How to Check Mouse DPI on Windows and Mac

The fastest way: measure it

A measured test works on every mouse, with or without software. You move the mouse a known distance and count the steps it reports. Our DPI analyzer does the counting in the browser:

1. Put a ruler next to your mouse, or use the long side of a bank card, which is 8.56 cm on every standard card.
2. Open the DPI analyzer, set the distance and press Start measuring.
3. Click once, slide the mouse along the ruler to the end mark, click again.
4. Do three runs. The page shows the average and the closest common DPI step.

This takes under a minute and gives you the number your games actually receive. Use Chrome or Edge if you can; they pass the raw sensor counts to the page.

How to check mouse DPI on Windows

Windows 10 and 11 have no DPI readout. What they have is pointer speed, which is a separate multiplier applied after the mouse reports its counts. To see the DPI setting itself, use the maker's app.

With the mouse software

Gaming mice from the big brands come with an app: Logitech G HUB, Razer Synapse, SteelSeries GG and Corsair iCUE are common ones. Open it, select your mouse, and look for a section called DPI, CPI or Sensitivity. It lists the DPI steps, usually with the active one highlighted.

If the app is not installed, the maker's support page for your model links to it. Some newer mice also have a web based configurator that works in the browser.

Without software

Look up your exact model on the maker's site. The spec sheet lists the DPI range and often the default steps. Then press the DPI button, if your mouse has one, and watch the light: many mice change color for each preset, and the manual says which color is which DPI.

That still gives you the setting, not the real value. To get the real value, measure it.

Check your Windows pointer settings while you are there

These do not change DPI, but they change how DPI feels on the desktop and they matter for any test that does not use raw input.

• Open Settings, then Bluetooth and devices, then Mouse. The Mouse pointer speed slider runs from 1 to 20. The middle, 10, is neutral.
• Click Additional mouse settings and open the Pointer Options tab. The middle notch, 6 of 11, is the same neutral speed. At this speed one count moves the cursor one pixel.
• On the same tab, Enhance pointer precision is Windows' pointer acceleration. It makes the cursor travel further when you move fast. Most players turn it off for consistent aim. Games that use raw input ignore it anyway.

How to check mouse DPI on a Mac

macOS does not show DPI either. The steps are the same idea:

• Maker's app. Most gaming mouse apps have a macOS version. The DPI section shows the steps and the active one.
• Spec sheet and DPI button. Same as on Windows.
• Measure it. Use the DPI analyzer in Chrome or Edge. Safari and Firefox on macOS apply the system's pointer acceleration before the page sees the movement, so their reading is less reliable.

macOS settings live under System Settings, then Mouse. Tracking speed scales the cursor, like pointer speed on Windows. Recent macOS versions also have a Pointer acceleration switch under the Advanced button. Neither one changes the DPI the mouse reports.

What if my mouse has no software and no DPI button?

Then it almost certainly has one fixed DPI. Office mice commonly sit somewhere between 800 and 1,600. The packaging may print it; if not, measuring is the only way to know. It is also the only way to know whether a cheap mouse really does what its box says.

Comparing the four methods

Why the measured number can differ from the setting

Sensors are built to a tolerance, so a gap of a few percent is normal. Bigger gaps usually come from the test, not the sensor: pointer acceleration, a pointer speed away from the middle, display scaling, or a ruler you did not quite reach. The mouse DPI test compares your setting with the measured value and explains each cause.

Once you know your DPI

Multiply it by your in-game sensitivity to get your eDPI, which is the number worth comparing with other players. If you are not sure your DPI is a good choice, read what DPI you should use.