previous PowerPlay
- Expensive
If you're rocking a Logitech wireless gaming mouse and love the idea of never having to charge it again, the Logitech PowerPlay 2 is the mousepad for you. With its built-in wireless charging, it continuously charges your mouse, saving you from ever needing to plug in again.
A follow-up to the eight-year-old original PowerPlay, the PowerPlay 2 is a big downgrade in terms of features, losing the integrated wireless dongle, RGB lighting, detachable cable, and reversible hard/soft mousepad. However, for all those losses, the PowerPlay 2 is $20 cheaper.
It still feels a bit overpriced for what it offers, but if you own one of the 11 Logitech mice with which the technology works, there's no denying it's an amazingly useful mousepad. Just note that the PowerPlay 2 doesn't work if you use a steel/ferrous metal desk, such as the Secretlab Magnus Pro.
Read our Logitech PowerPlay 2 review.
Logitech G440
Best hard mouse pad
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| Surface material | Hard plastic |
| Base material | Rubber |
| Sizes | One size (340 x 280mm / 13.39″ x 11.02″) |
- Great for FPS games
- Only comes in one size
- The surface can peel after a year
The Logitech G440 is a no-frills hard plastic gaming mouse pad that is ideal for those who want to either try a hard pad or are looking for an affordable option.
The 3mm-thick pad measures 340mm (13.39 inches) wide and 280mm (11.02 inches) tall, providing a decent-sized area for your mousing movements. Formed from three layers, it has a polypropylene top layer that provides a fantastically low-friction and hard-wearing surface, while a middle polystyrene layer provides the rigidity of the mat, and a rubber base keeps it secure on your desk. Don't be tempted to get a hard mat that just uses small rubber feet as these can flex, and the feet invariably lose grip of your desk.
As with all hard mousepads, the G440 makes for loud mouse movements, but unlike glass mousemats, it won't wear away your mouse feet really quickly and isn't quite as loud as that surface type either.
SteelSeries QcK Prism
Best soft RBG mousepad
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| Surface material | Cloth |
| Base material | Rubber |
| Sizes | M. XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL |
- Smooth woven surface
- Grips to desktop
- RGB implementation is more than a gimmick
- Power connection can be disruptive
If you're looking to step up the look of your gaming setup, the SteelSeries Prism QcK is an affordable and fun way to add some extra RGB. With a strip of light running around its edge that can be synced up with your games via SteelSeries' software, you can get a great light show while still getting a quality mousepad, too.
Powered via a single USB cable, the lighting is bright and provides two zones so you can mix the lighting up a little. Available in a wide range of sizes, the Prism QcK starts at $59 for the large version, which is a bit expensive, but for just $10 more you can get the XL version that's twice the size, making it decent value considering the large strip of LED lighting it includes.
Read our SteelSeries Prism QcK review.
Razer Firefly V2 Pro
The best hard RGB mouse pad
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| Surface material | Hard plastic |
| Base material | Rubber |
| Sizes | One size (360 x 278mm / 14.17″ x 10.95″) |
- Brilliant backlit RGB
- Wireless dongle port is a neat bonus
- Feels smooth to use
- Very flashy
- Only one size
The Razer Firefly V2 Pro is a ludicrously dazzling addition for any desk. This hard mousepad is fully backlit with 15 RGB lighting zones that spread out under the surface of the translucent pad. It looks amazing and ridiculous at the same time, and we love it.
Its surface is similar to other hard plastic mouse pads, using a micro-textured composite material to provide a fast but smooth gliding feel. Plus, like the Logitech G440, it uses a full-area rubber base to ensure it doesn't slide around at all.
As with other RGB mats, it requires its own USB port for power, but a bonus addition with this pad is that it provides a passthrough port so that you can plug in your wireless mouse's dongle. This keeps it close by for a strong, reliable connection.
HyperX Wrist Rest
Best wrist support for mouse pads
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| Surface material | Anti-fray stitching over cooling gel and memory foam |
| Base material | Rubber |
| Sizes | Different sizes made for different products e.g. mouse, keyboard, etc. |
- Comfortable to use
- Good for your wrist
- Inexpensive
- Not bundled with a mouse pad
- Not a very striking design
Though this isn't a mouse pad, we wanted to ensure that we had at least one wrist rest included as an option. While you can buy mouse pads that include a built-in wristrest, annoyingly, they often aren't the ones designed for gaming, so we recommend buying one in addition to your mouse pad.
The HyperX Wrist Rest would be our top pick, because its anti-slip design helps to prevent it from moving out of place mid-session, and the cooling gel used inside it feels genuinely very soothing. It's a shame that its appearance is slightly bland, but, hey, it's a case of function over form.
We can't really overstate the value of a wrist rest, especially for anyone who might find themselves using their mouse for countless hours on end. Not using one, or worse, resting your wrist on the edge of a hard wooden desk, can genuinely have a negative impact on your health, so make sure to look after yourself.
How to choose the best gaming mousepad
If you just need a plain but reliable surface to use your mouse on, you can pick up a quality mousepad like the SteelSeries QcK for under $15. Unlike the other parts of your setup, there's very little risk when you get a cheap gaming mouse pad, though we'd recommend sticking with a trusted brand such as Corsair, Glorious, Logitech, NZXT, or SteelSeries. Cheaper, lesser-known brand mousepads can still be perfectly usable but might not be quite such high quality, leading to the pad fraying, curling up over time, or discoloring.
When it comes to mousepad size, we recommend not dropping below around 10 x 8-inches (26 x 20cm) in order to give yourself room to move your mouse freely without it dropping off the edge of your mat. That's especially true if you like to use a lower DPI to improve your accuracy while gaming.
You may also want to consider a so-called desk pad or XXL mousepad. These are wide enough to sit under your keyboard, providing a soft, non-slip landing for your keyboard and ensuring that you don't have the annoying issue of your mousepad and keyboard fighting for desk space.
If you're really looking to make a statement, there are many mousepad options that include fun designs, or you can get pads with integrated RGB. This tends to be in the form of a strip that runs around the edge of the mat. It's entirely for show, but might be just what you need to complete the look of your setup.
Then there are mousepads that can charge your wireless mouse. Logitech PowerPlay is the most well-known version of this technology, but Razer also has its Razer HyperFlux V2 system, available here. Both these systems use wireless charging built into the pad to charge compatible mice. For Logitech's system, many of its gaming mice, such as the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 or Logitech G502 X Plus, are compatible, but only five of Razer's mice work with its system. These include the Razer Cobra Pro and Razer Basilisk V3 Pro 35K but don't include its flagship competitive gaming mice, such as the Deathadder V4 Pro.
As for the choice between soft and hard mousepads, we don't recommend hard mouse mats for most gamers these days. Soft pads are nicer on your hands, quieter, just as accurate, and can be nearly as fast and smooth. Hard mats can feel quicker, though, which is a style you might prefer.
Gaming mousepad frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Hard vs soft mousepads - which is best for gaming?
There are two main kinds of mousepads: hard vs soft mouse pads. Hard surface mousepads use either a hard textured plastic or sometimes even a textured glass to provide a very fast, smooth-gliding surface. Meanwhile, soft pads tend to use a woven fabric glued to a foam underside, often with a stitched outer edge to prevent the fabric from fraying.
Hard mats tend to be faster, with your mouse skating over the slick surface. However, that's where their advantages effectively end. They're otherwise loud, can wear down your mouse glides/feet more quickly, and many gamers find the really slippery feel too unforgiving, with every slight twitch moving the mouse.
Soft mousepads, on the other hand, are soft on your wrists, they're quiet, and they're just as accurate. They are, though, slightly less fast. Some gamers prefer this, with "control" style mousepads leaning into this. This style of pad provides a bit of resistance to your mouse to counteract your twitchiness, but plenty of soft mouse mats can feel fast too.
Do you need a mouse pad for FPS games?
Technically, no. There's no type of game that you explicitly need a mouse pad for, assuming your mouse works at all on your chosen surface. However, there's also no mouse-based game that won't benefit from using a mouse pad, and as FPS games are very intense and require precise movements, they are one of the genres that will benefit most.
What happens if you don't use a mousepad?
The first problem you could encounter is simply that your mouse doesn't work on your chosen surface. Modern gaming mice with an optical sensor don't work on plain flat glass, for instance, and struggle with most reflective surfaces. Some productivity mice, such as the Logitech MX Master 4, use different types of sensors that can work on glass, but gaming mice can't. Gaming mice also don't cope with rough, uneven surfaces, such as rustic old wooden tables. A mousepad provides a low-reflection, consistent, and smooth surface so that your mouse can track movement accurately.
Soft mousepads also bring the benefit of cushioning your wrist and reducing the noise of using a mouse. If you've ever tried to use a mouse on a glass (with a piece of paper on it to make the sensor work) or metal table, you'll know how loud they can be, especially if you're gaming and regularly picking up and placing the mouse during fast movements. Soft mousepads solve all these issues.
Should you use a mouse pad with wrist support?
Many gamers find wrist supports more comfortable to use for long periods of mouse use. However, for most gamers, we wouldn't recommend limiting yourself to using a mousepad with an integrated wrist rest. They tend to be too small and don't give you the option of using a wrist rest for long working sessions, then removing the wrist rest for when you're gaming (to provide more space for movement). Instead, get yourself a normal mousepad and pickup a separate wrist rest, such as the HyperX mouse wrist rest.
Do different mousepads make a difference?
Absolutely. This is not a one-size-fits-all situation. Aside from the soft vs hard debate we mentioned above, some include RGB lights, some charge wireless mice, and some can cover your whole desk. Think carefully about your setups and needs before deciding on a mousepad.
For more help making your setup as great as possible, read our guides on the best gaming chairs and best standing desks. We'll help you get the most comfortable and ergonomic setup possible.