Mouse Polling Rate Tester
Measure how often your mouse reports its position — its polling rate, in hertz. Move your cursor around inside the box below; the faster and longer you move, the more accurate the reading.
Move your mouse here to measure
Move your mouse in the box to begin — the faster you move, the more cleanly we can sample its polling rate.
How it works
Browsers normally bundle mouse movements into one event per frame, so simply counting mousemove events would just measure your refresh rate. To see the real polling rate we read getCoalescedEvents(), which exposes every raw sample the browser received between frames. Counting those samples over time gives the rate in hertz. Because a mouse only reports while it's moving, you have to keep the cursor moving for a reading.
What's a normal polling rate?
Standard office mice poll at 125 Hz (every 8 ms). Gaming mice typically run 500 or 1000 Hz, and the latest wired models push 4000 or 8000 Hz. A higher rate means lower, more consistent input latency — though past 1000 Hz the real-world difference is small. The "Max" figure is the best estimate of your mouse's capability.
For the most accurate reading
- Move continuously in fast, wide circles — brief or slow movements undersample.
- Treat the result as a floor: if the browser or system is busy it can drop samples, so your true rate may be a little higher than shown.
- Use a wired connection or the dongle's high-speed mode if your mouse has one.
- Keep this tab focused and close other demanding apps while testing.
Frequently asked questions
What is mouse polling rate?
Polling rate is how often your mouse reports its position to your computer, measured in hertz (Hz). A 1000 Hz mouse sends an update once every millisecond, while a 125 Hz mouse reports once every 8 milliseconds. A higher polling rate means the computer receives more frequent, fresher information about where the mouse is, which can make cursor motion feel smoother and slightly reduce input lag.
What's the difference between polling rate and DPI?
They are completely separate settings that are often confused. DPI (dots per inch) is sensitivity, controlling how far the cursor moves on screen for a given physical movement of the mouse, while polling rate controls how often the mouse reports its position. Changing one does not change the other: an 800 DPI mouse stays at 800 DPI whether it polls at 125 Hz or 1000 Hz. In short, DPI affects how far the cursor travels, and polling rate affects how frequently that movement is updated.
What polling rate is normal, and what are 4000 Hz and 8000 Hz mice?
Basic office mice often run at 125 Hz, while gaming mice typically offer 500 Hz and 1000 Hz, with 1000 Hz (a 1 ms reporting interval) being the long-standing standard for gaming. Newer high-end mice advertise 4000 Hz and 8000 Hz, which shorten the interval between reports to 0.25 ms and 0.125 ms respectively. These extreme rates aim to reduce latency further, but they also place more load on your system and, on wireless mice, drain the battery faster.
Does a higher polling rate actually matter for gaming?
Going from 125 Hz to 1000 Hz is an easy, worthwhile improvement that most people can feel. Beyond 1000 Hz the gains shrink quickly and are hard to perceive unless you pair the mouse with a very high refresh rate monitor and a capable CPU, since your screen can only display updates as fast as it refreshes. Very high rates like 8000 Hz also increase CPU usage, which on some systems can cause frame drops, so for most players 1000 Hz remains a sensible choice.
How do I change my mouse's polling rate?
For most gaming mice you change it in the manufacturer's software, such as Logitech G HUB, Razer Synapse, or Corsair iCUE, usually under a setting labeled "polling rate" or "report rate." Some mice also let you switch rates with a dedicated button or a button combination held while plugging in, so check your model's manual. Note that Windows' built-in mouse settings only adjust things like pointer speed and do not change the true hardware polling rate, and many basic office mice have a fixed rate that cannot be changed.
Why does a browser polling rate test show a lower or fluctuating number?
Browsers normally merge several mouse updates into one event per frame for performance, so a tester relies on the PointerEvent getCoalescedEvents method (available mainly in Chromium-based browsers) to recover those individual updates. Even then, the measured rate depends on browser timing, CPU load, and background apps, so a 1000 Hz mouse may read slightly under 1000 Hz or vary during the test. The rate also drops naturally when you move slowly, since many mice send fewer updates then, so move continuously and watch the peak value for the most representative result.