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The Best Mechanical Keyboards

From full-metal 75% customs to fast optical gaming boards — compared

Last updated Jul 3, 2026

A mechanical keyboard is the thing your hands touch all day, and the field now spans dense aluminium customs, fast optical gaming boards, and productivity wireless designs. We compared five popular options on typing feel, build and acoustics, how far you can customise them, and value so you can match the board to how you type. Some links on this page are affiliate links, which never affects our ranking.

  1. 1

    Keychron Q1

    Our pick

    The reference full-metal 75% board: gasket-mounted, hot-swap, QMK/VIA.

    8.9
    / 10

    Pros

    • + Gasket-mounted full-aluminium case delivers a premium, muted typing feel and sound
    • + Hot-swap sockets accept 3- and 5-pin switches with no soldering
    • + Open-source QMK/VIA firmware for deep, browser-based remapping

    Cons

    • − Heavy full-metal build is not meant to be portable
    • − The base model is wired only; wireless needs the Q1 Pro or Max variant
    • − Costs more than plastic-cased mainstream boards
    From $199.00
    Visit Keychron Q1
  2. 2

    Glorious GMMK Pro

    A gaming-leaning 75% aluminium board with a rotary knob and hot-swap.

    8.4
    / 10

    Pros

    • + Dense CNC-aluminium body with a handy rotary knob and bright RGB
    • + Hot-swappable for 3- and 5-pin switches out of the box
    • + Highly moddable, with a large community of aftermarket plates and mods

    Cons

    • − Stock stabilisers and foam usually need tuning to sound their best
    • − Glorious Core software is less flexible than open QMK/VIA
    • − Barebones and prebuilt pricing climbs quickly with add-ons
    From $169.99
    Visit Glorious GMMK Pro
  3. 3

    NZXT Function 2

    A fast optical gaming board with an 8,000Hz polling rate and adjustable actuation.

    7.9
    / 10

    Pros

    • + 8,000Hz polling rate and fast optical switches for low input latency
    • + Selectable 1mm or 1.5mm actuation to tune between typing and gaming
    • + Hot-swappable optical sockets and per-key RGB via NZXT CAM

    Cons

    • − Optical switches limit you to NZXT's own switch ecosystem
    • − Plastic-forward build lacks the heft of the aluminium customs
    • − No open QMK/VIA firmware; relies on NZXT CAM software
    From $139.99
    Visit NZXT Function 2
  4. 4

    Keychron V1

    Best value

    The budget QMK/VIA 75% board: most of the Q1 experience in a plastic case.

    7.6
    / 10

    Pros

    • + Full QMK/VIA firmware and hot-swap sockets at a budget price
    • + Double-shot PBT keycaps and an acoustic dampening pad included
    • + Same 75% layout and Mac/Windows keycaps as the pricier Q1

    Cons

    • − Plastic case lacks the density and premium feel of aluminium boards
    • − Base model is wired only; wireless needs the V1 Max
    • − Sound out of the box is thinner than the metal customs
    From $89.00
    Visit Keychron V1
  5. 5

    Logitech MX Mechanical

    A low-profile wireless productivity board with smart backlighting and multi-device.

    7.2
    / 10

    Pros

    • + Low-profile mechanical feel with a choice of Tactile, Clicky or Linear switches
    • + Wireless multi-device switching across up to three machines
    • + Proximity backlighting and long battery life via Logi Options+

    Cons

    • − Not hot-swappable and has no enthusiast-style customisation
    • − Low-profile feel differs from the deep travel of custom boards
    • − Logi Options+ offers remapping but not open QMK/VIA depth
    From $169.99
    Visit Logitech MX Mechanical

Side-by-side

The Best Mechanical Keyboards — score by criterion for each product.
Product Typing Feel & Switches Build Quality & Acoustics Customization & Software Value & Pricing Overall
Keychron Q1 9.0 9.5 9.0 7.5 8.9
Glorious GMMK Pro 8.5 9.0 9.0 6.5 8.4
NZXT Function 2 8.0 7.5 7.5 8.5 7.9
Keychron V1 7.5 6.5 8.0 9.0 7.6
Logitech MX Mechanical 7.0 8.0 6.5 7.5 7.2
How we scored this

Each keyboard is scored 0–10 on four weighted criteria — Typing Feel & Switches (weight 3), Build Quality & Acoustics (2), Customization & Software (2), and Value & Pricing (1.5) — because feel and sound dominate the daily experience, followed by how much you can make the board your own. Specs reference each maker's published details, and ranks are our editorial judgement independent of any affiliate payout.