Polling rate test.
Move your mouse in circles and this reads how many times per second it reports its position. It measures the device's own reports rather than your screen's refresh rate, and it tells you which method it used to do it.
Mouse polling rate test
Polling rate
MeasuredMove your mouse in fast circles here
Keep going for a few seconds. Measuring starts on its own.
Not measured yet
Average report rate
Move the mouse in circles for a couple of seconds to get a reading.
0
Peak Hz
—
Steady
0
Samples
Live trace of the measured rate. A flat line is a steady mouse; a ragged one means the reports are arriving unevenly.
How this was measured
Waiting for movement…
Browsers deliver mouse movement in batches tied to your screen's refresh rate, so simply counting movement events measures the monitor rather than the mouse. This test reads the individual reports inside each batch instead.
A browser cannot read the USB polling rate directly, so this is the rate your browser actually received. It separates 125, 500 and 1000 Hz reliably. Above 1000 Hz treat it as indicative and confirm with your mouse's own driver software — the browser, the operating system and background load can all cap what arrives here.
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, no account needed.
In short
- Polling rate is how many times per second your mouse reports its position — 125 Hz means every 8 ms, 1000 Hz means every millisecond.
- A healthy mouse reads close to whatever it is set to. Reading well below that is the useful signal.
- Steadiness matters more than the peak. Reports arriving evenly feel better than a higher rate arriving raggedly.
- No browser can read USB polling directly, so this is the rate your browser received. It separates 125, 500 and 1000 Hz dependably.
What polling rate actually is
Polling rate, also called the mouse report rate, is how many times per second your mouse reports its position and button state to the computer, measured in hertz. At 125 Hz it reports every 8 milliseconds; at 1000 Hz, every millisecond. It is a property of the mouse's firmware and its connection — not of the sensor's precision, which is DPI, and not of how far the cursor travels.
You will see this called several things — a polling rate test, a mouse Hz test, a polling rate checker, a mouse rate checker, an Hz checker or a mouse responsiveness test. They all report the same number, and this page reports it in hertz. As for how to check polling rate on your own mouse: move it in fast circles over the test for a couple of seconds and read the average.
What the numbers on this page mean
Average report rate
The headline figure: how often your mouse reported while you were actually moving it. Pauses are excluded, because a stationary mouse sends nothing and would otherwise drag the average down. This is the number to compare against what your mouse is configured for.
Peak
The fastest sustained stretch measured during the test. Peak sits above the average because no one moves a mouse at a constant speed — it is useful as a check that the hardware can reach its rated rate at least momentarily.
Steady
The share of reports that arrived at a consistent interval, and the figure worth paying attention to. A mouse averaging 1000 Hz but only 60% steady is delivering reports in an irregular rhythm, which feels worse in use than a lower rate arriving evenly.
| Steady | What it means |
|---|---|
| 90-100% | Healthy. What a wired mouse on an unloaded system looks like. |
| 80-90% | Fine. Ordinary background variation. |
| 50-80% | Worth investigating: USB power saving, a wireless receiver too far away or beside a USB 3 port, or a loaded processor. |
| Under 50% | Something is genuinely interfering with the connection. |
What is a normal polling rate
| Rate | One report every | What it usually is |
|---|---|---|
| 125 Hz | 8 ms | The USB default. Office and bundled mice. |
| 250-500 Hz | 4-2 ms | Mid-range, or a gaming mouse turned down. |
| 1000 Hz | 1 ms | The standard setting on a gaming mouse today. |
| 2000-8000 Hz | 0.5-0.125 ms | High-end modes. Need a capable port and receiver. |
A healthy mouse reads close to whatever it is configured for. Reading well below its setting is the useful signal, and usually means USB power saving, a wireless mouse in a low-power state, interference, or a busy processor.
Testing a 4000 Hz or 8000 Hz mouse
This test recognises every standard rate up to 8000 Hz. For a high-rate mouse, set the rate in its software first, plug the mouse or its receiver straight into the computer rather than a hub, and close anything demanding. Above 1000 Hz the reading depends on your browser and processor keeping up, so treat it as confirmation that the rate is in the right range rather than an exact figure — the limit is explained below.
How to change your polling rate
Windows has no polling rate setting — the rate lives in the mouse itself, so it is changed in the manufacturer's utility: Logitech G HUB, Razer Synapse, Corsair iCUE, SteelSeries GG and the equivalents all expose it as "report rate" or "polling rate". Some mice also cycle it with a button underneath, and a few gaming models store it on the device so it survives being plugged into another computer.
Rates above 1000 Hz usually need more than a setting: a wireless mouse generally needs its high-rate dongle, and the port matters. After changing it, run the test again — if the measurement stays at the old figure, the change did not reach the hardware.
Why this measures the mouse and not your monitor
Browsers deliver mouse movement in batches timed to the screen's refresh rate, so counting movement events on a 144 Hz display gives roughly 144 — the monitor's number, not the mouse's. It is an easy mistake to make and a common one to ship.
This test reads the individual reports inside each batch instead, through
pointerrawupdate where the browser provides it and through the coalesced
events inside each movement otherwise. The page states which of the two it used, so
the measurement can be checked rather than trusted.
The limit worth knowing
What this cannot tell you
No browser can read your mouse's USB polling rate directly. What is shown is the rate your browser actually received, which your operating system, your browser and background load can all cap.
It separates 125, 500 and 1000 Hz dependably. Above 1000 Hz, treat it as indicative and confirm the exact figure in your mouse's own driver software. The other caveats that apply to these tools are listed in about this site.
Close other demanding applications before testing, and move the mouse continuously for a few seconds — the measurement needs sustained movement before it will commit to a reading.
Related checks
If reports are arriving unevenly, mouse not working covers the usual causes — USB power management, interference, and port choice. If the buttons themselves are suspect rather than the timing, the mouse tester checks each one and measures double-click intervals, and the click speed test checks whether a worn switch is adding presses you never made.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my polling rate read lower than my mouse is set to?
Most browser polling tests count movement events, and browsers deliver those in step with your screen refresh — which caps them around 125 to 250 Hz no matter how fast your mouse reports. This test avoids that by reading the individual reports inside each batch, so a low reading here means something real. The usual causes are USB power saving, a wireless mouse in a low-power state, interference, or a busy processor.
How to test mouse lag?
Measure the polling rate above and read two figures, not one. The average tells you how often the mouse reports; the steadiness percentage tells you whether those reports arrive evenly, and uneven reporting is what actually feels like lag even when the average looks correct. If both are healthy, the delay is elsewhere — most often the monitor, the game, or a loaded processor.
What mouse has 0 delay?
None, because zero is not physically possible: the sensor has to sample, the mouse has to transmit, and the computer has to process. A wired mouse at 1000 Hz has roughly one millisecond between reports, and a modern 2.4 GHz wireless mouse is close enough that the difference is not perceptible. Bluetooth is the slower option and is worth avoiding for gaming.
Does a higher polling rate actually make a difference?
Going from 125 Hz to 500 or 1000 Hz is a clear improvement that most people can feel, because it cuts the delay between moving and seeing from 8 ms to 1-2 ms. Beyond 1000 Hz the returns are very small and mainly matter on high-refresh displays. Steady reporting at 1000 Hz beats an unsteady higher number every time.
Why does the test need me to keep moving the mouse?
Because a stationary mouse sends nothing, and a brief flick gives too few samples to say anything honest about. The reading only appears after about 1.5 seconds of actual movement, which is enough for the average and the steadiness figure to be meaningful. Pauses are excluded rather than counted as slow reporting.
Why is my PC mouse so laggy?
Usually the connection or the computer rather than the mouse itself: a wireless receiver too far away or beside a USB 3 port, a weak battery, USB power saving, or a busy processor. Measure the polling rate above. If the average sits far below the setting or the reports are unsteady, fix the connection first; if both look healthy, the lag is coming from the game, the display or system load.