Our 2-year review of the Logitech G403 HERO gaming mouse

A good budget gaming mouse is hard to find, but the Logitech 403 offers a min-maxed option for aspiring esports players.

From the legendary MX518 to the G502, Logitech is famous for churning out high-quality gaming mice at almost every price point. The G403 is the latest in a long line of affordable Logitech gaming mice aimed at serious gamers. With the recent price slash from $69.99 to $39.99, the G403 is now firmly a budget option. It still brings all of the features and build quality from its old price point. Here’s everything about the Logitech G403 HERO from an owner with more than two years of experience, from the best parts to the drawbacks.

If you’re looking for a quick review of the G403 HERO gaming mouse:

The G403’s excellent build quality and customization make it a solid entry-level gaming mouse. However, the G HUB software can be difficult to work with and its features are somewhat underwhelming. Overall, we would recommend the G403 HERO as a solid budget mouse option for gamers who prioritize build quality over features. The G403 is suited to most grip styles, especially palm.

What kind of gamer is the Logitech G403 HERO for?

Before getting into the pros and cons of the mouse, it’s important to establish its target audience. This is a relatively cheap mouse, currently selling for $39.99 on Amazon. It’s not fair to compare the G403 to Logitech’s $150 flagship G Pro X Superlight. Other mice in the same price range as the G403 include the CORSAIR Sabre, Razer Viper Ultralight, and ROCCAT Burst Pro.

The low minimum DPI, wired connection, and 1,000 hertz polling rate paint the picture of a cheap mouse that still ticks all the boxes for competitive gaming. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Valorant players are a clear target, but Dota 2 and League of Legends fans can also benefit from the decent sensor. The $40 price tag also makes the HERO much cheaper than some of its competitors. The price is low enough to ask for as a nice gift, but not low enough to feel suspicious.

G403 low price comes with sparse features

The G403’s lighting can be customized using hex codes or RGB ratios. Many mice in a similar price range either use just a handful of preset colors or have no RGB at all, so it’s a nice option to have here. The only notable missing feature is brightness controls, which are usually a standard feature on SteelSeries and Razer mice. 

The lighting itself is just fine, though the logo is much brighter than the mouse wheel light. It’s going to be covered by your hand most of the time anyway, but the wheel is still bright enough to look good in photos.

As for buttons, the G403 features the standard set with front and back buttons near the thumb. Each button is completely customizable, but there are no extra buttons for the MMORPG players out there. In fact, the only real optional button is a DPI switch located directly below the mouse wheel. The button’s position is intentionally placed out of the way, but that makes it less useful once customized.

Logitech mice also feature optional integration with Overwolf, Discord, and OBS. Buttons can be assigned to disable microphones, record replays, or even activate streaming. Then again, it seems a little dangerous to place that on a mouse button. The buttons themselves can also be reprogrammed to serve other functions, which is most useful for the thumb buttons and DPI switch. The Logitech G HUB software also has a macro function, but it appears to be either broken or just difficult to use.

Lastly, the mouse comes with an optional 10-gram weight that can be inserted on the bottom towards the wrist. The mouse weighs 87 grams without it. For reference, Logitech’s premier Superlight clocks in at 63 grams. The G403 is fairly light thanks to its wired connection and lack of features, but it’s still slightly heavier than some similarly-priced options.

The best features of the Logitech G403 HERO

When it comes to the best features of the Logitech G403, the build quality immediately stands out as the star of this review. After more than two years of use, our G403 has barely worn away on any high-contact surfaces like the thumb rest or click buttons. The shine is gone on the thumb rest, but there is no shallow dent or scratch of any kind. In our experience, the G403 holds up much better than a SteelSeries Rival or Razer Deathadder. And it’s gotten plenty of use. 

The next best part of the G403 is probably its internals. In terms of pure numbers, the G403 is on par with most top-end mice. A 1,000 hertz polling rate is the standard for esports-ready mice, and the software even allows users to lower the polling rate in case they want to collect one-frame flicks for frag movies. Some mice in the same price range boast 8,000 hertz hyper-polling, which is the only real shortcoming as far as the G403’s internal hardware goes.

The 25k HERO sensor tracks flawlessly with consistent performance across genres. We have had zero problems with the hardware. The braided cable is probably the weakest link, but it still holds up well after 24 rigorous months of testing.

Lastly, the G403 has a strong niche even among gaming mice in that it is well-suited for almost every grip. The G403 has plenty of real estate to work with. A claw-style grip with the wrist resting on the Logitech logo is just as comfortable as leaving the entire palm resting on the mouse. Players who hover their palms and use only their fingertips can also manage, but it might be difficult for those with smaller hands.

G403 cons include strange software, small feature set

Gaming peripheral companies can make amazing hardware, but they often seem to fall short when it comes to software. Logitech’s G HUB is no exception. It’s not clear if the problems stem from the G403 specifically or the Logitech program, but there are several software issues that should be brought up in an honest review. 

The most annoying part about the Logitech G403 HERO is that any button mapping or lighting settings only apply after G HUB has been opened for each startup. Players can close out after opening it, but it doesn’t activate automatically. Without opening G HUB, the mouse defaults to its store display full RGB cycle.

Customizable buttons are prominently featured in the Logitech G HUB, but the G403’s lack of extra buttons makes it difficult to actually use. Aside from the thumb buttons, which most games can already rebind, the only option here is the DPI switch. Its awkward location is meant to prevent gamers from accidentally changing their sensitivity during gameplay, but that also makes it inaccessible when you actually want to press it.

Speaking of that DPI switch, it’s really more of a nuisance than anything else. Remember how the RGB reverts to default without G HUB? The same is true for the DPI switch bind. Binding it to anything important runs the risk of accidentally increasing your DPI instead of a potentially game-winning play. Someone out there has lost a ranked game or two due to that, and we feel sorry for them.

The G403 doesn’t have many weaknesses, but the ones it does have sometimes combine to make each other worse. Still, these few negative qualities are mostly related to the software and not necessarily the mouse itself. The G403 remains a strong mouse despite some software quibbles, and you may be able to circumvent these problems by using alternative software.

How the Logitech G403 HERO stacks up with alternatives

To see how the Logitech G403 HERO stacks up to its competition, let’s review its stats compared to two other similarly-priced gaming mice.

Logitech G403 HERO	Corsair Sabre	Razer Viper Ultralight
$39.99	$43.49	$49.87
Right-handed	Right-handed	Ambidextrous
87-97 gram weight	74 gram weight	71 gram weight
Logo and wheel RGB	Logo and wheel RGB	Logo RGB
1,000 Hz polling	8,000 Hz hyper-polling	8,000 Hz hyper-polling
DPI switch	DPI switch	Software only DPI

As you can see, the G403 falls flat in polling with a lowly 1,000 compared to current-gen 8,000 hertz hyper-polling. Corsair Axon and Razer’s proprietary sensors still outclass Logitech from a pure polling perspective. However, the G403 clocks in a few bucks cheaper than the other options and is the only one with customizable weight. Granted, the optional 10-gram weight only makes the bulkiest of the three even heavier.

Players who are strict on polling performance might consider spending more for a Saber or Viper Ultralight. Left-handed players may look elsewhere for a budget gaming mouse more suited to them. But in general, the G403 gets the job done and at a lower price than many of its competitors.

Logitech G403 gets a great review, even if it’s not perfect

All things considered, we review the Logitech G403 a great mouse that packages top-level internals with solid hardware. Though players should expect some software hiccups, it also demands a much lower asking price than most peripherals in its weight class. Here’s a quick review of the pros and cons of the Logitech G403 HERO mouse.

• Excellent build quality
• Esports-ready sensor and polling rate
• Good RGB customization
• Compatible with most grip types
• Relatively cheap at just $39.99

And as for the negatives, the G403 isn’t perfect. Here’s what could drive some buyers away.

• No extra buttons
• Weak input customization
• Not particularly flashy
• Awkward and possibly broken software

If you’re looking for the absolute lightest mouse with the best macro options and perfect software support, the G403 may not be for you. But if you want the same hardware as that used by pro gamers and don’t mind a lack of extra features, the G403 is a perfect fit. Competitive players and casual gamers alike can appreciate its simple design and long-lasting materials. The G403 is an overall very solid mouse that we plan to continue using for years to come.