Trackball vs mouse: how they differ and who each suits

A mouse moves across the desk under your whole hand; a trackball stays still while your thumb or fingers roll a ball set into it. A trackball needs almost no desk space and lets you click without moving the pointer; a mouse is faster and more precise for most people, which is why competitive players use one. Studies have not shown that either is better for most work, so if your wrist or your desk is the problem, try both.

Test any mouse or trackball's buttons

Thumb or finger trackball

• Thumb trackballs are shaped like a mouse with the ball under your thumb, and your fingers on the buttons. They are usually made for the right hand only.
• Finger trackballs put a larger ball in the middle, rolled with your index, middle and ring fingers. Many are symmetrical, so they suit either hand, though you may need the maker's software to swap the buttons.
• Scrolling is a wheel, as on a mouse, or a ring you spin around the ball.

What a trackball is good at

• Little or no space: it works on a small desk, beside a laptop in bed, on an armchair or on a moving surface, where a mouse has nowhere to go.
• Clicking without moving the pointer: you can let go of the ball and press a button, which helps with precise clicks and with double-clicking for anyone who finds holding a mouse still hard.
• Moving less of your arm: only the thumb or fingers move, which is why some people with limited mobility use one. Others find the thumb tires instead.

What a mouse is better at

Speed and precision for most people. Moving the whole device with the arm and wrist covers large distances fast and stops accurately, and almost everyone already knows how to use one. Trackballs once appeared in esports because ball mice were unreliable, but since optical mice arrived they have become extremely rare there.

Is a trackball good for gaming?

For strategy games, point-and-click and anything without quick aiming, yes: it is precise and needs no room. Arcade games were built around trackballs, from Atari Football to Missile Command and Centipede. For shooters, where a flick across the screen has to stop on a target, a mouse is the usual choice, because the arm makes a large, fast movement more easily than a thumb on a ball.

Which is more comfortable?

No study has shown one pointing device to be best for most work, so comfort is personal: some people move to a trackball to rest a sore wrist, others find their thumb aches instead. Whichever you use, keep it close to the keyboard at elbow height and take breaks (typing posture).

Test and compare yours here

Every test on this site works with a trackball as well as a mouse. The mouse test shows each button press, the double click test catches a button that clicks twice, and the polling rate test shows how often it reports movement. To compare the two fairly, take the aim test with each a few times: it is the same course every run.

Source: Wikipedia, Trackball.