Systems (200, 300) and methods (400) for differential optical position sensing for a haptic actuator are disclosed. In one embodiment, a system includes: an actuator (204) configured to receive a drive signal and move an object to output a haptic effect； a first sensor (206) configured to monitor a position of the object and output a first position signal； a second sensor (208) configured to monitor the position of the object and output a second position signal different from the first position signal； a circuit (210) configured to receive the first position signal and the second position signal and output a difference signal； and a processor (212) configured to receive the difference signal and output a control signal to the actuator based on the difference signal.
