The 4 Best Budget Mechanical Keyboards - Summer 2024 Reviews

We recommend the Keychron V5 Max as hands down the best budget mechanical keyboard for most people. It has an impressive collection of features typically found on more expensive custom keyboard offerings, including a gasket mount design that produces a softer, slightly cushioned-feeling typing experience. It also has high-quality PBT keycaps and layers of acoustic-dampening material sandwiched inside that help to round out your typing sound profile.

This keyboard is part of a wider V Max lineup that includes bigger and smaller variants. We recommend any of these variants as they share the same basic construction and set of features; the major difference is their size and layout. Each model in the wider series is also built with customizability in mind. Everything from the switches, stabilizers, keycaps, and even the software and firmware are customizable. There's even an included toolkit to help you completely disassemble them, making these keyboards a great budget-friendly base if you're interested in tinkering and adding to your build down the line.

If wireless connectivity isn't something you need, we recommend checking out the original Keychron V Series keyboards instead. These wired-only models don't have a gasket mount design and don't quite deliver the same premium-feeling typing quality, but they're almost always available for cheaper and come in a full variety of sizes and layouts.

We recommend the ROYAL KLUDGE RK61 as the best cheap mechanical keyboard with a wireless connection. It's a compact, lightweight, and highly portable model that makes it well-suited for smaller desks, and it's a great option if you're often taking your keyboard on the go to use remotely or even just jumping between hot desks. Just note that its compact design means it lacks a function row, a Numpad, and dedicated arrow keys (although it does have plenty of pre-programmed hotkeys to stand in for these missing keys, including hotkeys that act like arrow keys when you hold down the Fn button).

In addition to its good overall build quality, this keyboard offers excellent connectivity options. You can pair it with up to three devices using Bluetooth, use it wired, or get a variant with a USB receiver to use the keyboard anywhere and with any device with a USB-A port. Other variants of this board are also available, including a hot-swappable version that allows you to change out the stock switches to customize the keyboard for the typing experience you want.

The Keychron C1 Pro is essentially a more basic, wired-only model similar to our top pick, the Keychron V5 Max, and we recommend it as the best cheap mechanical keyboard if you prefer a wired connection. Note that this board is at its best value when available for around $55 USD but is occasionally priced higher on some online retailers, so it's worth checking Keychron's product page to make sure you get the lowest price. Overall, it doesn't quite match it in terms of typing quality since it has a more conventional and slightly stiffer-feeling tray mount design. However, it still packs some surprising features at its price point, including switches that come pre-lubed from the factory, high-quality PBT keycaps, and south-facing LEDs that allow greater flexibility if you're interested in buying aftermarket keycaps.

You can also choose between several different assembly configurations at purchase, with choices between white-only or full RGB backlighting, as well as the option for a hot-swappable PCB that allows you to change out the stock switches easily. For further customization, this keyboard is compatible with VIA software, so you can create custom profiles, adjust the backlighting, and record macros to any key, among other options. If you like this keyboard but need a numpad, we check out the Keychron C2 Pro instead, which is a larger, 100% variant that's typically only a bit more expensive. We recommend whichever size variant works best for your needs, as they're both impressively full-featured and well-built options that provide excellent value at an entry-level price point.

While our top pick, the Keychron V5 Max, is an outstanding out-of-the-box option for general use and gaming alike, you might be looking for something that's entirely gaming-focused. If so, we recommend the Razer Huntsman Mini thanks to its exceptionally low latency and highly responsive Clicky Optical switches, though quieter Linear Optical switches are also available. These features are normally on boards with much higher price tags. However, this keyboard is best suited as a dedicated gaming unit since the short pre-travel of the optical switches may cause you to make more typos during regular use due to their sensitivity. Its compact size frees up a bit more space for sweeping, dynamic mouse movements on your desk, but also means it isn't as suitable for general productivity work, like data entry or spreadsheets, due to the lack of arrow keys, a function row, and a numpad.

In addition to its high-performance gaming features, this keyboard offers good build quality, with a hard plastic frame, an aluminum top plate, and durable double-shot PBT keycaps that aren't prone to fading or becoming slippery over time, though they're a little wobbly. The cable is also detachable and easy to replace if it gets damaged.