The 4 Best Controller Brands You Can Buy, According To Users – BGR

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When looking for a controller, you want a model that is reliable, durable, comfortable, and worth the price. Looking at a list of the best products is the usual way to make your choice, making the manufacturer a less important factor. However, looking at user feedback about what brands make the best controllers reveals an interesting picture regarding quality and consistency. Amazon is a great place to look for these opinions since many brands sell their controllers there, and users have left hundreds and even thousands of ratings after their purchases.

A simple search for a controller brand will reveal its usual score in Amazon’s five-star rating system. Many users also leave comments with their rating, stating why they gave it a good or bad review. While no brand is perfect, the ones mentioned below consistently produce game controllers that have a star rating of four stars or above. This is not universal praise, but close to a good consensus that users find them satisfactory.

GameSir is a well-known manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories, including mobile controllers that turn your smartphone into a gaming console. They also make PC and traditional console game pads, such as the GameSir G7 Pro that’s part of their G Series — a controller that’s considered one of the best for PC. It has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars on Amazon and costs $79.99.

The G7 Pro looks like an Xbox Wireless Controller for PC and Android, though it also works on consoles when wired. Its standout feature is Tunneling Magnetoresistance sticks, which allow for drift-free precision movement in racing, platforming, and shooting games. The G7 Pro also has back buttons, and the face buttons, D-pad, and triggers have micro switches that have a shorter travel distance for faster input and make a clicking sound that provides much-appreciated tactile feedback.

GameSir also makes highly-rated, affordable controllers. A good example is the GameSir Nova Lite 2, which has back buttons for extra input options and Hall Effect sticks for high drift resistance and higher input accuracy — just not on the level of TMR. You can get it for $29.99 on Amazon, where it also has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars.

8BitDo also specializes in gaming peripherals, with the affordable Ultimate and Pro series of controllers being known for their retro aesthetics and modern features. Take the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller, for instance: a $59.99 controller that is compatible with Windows, Apple, and Android devices, holding a rating of 4.3 stars out of 5 on Amazon. It features TMR joysticks, six-axis motion controls, back paddles, L4 and R4 buttons as extra bumpers, and tactile bumpers that click when pressed.

The Ultimate 2 has drift-resistant Hall Effect triggers, though you can change their mode to tactile triggers if that works better for the game you’re playing. The turbo function simulates rapid button presses, which can come in handy if you want to reduce finger fatigue while performing automatic combos or shooting a gun continuously.

For a more affordable option, the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C Wireless Controller costs $29.99 and has a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5. It has many of the great features of the Ultimate 2, including Hall Effect joysticks and triggers, L4 and R4 bumpers, and the turbo function. Although compatibility is limited to Windows and Android, users say it has excellent build quality, functionality, and value for money.

Razer is well-known for producing high-performance gaming hardware, specifically mice, keyboards, and laptops. The company made a splash in the gaming mouse market with the Razer Viper V3 Pro, which competitive gamers regard as one of the best gaming mice. Razer also makes high-end controllers for pro gamers, with a good example being the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro. It’s suitable for competitive play thanks to its high polling rate (the frequency at which it sends input to a console or PC) of 8,000 Hz, ensuring near-perfect response to input. Compared to the 1,000 Hz polling rate of the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller and of the GameSir G7 Pro, it’s clear how Razer’s controller is significantly faster to process button presses.

The Wolverine V3 Pro also has other impressive features, including TMR thumbsticks and short, clicky mouse triggers for precision. But one of the best features is its six programmable buttons — two extra triggers for those who use the claw grip and four clicky back buttons that offer good tactile feedback. You can remap the buttons to any key on the keyboard, as well as create up to four button-mapping profiles you can switch to depending on the game you’re playing. The controller has a rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars and is frequently discounted from its base price of $119.99.

AceGamer makes affordable controllers with the widest compatibility on this list, as they can be used on PC, Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch 1 and 2. Owners of Nintendo consoles in particular find these controllers to be a more budget-friendly option compared to the Switch 2 Pro Controller. Nintendo’s official controller costs $89.99, has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars, and is considered to be one of the best accessories you can get for the system, but AceGamer’s models are cheaper while maintaining high quality.

While you won’t get fancy features like TMR joysticks, tactile triggers, and high polling rates, AceGamer’s controllers are known for offering a lag-free experience while providing good value for money. One such controller is the AceGamer Aurora II, which costs $24.99 and has a rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars. It has Hall Effect joysticks, customizable back buttons, and a decent polling rate of 1,000Hz. It has a toggle that allows you to switch between long-travel and short-travel triggers, depending on whether you want smoothness or precision.

The company also offers the AceGamer 2-Pack Pocket Controllers, featuring two wireless game pads with a rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars for $49.98. They have six-axis gyro movement, dual motors with four vibration levels, microswitch triggers for tactile feedback, and a turbo functionality for simulating multiple button presses. The controllers are tiny, measuring 4.7 inches long, 2.6 inches tall, and 1.2 inches deep, with a weight of 0.2 lbs. They can easily fit in your pocket, especially since the analog sticks are retractable.

When picking these controllers, a rating of four out of five stars was a good starting point. It’s a rating that most users on Amazon give for a product that, at least, meets expectations, based on the comments we read under the rating. We picked brands whose controllers have hundreds or thousands of reviews — not just a dozen — to ensure that their products have been tested by a wide range of gamers, who have then gone on to leave a diverse range of opinions.

Also, we left out controllers from the “Big Three” — PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo — because they aren’t really controller brands. However, they do make controllers that not only work on their respective consoles, but on other platforms as well (PC being the most widely supported among the three via Steam). We even consider the DualSense controller to be one of the best controllers around. These brands also score well above the 4-star threshold, making them worth checking out for general use as well.