For most players, picking out the best PS5 controller is straightforward. The standard Sony DualSense controller introduced genuinely impressive new-gen features when it launched alongside the console a few years ago, which developers are still finding novel ways to use. It’s a mark above the typical gamepads we’ve seen in the past, and perfect for showing just what the PS5 can do.
TL;DR - These are the best PS5 controllers
- Sony DualSense
- Sony DualSense Edge
- Victrix Pro BFG
- Razer Wolverine V2 Pro
- Scuf Reflex Pro
- Nacon Revolution 5 Pro
- Victrix Pro Arcade FS
If you want a little something extra, though, there’s no shortage of choice. When looking for the best controller it’s worth considering exactly what you want it for. Fans of competitive shooters or fighting games will likely benefit from ‘pro’ controllers, with their glut of extra buttons and rear paddles that save you precious seconds in multiplayer fights. If that’s not you, consider which controllers improve on the DualSense’s meager battery life, or offer greater customization.
Don’t skimp on build quality, though. A cursory glance across the internet will reveal a lot of gamepads from all but unknown third-party manufacturers. They might make good spares, but do you really want to be playing your sparkly new-gen console with a glorified lump of plastic?
1. Sony DualSense
Best PS5 controller
Pros:
- Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers
- Sony-approved quality
Cons:
- So-so battery life
Shocking, right? The best PS5 controller is the one that comes packaged with the console. It may seem obvious, but the DualSense isn’t just a standard first-party gamepad. It’s heaped with features that make it the ideal PS5 controller for most players and a genuinely impressive new-gen gamepad in its own right.
The DualSense’s bespoke haptic feedback, which supports more versatile and tactile vibration, has already been used to great effect by developers – as anyone who’s felt the dapples of falling rain across their hands in Returnal or pulses of rumble during cinematic bouts in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will tell you. And once you’ve had a go on the adaptive triggers that change resistance in response to gameplay, you’ll struggle to pick up a controller without them.
It helps, of course, that the hardware is superb. Buttons and bumpers travel smoothly, and the whole gamepad’s built with exactly the kind of premium feel and finish you’d expect from official Sony hardware. Problems of stick drift (an issue common to virtually all first-party gamepads) and mediocre battery life aside, the DualSense is a brilliant controller that neatly demonstrates what the PS5 is capable of.
2. Sony DualSense Edge
Best PS5 Pro controller
Pros:
- Lots of customization
- Straightforward to use
Cons:
- Underwhelming battery life
Sony’s pro PS5 controller, the DualSense Edge is the souped-up superior sibling to the DualSense. It packs a bunch of features that players of competitive multiplayer games will find particularly useful: on the back are two paddles (positioned within comfortable reach of your index and middle finger), the tops of the analog sticks can be swapped out for taller or shorter heights, and the triggers can be set to travel in short strokes, useful for twitchy shooters, to long strokes that make full use of their adaptive functionality.
Every button is remappable and the analog stick deadzones can be adjusted. Though more impressive is how easily these custom settings can be changed. A quick hold of the added Function buttons will let you cycle through your four custom mapping profiles, or adjust them on the fly. Better yet, the analog stick modules can be fully removed and replaced, meaning any possible future stick drift won’t render the controller a glorified paper weight.
Don’t expect much from the DualSense Edge’s battery, though. It’s even worse than the original DualSense, and only manages around 10 hours before needing a charge – even less if you’re playing a game that makes full use of haptic feedback and adaptive triggers..
3. Victrix Pro BFG
Best customizable PS5 controller
Pros:
- Variety of face modules
- Fight pad option
Cons:
- No haptic feedback or adaptive triggers
If you want maximum customization, you’ll want to check out the Victrix Pro BFG. Its modular design allows you to arrange its face buttons in the traditional PlayStation layout, the off-set Xbox arrangement, or remove one half entirely to make room for a fight pad. Add to that a generous five levels of trigger adjustments, four particularly well-placed remappable back buttons, a clutch of alternate stick caps and gates, and even the handy option to remap profiles just using button shortcuts (once you’ve committed them to memory), and the DualSense Edge looks a little lean by comparison.
It’s designed first and foremost for competitive players of fighting games and shooters who want to tailor their gamepad just so, and a Tournament Lock feature handily deactivates the system buttons to avoid any accidental presses. But this isn’t a new-gen controller by any means. It lacks adaptive triggers and doesn’t feature rumble of any kind, let alone haptic feedback. The Victrix Pro BFG is solely for those who want a competitive edge.
4. Razer Wolverine V2 Pro
Best PS5 controller for battery life
Pros:
- Impressive battery life
- Chunky design
Cons:
- No haptic feedback or adaptive triggers
Don’t be fooled by the Razer Wolverine V2 Pro’s ugly rectangular shape, this third-party controller has a few impressive tricks up its sleeve. The main one being a big battery that lasted for close to 30 hours before needing a charge when we turned off the controller’s RGB lighting effects. That’s no mean feat, and far superior to the battery life of Sony’s standard DualSense.
Elsewhere, two extra bumpers have been squeezed between the usual shoulder buttons.They aren’t nearly as odd to reach for as they may first seem and can be remapped along with the four rear paddles positioned down the spine of the controller – although those paddles are unfortunately a bit of a stretch. On the front, meanwhile, a mute microphone button has been placed in the center, and has us wondering why more controllers haven’t adopted this handy shortcut.
You might like its Xbox-style asymmetric button layout, but the Wolverine V2 Pro also differs from the PlayStation rubric in a less welcome way. It doesn’t feature adaptive triggers or haptic feedback, just standard vibration. That’s something to consider if you play a lot of Sony games that often put those features to good use.
5. Scuf Reflex Pro
Best PS5 controller for picky players
Pros:
- Four rear paddles
- Lots of colorways
Cons:
- No haptic feedback
Let’s be real here: There’s little reason to buy the Scuf Reflex Pro now that the DualSense Edge exists. With the same basic design and build quality of the DualSense but with fewer customizable components, non-replaceable analog sticks, and nothing in the way of adjustable trigger sensitivity or remappable buttons, the Reflex Pro does little to justify the extra $10 you’ll spend over Sony’s own pro controller. Oh, and it doesn’t support haptic feedback.
The gamepad’s two draws, however, are its rear paddles and custom skins. The Reflex Pro has four paddles on its back rather than the DualSense Edge’s two, which are nicely spaced to hover at your fingertips without taking up too much room. Plus, you can purchase it in a bunch of nifty colorways and preset design patterns if you want to add a bit of visual flair.
It’s comfortable, solidly built, and does most of what you’d expect a pro controller to do. But, with the DualSense Edge beating it on price and offering many extra features, the Scuf Reflex Pro is really only serving those desperate for four rear paddles and optional color schemes.
6. Nacon Revolution 5 Pro
Best PS5 controller to avoid stick drift
Pros:
- Hall effect sensors that avoid stick drift
- Well-textured, grippy design
Cons:
- No haptic feedback or adaptive triggers
- Bluetooth only connects to headphones
The standout feature of the Nacon Revolution 5 Pro is its immunity to stick drift – an irritating mechanical fault whereby a controller will register inputs that aren’t being made by the player. Depending on the severity of the problem, it can render a controller all but unusable, and has become a particular sticking point among some PS5 players who have complained of their DualSense controllers quickly falling foul.
The Revolution 5 Pro avoids the problem altogether. The nifty Hall effect sensors in its analog sticks, which use magnetic fields to detect inputs rather than physical contact points that risk wearing down with time, aren’t susceptible to stick drift, so you can rest easy that your fancy new controller won’t be rendered an expensive paper weight anytime soon.
Of course, $199 is a hefty price to pay for peace of mind over a hardware issue that manufacturers should already be doing more to address. But the Revolution 5 Pro just about justifies its price tag with the usual glut of pro controller add-ons: a wide range of alternate analog stick sizes and heads, two rear buttons, that admittedly feel a touch too sensitive to my fingers, and trigger locks. It’s all pretty standard, if made slightly more premium by the gamepad’s nicely textured, grippy finish. The controller also omits haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, although that might be a small price to pay if you’ve been burnt by the DualSense’s uncooperative sticks in the past.
7. Victrix Pro Arcade FS
Best PS5 fight stick
Pros:
- Gloriously tactile
- Superb finish
Cons:
- Very pricey
Pro controllers don’t get much more premium than this. Victrix has made no compromises with the Pro Arcade FS, designing a fight stick that’s lag free, customizable, and tournament ready. The eight face buttons and joystick are all Sanwa components – one of the more popular switch manufacturers among fight stick aficionados – that feel nicely responsive with a slight, audible click.
Even the fight stick’s smaller touches, like the gentle slope on its front face that allows you to comfortably rest your wrist, nudges the Pro Arcade FS above its competitors. And its rounded aluminum finish is sleeker than the chunky plastic boxes of other flight sticks without being overly heavy – at only 3.4kg, this is a fairly light box.
If you really want to go to town, you can open the bottom of the device to swap in new switches and joysticks. But even out of the box, this is a fight stick a rung above its competitors. The PlayStation-first design, including a string of function and menu buttons that allows you to easily interact with the console’s menus, is just the cherry on top.
How we picked the best PS5 controllers
I tested every PS5 controller on this list myself. I used the controllers to play several games on the PS5, putting each one through the ringer for long enough to test out their bespoke features, battery life and the quality of their construction. I also assessed them by their intended design, and considered what kind of player they were made for.
I picked these PS5 controllers as they suit a range of needs. Most players will get on just fine with Sony’s standard DualSense controller. It’s a more-than-capable gamepad and a pleasure to use. But others – particularly players who want a competitive edge in online shooters and fighting games – will wring a lot from extra customization options and buttons.
FAQ
What PlayStation 5 controller doesn’t drift?
Most PS5 controllers are at risk of stick drift. The problem usually occurs when the potentiometers in their analog sticks are worn down. Some controllers get around this by dropping potentiometers in favor of magnetic Hall effect sensors that aren’t as prone to wear and tear. The Nacon Revolution 5 Pro is one gamepad that uses Hall effect sensors, so won’t drift.
How do I fix stick drift on PS5?
If your controller is drifting because the potentiometers within its analog sticks have worn down through use or a manufacturing fault, there’s little you can do. DualSense controllers sold by retailers come with one or two years of warranty, depending on your region. If your gamepad is still under warranty, contact Sony about a repair. Or, if dirt might be causing the problem, try cleaning the edge of the analog stick’s base to remove any debris.
Does the PS5 controller have a headphone jack?
Yes, the DualSense controller has a 3.5mm audio jack at its base that a pair of headphones can be plugged into. Most other third-party PS5 controllers also feature a headphone jack.
Callum Bains is a freelance tech contributor and writer for IGN, with work seen on MSN, Yahoo and more.
