400 DPI
Long-time choice for competitive shooters played at high sensitivity. Needs big arm movements.
Mouse DPI Test: What DPI Is My Mouse Really At?
Drag the mouse a known distance — a ruler, or the long side of a bank card — and the test counts what the sensor reports. Three runs give your real DPI and whether it matches the setting.
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You need a ruler or a bank card. Lay it flat next to the mouse, line the front edge of the mouse up with one end, then drag the mouse straight to the other end. Do not lift it. Three runs are enough.
1 · What you will measure against
2 · Click the box, then hold the left button and drag
—DPI
Click here to capture the mouse. The cursor disappears until you press Esc.
- Runs
- 0
- Counts this run
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- Median
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- Spread
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Method: not started.
Short answer
Lay a ruler or bank card next to the mouse, click the box to capture the mouse, then hold the left button and drag exactly that distance. The counts the sensor reports, divided by the distance in inches, is your DPI. Three runs within a few percent of each other give a reliable number. Chrome and Edge read raw sensor counts; other browsers include pointer speed.
How to use it
- Get a ruler or a bank card. Lay it flat on the mouse pad beside the mouse. A bank card is 85.6 mm along its long side, so it works when there is no ruler.
- Enter your setting. Optional: type the DPI set in the mouse software. The result then says whether the mouse is really running at it.
- Capture and drag. Click the box. Line the front edge of the mouse up with the start of the card, hold the left button, drag straight to the end and let go. Lift and move back without the button held.
- Do three runs. The median of three runs is the result. If they disagree by more than 8%, go slower and keep the mouse against the edge of the ruler.
How this mouse DPI test works
DPI — strictly CPI, counts per inch — is how many movement counts the sensor reports for each inch the mouse travels. A website cannot see your desk, so this test uses something you can measure: you drag the mouse a known distance and it adds up every count the mouse sends. Counts divided by inches is the DPI.
The long side of a bank card, credit card or ID card is 85.6 mm — the same on every card made to the standard size — so it makes a ruler you always have with you.
Raw counts vs pointer movement
Your operating system normally scales mouse movement before any app sees it: pointer speed and acceleration make the cursor travel further for fast movements. That is useful for a cursor and useless for a mouse DPI checker.
- Chrome and Edge can ask for unadjusted movement while the mouse is captured, which reports the raw sensor counts. The method line under the stats says when this worked.
- Firefox and Safari report movement after scaling. The test still runs, but pointer speed is part of the number. On Windows, setting pointer speed to the middle notch and turning off Enhance pointer precision makes it close to 1:1.
What DPI is my mouse at? Reading the result
| Result | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Within 5% of your setting | It is running at the setting. Sensors and ruler readings both vary by a few percent. |
| 5–15% off | Normal for many sensors, especially on unusual surfaces. Adjust in 50-DPI steps if you need it exact. |
| Close to double or half | The mouse is on a different DPI stage or profile. |
| Runs disagree by more than 8% | The measurement, not the mouse. Go slower and keep the mouse against the ruler edge. |
How to check mouse DPI without software
Office mice and many budget gaming mice have no software, and the DPI button often cycles through stages with only a coloured light to show which one is active. Run the test once on each stage: you get the real number for every colour, which most manuals never list.
DPI, sensitivity and eDPI
DPI is only half of how fast the cursor or crosshair moves. In games, multiply DPI by in-game sensitivity to get eDPI and compare that with other players. On the desktop, pointer speed does the same job. If you change DPI, change sensitivity the other way to keep the same feel.
What this DPI analyzer cannot do
- It cannot read the DPI stage stored in the mouse — only what the sensor does when it moves.
- It cannot measure lift-off distance, acceleration built into the sensor, or angle snapping.
- Accuracy is limited by how precisely you start and stop at the marks. Longer distances help: 4 inches is more forgiving than 2.
To check the other half of sensor performance — how often the mouse reports — run the Mouse Polling Rate Test.
Common DPI settings
800 DPI
The most common gaming setting and the default on many mice. Easy to compare sensitivity with other players.
1600 DPI
Smoother small movements; common default on newer gaming mice. Pair it with a lower in-game sensitivity.
3200 DPI and up
Useful on 4K desktops so the pointer crosses the screen without lifting the mouse. Rarely needed for games.
If something goes wrong
The result is double or half my setting
The mouse is on a different DPI stage. Press the DPI button — usually behind the wheel or underneath — or check which profile the mouse software has loaded, then run it again.
Every run reads high in Firefox or Safari
Those browsers include pointer speed and acceleration. Use Chrome or Edge for raw counts, or on Windows set pointer speed to the middle notch and turn off Enhance pointer precision.
The cursor jumps or the numbers jitter
Clean the sensor window and try a cloth mouse pad. Glass, glossy desks and patterned surfaces confuse optical sensors.
FAQ
How do I check my mouse DPI?
Open the mouse software if it has one — it shows the active DPI stage. To check what the sensor really does, measure it: drag the mouse a known distance in this mouse DPI test and divide the counts by the inches moved.
What is my mouse DPI if I do not know the model?
Run the test with no setting entered. You get the measured DPI and the nearest standard stage, such as 800 or 1600. Office mice without software are commonly around 1000 DPI.
Can a website measure DPI accurately?
Within a few percent, if the browser reads raw counts. Chrome and Edge can ignore pointer speed and acceleration through Pointer Lock; other browsers report movement after the system has scaled it, so treat their number as an estimate. Your ruler accuracy is the other limit.
Is 800 or 1600 DPI better?
Neither is more accurate on a modern sensor. What matters is the combination with in-game sensitivity. Many players pick 800 or 1600 and tune sensitivity from there; a higher DPI with lower sensitivity gives smoother small movements.
What is eDPI?
Effective DPI: your DPI multiplied by the in-game sensitivity. 800 DPI at 0.5 sensitivity and 400 DPI at 1.0 both give 400 eDPI — the same distance on the mouse pad turns you the same amount.
Why does DPI change on a different mouse pad?
Sensors track the texture under them, and some surfaces read slightly long or short. A few percent is normal. A large change usually means the surface is too glossy or too uniform for the sensor.
Sources
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