The best mouse and trackpad for your Mac or MacBook

Macworld

If you’re looking for a mouse for a Mac or MacBook, you’ve got plenty of options beyond Apple’s Magic Mouse (from $99/£99).

These days most mice will work on either Mac or PC, so you’ve got access to just about the entire PC mouse market, from wired to wireless, trackpads to trackballs, and even over-the-top dedicated gaming mice. The more sophisticated mice require software, so ensure that the settings app works on a Mac. All the mice tested here that have Settings apps are Mac-compatible.

A lot of people prefer using a mouse to their laptop’s trackpad. A mouse makes things much easier and just feels more comfortable and familiar. But for some people mice can be an ergonomic nightmare, so luckily there are alternatives.

Beware of the cheapest wireless mice out there. Many require a nano receiver to plug into an old-school USB-A port on the computer, and newer MacBooks have just one or two USB-C/Thunderbolt ports instead. Ideally, you’ll want a Bluetooth-compatible mouse to connect wirelessly to a MacBook or Mac.

We’ve rounded up our favorite Mac mice below, starting with Apple and moving to ultra-productive mice with multiple buttons and scroll wheels, gaming mice and trackpads. Whether you want a basic spare or travel mouse, we’ve tested the best Mac mice we can find.

If you’re trying to get the hang of your Apple-friendly mouse, incidentally, you may want to know how to right-click on a Mac. We also have a round up of the best deals for Apple accessories like the Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard and the Magic Trackpad. We also have a round up of the Best Keyboards for Mac.






Apple Magic Mouse – Default Apple Wireless Mouse














Pros

Sleek and elegant design

Top of the mouse acts like a trackpad

Touch controls allow vertical and horizontal scrolling


Cons

Terrible design choice with the position of the charging port

Not so comfortable if you have large hands

Lightning not USB-C









Price When Reviewed:

Dès 85 €




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Like it or not, the Apple Magic Mouse is the mouse that all others have to square up to in the battle to find the best mouse for Mac users. Unchanged since 2015 (aside from an update to USB-C from Lightning in 2024) and in reality little changed since 2009, the Magic Mouse is what Apple ships with every iMac (in seven accented colors) and Mac Pro (black) and is the only mouse you can buy as a separate on the Apple Store (in black or white).

The Magic Mouse is sleek and elegant, the way an Apple product should be. There are no old-fashioned buttons or scroll-wheels to spoil the mouse’s streamlined design, as the entire top multi-touch surface panel acts like a small, touch-sensitive trackpad. It works really well and cleverly combines the fluidity of a trackpad with the physicality of a mouse.

Some mice have scroll wheels that can be noisy, but the Apple Magic Mouse’s trackpad top is silent in that regard.

The low-profile design won’t suit people with larger hands, but the touch controls do work very well, allowing you to scroll both horizontally and vertically simply by flicking your finger in the required direction.

You can set up a secondary button, rather than settle for the all-over click, on either side within the Mouse tab in your Mac’s System Settings.

Where the Magic Mouse stands out of the nest of Mac mice, is gestures. You can control gestures, such as zooming and switching between applications and pages, by using the Mouse Preferences panel on the Mac. Double-tap with two fingers to launch the Mac’s Mission Control. In Settings you can also turn on Pointer Acceleration for faster or more precise mouse movements.

The button-free design also means that the Magic Mouse is suitable for both left- and right-handed users—unlike the Logitech MX Master 3S mouse reviewed below.

The rechargeable battery lasts for only about a month at a time—which would be fine if it weren’t for one thing…

Apple did finally get around to switching the Lightning connector to a USB-C connector for charging the internal battery, but it is still on the base of the mouse, which means that you can’t use the mouse while it’s charging, as you have to flip it over on to its side in order to insert the cable.

Apple also sells a black version of the Magic Mouse for an extra $20/£20, which is a bit cheeky as no other mouse manufacturer charges more for color choices.

Read our full

Apple Magic Mouse 2 review






Logitech MX Master 3S For Mac – Best Wireless Mouse for Mac














Pros

Seven ultra-customizable buttons

Mac version of the Options+ app

High-speed mode

Horizontal scrolling


Cons

Right-handed users only


















Apple’s Magic Mouse is what iMac users get in the box with their new computer. It’s a fine mouse but is rather limited with just two buttons. Logitech’s MX Master 3S mouse has seven buttons.

Its smoothly curved surface fits the palm of the (right) hand very well, along with a thumb-rest for extra comfort. It has the usual left/right buttons and a scroll wheel at the top. The scroll-wheel works in two different modes, with a feature called SmartShift that automatically switches the scroll wheel from line-by-line scrolling to super-fast scrolling when it senses you want to scroll much faster.

There’s also a second scroll wheel on the side, which allows you to scroll horizontally—which is great for photo-editing and graphics work—and two more buttons that can be programmed using the Options+ app. Battery life is good too, at around two months—twice that of Apple’s Magic Mouse or Trackpad.

The original version, the MX Master 3, was launched in 2019 and has now been updated to the MX Master 3S. This has a more accurate 8000dpi track-on-glass sensor that provides smoother and more precise movement. Look for the special Mac version, although there’s little difference with the generic version, which additionally comes with a Logi Bolt USB receiver for a wireless connection that provides greater security and reliability than Bluetooth. Mac users are happy using Bluetooth, so we’re not too bothered by it missing from the Mac version.

Most conventional two-button mice will work with a Mac without needing any additional software, but more advanced mice that have additional buttons and controls do need an app that will allow you to program those extra buttons to work the way that you want.

Logitech takes top spot in this review of best mice for the Mac partly by virtue of the fact that it’s one of the few manufacturers that includes a proper Mac version of its Options app for its mice (and keyboards too).

There’s a choice of two colors: Space Gray and Pale Gray. The Space Gray is basically black, rather than its claimed grayness.

Read our full

Logitech MX Master 3S For Mac review






Apple Magic Trackpad – Best Trackpad














Pros

Useful gestures and scrolling options

Rechargeable battery life is about a month


Cons

Expensive









Price When Reviewed:

€135




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While some people never get the hang of a MacBook’s trackpad and prefer to use a mouse, others want the wonders of a trackpad when controlling their desktop Mac.

It’s pretty expensive, but Apple’s Magic Trackpad avoids the mistakes that it tends to make with its mice.

The design works well, with a large surface area that measures 160mm wide and 115mm deep, so you have plenty of room to comfortably control your on-screen cursor and to use the various ‘gestures’ that are the Magic Trackpad’s greatest strength.

As well as the usual left and right mouse clicks, the Magic Trackpad lets you use two fingers to scroll up/down or left/right, which is great for photo-editing and other types of graphics work.

You can also zoom in or out on images or web pages by ‘pinching’ in or out with two fingers, or move back/forwards through a series of web pages by flicking left/right with two fingers. And, as well as being touch-sensitive, the Magic Trackpad is also pressure-sensitive, so you can ‘force-click’ by pressing and holding on documents to activate the Mac’s Quick Look previews, or even to look up words in a dictionary.

The low-profile design may not suit everyone, but the versatility of the Magic Trackpad makes it a great alternative to a conventional mouse, especially for left-handed users.

The rechargeable battery lasts for about a month at a time–and, unlike Apple’s Magic Mouse, the charging port (now USB-C rather than Lightning) is on the back edge of the trackpad, which means that you can actually charge it up and continue to use it at the same time.

Just as it does with its Magic Mouse, Apple also sells a black version of the Magic Trackpad for an extra $20/£20.







Satechi M1 Bluetooth Wireless Mouse – Best Budget Wireless Mouse














Pros

Affordable

Allows for very accurate scrolling

Curved ergonomic design

Color choices


Cons

Was disconcertingly fast at first









Price When Reviewed:

29,99 €




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Satechi’s USB-C aluminium M1 Bluetooth Wireless Mouse comes with an old-fashioned scroll wheel, which the company claims will offer faster and more accurate scrolling and tracking.

The cursor fairly flies around the screen as I move the M1—much faster than my Apple mouse, and almost disconcertingly at first. It feels like it floats across my desk, and allows for more accurate scrolling than Apple’s.

As it can also be a Windows mouse, it has a right button—handy for the extra controls that you’d usually need to press Ctrl to access using Apple’s one-button device.

The M1 mouse has a pleasingly curved ergonomic design, making it fine for both left- and right-handed users. Its aluminum body is available in silver, something similar to Apple’s Space Grey, Gold, and Rose Gold colors so can attractively match your Mac or MacBook.

There are no removable batteries, so you recharge via USB-C (cable included), which is better placed than the Magic Mouse 2’s frustrating equivalent. Satechi’s use of USB-C is also a more modern move.

It uses Bluetooth 4.0 so has a range of 32 feet.

We like the choice of five colors—Space Gray, Silver, Blue, Gold and Rose Gold—and its low price makes it a perfect second mouse for travel or for those times your other mouse loses power or goes missing.







Logitech MX Anywhere 3S For Mac – Best Portable Mouse














Pros

Streamlined shape

High-speed mode

70-day battery life with quick charge mode


















Logitech’s portable MX Anywhere 3 was already on our list of best mice for the Mac, and the new MX Anywhere 3S actually manages to improve on that winning formula. Look out for the special “For Mac” model.

The design of the mouse has been fine-tuned a little, with a more streamlined shape, while the two side buttons seem to be a little further back and closer to my thumb, making it easier and more comfortable to use.

This compact little mouse still manages to find room for four buttons, all of which can be programmed using Logitech’s Options app.

The scrolling wheel also works in two modes, with a high-speed mode that lets you quickly zoom through long documents, or a slower, more precise mode that works well for graphics and photo-editing.

It doesn’t have the second scroll wheel found on the larger MX Master 3S, which allows you to scroll horizontally as well. But, if you press and hold one of the side buttons while scrolling, you’ll find that the main scrolling wheel temporarily switches to horizontal scrolling as well—although this approach is less intuitive than a separate horizontal scroll wheel and slightly uncomforatble.

Battery life is around 70 days–twice that of Apple’s Magic Mouse–and its quick-charge mode will give you three hours of use after just one minute of charging time, which is great when you’re travelling with your MacBook.

It is available in a choice of two colors, Space Gray (which is really black) and Pale Gray. The generic version includes both Bluetooth and a separate USB wireless transmitter, while the specific Mac version is Bluetooth only.







HP 715 Mouse – Now Mac compatible














Pros

Competitively priced

HP app lets you reprogram mouse buttons

Good battery life


Cons

Mouse isn’t ambidextrous as claimed

















As well as being Mac-compatible, the HP 715 Multi-Device Mouse is well designed, versatile and provides good value for money.

The HP 715 mouse