The Best Vertical Mice

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Penned by Kody Wirth

Kody is our expert Destiny 2 and shooter genre writer. He lives in Oregon.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Change is difficult. It can be hard to move past something that’s become so ingrained in our day to day that we never consider an alternative. For many, that’s been the case with their computer chairs, keyboards, desks, and mice for years. One peripheral that’s come out lately that’s worth taking a fresh look at is the mouse. The best vertical mice on our list may be just what your setup has been calling for.

And while ergonomic chairs, tactile keyboards, and convertible desks have slowly become the norm, comfortable mice have seemingly lagged behind. Sure, gaming mice have improved performance and streamlined controls, but that doesn’t help mitigate physical tension. 

Thankfully, some solid ergonomic models have entered the market over the last few years. They’re built to alleviate shoulder, finger, wrist, and even neck pain. But for those with carpal tunnel or severe wrist pain, even an ergonomic mouse may not be enough. Which means it’s time to drastically break the mold and opt for a vertical mouse.

Why Use a Vertical Mouse?

A vertical mouse contours to your hand’s natural curvature. It builds atop the concept of a handshake grip, while including relevant ergonomic features. For those who have tried ergonomic mice in the past and still find themselves in physical pain, a vertical mouse serves as the natural next step to alleviate it.

If you’ve been struggling to mitigate finger, wrist, forearm, and elbow pain, you may want to consider a vertical mouse. It may take some getting used to, but the physical health benefits outweigh the inconvenience.

Zoom In: The 5 Best Vertical Mice

Like ergonomic mice, the market isn’t exactly flooded with models produced by familiar gaming brands. Instead, there are plenty of inexpensive options that make it difficult to single out which are superbly designed and which are just heaps of plastic. To help you wade through the sea of vertical mice, we’ve narrowed down the top five options.

1. Logitech MX Vertical Mouse

The best ergonomic vertical mouse overall

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Manufacturer: Logitech | DPI: 4,000 | Connectivity: Wireless | Buttons: 4 | Weight: 4.8 oz | Price: 💰💰

If you happened to see our ergonomic mice roundup, you’re already familiar with the Logitech MX Vertical. And since it was the only vertical mouse to make that list, it’s only natural that it would take the top spot. 

That’s not just because this is one of the only vertical mice made by a high-end gaming company. No, this is simply one of the best ergonomic gaming mice and the best vertical mouse for carpal tunnel overall. It performs incredibly well, while actively improving your posture, grip, and overall wrist health.

Much of the physical benefits come from the unique 57-degree grip design. This unusual angle helps prevent forearm twisting and muscle strain by promoting a natural handshake position. Add in the textured rubber grip, and you have yourself a mouse that will fit so naturally in your hand, you may never want to let go.

And the MX doesn’t just stop at comfort — it also packs a punch with performance. Thanks to the hyper-efficient 4,000 DPI tracking, you can make fast but intricate movements that require far less mobility. Not only will you be accurate, but you’ll also keep your hand rested and strain-free thanks to those more efficient movements. 

Wireless and rechargeable within just one minute for three hours of playtime, the MX is more than just an ergonomic mouse. It was designed to perform, keep you healthy, and look slick the whole way through.

2. J-Tech Digital Optical Mouse

The best vertical mouse for gaming

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Manufacturer: J-Tech | DPI: 1,600 | Connectivity: Wired | Buttons: 4 | Weight: 9.6 oz | Price: 💰

It’s tough to find a vertical mouse designed purely for gaming. Most are either heavily focused on comfort or built to pass off as a plastic RGB gimmick. And while the lower price-point may cause you to think that the J-Tech represents the latter, it’s actually the best gaming-focused vertical mouse available.

The J-Tech serves as a plug-and-play device. Nothing fancy or outlandish, just a clear ergonomic design with a dash of traditional gaming flair. It even includes a removable palm rest that can be crucial for eliminating wrist pain if you consistently find yourself hanging your hand off the mouse.

It also includes adjustable sensitivity settings that let you scroll between 800, 1,200, and 1,600 DPI presets. While not the most nuanced customization, it does make up for it with an incredibly fast 125 Hz response rate and well-positioned thumb buttons. Plus, the mouse comes in two sizes, with one meant for smaller hands exclusively.  

While it won’t let you customize or remap as much of the device as traditional gaming mice, the J-Tech serves as an inexpensive and ergonomic option. It’s built to last and easy to use, meaning as long as the ergonomic function works for you, you’ll be able to stick with this mouse for a long time. The only real drawback is the case materials, which aren’t as grippy as most gaming or ergonomic mice.

3. Logitech MX Master Mouse

The best wireless vertical mouse

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Manufacturer: Logitech | DPI: 4,000 | Connectivity: Wireless | Buttons: 5 | Weight: 5.12 oz | Price: 💰💰

While this technically isn’t a vertical mouse, if you’re looking for an ergonomic option you can’t overlook the MX Master. Logitech broke into the vertical mouse game long before it seemingly perfected it with the MX Vertical. Their first attempt was a flashier, vertical/ergonomic hybrid with longer battery life and top-notch customization options. You can think of the MX Master as the slightly cooler but less specialized older brother that paved the way for the ergonomic focus of the MX Vertical.

The Master truly feels like a premium mouse option. Its sculpted and contoured shape easily supports your wrist and makes gripping seamless. The polygonal thumb rest even showcases glimpses of what the Vertical would eventually pull off throughout the entire case design.

Keeping with that trend of comfort and performance, you can tell that the folks at Logitech took special care when deciding on button placement. The thumb-buttons are within reach for a quick click while still being far enough under the lip to avoid accidental actions. And the sleek but satisfying primary mouse keys serve as a tactile reminder for every click you make.

Alongside the buttons are the speed-adaptive scroll wheels. And yes, I did say wheels: as in a primary and thumb scroll-wheel. Both of these wheels are built to react to how much pressure you leverage when scrolling, allowing it to switch between a precise click-to-click mode or a free-spinning hyper-fast mode.

And while the MX Vertical may have an impressive battery life, its precursor does just as well with a bit more consistency. It can hold up to a 40-day charge and stores enough for a full day in only four minutes. But unlike the Vertical, these battery metrics are based on heavy use and typically hit the mark every time.

The only drawbacks for the Master are the lack of a fully vertical design and the limited availability due to its age. You’ll likely have an easier time finding the Vertical, but the Master still serves as the older, beefier option that’s almost as comfortable.

4. MOJO Silent Vertical Mouse

The best silent vertical mouse

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Manufacturer: MOJO | DPI: 1,600 | Connectivity: Wireless | Buttons: 6 | Weight: 4 oz | Price: 💰

Finding an effectively silent mouse these days can be difficult, as most are made to release a resounding click. But that’s not the case with the MOJO Silent Vertical Mouse, which lives up to its name as a dead-silent option.

It’s hard to say what makes this mouse so silent, but it likely has to do with the unique vertical design, light-weight shell, and patented “silent buttons.” It takes all three of those elements to make this mouse silent. You can glide across your mouse pad, click furiously, and scroll to your heart’s content without ever hearing a thing. 

But the silent gimmick is somewhat where the praise for this mouse ends. And much of that has to do with the average sizing and positioning of everything else on the mouse. 

While it may be designed for a handshake grip, the middling sizing and high-positioned thumb buttons make this a difficult option to work with. These design choices seriously hurt the ergonomic potential of the mouse and are only salvaged by the six-button setup that allows for some flexibility. It feels like someone thought of one great idea and built a mediocre shell around to support it.

That said, if you have medium-sized hands, and constant clicking annoys you, it may be worth the tradeoff. It sure doesn’t hurt anything that the price-point is so low, making this the perfect introductory mouse to experiment with.

5. Jelly Comb Mouse

The best vertical mouse for small hands

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Manufacturer: Jelly Comb | DPI: 1,600 | Connectivity: Wireless | Buttons: 5 | Weight: 2.39 oz | Price: 💰

If you’re struggling to find a smaller mouse that fits your hand size, look no further than the Jelly Comb wireless mouse. While many small mice skimp out on design or necessary features in favor of a more compact shell, the Jelly Comb finds a way to blend the two naturally. It’s still not the most feature-rich mouse on this list, but it does enough to be useful.

Thanks to the untraditional design, even for a vertical mouse, the Jelly Comb finds a way to achieve the handshake position naturally. It does this by subtly rounding the shell at an open angle rather than utilizing a vertical extension that simulates this position. Pretty cool.

But it’s at this point where the rest of the Jelly Comb’s features fall somewhat flat. Similar to other inexpensive vertical models, this all has to do with the limited customization options. Sure, you can switch up your sensitivity, but only to preset DPI options. And while the mouse is wireless, it requires bulky AA batteries. 

Unfortunately, the main problem seems to be that smaller handed mice are somewhat of a niche. While there are plenty of low-cost options available, they don’t quite hit top-tier status. And aside from its ergonomic design, the Jelly Comb falls into that middling performance trap at every turn.

Don’t get me wrong — the comfort and price make this a worthwhile addition if you’ve been struggling to find smaller ergonomic mice. Just keep in mind that this is not a mouse designed for gaming, and it will have severe limitations. If you’re worried about performance, you may want to check out other ergonomic mice instead before committing.  

Buyer’s Guide: Vertical Mice

Similar to the broader ergonomic mouse category, vertical mice can be difficult to parse through. Many of them are at similar price-points, showcase comparable designs, and tout the ability to help you achieve the neutral handshake position. If you’re struggling to find the right vertical mouse for your needs, consider the following points to narrow down your list.

1. Size and Comfort

Ergonomic design is worthless if the mouse doesn’t fit in your hand. It can be contoured perfectly, include removable finger rests, and even a tactile ridged grip. But if it’s too big or small, you’re going to have a challenging time. That’s why you must start here.

Learn about what’s available to you. Think about how a mouses’ size and weight will affect your ability to grip the casing comfortably. And likewise, pay attention to the placement of any buttons to ensure they’re easily within reach. 

2. Wired vs. Wireless

You’ll find that the wired vs. wireless debate is equally present within vertical mice. That said, since the majority of vertical mice available are less focused on gaming, they’re often wireless. At this point, it’s really up to you to decide if this is a dealbreaker.

3. Performance

The last thing you’ll want to consider is how the mouse actually performs. Again, these are not gaming mice, and they aren’t designed to achieve high-level accuracy. Instead, they provide a mix of minute sensitivity adjustments, four to six customizable buttons, and the ability to map out multiple presets.

Narrow down your favorites and see if you can find a model with the ideal blend of specifications. The perfect ergonomic mouse is out there. You just have to reach out and grab it!

Our Process 

For this guide on vertical gaming mice, our writers spent 4 hours researching over 50 of the most popular options from brands big and small. After comparing this data, we then read over 135 user reviews and narrowed our list down to the top 5 vertical mice on the market. All of this research adds up to recommendations you can trust.

We hope you’ve found the perfect model for your setup. Happy Gaming!

Related Reading

• Best Ergonomic Gaming Mice
• Best Gaming Mice
• Best Wireless Gaming Mice
• Gaming Mice 101