Click speed test
Ten seconds, counted from your first click rather than from when the page loaded. The result is clicks per second, which is the number people compare — and which turns out to be a decent early warning for a mouse switch on its way out.
Click as fast as you can. The clock starts on your first click.
- Clicks per second—
- Clicks0
- Time left—
How it works
Click the pad as fast as you can. The clock starts on your first click and runs for ten seconds, then stops and shows the result.
Ten seconds rather than five: a shorter test rewards a burst of speed nobody can sustain, and the number comes out flattering and meaningless. Ten is long enough that the score reflects something real.
Where the scores come from
| Clicks per second | What it usually is |
|---|---|
| Under 4 | Deliberate clicking |
| 5–8 | Normal fast clicking with one finger |
| 8–12 | Two fingers alternating |
| Above 12 | A drag or butterfly technique, or a mouse doing some of it for you |
That last row is worth taking seriously. If you are clicking normally and seeing a number well above what your hand is doing, the extra clicks are coming from the switch rather than from you — which is a fault rather than a score.
The techniques, and what they cost
The scores above 8 mostly come from technique rather than from a faster finger, and each technique is worth knowing about because two of them are hard on the mouse.
Jitter clicking is tensing the forearm so the hand vibrates and the finger taps the button many times a second. It produces 10–14 and is exhausting, and it is the one that does no harm to the switch — the button is being pressed normally, just quickly.
Butterfly clicking is two fingers alternating on the same button. Easier to sustain, 12–20 on a good day, and again ordinary presses as far as the switch is concerned. Some games ban it as an unfair advantage; that is a rules question, not a hardware one.
Drag clicking is dragging a finger across the button so that friction makes it skip, and each skip is a press. It scores 20–30 or more and it is the one that matters here: a drag click works by making the switch bounce, which is precisely the failure the double click test looks for in a worn switch. A mouse used this way regularly develops the double-click fault early, and a mouse that scores far above what your hand is doing without any of these techniques already has it.
The more useful test
If you came here because your mouse feels wrong rather than to compare a number, the double click test is the one to run. It looks at the gap between clicks rather than the total, which is what separates a fast hand from a worn switch: no finger produces a gap of five milliseconds, and a failing switch produces little else.
And if the question is whether the mouse works at all rather than how fast it can be made to go, start further back. The general mouse test lights up each of the five buttons, both wheel directions and the pointer as they report, so a button that has quietly stopped answering shows itself immediately — which is the finding a score can never give you, because a dead button simply does not appear in a total.
Common questions
What is an average score?
Most people land between five and eight clicks per second clicking normally with one finger. Above ten usually means a technique rather than speed — alternating two fingers, or dragging a fingertip across the button so it bounces. Those techniques are what the very high scores are made of.
Why does the timer start on my first click?
Because otherwise it would be measuring how long you spent reading this page. The clock starts when you do, so the ten seconds are all yours.
Can this tell me something about my mouse?
Yes, and it is the more useful reading. If your click count comes out noticeably higher than it feels like you clicked, some of those clicks were not yours — that is a switch bouncing, and the double click test measures it properly by looking at the gaps rather than the total.
Does a faster mouse improve the score?
Barely. Polling rate affects when a click is reported, by a millisecond or two, not how many the switch can register. What does matter is the switch itself: lighter switches with a shorter travel are quicker to actuate repeatedly, which is why the mice marketed for this have them.
Will clicking like this damage my mouse?
Switches are rated in the tens of millions of clicks, so ten seconds is nothing. Sustained heavy clicking over months does wear them out, which is how most double click faults start — but that is ordinary use rather than one test.