The best mouse for MacBook Pro or Air can really help you work more productively on your Apple laptop. The laptops’ trackpads is fine for most everyday use, but using a mouse can be more comfortable and also more accurate when it comes to making fine adjustments in design or image editing software. The best mouse for MacBooks can also help you work faster because you can use the programmable buttons to give yourself easy access to the shortcuts you need most often.

To pick the best mouse for MacBook for different requirements and budgets, we’ve evaluated a range of options for ergonomics, features and performance. We’ve looked for mice that are comfortable to use, that offer the smoothness and sensitivity we need for creative work, and that have function buttons for shortcuts.

If you can’t find the best mouse for MacBook for you here, check our more general guide to the best mouse and our guide to the best left-handed mouse (unfortunately there aren’t as many as you might hope). For other products, see our guide to the best Apple deals, or take a look at our pick of the best iMac alternatives if you’re considering options other than Apple.

The best mouse for MacBook Pro and Air

If you’ve already checked out our main guide to the best mouse you’ll have found that the Logitech MX Master 3 rules the roost by a long chalk thanks to its combination of comfortable ergonomics and programmable buttons and accurate tracking. So it may not surprise you to learn that the best mouse for Mac is, indeed, the MX Master 3. Even better, though, there’s a version specifically for the Mac. So as well as all the impressive features such as programmable buttons for short cuts, adjustable DPI, thumb wheel and more, this one has a clever gesture-control button that rests just below your thumb; hold it and swipe to perform native Mac gestures. That means you don’t have to miss out on the trackpad gestures you get with your MacBook. In short, it’s the best Mac mouse by some distance.

The SteelSeries Prime Mini is designed for gamers and looks like it, but if you can forgive its styling (and frankly it’s quite restrained by gaming standards) you’ll find that it’s a lightweight and capable mouse for your Mac. It has five programmable buttons, perfect for your most useful shortcuts, and its button switches are guaranteed to last more than 100 million clicks. Its TrueMove sensor delivers adjustable DPI up to a ludicrous 18,000, and you don’t need to worry about batteries or charging as it’s a wired mouse. It even comes with a detachable cable, so if it breaks you won’t need to replace the mouse. If you can live without wireless then this is a lot of mouse for the price.

Anyone who owns a desktop Mac most likely already has an Apple Magic Mouse, but if you’re on a MacBook and want the full Mac experience, there are some good reasons to treat yourself to one. Naturally, it integrates perfectly with MacOS, and its top surface doubles as a gesture pad, so if you’re used to using gestures on your MacBook’s trackpad you’ll find it easy to switch to the Magic Mouse. And you’re no longer restricted to white, with Apple releasing a version with a black multi-touch surface this March.

However, the one thing that makes the Magic Mouse not so magic is that the charging port it located on its underside. This means that if you run out of power halfway through the day (or when you’re approaching a deadline) your mouse becomes completely unusable. That’s a big vote against in our books.

When you’ve spent big on a new MacBook Pro, you might not want to get stung for the cost of an expensive mouse. If you want to save money, this budget option from Macally is likely to be your best mouse for Mac. Designed specifically for the purpose, it has an all-white design and adjustable DPI up to a generous 2,400, and its USB-C cable will plug straight into a Thunderbolt 3 port.

As it’s wired (with a generous 5ft cable) you’ll never need to worry about recharging it or changing the battery, and while its complete lack of advanced features might put some people off, if all you want is a no-nonsense, no-fuss mouse, we’ve found that this does the job nicely.

Using a mouse all day isn’t the most natural state of affairs for your hand and wrist, and if you overdo it with a poorly-designed mouse you can find yourself on the way to RSI. If you’re already suffering or simply keen to avoid carpal tunnel mishaps, a more ergonomic option such as the Logitech MX Ergo Wireless mouse can make a world of difference. It’s a trackball rather than a mouse, so it stays in one place while your thumb does all the manoeuvring, and it has a tilting design that can be angled at up to 20 degrees for a more comfortable grip.

Logitech’s MX Master 3 is one mighty fine mouse, but if it looks a bit too big and chunky for your tastes there’s an excellent alternative in the form of the Logitech MX Anywhere 3. Designed as a more compact and portable mouse to be taken anywhere, it’s also almost identical to the MX Master 3 in terms of performance and functionality; the only thing you’ll be missing out on is the thumb wheel and the gesture button. It also has plenty pre-defined button profiles for various apps, including handy shortcuts for Adobe Photoshop and Premiere. It’s possibly a little small for all-day use, but in general it’s a high-quality mouse for just about any situation.

The looks are enough to tell you that this is another mouse designed for gamers, but the Razer Naga Trinity has one really useful trick up its sleeve; well, 19 of them, in fact. That’s the number of programmable buttons you can have at your disposal (three swappable button plates so you can set them up the way you like), making it the best mouse for Mac if you regularly need to blaze through repetitive design jobs. It also boasts top performance and an idiotically high maximum DPI, and there’s even RGB lighting, which you can of course turn off if you prefer.

If using a mouse all day is causing you actual pain, a more ergonomic design can help stave off RSI. And they don’t come much more ergonomic than the Logitech MX Vertical. It’s a weird-looking mouse that can feel strange to use at first, because its vertical design aligns your arm in a more neutral and natural ‘handshake’ position, keeping your carpal tunnel in line and helping to reduce muscular strain. If you can get along with it your wrists should be very grateful, but we’d recommend getting hands on before you buy so you know what you’re going to have to adapt to.

How to choose the best mouse for MacBook

When you’re looking for the best mouse for MacBook there are a few questions to ask yourself. We’ve covered the most important ones below. Beyond a new mouse, if you’re keen to improve your work setup in general, you may also want to check out our best keyboards, best office chair and best office chairs for back pain buying guides.

Will my mouse work with my Mac?

You shouldn’t have any problems finding a mouse for your Mac; nearly all the options will work straight out of the box, whether they’re wired, use a wireless receiver or connect over Bluetooth. Bear in mind that you might need a USB-A to USB-C adapter if your Mac only has USB-C ports and your mouse requires a USB-A slot.

One thing to watch out for, however, is how fully compatible a mouse is with your Mac. Some mice that are advertised as Mac compatible actually feature buttons that only work on Windows. There’s no point getting stuck with a bunch of buttons that you can’t actually use, so always check in the specifications whether the buttons will work, or can be configured to work, on a Mac.

What size and shape mouse is best for MacBook?

Size and ergonomics are important and your preferences will be much the same irrespective of what computer or laptop you want to pair your mouse with. You will want something that’s comfortable to hold, especially if you use it for long periods. Compact mice might seem convenient and portable, but if they are too small, you could find yourself in pain when using them for long periods of time.

Look at how you hold your mouse in use, too. Different mice are suited for different grips, for example, resting just the fingertips on the mouse or covering it with your whole palm. Vertical mice might seem odd, and they do take a bit of getting used to, but many people eventually find them more comfortable. Once you know what’s comfortable for you, you’ll know what to look for in a mouse.

Should I get a wired or wireless mouse?

Most modern mice are wireless, which is a lot less of a problem than it used to be. Older wireless mice could be heavy and unresponsive, with batteries that needed changing too regularly. Things have improved, however, with better wireless connections and super power-efficient sensors meaning that the best wireless mice available today can often even outperform wired mice and can run weeks or months before needing a recharge or a fresh battery (although of course with wired mice, you can forget about batteries completely.)

What other features should I look for in a mouse?

Buttons can be useful if you want to use shortcuts. Meanwhile, you should look for a decent level of sensitivity – around 1,500 dpi is good for most uses. You should also consider ergonomics and consider choosing a mouse that’s been designed to alleviate wrist and arm strain, as have many of the options in our guide to the best mouse for MacBook above.

Is the Magic Mouse a good mouse for MacBook?

if you have a MacBook and you’re looking for a mouse, you may well be tempted to stick with Apple and go for the Magic Mouse. That has its benefits since you know from the off that it’s going to integrate perfectly with MacOS. We find the gesture pad on the top surface works well, and it’s easy to adapt to if you’re used to the MacBook’s trackpad. You also have a choice of two colours now. 

So why’s it not at the top of our list as the best mouse for MacBook? Well, the main downside for us, and it is quite a downside, is that the charging point is on the bottom of the mouse, which means you can’t use it while it’s charging. So the battery should last you around a month, so it’s not like you’re mouse will be out of action for a couple of hours every week, but it’s still frustrating if you run out of power in the middle of work.

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