Best Microphone For Gaming in 2022 – Budget, Standalone, USB & More
Our Shortlist Of The Best Gaming Microphones, Whatever Your Requirements
If you’ve come searching for the best mic for gaming, look no further. With various great options at each price range, you’re sure to find the best standalone microphone for gaming to suit your needs.
We’ve gathered a list of great mics at various price ranges, all competing for one goal: to be the best microphone for gaming. Depending on your needs, all of these mics could fit that bill for you but, together, we’re going to find out which one will suit your needs the best.
There are seven microphones to choose from in this article. Of those seven, roughly four are considered overkill for gaming purposes and are only advised if you have non-gaming needs, such as vocal and audio recording.
The first three microphones in this article, however, are powerful and versatile solutions for gamers everywhere. In fact, a few of them can also be used for other purposes, too!
Ultimately, what you settle on is wholly dependent on your budget and whether or not your needs stretch past just gaming. Stick with us and we’ll tackle all of these mics for your reading and gaming pleasure.
Our Top Picks
What Do I Need For Gaming Purposes?
As you may have gathered from our roundup, a few of these mics are a bit impractical for gaming due to their pricing compared to ingame sound quality.
In our opinion, everything up and including the Blue Snowball is practical for a gaming-only audio experience. The Snowball is also versatile enough to be used for other applications, making it a popular mic among Twitch streamers worldwide.
From the AT2020 and onward, however, you’re breaching overkill territory. At this point, you should only be buying the microphone if you plan on using it for other things, or if you want the flexibility to one day use it for those other things.
Ingame voice codecs aren’t usually that great and get significantly worse in older titles. A $250 mic and a $100 mic will sound virtually identical to your teammates in-game, so you really shouldn’t blow up your wallet if you don’t need to.
We opted to include these other options in case gaming wasn’t your only concern. If you’re also serious about Twitch streaming, YouTube video creation or even music recording, these other mics are here for you.
Some Extras You Should Get
First, get a pop filter. Aside from the ModMic, none of the mics on this list have a pop filter and without one your Ps and your Bs are going to be noticeably loud in your voice comms.
Second, if your mic necessitates it or you just want more flexibility, it’s worth investing in a mic scissor arm stand. These are large constructs that will be somewhat cumbersome to set up, but will ultimately save you desk space and adjustment headaches in the future.
The 7 Best Gaming Micropones For 2021
In-depth Review
Blue Microphones – Yeti Pro
Frequency Range
15 Hz - 22 kHz
Sensitivity
(Spec unavailable)
Directional
Cardioid, Bidirectional, Omnidirectional, Stereo
Dynamic or Condenser
Condenser
Overkill for gaming, astounding for other purposes
Plentiful directional options
Best directional range
Best sensitivity
More reputable manufacturer, higher build quality
Extremely expensive for a gaming mic
No included pop filter
The Yeti Pro is a god-tier mic for most people and it has the $250 price tag to match. This beast of a microphone can handle anything you throw at it with ease and will offer the best sound quality for gaming, streaming, vocal recording, and more.
For gaming purposes, though… this is a little bit unnecessary.
Razer Seiren Elite
Frequency Range
20 Hz – 20 kHz
Sensitivity
12.5 mV/Pa (1 kHz)
Directional
Cardioid, Bidirectional, Omnidirectional Stereo
Dynamic or Condenser
Condenser
Overkill for gaming, astounding for other purposes
Plentiful directional options
Best directional range
Best sensitivity
More reputable manufacturer, higher build quality
Extremely expensive for a gaming mic
No included pop filter
As with the Yeti-Pro the same applies here – The Razer Seiren Elite offers amazing sound quality and recording, but far beyond what is practically needed for any gaming scenario. This may surprise those that are accustomed to Razer as a gaming brand.
If you’re seriously considering buying one of the Pro mics, do so only if you’re serious about non-gaming applications. Otherwise, pick one of our cheaper options.
Blue Microphones – Yeti
Frequency Range
20 Hz - 20 kHz
Sensitivity
(Spec unavailable)
Directional
Cardioid, Bidirectional, Omnidirectional,Stereo
Dynamic or Condenser
Condenser
Overkill for gaming, great for other purposes
Plentiful directional options
Great directional range
Great sensitivity
More reputable manufacturer, higher build quality
Expensive for a gaming mic
No included pop filter
The Yeti is a bit more expensive than the AT2020 (listed below), but also boasts higher sound quality and more suitability for gaming.
While its stand may be comparable to Fifine’s Plug & Play, the increased range and sensitivity of this mic means that it doesn’t need to be placed between you and your keyboard for a good recording experience. Unlike the Snowball, it’s also much smaller and doesn’t stick out on your desk at all.
As far as gaming microphones go, this is about where all sense of practicality ends, since your gaming applications won’t have any benefit from the increasing sound quality anymore.
However, by buying this mic, you’ll also be pretty much set for any other uses that come to mind, including streaming and recording.
Audio-Technica – AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Studio Microphone
Frequency Range
40 Hz - 20 kHz
Sensitivity
-48 dB (3.9 mV) re 1v at 1 Pa
Directional
Cardioid
Dynamic or Condenser
Condenser
Slight overkill for gaming, pretty good for other purposes
Plentiful directional options
Good directional range
Good sensitivity
More reputable manufacturer, higher build quality
Expensive for a gaming mic
No included pop filter
Buying extra mic stand essentially required
The AT2020 comes in around $100 on most days and offers superior range and sensitivity to the Snowball as well.
The AT2020 is one of the most popular budget picks for people who are serious about recording audio. It’s popular among musicians running home studios and is more than enough for an awesome gaming audio experience.
Unfortunately, it has no included stand or arm. To use this for gaming, you’ll have to buy something extra in order to utilize it: there’s no real way around this, unfortunately.
For solely gaming purposes, it’s still a bit overkill. But, if you want to do some high-end audio on the side, the AT2020 is a viable choice. Just remember to buy a stand and pop filter with it.
Blue Microphones – Snowball
Frequency Range
40 Hz - 18 kHz
Sensitivity
(Spec unavailable)
Directional
Cardioid Mode (front), Omnidirectional
Dynamic or Condenser
Mode Condenser
Great for gaming, good for other purposes
Included tripod means no need to buy a stand
Can be used at a healthy distance for game chat
Plentiful directional options
Good directional range
Good (estimated) sensitivity
More reputable manufacturer, higher build quality
Costly for gaming purposes
No included pop filter
The Snowball has great all-around sound quality, making it perfect for gaming and good for other usage scenarios as well.
One of its greatest achievements, however, are in its included adjustable tripod and high range/sensitivity. Thanks to these combined elements, you can place the mic at a healthy distance away from you on your desk.
You only need to simply point it in your direction for the best result.
In addition to its ideal form factor and sound quality, there are plentiful directional options for multiple usage scenarios. This is also the first mic on this list that comes from a high-end audio company, so it’s much better built than the ones before it.
If you’re trying to find a middle ground between gaming utility and other uses, the Snowball comes highly recommended. At $70, though, it’ll cost you.
Final Word
And that’s it!
Hopefully, reading this article helped you find the best microphone for gaming…for you.
If gaming is your absolute only concern, the ModMic or the Fifine Plug & Play should serve you well.
If you want room for professional-level audio recording and streaming, the Snowball is a great middle-of-the-road option. If you’re serious about pro applications in addition to gaming, you can also opt for one of the $100+ mics.
There’s no real wrong answer here. Get the one you want, and tell us about it below!