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The best travel mice for 2024: Logitech, Razer, and more
A good travel mouse is essential to the on-the-go professional, student, or anyone who prefers a mouse’s tactility over a laptop trackpad. Here are some of the best travel mice in various price points and categories.
Buying the best portable mouse
Portable mice are quite convenient, but they have more criteria to fulfill than your regular mice. First and foremost, a good portable mouse has to be a good mouse, overall. That means having a solid feel with the body and the clicks, good sensitivity, and enough features to not feel lacking.
With portable mice, this balance is even more critical. Since these mice aim at portability, there are often some compromises made. The most common sacrifice is ergonomics, as travel mice are small, and better ergonomics require a larger body.
The key to picking the right travel mouse is to decide what your priorities are, and see which one fits the profile best. For example, if you need a travel mouse that is great for productivity, you can get something like the Logitech MX Anywhere 3s, which is a tiny little workhorse. For gaming on the go, however, you can pick something different, like one of Razer’s portable offerings. There are also some great portable trackpads out there if that’s more your style and you like using gestures.
Another key factor to consider is the wireless interface. You usually get two options — Bluetooth and RF (also known as wireless). Bluetooth has become increasingly common, but some of the cheaper mice still employ the older RF technology. These RF mice come with a USB dongle to connect to your computer. Bluetooth mice are obviously the better pick, with a convenience and battery life advantage, especially if there’s support for Bluetooth 5.0 LE. That said, performance mice can take more advantage of the dongle’s latency improvements.
Lastly is the portability itself. Travel mice generally have a small profile, and all the picks on our list have that in common. You can consider the weight of a mouse depending on your requirements. The battery life is also part of the portability, so ensure you get a mouse that meets your needs.
The best portable mice
While laptop trackpads have improved significantly over the years, many people still like the comfort and precision of a traditional mouse. In this list, we have wireless mice ranging from $25 – $80 for productivity features, gaming, and for those who enjoy using a trackpad but need an external pad for optimal comfort. Let’s get into the best mice for travel.
- The Logitech M535 is the best mouse overall, for most users.
- The Logitech MX Anywhere 3s is for those who want a performance travel mouse focused on productivity.
- The Logitech M240 is an excellent travel mouse you can get at a very low price.
- The Razer Orochi V2 is the best travel mouse for gamers.
- The Logitech G705 is another great gaming mouse if you want great looks and performance.
- The Microsoft Arc Mouse is the most portable mouse, offering a super slim profile.
- The Microsoft Modern Mobile Mouse is great-looking, offering a minimalist and colorful design.
- The Razer Pro Click Mini is a great performance travel mouse for professionals, thanks to its elegant looks and great features.
- The KEYMECHER Mano 703 Touchpad is a great portable trackpad.
- The Wacom Intuos Wireless Graphics Drawing Tablet is remarkable for digital nomads with a focus on drawing or editing.
Logitech M535: The best portable mouse overall
The M535 is a Bluetooth-only mouse, so you won’t have to worry about taking up a USB port to use it, and Logitech advertises a 10-month battery life. It helps that the price is also very reasonable. The only downside is that it’s getting pretty hard to find this mouse, and given its demand, it can sometimes cost more than it should.
Logitech MX Anywhere 3s: The best travel mouse for productivity
We promise Logitech won’t consume this entire list, but how can we talk about the best travel mice without mentioning the MX Anywhere 3s? This is the company’s highest-end, most feature-packed mouse that is still small enough to be considered portable.
You also get premium build quality, a rechargeable battery, and control across multiple computers. It’s pricey, but for those who want the best of the best, look no further than the MX Anywhere 3s. It’s also a bit pricey at $80, though.
Logitech M240: The best budget travel mouse
On the opposite side of the Logitech spectrum, the M240 is one of the best travel mice if you want to spend very little money. The ultra-portable design is discrete and simple, yet comfortable enough. It works via Bluetooth, so no need for a dongle. It costs only $20, which makes it very accessible.
The portable mouse also comes in various colors, including Graphite, Off-white, and Rose. And if you care for battery life, apparently this one can stay alive for 18 months on a single AA battery.
As an added perk, Logitech made this mouse to be quiet, just in case you need to take it to a library, or any other quiet place. The buttons are said to be 90% quieter.
Razer Orochi V2: The best portable mouse for gaming
Now that we’re out of Logitech land, the gamers in the crowd will appreciate the Razer Orochi V2 mouse for its gaming-grade sensor. It features an up to 18,000 DPI sensor so you can wind down and play some games after finishing work away from home.
It’s not the smallest mouse on this list, but it is smaller by gaming standards and is among the smallest mice Razer has to offer. Battery life expectancy is at 950 hours. It can use either Bluetooth or a 5GHz receiver. You can get the Razer Orochi V2 for $70, but sales show up pretty often.
Logitech G705: Another great portable gaming mouse
Small gaming mice are hard to come by, and while this one isn’t as small as others on this list, it is made with portability in mind. The mouse is also gorgeously-designed and even features RGB lighting.
The Logitech G705 features six programmable buttons, a 40-hour battery life (with RGB on), and up to 8,200 DPI sensitivity. You can also choose between using Bluetooth or a USB wireless dongle. The $80 price point is up there, but it isn’t outrageous for a quality gaming mouse this portable.
Microsoft Arc Mouse: The most portable mouse
Microsoft’s premium entry into the land of portable mice is the Arc Mouse, and this one is unique. There’s no on/off switch on this mouse; instead, it folds flat to turn off and folds into an arc to turn on. It was designed with Microsoft’s Surface devices in mind, but it is a Bluetooth mouse and, as such, will work with anything you can pair it to.
The form factor on the Arc mouse is hyper-portable — you could toss this into a laptop sleeve with no issues. The $70 price tag may be worth it if you’re tight on bag space. Not to mention there is a “cool” factor to this mouse.
Microsoft Modern Mobile Mouse: Minimalist and colorful for design enthusiasts
This one may not be as thin as the Microsoft Arc Mouse, but it is a more solid alternative that’s more comfortable. It’s also significantly cheaper at $35.
Razer Pro Click Mini: The most elegant portable mouse for professionals
For an extra bonus as a portable mouse, the Pro Click Mini won’t actually click at all; it’s equipped with silent switches that remain tractile in use, so your spam-clicking an app to get it to open won’t distract the person next to you. Textured side grips help keep the mouse steady on a desk, too.
Big bonus: it can connect to up to four devices between its 2.4GHz receiver and three Bluetooth profiles. As it goes with quality gaming mice, this one is more expensive at $80.
KEYMECHER Mano 703 Touchpad: The best portable trackpad
Sadly, there are no longer many good options for portable trackpads. Most come from odd brands, and so does the KEYMECHER Mano 703 Touchpad, but it’s looking like the best option.
It comes with multi-touch support, gesture capabilities, and up to 30 days of battery life. You can connect it to your computer using Bluetooth, or use a USB cable. Additionally, it has a 6-inch touch surface. This makes it larger than most laptop trackpads, but still small enough to easily carry it around.
It’s not the cheapest at $50, but it offers a great balance between price and value for those who prefer using a touchpad.
Wacom Intuos Wireless Graphics Drawing Tablet: The best portable drawing tablet
Here’s something a little different for artists and creators among you. If you find yourself drawing and editing on the go often, then you might want to look into a good portable drawing tablet. Our favorite is the Wacom Intuos Wireless Graphics Drawing Tablet.
This smaller model has a 7-inch surface, which you can control using the battery-free stylus. The tablet has a battery, though, as it connects to your computer via Bluetooth. Apparently, it can last about a week on a single charge. And it works on Windows, MacOS, and Chrome OS.
This one starts at $100, which makes it quite pricey. It will do much more than let you control your computer, though. Aside from using it as a touchpad, it can serve as an amazing tools for creatives.
FAQs
If you have a wireless mouse with a USB dongle, you’ll need to plug it into the PC to get your PC to detect it. If you have a Bluetooth mouse, you’ll need to pair it via the Bluetooth settings on your PC.
Wireless mice and wireless keyboards connect separately to the computer, and are registered as individual devices. As such, any wireless mouse will work with any wireless keyboard, as long as you connect them both to the PC separately. That said, some special features will only work with devices from a specific brand. For example, if you want to use Logitech’s Flow feature, you will need to have both a Logitech mouse and keyboard, and both need to support this feature.
There are a lot of small mice that share the same minimal footprint. If you want the smallest of the smallest mice, that we would still recommend, you can pick something like the Logitech Wireless Mini Mouse.
Only in some cases. Some companies, like Logitech, offer unifying wireless connectors which can replace a lost dongle. Some others, like Razer, sell the dongles by model. You’ll have to check the manufacturer’s website to see if you can get a replacement dongle for your mouse.
Mousepad options are limited for those using portable mice. Still, you can just get the smallest size available for your favorite mousepad. Check out Amazon, there are plenty of good options in there.