Best gaming mouse pads 2025
Thick or thin, big or small, speed or control?
Mouse pads are of critical importance in fast-paced gaming genres that prioritise accurate tracking, quick flicks and reliable clicks. Of course, you'll also want something comfortable to use all day and durable enough to last for many years too. We've been testing new mouse pads for the last seven years, and we've come up with a list of recommendations that just might help for you in 2025.
If you want our top pick, that would be the SteelSeries QcK Performance, but we've got a full list of mouse pads with various sizes, price points and feature sets. Here's the full list!
Best gaming mouse pads 2025
- Best cheap gaming mouse pad: SteelSeries QcK Medium
- Best mouse pad for gaming: SteelSeries QcK Performance
- Best hard / RGB mouse pad: Razer Firefly V2 Pro
- Best desk pad: Glorious Extended
- Best glass fiber hybrid pad: KingJade Liu Li V2
- Best cute mouse pad: Esptiger Tang Dao Chi Yu
- Glossary of terms
- Frequently asked questions
Best cheap gaming mouse pad: SteelSeries QcK Medium
You don't have to spend a lot to get a good mouse pad. SteelSeries' QcK Medium is our favourite cheap option, offering a good gaming surface at a reasonable size - (32x21cm, 13x11") - for less than a tenner. Note that you are giving up some niceties here, like a thicker design and a more durable stitched edge, but these are understandable omissions given the price. Regardless, you're left with a highly usable cloth pad that's easy to take to LANs and will fit even in cramped conditions.
Best mouse pad for gaming: SteelSeries QcK Performance
The best mouse pad overall we've tested so far are the SteelSeries QcK Performance pads, which come in speed, balance and control varieties and L (49x42cm) or XL (90x40cm) sizes. Each version uses different materials, from a slicker nylon blend for the speed pad to a rougher high-density polyster for the control option. Generally, faster-paced games and gamers may prefer a speed pad, while those that prefer slower-paced titles may prefer a control pad; SteelSeries has a quiz on their site too.
Elsewhere, the pads are well-built and comfortable to use with a 3.5mm thickness that slightly outdoes the original QcK, including 2.9mm of neoprene foam that resists downward pressure. The edge is stitched, preventing tears over time, but made flat and soft so it doesn't dig into your arm.
This is an easy mouse pad to recommend, especially with post-launch price reductions, so I'm happy to do just that here - you can't go too far wrong here regardless of the size or flavour you choose. Mouse pads are not (yet) an area of rapid technological development, but SteelSeries have done enough here to keep pace with trendy boutique options without jumping to newer materials like glass. For our full analysis, see our SteelSeries QcK Performance review.
Best hard / RGB desk pad: Razer Firefly V2 Pro
The Razer Firefly V2 Pro is a rarity: an RGB mouse pad that actually lives up to the name. Rather than just lighting up the border of the mouse pad with LEDs, RGB is diffused across the full surface of this frosted plastic surface. This hard mouse pad gets surprisingly bright too, so it looks good during the day and incredible at night. It's also a genuinely great mouse pad to use, offering excellent performance even in high-stress FPS scenarios. Highly recommended for anyone that uses Razer peripherals or RGB fanatics.
Best desk pad: Glorious Extended
Glorious are well known for their cheap but well-made gaming mouse pads, with the Extended offering more than enough space for your keyboard, mouse and other peripherals at 28x91cm (11x36"). If you need a larger size, you can pick up the taller XXL Extended at 46x91cm (18x36") or the ridiculous 3XL Extended which is 61x122cm (24x48"). No matter which size you choose, you get stitched edges for long-term use and a durable, machine-washable design. Glorious get bonus points for offering a "stealth" option, which omits the logo, and a white colourway.
Best glass fiber hybrid pad: KingJade Liu Li V2
Glass mouse pads with extremely low friction are becoming increasingly popular amongst mousing enthusiasts, but their deleterious effect on mouse skates and high asking prices make them hard to recommend to more mainstream gamers. A nice alternative is a hybrid glass / fabric pad, such as this option from KingJade that combines poron - well known in mechanical keyboards for its sound-dampening properties - and a coating made from ground-up glass beads, providing a feel somewhere in between a soft and hard pad with minimal friction but a decent degree of stopping power.
The materials used here have an interesting effect, with a surface that easily deforms to your touch but bounces back to being flat. The edges are recessed, ensuring that your arm isn't rubbing against them during gameplay, and the 4mm thickness feels suitably comfortable for slower-paced gaming and office work. This isn't the cheapest mouse pad on the market by any means, but it's worth considering versus a full glass pad for faster-paced games.
Best cute mouse pad: Esptiger Tang Dao Chi Yu
Yes, this is a category I just made up to include this particular mouse pad. The cute cat, clouds, koi and pinky-purple hues won't be to everyone's tastes, I'm sure, but this Esptiger pad is legitimately great in other ways too. It offers a 4mm thick cloth surface with a soft stitched edge, preventing against premature fraying and making for a comfortable place to rest your arm. The 480x400mm size is ideal for even extremely low DPI players, and the balanced roughness is a good compromise between speed and control. Even the base looks good, with a purple backing and grippy dots to anchor it to your desk. If cats aren't your thing, scantily-clad anime girls are also available in multiple colours.
Glossary of terms
Material: Different mouse pad materials will affect the feel, longevity and portability of the pad. Softer materials like cloth can be rolled up, saving space, and offer a comfortable place to rest your arms. Meanwhile, harder materials like metal or plastic can't be rolled up, but provide a flatter surface that can be more resistant to wear.
Thickness: The depth of a mouse pad affects how it feels to use and often how comfortable it is as well. While materials like plastic or metal can be quite thin, cloth and other soft materials can vary in thickness from 2mm to 5mm or more. Thicker pads will generally be flatter and more comfortable, but thinner options can fit under a keyboard more easily.
Size: Mouse pads are often available in multiple sizes, from compact models barely bigger than a mouse to desk pads that can be a metre wide or more. As a general rule of thumb, the lower your mouse's DPI setting, the bigger the pad you'll need. For DPIs under 1000, we recommend a large or extra-large pad.
RGB: Some mouse pads have lighting built into the perimeter of the pad to improve their appearance. This lighting can be a single colour, but more commonly multiple colour options and effects are available. More premium pads have software-controlled RGB, potentially with multiple lighting zones, which can be synced with other RGB-encrusted PC components or peripherals for a synchronised look.
Wireless charging: A small proportion of mouse pads include built-in wireless charging, which can be used to recharge wireless mice from the same brand or Qi-enabled mobile devices like smartphones or headsets. This is convenient, but these mouse pads tend to be premium options due to their added complexity.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I need a gaming mouse pad?
The best gaming mouse pads have carefully calibrated surfaces, allowing you to choose between slicker options optimised for speed or rougher surfaces that provide better control. Using a good gaming mouse pad also ensures your mouse feet won't wear down quickly or unevenly, lengthening your mouse's useful lifespan. Gaming mouse pads are also offered in large sizes, providing more mousing space - ideal for mice used at low DPI settings. Other features, like perfectly flat edges, RGB lighting and even wireless charging are also available.
How do I choose the right gaming mouse pad?
Start with materials. Plastic or metal hard pads are great for use on uneven surfaces, like badly worn desks, while cloth pads are more comfortable and machine-washable. From here, consider whether your play style emphasises speed (fast games with constant mouse movement like Fortnite) or control (tactical games like CSGO). Size comes next - generally, you'll want as big as possible, although high DPI mice allow for smaller pads. Finally, consider the features like wireless charging for a Logitech Lightspeed mouse and RGB for that gamer look.
How much should I budget for a good mouse pad?
Entry-level mouse pads are available from around £10/$10 or less, and it's often possible to get them for free with purchases of other products or from a friend. A professional-grade mouse pad can be had for £20/$20, while fancier models made from more exotic materials, offering extra thickness or other features can cost anywhere up to £50/$50. Unless you have very particular requirements, we don't recommend spending more than £25/$25 on a mouse pad unless you're going for top-end components and peripherals throughout.
What do the pros use?
Esports pros in games like Counter-Strike, Fortnite and League of Legends tend to use relatively large mouse pads, thanks to their preference for lower DPI settings than the average gamer. For shooters, weapon choice also affects mouse pad size, with snipers generally using higher DPI settings (and therefore smaller pads) than riflers. Mouse pads from Zowie are the most popular choice for CS2 players, specifically the Zowie G-SR and G-SR-SE, with examples from SteelSeries (QcK Heavy, QcK+) and Logitech (G640) also proving to be common picks.
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