8BitDo Pro 3: One-minute review

In the half-decade or so I’ve been testing gaming hardware, I’ve loved almost every 8BitDo product I’ve reviewed. The 8BitDo Pro 3 is no exception. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s the best budget-friendly controller on the market today. Yes, even beating out other desirable choices like the GameSir Nova Lite.

Contrary to its appearance, the 8BitDo Pro 3 isn’t just the Pro 2 in a particularly slim-fitting trenchcoat. It looks identical to its predecessor, sure, but 8BitDo has refined the newer gamepad to what feels like its logical conclusion. TMR (Tunnel Magnetoresistance; essentially an improvement over Hall effect) thumbsticks, swappable magnetic face buttons, micro switch trigger locks, charging dock, and two additional remappable buttons for a total of four are all additions here.

Then there’s the d-pad, which, despite being a simpler cardinal design, is one of the nicest-feeling I’ve ever had the chance to play around with. It’s rugged and precise, smartly avoiding that spongy, mushy feel that you find on a lot of retro-inspired controllers.

You’re getting a symmetrical stick layout here, which isn’t too common in the third-party controller space, especially beyond the realm of PlayStation and its current DualSense controller. And while you’re not getting compatibility with Sony’s machine (or Xbox consoles for that matter), the 8BitDo Pro 3 is broadly compatible with PC, Switch, Switch 2, as well as iOS and Android devices. For connectivity, your options are 2.4GHz (with dongle included), Bluetooth, and good ol’ wired via USB-C.

Battery life can vary, though I found the 8BitDo Pro 3 outlasts the pricier 8BitDo Ultimate 2 on this front. The brand states you’ll get around 20 hours per charge, but this all depends on your personal usage. Hopping between Switch 2 and PC (Bluetooth and 2.4GHz connectivity, respectively), I managed around 15 hours before needing to top up. On average, that still beats out the Ultimate 2’s 10-15 hours.

The only gripes I have with the Pro 3 are minimal; nice-to-haves, if anything. I’m not a fan of the Start/Select buttons being crammed right in the center, and they’re a bit mushy to the touch. And I think the lack of a 3.5mm port for wired headphones is a shame, though the Ultimate controllers didn’t have one of these, either.

Those nitpicks aside, if you’re in the market for a new PC and/or Switch-facing controller and you don’t want to break the bank, buy the 8BitDo Pro 3. For now, it’s the last word in budget-friendly controllers and, astonishingly, has none of the usual concessions made to get it down to a price this low.

8BitDo Pro 3: Price and availability

• Costs $59.99 / £40 (around AU$84)
• Available to buy now at 8BitDo’s Amazon store page
• No set price in the UK, but hovers around £40-£50 depending on colorway

The 8BitDo Pro 3 launched in 2025 and is available to buy right now from 8BitDo’s Amazon store page. In the US, you can get it for $59.99, which puts it in roughly the same price range as the GameSir Tarantula Pro — a similarly brilliant Switch-facing symmetrical controller. That’s also cheaper than the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller; ideal if you’re shopping for a pad for the handheld hybrid that doesn't empty your bank account.

Things get a bit weird in the UK, price-wise. At Amazon, I’ve seen the 8BitDo Pro 3 hover anywhere between £40-£50 on the brand’s official store page, and there doesn’t appear to be a set-in-stone retail price for it. It’s worth noting that these aren’t second-hand listings, either. Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, though; if you’re in the UK, you’re getting the 8BitDo Pro 3 at an aggressive price given its quality and feature set.

8BitDo Pro 3: Specs

8BitDo Pro 3: Design and features

• Build looks like a SNES controller with modern flourishes
• A focus on tactility and immediacy
• Neat extras like trigger locks and swappable face buttons

Put the 8BitDo Pro 3 and its predecessor side-by-side, and you might not notice any immediate differences. They broadly share the same silhouette, looking like a SNES pad with grips bolted on. And those flat, slightly curved shoulder buttons almost look like they were taken wholesale from that iconic 16-bit era controller.

It’s not just looks that 8BitDo has borrowed from Nintendo’s playbook, though. Nearly every module on the controller — from sticks and d-pad to face buttons and triggers — has been implemented with tactility in mind. I know, that’s not uncommon for the modern controller, but it’s still fairly rare to see in the Pro 3’s price bracket.

One example is the simply sublime d-pad here. It’s not much of a looker, and its bumpy texturing gives the impression of something clunky and toy-like. In reality, it’s exceptionally comfortable and offers a level of precision that even Nintendo’s pricey Switch 2 Pro Controller d-pad can’t match.

Another more interesting feature the 8BitDo Pro 3 has is its magnetic, swappable face buttons. These are more for show than anything, but they’re a neat extra that lends the controller some personality. An obvious usage here is that you can swap around the ‘ABXY’ layout based on Switch/XInput preferences.

There’s also a multicolored set of face buttons included in a latch underneath the charging dock (where you’ll also find the 2.4GHz dongle) and a small plunger-like item that you stick onto the buttons to remove them with ease. Don’t worry, though; the buttons themselves don’t feel loose and won’t come off during play.

All around, it’s a great-feeling package, though the one area where design lets me down (and hasn’t been improved on since the Pro 2) is the rather mushy Start and Select buttons. These are reminiscent of the squishier buttons found on the SNES pad, so it’s likely this is another continued design inspiration. They just don’t feel particularly great to press and lack that immediacy shown off by everything else on the Pro 3.

8BitDo Pro 3: Performance

• Heaps of customizability
• 15-20 hours of battery life
• Trigger locks and claw grip bumper buttons feel great

I test and review controllers pretty frequently, and often, switching from one to another can take a bit of getting used to, especially when there are differences in size and button/stick layouts. In contrast, the 8BitDo Pro 3 felt immediately comfortable to use thanks to a rounded design that sits in the hands just right.

Except for the Start and Select buttons, which I feel are just a bit too crammed together in the center, everything else rests under your thumbs and index fingers just right. Those long, rounded bumper buttons act as a nice cushion for your fingers, and the new claw-grip remappable bumpers next to them sit under your fingertips. I love these, especially, as they’re wonderfully clicky and responsive. I’ve even taken to mapping them to my trigger actions in Final Fantasy 14 Online, for extremely quick access to skills on my hotbars.

Briefly, I’ll go over how you can actually make use of these extra remappable buttons yourself, because it’s not immediately obvious. You can set them in the excellent Ultimate Software V2 app for PC (which also lets you tinker with vibration strength, button macros, and stick sensitivity). But a quicker way to do it is to hold one of these buttons in tandem with your input of choice and the ‘Star’ button found on the bottom-left of the controller. It can be fiddly, especially if you’re binding multiple inputs, but it’s much faster and easier this way if you don’t have immediate access to a PC.

A similar series of inputs applies to the Pro 3’s ‘Turbo’ functionality, which enables the repeated pressing of an input simply by holding a button down — handy for arcade games and shoot-em-ups that don’t already have a turbo function built in. To enable Turbo on the Pro 3, just hold down the button you’d like to assign Turbo to, in addition to the Star and Home buttons. To disable it, repeat that very same input.

Now, I’ve yapped on about responsiveness a lot, but it really is the name of the game here. There’s wonderful precision to every module found on the 8BitDo Pro 3. The exceptional d-pad is a highlight, as I mentioned at the top. Those TMR thumbsticks are incredibly smooth, too, and as someone who prefers a shorter trigger pull, the digital trigger locks featured here work wonderfully.

That last point is important, as I’ve tested many a budget pad like the HyperX Clutch Gladiate, which had trigger locks that rendered the triggers completely unusable for most games. That’s why I appreciate it all the more when a cheap controller actually puts the effort in.

Battery life isn’t exactly class-leading, but I managed around 15-20 hours on a full charge, which is in line with what 8BitDo estimates on its website. Out of the box, battery life is at roughly half, so I recommend topping up via USB-C or with the included charging dock before your first use.

Should I buy the 8BitDo Pro 3?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider...

If the 8BitDo Pro 3 isn’t quite what you’re after, I’ve highlighted a couple more products from the brand that I recommend.

How I tested the 8BitDo Pro 3

• Tested for three weeks
• Primarily tested on PC and Switch 2 with both wireless and wired connections
• Played a variety of single and multiplayer games

For this review, I ended up testing the 8BitDo Pro 3 for around three weeks. I put it through its paces with games of all kinds, from the high-difficulty Savage raids of Final Fantasy 14 Online to the hilariously off-kilter vibes of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.

The controller felt more than well-equipped for any kind of game thrown at it. That extends to fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8, and retro racers on PC via emulation, including NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona and Ridge Racer Type 4.

Naturally, I also found the Pro 3 to be fantastic for arcade games thanks to its remappable buttons and Turbo functionality. On this front, playing titles like DoDonPachi Resurrection on PC as well as Metal Slug 3 and Rave Racer on Nintendo Switch 2 felt just right.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed May 2026

Rhys is TRG's Hardware Editor, and has been part of the TechRadar team for over four years. Particularly passionate about high-quality third-party controllers and headsets, Rhys strives to provide easy-to-read, informative coverage on gaming hardware of all kinds. As for the games themselves, Rhys is especially keen on fighting and racing games, as well as soulslikes and RPGs.