Mouse Polling Rate Test — Measure Your Hz
- Closest standard rate
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- Polling rate
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- Peak
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- Median interval
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The browser cannot read your hardware directly. This measures how often position updates actually arrive, which is a floor rather than a specification: it can read low if the browser merges events or if your hand slows, but it will not read higher than your mouse can send. Touch screens cannot be measured — this test is mouse-only.
About the Mouse Polling Rate Test
Polling rate is how often a mouse tells the computer where it is, measured in hertz. An office mouse typically reports 125 times a second; gaming mice usually run at 500 or 1000, and recent wireless models advertise 4000 or 8000. Stated as time, these are the same numbers: 125 hertz is one report every 8 milliseconds, 1000 hertz one every millisecond — and that time is what the median interval shows. Higher rates shorten the delay between moving your hand and the pointer moving, which matters most in fast games and much less in everyday work.
A browser cannot ask your mouse what it is set to. What it can see is when position updates arrive, so this test measures the gaps between them and converts the result to hertz. Move the mouse quickly and continuously across the pad: the hardware limit only shows up while the mouse is genuinely in motion, because a still mouse sends nothing.
The headline figure is deliberately a median of the fastest quarter of samples rather than the single shortest gap. One accidental short interval would otherwise report a rate your mouse cannot produce. The peak is shown separately so you can see the difference.
How to measure your polling rate
- Move your mouse across the shaded pad in fast, continuous circles.
- Keep moving until the sample counter climbs past a hundred or so.
- Read the polling rate. The closest standard step tells you the likely setting — this test compares your reading against 125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 and 8000 Hz.
- Compare with the peak figure. A large gap means events are being merged.
- Press Reset and repeat if you want a second opinion.
Frequently asked questions
What polling rate should I be using?
For everyday work, 125 hertz is genuinely enough and uses less battery on a wireless mouse. For fast games, 500 or 1000 hertz noticeably reduces input delay. Beyond 1000 the returns get very small, and few people can perceive the difference in a blind comparison.
My result is far below what my mouse claims. Why?
Browsers do not always deliver every update separately — several can be merged into one event, especially when the page is busy or the display refreshes more slowly than the mouse reports. This measurement is a floor, not a specification, so a low reading does not prove your mouse is misconfigured.
Why do I have to keep moving the mouse?
A stationary mouse sends nothing at all, so there are no intervals to measure. The hardware rate only becomes visible while the mouse is actually in motion, which is why the test asks for fast, continuous movement.
Does polling rate affect battery life?
On a wireless mouse, substantially. Reporting eight thousand times a second consumes far more power than 125, and many wireless mice ship at a lower default rate for exactly that reason. Wired mice draw power from the cable, so it makes no difference there.
Can I change my polling rate?
Usually yes. Gaming mice expose the setting in their own software, and some have a button underneath that cycles through rates. Basic office mice are generally fixed at 125 hertz with no way to change it.
Is my mouse movement recorded?
No. Only the time between events is used, and even that exists solely in the page while it is open. No coordinates, no movement data and no results are sent anywhere.
Is the Mouse Polling Rate Test free, and do I need the manufacturer's software?
Free, with no account and nothing to install. Vendor software is what you need in order to change a polling rate. Seeing one takes nothing but the ordinary mouse events every web page already receives. That is why this works with a mouse whose maker never shipped a utility, and on an operating system the utility does not support.
Does it work with a wireless mouse?
Yes, and the answer it gives is often the interesting part. A wireless mouse reports at the rate of the link it is using, so the same mouse can measure one way through its own 2.4GHz dongle and considerably lower over Bluetooth, which usually settles at a much more modest rate. If the number surprises you, check which of the two you are connected on.