Myoelectric prosthesis requires a sensor that can reliably capture surface electromyography (sEMG) signal from amputeesfor its controlled operation. The main problems with the presently available EMG devices are their extremely high cost, largeresponse time, noise susceptibility, less amplitude sensitivity, and larger size. This paper proposes a compact and aff ordableEMG sensor for the prosthetic application. The sensor consists of an electrode interface, signal conditioning unit, and powersupply unit all encased in a single package. The performance of dry electrodes employed in the skin interface was comparedwith the conventional Ag/AgCl electrodes, and the results were found satisfactory. The envelope detection technique in thesensor based on the tuned RC parameters enables the generation of smooth, faster, and repeatable EMG envelope irrespectiveof signal strength and subject variability. The output performance of the developed sensor was compared with commercialEMG sensor regarding signal-to-noise ratio, sensitivity, and response time. To perform this, EMG data with both deviceswere recorded for 10 subjects (3 amputees and 7 healthy subjects). The results showed 1.4 times greater SNR values and45% higher sensitivity of the developed sensor than the commercial EMG sensor. Also, the proposed sensor was 57% fasterthan the commercial sensor in producing the output response. The sEMG sensor was further tested on amputees to controlthe operation of a self-designed 3D printed prosthetic hand. With proportional control scheme, the myoelectric hand setupwas able to provide quicker and delicate grasping of objects as per the strength of the EMG signal.