Your device
Polling rate test
This test needs a mouse. A touch screen has no mouse to measure, so try the refresh rate test instead.Press Start, then move your mouse in big circles for a couple of seconds.
It takes about two seconds of moving.
About this polling rate test
This polling rate test measures how often your mouse tells the computer where it is. That rate is called the polling rate and is counted in hertz (Hz): a mouse at 125 Hz reports 125 times a second, a gaming mouse at 1000 Hz a thousand times. Press Start and move the mouse in big circles until the bar is full. The page keeps the time of every report the browser gives it and works out the rate from them. It is free, needs no account, and nothing you measure leaves your device.
How the test works
- Press Start. A box appears in which each report of your mouse is drawn as a dot.
- Move the mouse in big, steady circles. Do not lift it or stop: the bar fills with movement, not with time.
- Read the rate and the sentence under it. If the page cannot tell whether the number is the mouse's, it says so.
- Open How we measured this to see the spread of the gaps between reports, then try again if you like.
What does the number mean?
Office mice often report at 125 Hz. Many mice report at 500 Hz or 1000 Hz, and newer gaming mice at 2000 Hz, 4000 Hz or 8000 Hz. A higher rate means the computer learns about each small move sooner, which can make the pointer feel smoother, mostly in fast games. The page says when the number is close to one of these rates.
There is no good or bad rate. For orientation, the result sets a rate your browser reports as the mouse's own beside the report rates one gaming-mouse maker offers, from 125 to 1,000 (the maker's figure)[1] a second[1]: a reference fact, not a ranking. The result tells you what your browser reported in this check. A browser does not hand over every report, so a faster mouse can read lower here than on its box. That is why the page marks some readings as a lower bound, as the screen's rate, or as impossible to tell, and then quotes no figure beside them.
How we measure
We count the reports of each stroke over the time the stroke spans, not the typical gap between two reports. Browsers round the times of reports to a coarse clock, and the typical gap of a very fast mouse then reads far too high. The count, with each stroke's span lengthened by one step of the clock, does not.
Only reports of a mouse count, and only those that come from your own hand. Fewer than 30 gaps between reports is too little to give a rate, so such a check is not saved. Your result is kept in this browser only; you can read about us to see who makes the site.
Why the number can be lower than the box says
- The mouse may be set to a lower rate in its own software. Many gaming mice have a switch or a setting for it.
- A wireless mouse may run slower to save its battery, or on a weak connection.
- A very busy computer, or a browser with many open tabs, may drop reports.
- The browser may hand over fewer reports than the mouse sends. Try another browser and compare.
Does a higher rate matter?
For everyday work, hardly at all. For fast games on a screen with a high refresh rate, a mouse at 1000 Hz or more can feel smoother than one at 125 Hz, because the pointer's position is updated more often. Very high rates also load the computer more, which on an older machine can slow other things down. Pick the rate that feels right and runs well.
Questions
What is a polling rate?
It is how often your mouse reports its position to the computer, counted in reports a second, or hertz.
Is the polling rate test free?
Yes. There is no account and no sign-up, and the reading stays in this browser.
Why does the page say it cannot tell my mouse's rate?
In some browsers the reports arrive once for each screen frame, so the number is the screen's rate. The page also cannot tell when it has not measured your screen. It says so instead of guessing.
Does it work with a trackpad or a phone?
No. Only reports of a mouse count. Use a mouse, or try the refresh rate test, which works on any screen.
Sources
- Logitech (2026). Customize G PRO gaming mouse pointer settings with Logitech Gaming Software. Logitech Support.https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360023183294-Customize-G-PRO-gaming-mouse-pointer-settings-with-Logitech-Gaming-Software
A gaming mouse and its settings, as the maker describes them