The Logitech MX Ergo Advanced Wireless Trackball Mouse was our former upgrade pick, but it has since been discontinued. The new version we recommend replaces this mouse’s Micro-USB port with a USB-C charging port and offers quieter clicks. But if neither of those things matter to you, keep an eye out for the previous MX Ergo Advanced, which you can purchase for roughly $20 less while it’s still in stock.

We used to recommend the Kensington Expert Mouse Wireless Trackball, but for a similar price the SlimBlade Pro Wireless offers a more comfortable and flatter form, more connectivity options, a smoother scroll ring, and a rechargeable battery.

The Kensington Orbit Fusion Wireless Trackball is a finger-controlled trackball that’s about the size of a thumb-controlled trackball. Our tester experienced the same problems noted in a number of Amazon reviews, namely connection issues and erratic tracking. It also works only with a USB dongle—it has no Bluetooth support, which should be present in any trackball over $50.

In our tests, the Kensington Orbit Trackball Mouse felt cheap and tended to slide around on a desk because it was light and its rubber feet weren’t sticky enough. It doesn’t give you a way to scroll aside from pressing the Scroll Lock key on your keyboard and moving the ball, and getting the hang of that motion required some significant rewiring in our brains.

The Kensington Orbit Wireless Trackball Mouse has a touch-sensitive scroll ring that was faulty in our tests and fatiguing to use. In addition, this mouse might be too small for people with bigger hands, and the buttons felt clicky and hollow.

Our testers found the Kensington Pro Fit Ergo TB450 Trackball and Pro Fit Ergo TB550 Trackball difficult to use and too big to fit comfortably in smaller hands.

We found the tracking on the Kensington Pro Fit Ergo Vertical Wired Trackball to be stuttery and inaccurate, and the scroll ring was sticky.

Instead of giving you a hardware scroll ring, the Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Mouse asks you to rotate the ball to scroll, which we found tough to do without bouncing the pointer around the screen. The SlimBlade’s buttons felt hollow, and its shiny plastic and metal surfaces attracted fingerprints.

The Logitech Ergo M575 Wireless Trackball was a previous pick in this guide, and it’s still a solid trackball with great build quality. But it isn’t rechargeable, it lacks a built-in DPI button, and it pairs to only one device via Bluetooth. We dismissed the newer version of this mouse, the Ergo M575S, for all of the same reasons.

The Elecom M-HT1DRBK is a cult favorite, but we never acclimated to the button location or trackball position. It’s packed with eight keys and even has a DPI switch and a scroll wheel on the side. It’s also huge, taking up even more desk space than the Kensington Expert Mouse, a previous pick. We were unable to get the software working on a Mac, and the Windows software isn’t translated well into English, which makes it awkward to use. Because of those software quirks, as well as some middling Amazon reviews that mention quality-control problems, we decided not to test the majority of Elecom’s trackball line. They’re popular in enthusiast circles, though, and if you don’t mind dealing with awkward software, Elecom is the only company that makes a left-handed thumb-operated trackball.

We dismissed the Elecom Deft because the scroll ring makes the whole mouse creak, and the ball can pop out of place if you spin it too fast or with too much force.

The buttons on the Elecom EX-G Pro are too close together, and the almost-flat positioning wasn’t as comfortable for our testers’ hands as other angled thumb-operated options. It also had a mushy middle-click button, and the scroll wheel was faulty and sometimes unresponsive.

We declined to test boutique trackballs from Ploopy and X-keys, as they’re not widely available. But trackball enthusiasts like them, and they’re worth a look if you’re interested in something more customizable or unusual.

This article was edited by Arthur Gies and Signe Brewster.

The Logitech MX Ergo Advanced Wireless Trackball Mouse was our former upgrade pick, but it has since been discontinued. The new version we recommend replaces this mouse’s Micro-USB port with a USB-C charging port and offers quieter clicks. But if neither of those things matter to you, keep an eye out for the previous MX Ergo Advanced, which you can purchase for roughly $20 less while it’s still in stock.

We used to recommend the Kensington Expert Mouse Wireless Trackball, but for a similar price the SlimBlade Pro Wireless offers a more comfortable and flatter form, more connectivity options, a smoother scroll ring, and a rechargeable battery.

The Kensington Orbit Fusion Wireless Trackball is a finger-controlled trackball that’s about the size of a thumb-controlled trackball. Our tester experienced the same problems noted in a number of Amazon reviews, namely connection issues and erratic tracking. It also works only with a USB dongle—it has no Bluetooth support, which should be present in any trackball over $50.

In our tests, the Kensington Orbit Trackball Mouse felt cheap and tended to slide around on a desk because it was light and its rubber feet weren’t sticky enough. It doesn’t give you a way to scroll aside from pressing the Scroll Lock key on your keyboard and moving the ball, and getting the hang of that motion required some significant rewiring in our brains.

The Kensington Orbit Wireless Trackball Mouse has a touch-sensitive scroll ring that was faulty in our tests and fatiguing to use. In addition, this mouse might be too small for people with bigger hands, and the buttons felt clicky and hollow.

Our testers found the Kensington Pro Fit Ergo TB450 Trackball and Pro Fit Ergo TB550 Trackball difficult to use and too big to fit comfortably in smaller hands.

We found the tracking on the Kensington Pro Fit Ergo Vertical Wired Trackball to be stuttery and inaccurate, and the scroll ring was sticky.

Instead of giving you a hardware scroll ring, the Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Mouse asks you to rotate the ball to scroll, which we found tough to do without bouncing the pointer around the screen. The SlimBlade’s buttons felt hollow, and its shiny plastic and metal surfaces attracted fingerprints.

The Logitech Ergo M575 Wireless Trackball was a previous pick in this guide, and it’s still a solid trackball with great build quality. But it isn’t rechargeable, it lacks a built-in DPI button, and it pairs to only one device via Bluetooth. We dismissed the newer version of this mouse, the Ergo M575S, for all of the same reasons.

The Elecom M-HT1DRBK is a cult favorite, but we never acclimated to the button location or trackball position. It’s packed with eight keys and even has a DPI switch and a scroll wheel on the side. It’s also huge, taking up even more desk space than the Kensington Expert Mouse, a previous pick. We were unable to get the software working on a Mac, and the Windows software isn’t translated well into English, which makes it awkward to use. Because of those software quirks, as well as some middling Amazon reviews that mention quality-control problems, we decided not to test the majority of Elecom’s trackball line. They’re popular in enthusiast circles, though, and if you don’t mind dealing with awkward software, Elecom is the only company that makes a left-handed thumb-operated trackball.

We dismissed the Elecom Deft because the scroll ring makes the whole mouse creak, and the ball can pop out of place if you spin it too fast or with too much force.

The buttons on the Elecom EX-G Pro are too close together, and the almost-flat positioning wasn’t as comfortable for our testers’ hands as other angled thumb-operated options. It also had a mushy middle-click button, and the scroll wheel was faulty and sometimes unresponsive.

We declined to test boutique trackballs from Ploopy and X-keys, as they’re not widely available. But trackball enthusiasts like them, and they’re worth a look if you’re interested in something more customizable or unusual.

This article was edited by Arthur Gies and Signe Brewster.