Best for
If you’re interested in trying a vertical mouse, the Logitech Lift is the most comfortable option for the widest range of hand sizes.
Vertical mice have a learning curve, but if you’re interested in one, we recommend the Logitech Lift. Of the vertical mice I’ve tested over the years, this model has the most comfortable size and shape, and our panel testers of various hand sizes found that it held their wrists at a neutral angle. The Lift’s buttons are all easy to reach and to activate, and it can connect to multiple devices via Bluetooth or its included USB dongle. Logitech also sells a left-handed model, as well as a Mac version.
Vertical mice can relieve some types of pain, but they’re not a magical cure-all. Several Wirecutter staffers have used the Lift for more than a year and found it helpful to alleviate wrist pain; I also swap to it when my ulnar-nerve issues flare up. But Carisa Harris-Adamson, co-director of the human factors and ergonomics program at University of California Berkeley, told us that comfort depends on many factors beyond a mouse’s angle, including whether your hand size fits the mouse, how much the mouse weighs, and what tasks you’re doing and how frequently. For anyone looking to relieve existing pain, Harris-Adamson recommends that they “try a different mouse and listen to their body and see how it feels” and to use keyboard and mouse shortcuts to minimize clicking and dragging.
The Lift is a comfortable size and shape for a range of hand sizes. It successfully positioned most of our panel testers’ hands and arms in a more neutral position, though our smallest-handed tester was forced to angle her wrist uncomfortably to grip it. For most of our testers, though, the Lift’s size and gentle angle were more comfortable than those of other vertical mice we tested; the Logitech MX Vertical and Anker Wireless Vertical models, for example, were both uncomfortably large for average-size hands. Harris-Adamson told us that the Lift is one of the mice she uses.
But vertical mice take some getting used to. The Lift’s ergonomic shape and gentler, 57-degree angle have an easier learning curve than other vertical mice I’ve tested, which are larger and have steeper angles. Even so, our panel testers found the Lift’s design polarizing. Multiple testers called it “surprisingly comfortable.” One said, “It’s an absolute gem; maybe other people don’t like it, but I love it.” But another tester said, “It’s just wrong, we’re not vibing.”
Its six buttons are easy to reach and quiet. Some of our panelists felt more natural pressing the right-click button with their ring finger and resting their middle finger on the scroll wheel. As with our top picks, you can use Logitech’s Options+ software to customize the Lift’s buttons and pointer speed, though our testers liked the default settings.
It can pair with up to three devices, and it offers long battery life. The Lift can pair via Bluetooth or the included Logi Bolt USB receiver. The mouse has a handy cavity to store the dongle when you aren’t using it. Logitech claims that the Lift’s single AA battery will last for two years, just as with our top pick, and the battery is easy to replace.
Like our top pick, the Logitech Lift doesn’t work on glass. We haven’t yet tested a vertical mouse that does.
