keyboards

The best gaming keyboards bring a greater feeling of comfort and control to your PC play time, whether you’re sinking into a 100-hour RPG or sweating through an online shooter. They may not always feel as premium for typing as a good custom mechanical keyboard, but they’re usually a nice upgrade over the ordinary keyboards sitting around the office. To help anyone looking to upgrade, I’ve spent more time researching gaming keyboards than any person reasonably should, testing dozens of well-reviewed models along the way. Whether you want something mini, analog, wireless or just plain cheap, these are the best I’ve used.

What to look for in a gaming keyboard

To be clear, any keyboard can be a “gaming keyboard.” If you play lots of video games and have never sighed to yourself, “man, this keyboard is holding me back,” congratulations, you probably don’t need to pay extra for a new one. Self-proclaimed gaming keyboards often come at a premium, and while the best offer high-quality designs, snazzy RGB lighting and a few genuinely worthwhile features, none of them will give you god-like skill, nor will they suddenly turn bad games into good ones.

Mechanical vs non-mechanical

Now that we’ve touched grass, I did prioritize some features while researching this guide. First, I mostly stuck to mechanical keyboards, not laptop-style membrane models. They can be loud, but they’re more durable, customizable and broadly satisfying to press — all positive traits for a product you may use for hours-long gaming sessions.

Size

Next, I preferred tenkeyless (TKL) or smaller layouts. It’s totally fine to use a full-size board if you really want a number pad, but a compact model gives you more space to flick your mouse around. It also lets you keep your mouse closer to your body, which can reduce the tension placed on your arms and shoulders.

From top to bottom: A 96 percent keyboard, an 80 percent (or tenkeyless) keyboard and a 60 percent keyboard.

(Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)

Switches, keycaps and build quality

Linear switches, which are often branded as “red,” are generally favored by gamers. These give keystrokes a smooth feel from top to bottom, with no tactile “bump” that could make fast, repeated presses less consistent. They usually require little force to actuate, and they tend to be quiet. However, if you prefer the feel and/or sound of a more tactile or clicky switch, get one of those instead. You might lose some speed in esports-style games, but nothing is more important than your comfort.

Some gaming keyboards are based on different mechanisms entirely. Optical switches, for instance, use a beam of light to register keystrokes, while Hall effect switches use magnets. These often feel linear, but they allow for a more versatile set of gaming-friendly features, such as the ability to set custom actuation points, assign multiple commands to one key and repeat key presses faster. In general, they’re faster and more durable too.

The Wooting 60HE+ is one gaming keyboard that has helped popularize the use of magnetic Hall effect switches.

(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)

This analog-style functionality has become the big trend in the gaming keyboard market over the last few years. Most of the major keyboard brands now sell at least one model with Hall effect switches and, based on my testing, it’s easy to see why: Many of their customizations really can give you a more granular (yet still fair) sense of control, especially in more competitive games. Consequently, many of our picks below are built with the tech.

Keyboards with these kind of features usually aren’t cheap, however, and they’re far from essential for those who mainly play single-player games. Some of their tricks have also stirred up controversy: One known as SOCD (Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions) cleaning allows you to activate two different directional keys at the same time, making it possible to, among other things, achieve impossibly perfect strafing in shooting games. A few games such as Counter-Strike 2 have banned the feature as a result, though it can still be a fun thing to play around with in games that don’t involve other people. SOCD isn’t limited to magnetic switches either; some mechanical keyboards support it too.

A small handful of recent keyboards have shipped with inductive switches, which promise the adjustable actuation features of Hall effect keyboards but with better battery efficiency. We haven’t been able to test one of these just yet, but we’ll look to do so in the future.

A handful of dye-sub PBT keycaps.

(Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)

Keycaps and build quality

Regardless of switch type, you want a frame that doesn’t flex under pressure, keys that don’t wobble and stabilizers that don’t rattle when you hit larger keys like the spacebar. I prefer double-shot PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) keycaps over those that use cheaper ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic, as they won’t develop a greasy shine over time and their icons are less likely to fade. A hot-swappable PCB (printed circuit board) that makes it easy to change switches if the mood arises is ideal, as are dedicated media keys.

For the sake of simplicity, I only considered prebuilt gaming keyboards for this guide, though many of the picks below allow for customization down the line. If you (and your bank account) really want to go wild, check out our guide to building a custom keyboard.

Software, connectivity and RGB

If a keyboard has companion software, it should let you program macros and custom key bindings for games without frustration. For convenience, a wired keyboard should connect through a detachable USB-C cable. A good wireless keyboard won’t add serious lag, but only if it uses a USB receiver, not Bluetooth. (It’ll probably cost more as well.) Some gaming keyboards advertise super-high polling rates — i.e., the speed at which a keyboard reports to a computer — to reduce latency, but unless your monitor has an especially fast refresh rate, the usual standard of 1,000Hz should be fine. And while nobody needs RGB lighting, it’s fun. Consumer tech could use more of that, so the cleaner and more customizable the RGB is, the better.

Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget

How we tested

The best way to evaluate a keyboard is to just… use it, so that’s what I did. To cover a variety of use cases and design styles, I’ve researched dozens of keyboards over the past several months that’ve broadly received high marks from professional reviewers and users alike. I’ve then used each model I’ve brought in as my daily driver for a few days. Since I write for a living, this gave me enough time to get a strong sense of each keyboard’s typing experience.

For gaming, I give special focus to each keyboard’s responsiveness in fast and/or reaction-based online shooters such as Halo Infinite, Counter-Strike 2, Apex Legends, Valorant, Overwatch 2 and XDefiant, as many would-be gaming keyboard buyers get one in the hopes that it’ll help with that genre in particular. I made sure each keyboard felt comfortable with other types of games, though, such as Baldur’s Gate 3 (a turn-based RPG), Hi-Fi Rush (an action game with an emphasis on timing and rhythm) and Forza Horizon 5 (an arcade racing game). I used the latter to better evaluate the pressure-sensitive features of the analog keyboards I tested.

If a keyboard could be configured with multiple switch types, I got the linear model. Upon receiving each keyboard, I removed several keycaps to ensure none were chipped or broken. I noted whether any keys felt wobbly, whether the case flexes under pressure, whether the texture and finish of the keycaps changes after use and whether larger keys like the spacebar felt particularly rattly or hollow. I typed on each keyboard in quick succession in a quiet room to get a sense of where they ranked in terms of noise. For wireless models, I checked whether the battery drain at 50 percent RGB brightness aligned with a manufacturer’s estimate. I looked to results from sites like Rtings to ensure nothing was out of order with latency. I did my testing on a 144Hz monitor with my personal rig, which includes a 10th-gen Core i9 CPU and an RTX 3080 GPU.

This helped me ensure each keyboard met a baseline of overall quality, but to reiterate, so much of this process is subjective. I can tell you if a keyboard is loud based on how I slam my keys, for instance, but you may have a lighter touch. What my tastes find “comfortable,” “pleasing,” or even “useful,” you may dislike. As I’ve written before, keyboards are like food or art in that way. So, keep an open mind.

Jeff Dunn for Engadget

Connectivity: USB-C | Size(s): 80 percent | Switches: Lekker L60 v2 | Hot-Swappable: Yes | Material: Plastic, zinc alloy (optional) | Keycap material: Double-shot PBT, dye-sub PBT (optional) | Backlight: RGB (north-facing) | Software: Wootility

With most gaming keyboards, claims of “improving your play” are just marketing fluff. With the Wooting 80HE, it’s actually kind of true — or at least, it can be. The key is its analog “Lekker V2” switches, which can respond to varying levels of pressure, much like the triggers on a PlayStation or Xbox controller. These use magnetic Hall effect sensors, which means they have fewer physical contact points that can suffer from wear and tear over time.

This setup enables a few genuinely beneficial features. For one, you can adjust the actuation point of each key anywhere between an ultra-low 0.1mm and 4mm, in 0.1mm steps. With a fast-paced FPS, setting the actuation point low makes the keys more sensitive and thus exceptionally responsive to quick movements. For a turn-based RPG or simply typing, raising that pre-travel distance makes each press more deliberate and less prone to errors. You can also mix and match, making your WASD keys faster to actuate but leaving the rest at a less touchy level.

Another feature, “rapid trigger,” registers the actuation and reset points of a key press dynamically. This lets you re-actuate a key mid-press, before it has to go all the way back up, so you can repeat inputs faster. It’s a boon for shooting and rhythm games in particular: In a 1v1 shootout in Halo Infinite, you can strafe, stop and start with a little more speed and granularity. We’re still talking milliseconds of difference, but sometimes that’s all that separates defeating an opponent and leaving them with a sliver of health. You can combine this with a couple of SOCD settings for even faster strafing, but know that those specific features could get you banned from some esports-style games. (See our notes on switch types above for more on this.)

Beyond that, you can tie up to four actions to one key based on how far it’s pressed. In Halo, for instance, I’ve made it so I can mark enemies and switch grenades by long-pressing Q and E, respectively — i.e., the keys right next to WASD. Short-pressing those keys, meanwhile, still lets me use their default bindings. In another game, you could lightly press a key to pull out a grenade, fully press to throw it, then release to reequip your main weapon. All of this requires some brain retraining, but it ultimately lessens the need to contort your fingers to perform a full set of commands. Which, in turn, can save you more precious seconds during a battle.

Because the keys are pressure-sensitive, you can also set them to mimic an Xbox controller. With a racing game like Forza Horizon 5, the W and S keys could stand in for the LT and RT buttons, while A and D replicate the left joystick. Does this feel as natural as using real joysticks or a good wheel? Of course not. But for games that don’t expect you to use a mouse alongside the keyboard, it’s really not as clunky as you’d expect.

That caveat is important: Plenty of games aren’t designed with analog keyboards in mind, so don’t expect the 80HE to replace your gamepad. Owning this won’t magically make you a top-tier player either. When you’re up against other people around your skill level, though, the extra bit of precision these features provide is tangible.

There’s been a tidal wave of analog keyboards released in the last couple of years, but the 80HE stands out for getting the fundamentals right. There are certainly nicer-feeling mechanical keyboards for $200, including many that don’t have all-plastic cases. But its double-shot PBT keycaps feel crisp, its keys are comfortably spaced and the pre-lubed linear-style switches are smooth and satisfying to press. (The switches are technically hot-swappable as well, though the market for third-party Hall effect switches is relatively small.) An internal gasket mount provides a cushioned landing for your fingers — though presses aren’t quite as springy here as they are on the best keyboards with this sort of design — while multiple layers of foam and tape give it a soothing thocky tone that isn’t annoyingly loud. The per-key RGB backlighting is tidy and deeply customizable. The keyboard can technically support a fast 8,000Hz polling rate as well, but that’s mostly overkill.

Where Wooting really wins is with its software. The company’s Wootility app is fully accessible through the web and makes it easy to remap keys, assign macros and Fn layer shortcuts, create profiles, adjust RGB lighting and set up all of those actuation-based tricks. It just works in a way so many other apps we’ve tested for this guide do not, taking pains to make sure you understand what you’re changing with each feature and see that your changes are active and actually functioning as intended. You can save up to four profiles to the device itself, and swapping between them is as simple as hitting a two-button shortcut.

What’s more, the 80HE has a four-year warranty, which is longer than most of its peers. The braided USB-C cable comes with a USB-A adapter, a nice touch that makes it easier to use the keyboard across devices. Wooting offers a few different customization options as well: You can buy the 80HE with a more premium zinc alloy case (albeit for $90 extra) and dye-sub keycaps or grab a module version that lets you build it out with your own (magnetic) switches and keys.

There are still a few downsides. The 80 percent layout is an odd half-step between traditional TKL and 75 percent designs: It still fits in arrow keys and takes up far less space than a full-size model but omits a couple of the usual Nav cluster keys. The space bar has a bit of rattle to it. There’s no wrist rest in the box. There are a few pairs of rubber stops that slot into the back of the keyboard and allow it to rest at different fixed angles — those keep the device steady in place, but attaching them is more cumbersome than simply adjusting the feet built into most boards.

At $200, the 80HE also isn’t the best value, especially given that it lacks any sort of wireless connectivity. That’s before any tariff impacts, which Wooting has said could lead to a price hike. And you can only buy the device direct from the company, which sells its gear in batches. For more competitive-minded players, though, this is the best blend of features, typing quality and ease of use that we’ve tested.

Pros

• Magnetic switches are deeply versatile for gaming
• Easy-to-use software
• Sturdily built
• Comfortable for typing and sounds pleasant

Cons

• Wired-only
• A bit expensive
• 80 percent design is somewhat awkward
• Only available to buy in batches

$200 at Wooting

Jeff Dunn for Engadget

Connectivity: USB-C | Size(s): 65 percent | Switches: Kailh Red | Hot-Swappable: Yes | Material: Plastic | Keycap material: Double-shot PBT | Backlight: RGB (north-facing) | Software: None

If you want to pay as little as possible for an acceptable, honest-to-goodness gaming keyboard, get the G.Skill KM250 RGB. For $45, it offers PBT keycaps, hot-swappable switches, per-key RGB backlighting, adjustable feet, a detachable USB-C cable and even a dedicated volume control knob. Its translucent “pudding” keycaps look funky but help show off those RGB effects. The linear Kailh Red switches are quick and smooth enough, without the pinging noise that often plagues budget keyboards. Its 65 percent layout doesn’t chew up space, but it still fits in a set of arrow keys. Though there’s no dedicated software for programming the KM250, you can quickly swap through lighting effects right from the device. Avoiding potential bloatware may be better at this price anyway.

The KM250 isn’t a miracle, mind you. The plastic frame is lightweight and surprisingly sturdy, but you don’t get the level of sound-dampening foam, reinforced stems or pre-lubed springs you’d find in a more premium keyboard. Key presses sound hollower and feel a bit stiffer when you bottom out as a result. Plus, while having PBT keycaps at all in this range is great, they aren’t as pleasingly textured as more expensive options.

But come on, it’s $45. For that price, everything here is beyond functional. And if you ever want to upgrade some of its lesser elements, you can.

Pros

• Excellent value
• Hot-swappable
• Rotary knob
• Decent PBT keycaps

Cons

• Plastic frame
• Hollow sound
• Keystrokes feel somewhat stiff

$45 at Amazon

Jeff Dunn for Engadget

Connectivity: 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, USB-C | Size(s): 80 percent | Switches: SteelSeries OmniPoint 3.0 | Hot-Swappable: Partially (main typing field only) | Material: Plastic with aluminum top plate | Keycap material: Double-shot PBT | Backlight: RGB (north-facing) | Software: SteelSeries GG

If you want a gaming keyboard you can take on the road, or you just despise cable clutter, check out the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless (Gen 3). Like the Wooting 80HE, its linear-style switches use magnetic Hall effect sensors, which open up a range of useful gaming features. You can raise or lower the actuation points of individual keys anywhere between 0.1mm and 4mm, enable a rapid trigger setting to repeat presses faster and bind multiple commands to one key based on how far it’s pushed. (So you could, say, lightly press W to walk, then hold it to run.) There’s a handy “protection mode” that lowers the sensitivity of nearby keys when one key is pressed, which makes it harder to “fat-finger” wrong inputs by accident, plus an SOCD feature and preset profiles for a few popular games. There’s no dedicated analog mode for driving games, and you can “only” assign two actuation-based commands to a key at once, but the Apex Pro still allows for finer control than most of its peers.

The “keyboard” part of the Apex Pro TKL is beyond satisfactory as well. The double-shot PBT keycaps resist grime and aren’t overly sculpted, so they’re easy to reach. The RGB lighting is clean, while the aluminum-plated deck doesn’t noticeably flex. Adjustable feet and rubber pads on the back do well to keep the board stable, and there’s a soft magnetic wrist rest included in the box. On the front is a volume roller and a mini OLED display, the latter of which lets you quickly swap profiles, adjust and view actuation levels, check battery status and even see info from certain apps, among other tweaks. With Counter-Strike 2, for instance, it can display the current round and your K/D ratio. You can also connect over Bluetooth in addition to the included dongle and USB-C cable.

The typing experience, meanwhile, is a noticeable improvement over the last-generation Apex Pro (our previous wireless pick). The lightly pre-lubed switches make presses feel smooth and distinct, while a few layers of sound-dampening foam provide a mild thocky tone. It’s not full-on quiet, but it’s muffled enough to give that sense of feedback most people enjoy from a mechanical keyboard without totally aggravating everyone around you. 

The larger keys are mostly handled well, too, though the space bar could be tighter, while the enter and right shift keys rattle a bit more than the larger stabilized keys on the left side of the board. In general, you’d still buy the Apex Pro TKL for its gaming features first, but it’s a decidedly Nice Keyboard even without them.

That’s good, because with a list price of $300, this thing is expensive. If raw typing feel is your main concern, there are cheaper alternatives in our honorable mentions and “others we tested” section below.

Besides the price, our main gripes are with SteelSeries’ GG software. It’s certainly usable, but it’s a bit less refined than Wooting’s Wootility app. The process of assigning multiple inputs to one key requires jumping between two different tabs, while setting up custom RGB profiles forces you into a separate app. There’s no obvious way to tie an RGB layout to a specific actuation profile, and you need to leave the software running for some settings tweaks to stay active. The battery life, rated for 37.5 hours with the wireless dongle, isn’t especially long either. Still, if you’ve got more cash to burn and must go wireless, the Apex Pro gets much more right than wrong.

As an aside: At least one review has said that the Apex Pro’s custom actuation settings aren’t always accurate. We reached out to SteelSeries about this, and a company spokesperson told us that inaccurate readings could stem from a filter in the keyboard’s firmware that’s designed to stop accidental key presses from happening when the included wrist rest is attached or removed. According to the company, this filter would normally have no effect on the press distance, but it may run and cause presses to be deeper than intended if someone were to use a mechanical device (like a robotic testing arm) to push a key extremely slowly. We couldn’t find any accuracy issues in our own “real-world” testing, so we stand by our recommendation.

Pros

• Fast and deeply versatile magnetic switches
• Useful OLED display
• Pleasant typing experience
• Multiple connection modes

Cons

• Expensive
• Software isn’t always intuitive
• Battery life could be better

$333 at Amazon

Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget

Connectivity: 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, USB-C | Size(s): 65 percent, 75 percent (standard or Alice layout), 80 percent (tested), 96 percent, 100 percent | Switches: Gateron Jupiter Brown (tested), Red, Banana | Hot-Swappable: Yes | Material: Plastic | Keycap material: Double-shot PBT | Backlight: RGB (south-facing) | Software: VIA

If you aren’t intense about esports-style play and just want a good mechanical keyboard you can also use for games, try the Keychron V3 Max. For $115 pre-tariffs, it offers a wireless design with hot-swappable switches, double-shot PBT keycaps and a volume knob. By default, it comes with Gateron’s Jupiter Red (linear), Brown (tactile) or Banana (more tactile) switches; the Jupiter Reds are sufficiently light for everyday gaming and, with the help of an internal gasket mount and multiple layers of sound-dampening foam, mostly quiet. Each switch comes pre-lubed, which helps keep the out-of-the-box typing experience from feeling or sounding cheap. Presses make a lovely little pop. The keycaps are comfortably spaced and gently rounded, making it easier to avoid accidental inputs, though they have a somewhat a somewhat high profile, so they can feel a little more in the way than the keys on the Wooting 80HE or SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless for quick actions. All of it connects over a removable USB-C cable, Bluetooth or a wireless adapter, and there are USB-C and USB-A dongles in the box.

The V3 isn’t as focused on ultra-low latency as a dedicated gaming keyboard, and it doesn’t have any of the special analog features available with the 80HE or Apex Pro, but it should be responsive enough for all but the most competitive players. A built-in switch lets you swap between Windows and macOS modes, and there are OS-specific keycaps in the box. You can program the board through Keychron’s Launcher web app, which is harder to grok than something like Wootility but lets you remap keys, create macros or adjust the backlight across OSes.

The V3 Max’s keys are individually backlit, and you can adjust its RGB effects right from the board. That can look odd with the default, non-shine-through keycaps, however. There’s a pair of foldable feet on the back, but since this is a high-profile keyboard with no wrist rest in the box, it’s not the most universally ergonomic setup. The chassis is also made of plastic, so it’s hard to call “premium.” And the stabilizers could be better: There’s a faint but audible rattle when pressing the backspace or enter keys, while the space bar is louder and more hollow-sounding than everything else. Still, this is a comfortable and customizable entry point for those looking to get into mechanical keyboards as a hobby, one that’s nicer for typing than most options in its price range. It’s a strong value for non-twitchy games.

The V3 Max is a tenkeyless model, but Keychron sells several other size and layout options as part of the V Max series, too. We previously recommended the Keychron V3, an older wired model, and that one is still OK if you want to save a bit more. But the Max’s wireless connectivity and improved acoustics make it a better buy.

Pros

• Good value
• Typing feels and sounds great
• Hot-swappable switches
• USB-C and USB-A wireless receivers
• Rotary knob

Cons

• Plastic design
• Some rattle with larger keys
• Keycaps neuter RGB backlight

$115 at Amazon

Jeff Dunn for Engadget

Connectivity: 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, USB-C | Size(s): 75 percent | Switches: Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Nebula | Hot-Swappable: Yes | Material: Full metal | Keycap material: Double-shot PBT | Backlight: RGB (north-facing) | Software: Keychron Launcher

The Lemokey P1 HE is a wireless model with Hall effect switches and a 75 percent layout. On raw build quality and typing experience alone, it is a clear step above our top picks. Its full aluminum frame has zero flex, while its gasket-mount design and pre-lubed magnetic switches make keystrokes feel springy. Layers of noise-dampening material keep everything sounding pleasant, and the stabilizers on the larger keys successfully prevent any serious rattling. In many ways, it’s reminiscent of the Keychron Q Max — the top recommendation in our guide to the best mechanical keyboards — just with flatter stock keycaps that are shine-through and easier to move between. (Lemokey is Keychron’s gaming sub-brand.)

Like other Hall effect keyboards, the P1 HE offers customizable actuation points, rapid trigger, the ability to assign multiple commands to one key and a gamepad-style analog mode. Unfortunately, Keychron’s Launcher software doesn’t quite match up to the hardware. It won’t recognize the keyboard unless you connect over a cable, for one, and the process of setting up custom profiles isn’t as readable as it is with SteelSeries’ GG app or (especially) Wooting’s Wootility. You can only save three profiles to the onboard memory, too, and the shortcut for swapping between them is convoluted by comparison. You can’t assign unique RGB lighting setups to different profiles, either.

All of those analog tricks still work, and the P1 HE is so delightful to type on that it’s worth considering over the Apex Pro TKL Wireless if you care about the “keyboard” part of your gaming keyboard first and foremost. That’s especially true given that the P1 HE costs $130 less — but the Apex Pro is a smoother experience for gaming specifically.

Pros

• Feels and sounds great for typing
• Exceptional build quality
• Versatile magnetic switches

$170 at Amazon

Other gaming keyboards we tested

The Wooting 60HE.

(Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)

Note: The following is a selection of noteworthy gaming keyboards we’ve put through their paces, not a comprehensive list of everything we’ve ever tried.

Wooting 60HE+

You can consider the Wooting 60HE+ our “1A” pick, as it’s essentially a more compact version of the 80HE with a 60 percent layout. It supports the same analog gaming features, has the same four-year warranty and still uses the great Wootility software. It’s also $25 cheaper. If you prefer a smaller design and don’t need arrow keys, you can buy it with confidence. However, more people will find the 80HE’s larger layout easier to use on a day-to-day basis. Its gasket mount, updated switches and extra sound-dampening material make it more pleasant-sounding and comfier for typing out of the box. Plus, while the 60HE+ can only rest at one fixed angle, the 80HE comes with a few sets of removable feet.

It’s also worth noting that Wooting has announced an updated model called the 60HE V2 since our last update. That one is expected to arrive by the end of 2025, so if you’re not in a rush it may be worth holding out for a few more months.

Logitech G Pro X TKL Rapid

The Logitech G Pro X TKL Rapid is a good magnetic-switch alternative to the Wooting 80HE if you must buy from one of the major keyboard brands. It’s wired-only, but it looks good, with clear RGB lighting, a built-in volume roller, dedicated media keys and a sturdy metal top plate. The expected rapid trigger and adjustable actuation tricks all work fine, and Logitech’s G Hub software is easier to get around than most apps from the big-name manufacturers. It can recognize when you’ve launched certain games, for instance, then apply any custom profiles you’ve made for them automatically. It’s $10 cheaper than the 80HE as well. Where it falls short is the typing experience: The default switches are pretty noisy, and bottoming out the keys feels stiffer here compared to our top picks. If you want those Wooting-style features and prefer a clackier sound, however, it’s a decent buy.

Logitech G Pro X TKL and G Pro X 60

The wireless Logitech G Pro X TKL and G Pro X 60, which use more traditional mechanical switches, aren’t as hot. They’re built well, but they’re too pricey to not be hot-swappable or lack the analog features of the 80HE. There isn’t much sound-dampening foam in either models, too, so neither sounds great. We like that both come with a carrying case, though.

The Logitech G Pro X TKL Rapid.

(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)

Keychron C3 Pro

The tenkeyless Keychron C3 Pro is the top budget pick in our mechanical keyboard guide, and it remains a great stand-in for the G.Skill KM250 RGB if you want to stay under $50. With its gasket mount design, internal foam and pre-lubed switches, it feels and sounds fuller to press. The base version we tested lacks hot-swappable switches and only has a red backlight, but Keychron has released a revised model that addresses that and add full RGB. That said, its ABS keycaps still feel cheaper and can develop a shine over time, plus there’s no volume knob. Some may find KM250’s smaller size more convenient for gaming, too.

A more recent update called the C3 Pro 8K does include PBT keycaps for $55; we’ll aim to test that one in the future.

Keychron Q1 HE

The Keychron Q1 HE is sort of an older version of the Lemokey P1 HE with the same magnetic switches and a similarly excellent aluminum chassis. Its double-gasket design, pre-lubed switches and layers of foam make it a joy for typing. But its gaming features rely on the same iffy software, while the stock keycaps are sculpted in a way that makes them trickier to press quickly. Those keycaps aren’t shine-through either, and the whole thing is more expensive, so there isn’t much reason to buy it over the P1 HE.

The Keychron Q1 HE.

(Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)

Sony Inzone KBD-H75

The Sony Inzone KBD-H75 is another one that ticks most of the boxes we’re looking for. Its 75-percent frame is compact but not cramped. It looks plain, but it wouldn’t be out of place in an office. The metal top comes off as substantial — though the bottom is made of plastic — while the PBT keycaps are durable, with shine-through lighting. A gasket-mount design and some quality stabilizers help the typing experience feel and sound great. Presses have a nice clack, but they’re muted enough that they shouldn’t annoy anyone around you. The magnetic Hall effect switches let you customize actuation points and utilize a rapid trigger mode. General latency is excellent, and Sony’s Inzone Hub isn’t as fussy or obtuse as many companion apps in this market. There’s also a volume knob.

The problem is that all of this costs $300, and that’s a lot for a keyboard without wireless connectivity (or proper macOS support). Competitive gamers may not care about that, but for most others, there are better values out there. If you ever see this one on sale, however, it’s well worth a look, as the stock typing feel is a bit nicer than that of the Wooting 80HE.

Razer Joro

The Razer Joro is a decent choice if you want a portable scissor-switch keyboard instead of a bulky mechanical one. It’s essentially a “gamer” take on Apple’s Magic Keyboard, with a slick black finish, sturdy aluminum top plate, RGB lighting and SOCD support. The 75-percent layout is super low-profile and weighs just 0.8 pounds, so it’s extremely travel-friendly. The typing experience is stable, wonderfully quiet and comfortable for what it is — put it in a laptop and it’d be a standout. It all works across Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.

That said, it’ll never feel as cushy as a good mechanical board over extended sessions. The design is fixed at one flat angle, which some may find uncomfortable. The ABS keycaps aren’t great for something priced at $140, and while there is 2.4GHz wireless support, you need to buy a separate dongle to actually use it. Otherwise, you’re playing over Bluetooth, which adds latency, or a short USB-C cable. The Joro serves its niche well enough if you’re always on the road, but it’s a skip if you don’t game beyond your desk very often.

The Razer Joro (top) and Sony Inzone KBD-H75

(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)

Razer Huntsman V2 TKL

We previously recommended the Razer Huntsman V2 TKL as a mid-priced pick thanks to its light optical switches, crisp PBT keycaps and impressively muffled tone (with the linear-switch model, at least). Its lack of analog features make it a harder sell these days, though, and its keys wobble more than those on the Keychron V3 Max. It’s not hot-swappable, either. Beyond that, only the version with clicky switches — which sound uncomfortably sharp — is still in stock as of this writing.

Razer Huntsman V3 Pro

The Razer Huntsman V3 Pro is a line of wired analog keyboards that comes in 60 percent, TKL and full-size options. They have just about all the features we like on the Wooting 80HE, but their optical switches are noisier and more hollow-feeling.

The Razer Huntsman V2 TKL.

(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)

Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro 75%

The BlackWidow V4 Pro 75% is Razer’s top-of-the-line wireless keyboard. It’s fully hot-swappable, with heavily textured PBT keycaps, a robust aluminum top case and a nifty OLED display. The tactile Razer Orange switches in our test unit consistently feel tight, the larger keys don’t really rattle and the RGB backlight shines through beautifully. It’s a good keyboard — but it’s just not luxurious enough to warrant its $300 price tag, especially since it lacks any sort of analog-style functionality. The stock switches are a little too sharp-sounding for our liking as well.

Razer Huntsman Mini

The Razer Huntsman Mini is a fine choice if you want a 60 percent keyboard and don’t need Wooting-style software tricks, with textured PBT keycaps, a sturdy aluminum top plate and the same fast optical switches we praised with the Huntsman V2 TKL. The 60HE+ is much more versatile, though, while the KM250 RGB is a more appealing value.

The Razer BlackWidow V4 75%.

(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)

ASUS ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless

The ASUS ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless (phew) is a strong alternative to the Apex Pro TKL if you want to go wireless. It’s a joy to type on, with superb sound dampening, pre-lubed ROG NX switches, an impressively sturdy case and stable, PBT-coated keys. It’s hot-swappable, its battery life rating is much higher than the Apex Pro TKL Wireless (90 hours with RGB on) and it has a multi-function key that puts volume, media and RGB controls in one place. At $170 or so, it’s usually much cheaper than our SteelSeries pick as well.

However, it doesn’t have the rapid trigger or custom actuation tricks of Hall effect keyboards like the Apex Pro TKL Wireless or Lemokey P1 HE, and ASUS’s Armoury Crate software is a bit of a mess. The Lemokey P1 HE’s all-metal design feels higher-end, too. But if you care about typing experience more than extra gaming-friendly features, this one is still worth looking into.

ASUS ROG Azoth

The ASUS ROG Azoth is like a smaller version of the ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless with a few more enthusiast touches, such as a gasket-mounted design — which gives keystrokes a softer feel — a programmable OLED display and a toolkit for lubing switches in the box. It’s exceptionally well-made by any standard, not just “for a gaming keyboard.” But its feature set still isn’t as flexible as the Wooting 80HE or SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless, which makes its $275 list price a tough ask. ASUS recently released a new model called the ROG Azoth X, though that one costs $300 and has a much louder aesthetic.

The ASUS ROG Azoth.

(Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)

Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Keyboard

The 75 percent Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Keyboard is much better than its bland name suggests, with high-quality PBT keycaps, smooth linear switches (which are hot-swappable), wonderfully clean RGB lighting, a steady wireless connection and a rigid yet lightweight design. But it’s fairly loud, and at $200 there isn’t much reason to take it over the Lemokey P1 HE, which has a higher-quality design and more capable magnetic switches, or the ASUS Strix Scope II 96 Wireless, which offers a similarly pleasing typing experience at a slightly lower price. It’s worth considering if you see it on sale, though.

NZXT Function 2 and Function 2 MiniTKL

The full-size NZXT Function 2 and tenkeyless Function 2 MiniTKL are totally solid midrange options with fast optical switches and the ability to swap between two universal actuation points, but they’re let down by mediocre stabilizers on the larger keys.

The Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Keyboard.

(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)

NuPhy Air75 V2

The NuPhy Air75 V2 is a stylish wireless keyboard with a low-profile design. We’ve recommended it in our mechanical keyboard buying guide, as it’s an excellent choice if you want something that blends the flatter, compact shape of a laptop keyboard with the more tactile feel of mechanical switches. The design isn’t entirely ideal for gaming, though, as the wide keys can make it a little too easy to fat-finger inputs by accident and the stock keycaps aren’t shine-through. This is another one that recently received a refresh, though. NuPhy also sells a model with Hall effect switches. We’ll aim to test those for a future update.

Corsair K70 Max

The Corsair K70 Max is another one with magnetic switches, but trying to program its more advanced features through Corsair’s iCue software was a pain.

The NuPhy Air75 V2.

(Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)

Corsair K70 RGB TKL

The Corsair K70 RGB TKL is a decent if basic midrange model, but it’s also on the noisy side compared to our top picks and it’s saddled with middling software.

Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL

The Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL is another low-profile model that generally feels comfortable and well-built, even if it’s entirely made of plastic. It’s a decent alternative to the NuPhy Air75 series, as it’s much quieter with its GL Tactile switches and comes with shine-through keycaps by default. However, those switches aren’t hot-swappable, and the board can’t connect to multiple devices simultaneously over Bluetooth. The low-profile shape still isn’t the best for gaming either, plus the stock keycaps aren’t quite as grippy as other PBT options we’ve used.

The Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL.

(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)

Recent updates

September 2025: We’ve taken a sweep to make sure our picks are still accurate and added testing notes on a couple new keyboards in the Razer Joro and Sony Inzone KBD-H75.

February 2025: We’ve overhauled this guide with new picks: The Wooting 80HE is now our top recommendation overall, the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless (Gen 3) is our new “best wireless” option and the Lemokey P1 HE slots in as an honorable mention. We’ve also added notes on several more gaming keyboards we’ve tested since our last update, including Logitech’s G Pro X TKL Rapid and G515 Lightspeed TKL, Razer’s BlackWidow V4 Pro 75% and Alienware’s Pro Wireless Gaming Keyboard. Finally, we’ve made a few minor updates to our “What to look for in a gaming keyboard” section.

June 2024: We updated this guide with a new “traditional mechanical keyboard” pick, the Keychron V3 Max, plus a couple new honorable mentions and more notes on other gaming keyboards we’ve tried. Note that we’ve tested — and will continue to test — several other keyboards that aren’t explicitly marketed toward gaming, but we’ll direct you to our general mechanical keyboard buying guide for more info on those.

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