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We added a new model announced at CES 2022 to the What to look forward to section, and plan to test a new round of keyboards when they’re available early this year.
If you spend most of your day typing, you shouldn’t be stuck with the mushy keyboard on your laptop or a cheap, uncomfortable desktop keyboard. Mechanical keyboards allow you to customize their looks with different keycaps and get the typing feel you prefer by choosing different switches under the keys. And compact keyboards—which nearly match the size and layout of a laptop keyboard—take up less space on your desk. Of the dozens of keyboards we’ve tested, we think the Ducky One 2 SF is the best compact mechanical keyboard for most people’s needs.
The One 2 SF is the Goldilocks keyboard—it doesn’t have too many or too few keys—and it feels great to type on.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $110.
The Ducky One 2 SF has all the keys most people use and cuts the ones they don’t—hitting the sweet spot of size and layout. The One 2 SF is a solid keyboard that provides a delightful typing experience and has clearly labeled, easy-to-access volume keys, and as a fun bonus, it also offers customizable RGB backlighting. It’s available with a variety of Cherry switches to accommodate the sound and feel you like when typing; we recommend MX Brown switches if you’re not sure. The One 2 SF isn’t fully programmable and is tricky to customize, but most people don’t need to mess with that. You have to pay quite a bit more to get a better small keyboard.
The Magicforce feels better to type on than any other cheap mechanical keyboard, though its keycaps and case don’t look or feel as nice to type on as our top pick’s. We recommend the Cherry Brown switches or the Gateron Brown switches, depending on what’s available.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $0.
The Qisan Magicforce 68-key model is the best budget mechanical keyboard. Its layout is similar to that of the Ducky One 2 SF, with dedicated arrow keys and a small navigation cluster, but it takes up a bit more horizontal desk space. The Magicforce is much more pleasant to type on than any other budget keyboard we’ve tested, thanks to its sturdy aluminum backplate and Cherry or Gateron switch options. (We recommend Browns.) But compared with our top pick, its case feels hollow and cheaper, and it has lower-quality ABS keycaps (unless you’re lucky enough to snag one of the few with PBT keycaps). It also lacks a warranty. Even though the ABS keycaps are ugly, they’re standard size, which makes them easy to replace with better ones.
The Drop Alt offers the best typing experience and the most customization with hot-swappable switches and full programmability, but it’s expensive.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $180.
If you’re willing to pay more for an even better typing experience and a keyboard that you can tinker with—but you don’t want to learn how to solder—get the Drop Alt. It’s a 68% keyboard just like the Ducky One 2 SF, but it offers superior build quality and a more ergonomically friendly and attractive design. Plus, the Alt is fully programmable and has hot-swappable switches, so you can try different switches without having to break out a soldering iron. (As with our other picks, though, we recommend starting with Cherry MX Brown switches.)
The Tab 75 has a full function row at the top but doesn’t take up more horizontal desk space. It can work wirelessly and comes with Mac-specific keycaps.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $130.
If you frequently use the row of function keys along the top of a keyboard, we recommend the Vortex Tab 75. It has more keys, yet it’s no wider than our 65% and 68% picks, and it still provides a solid, satisfying typing experience. It’s available with a variety of Cherry switches. The Tab 75 can also connect via Bluetooth, and it’s the only one of our picks that comes with Mac-specific OS keycaps. It’s difficult to customize, though most people don’t need to program a 75% keyboard. But it doesn’t come with a manual, its media keys aren’t labeled, and its flat, DSA-profile keycaps can take some getting used to.
The Anne Pro 2 is the easiest-to-program 60% keyboard, so it’s the best starting point if you want an even more compact keyboard. Plus, it has wireless support.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $94.
If you want an even more compact keyboard and you’re willing to retrain yourself to use shortcuts to access arrow keys, get the Obins Anne Pro 2. It’s by far the easiest 60% keyboard to program thanks to its straightforward, user-friendly software—this makes a huge difference on a keyboard that lacks frequently used keys. The Anne Pro 2 is available with a bunch of different switches, including Cherry MX Browns and Kailh Box Browns, and it can connect via USB-C or Bluetooth.
Unfortunately, availability is an issue with most great mechanical keyboards. Most are made in Taiwan or China and shipped to the United States in batches to be sold by specialty retailers such as MechanicalKeyboards.com. If our picks aren’t available in the switches you want or with the keycaps you want, you can preorder at MechanicalKeyboards.com, keep an eye on that seller’s incoming-shipments page, or set availability alerts on Amazon using a price tracker such as CamelCamelCamel or Keepa. If you can’t wait that long for a new keyboard, take a look at the other great options we found during testing.
The One 2 SF is the Goldilocks keyboard—it doesn’t have too many or too few keys—and it feels great to type on.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $110.
The Magicforce feels better to type on than any other cheap mechanical keyboard, though its keycaps and case don’t look or feel as nice to type on as our top pick’s. We recommend the Cherry Brown switches or the Gateron Brown switches, depending on what’s available.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $0.
The Drop Alt offers the best typing experience and the most customization with hot-swappable switches and full programmability, but it’s expensive.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $180.
The Tab 75 has a full function row at the top but doesn’t take up more horizontal desk space. It can work wirelessly and comes with Mac-specific keycaps.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $130.
The Anne Pro 2 is the easiest-to-program 60% keyboard, so it’s the best starting point if you want an even more compact keyboard. Plus, it has wireless support.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $94.
I’ve tested hundreds of keyboards, mice, and other accessories for Wirecutter since 2014. Since I began covering mechanical keyboards for Wirecutter, I’ve accumulated eight mechanical keyboards and a macropad—all but one of which are compact keyboards that I chose the cases, switches, and keycaps for and then assembled, soldered, and programmed myself. This is too many keyboards! I’ve spent thousands of hours typing on all these different kinds of keyboards and switches to land on some reasonable recommendations for people who need only one keyboard.
Mechanical keyboards, called such because they have individual mechanical switches under each key, are more enjoyable to type on, more durable, and more customizable than the typical membrane, butterfly, or scissor-switch keyboards that come with laptops or desktops. If you spend all day typing, it can be satisfying to customize the size, switches, keycaps, and layout to your exact needs.
Curious about mechanical keyboards but overwhelmed by the options? Here’s what to look for and what makes a good keyboard.
If you spend a lot of time typing, a mechanical keyboard can be a great quality-of-life improvement, and we have recommendations for just about every budget.
Smaller keyboards allow you to place your mouse closer to your body, which can reduce strain on your shoulders, neck, and back. This is why we recommend tenkeyless (TKL) keyboards, which lack a number pad but have all the other keys: They’re smaller than full-size keyboards, but they still have all the keys most people need.
But what if your keyboard could be even smaller? (Good news, it can!) A typical tenkeyless board measures about 14 inches wide, compact 75% and 68% keyboards measure around 12¼ inches across, and an even smaller 60% keyboard is yet an inch narrower than that. Compact keyboards get progressively smaller by not wasting space on the right side of the keyboard (which tenkeyless boards are guilty of) and by ditching less frequently used keys and hiding those functions behind shortcuts.
In this guide we recommend prebuilt keyboards that you can plug in and use immediately, but you can find a whole world of custom mechanical keyboards out there, especially compact models. Many of them involve buying a kit or all the components and then soldering and programming it yourself. That opens up a ton of size, layout, switch, and programmability options, but such keyboards are less readily available, tend to be more expensive, and require a lot more tinkering.
Mechanical keyboards bring with them a lot of jargon—layouts and switches and keycap profiles, oh my—and compact mechanical keyboards are immersed in even more terminology due to their non-standard layouts. Here’s a high-level overview of the terms you need to know to buy the right keyboard for your needs. If you’re curious to learn even more detail, see our explainer on how to shop for a mechanical keyboard.
Switch options: We cover all the switch varieties in depth in our introductory guide to mechanical keyboards, but here’s the TL;DR. Mechanical switches come in three main varieties: linear, tactile, and clicky. Linear switches feel smooth when you press them, from top to bottom. Tactile switches have a noticeable bump partway through the keypress, which lets you know that you’ve activated the key. And clicky switches feel similar to tactile ones but have an added click sound to match the tactile bump. For people who don’t already have a switch preference, we recommend Cherry MX Brown switches (followed by their equivalents from Gateron or Kailh) because they’re popular, readily available tactile switches that are good for most tasks and quiet enough for most offices.
Build quality: Cheap keyboards with plastic cases and backplates feel and sound hollow when you type, and they can flex when you press too hard on them. A keyboard made of metal or thicker plastic is sturdier and doesn’t do that.
Keycaps: Many keyboards come with keycaps made from ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), a lightweight type of plastic that’s prone to wear and can become smooth and shiny with use. Keycaps made of PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), though less common, tend to be more durable, develop less shine, and have a grittier texture. And since half the fun of owning a mechanical keyboard is customizing it to your taste, we like keyboards that are available with a variety of stylish keycap options. You can always buy different keycaps and add them later, but compact keyboards are more likely to have non-standard keycap sizes that are a little trickier to find replacements for.
Most keyboards in the US come with ANSI standard keycaps, and it’s easiest to find replacement keycap sets for boards that follow this standard. Some compact keyboards have a few non-standard keycaps of different sizes. These are usually described in terms of a “u” width; 1u, for example, is the size of each of the number and alphabet keys on a keyboard, or 18 mm. A 2u key like the Backspace key is twice the size of those 1u keys. The most common change is a 1.75u right Shift key in place of the standard 2.75u right Shift key, and in the bottom row some have 1u modifier keys instead of the standard 1.25u size.
Removable cable: A removable USB cable is preferable to a built-in one, because if the cable breaks it’s easier to replace just the cable rather than the whole keyboard.
Programmability: You can customize many mechanical keyboards to change the default behavior of certain keys and have them perform other actions. And the ability to customize is even more important on compact keyboards, which drop more frequently used keys the smaller they get.
The simplest way is to use DIP switches on the bottom of a keyboard that alter the layout or behavior of a few keys. For example, you can switch between Windows and Mac layouts, swap the Caps Lock key to Ctrl, or disable OS-specific keys like the Windows or Command keys. Other keyboards offer onboard programming, where you press certain keys to record macros and customize backlighting. Still others come with software you can use to record macros, remap or customize certain keys, and futz with the backlighting.
For compact keyboards that still have all the keys most people need—75% and 65%/68% keyboards—basic customizability is fine. But for 60% models, the ability to fully program your keyboard to your liking is essential, and ideally you can do that with software that’s straightforward and easy to use.
Backlight: Although backlighting can be a nice addition, it isn’t a requirement for typing or coding. If a keyboard does come with backlighting, we prefer it to be either a tasteful white or programmable RGB—though customizable backlighting almost always costs more.
Hot-swap switches: This is a newer feature typically found only on expensive, high-end mechanical keyboards, but the ability to trade out switches without having to break out a soldering iron is a nice bonus.
Wireless: Wireless mechanical keyboards aren’t super common yet, though we found and tested several compact keyboards with Bluetooth connections. We looked for stable connections that didn’t cut out, lag, or cause double key entries, as well as keyboards that can still work in wired mode when the battery runs out.
We tested each keyboard by using it for at least one day of work, which involves lots and lots (and lots) of typing. We explored each keyboard’s customization options and paid attention to the quality of the cases and keycaps. As we narrowed down the contenders, we used the finalists for weeks of constant typing and tested any Bluetooth connections on Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS.
The One 2 SF is the Goldilocks keyboard—it doesn’t have too many or too few keys—and it feels great to type on.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $110.
As a 65%/68% keyboard, the Ducky One 2 SF is compact, yet it doesn’t sacrifice the keys most people can’t do without—it has all the letters, numbers, and modifiers, plus dedicated arrow keys and a few navigation keys on the right side. The One 2 SF is a solid keyboard that provides a delightful typing experience, and it has clearly labeled, easy-to-access volume keys. On top of that, as a fun bonus, it has customizable RGB backlighting. It isn’t fully programmable and it is tricky to customize, but most people don’t need to mess with that. You have to pay quite a bit more to get a better compact keyboard.
We recommend Cherry MX Brown switches because they provide a satisfying tactile bump without making too much noise for a shared space, but we like that the One 2 SF is also offered with a wide variety of other Cherry options. The One 2 SF is available with a white case and keycaps or a black case and keycaps, and both options have RGB backlighting.
The One 2 SF’s solid plastic case is sturdy, and in our tests, its stabilizers kept the modifier keys and spacebar from rattling during typing (a problem we saw on a number of cheaper keyboards, most notably the Magicforce). We don’t love the angled bezels on the front and back of the case in comparison with the minimalist cases of our other picks. Although it doesn’t feel as rock solid as the all-metal case of the Drop Alt or the Leopold FC660M, it doesn’t flex during ordinary or even heated typing, and overall the One 2 SF is a delight to type on.
At 12.75 by 4.13 by 1.5 inches, the One 2 SF is a couple of inches or so narrower than a typical tenkeyless keyboard, which makes a huge difference on a desk. And its gentle slope is better for your wrists than a keyboard with a steep upward slope at the back. (The One 2 SF does have feet in the back with two height options if you need them, but we found that the keyboard slid around on a desk more on the highest setting.)
The One 2 SF’s shine-through PBT keycaps are some of the best-looking and best-feeling keycaps we’ve tested. Their surface doesn’t feel as gritty as that of most PBT keycaps, but they don’t feel cheap, either, and after months of typing they haven’t developed the shine typical of lower-quality ABS keycaps. Many shine-through PBT keycaps have ugly fonts with lines through some legends (what’s printed on the keycap), which is a result of the way PBT keycaps are designed, with a cross of plastic bars under each keycap. But the One 2 SF’s keycaps lack that top bar, so the legends look normal. And the keycaps don’t feel cheap or hollow to type on.
Most people don’t need to customize the One 2 SF since it comes with all the most-used keys. It has volume and mute keys that you can reach one-handed with Fn+M, comma, and period, and they’re clearly labeled on the keycaps and in the included manual. (The Leopold FC660M doesn’t have media keys at all.) The manual also details how to customize the RGB backlight, what the DIP switches do, and how to swap the functions of the Esc, Caps Lock, left Ctrl, left OS, left Alt, right Alt, and Fn keys; doing so is a bit tricky, but it does work as stated in the manual. The One 2 SF also supports macro recording, but you can’t record macros to the default profile.1 In our tests the keyboard worked well on Windows and Mac, though you have to swap the OS keys in macOS—there’s no DIP-switch function to swap them easily—and it comes with Windows keycaps instead of neutral OS ones.
The One 2 SF comes with a removable USB-C cable. It doesn’t have any cable-management channels on the underside of the case, but few compact keyboards do. The black model we tested came with an extra spacebar and a handful of bright red accent keycaps for the arrow keys, Esc, Enter, and 1.75u Shift key. It also comes with a short wire keycap puller—it’s a little more awkward to use than our favorite one, but it won’t damage your keycaps like a plastic keycap puller may. If you purchase from MechanicalKeyboards.com, the retailer will service the One 2 SF’s one-year warranty that covers manufacturer defects.
Like many of the best keyboards we tested, the Ducky One 2 SF is available in the US primarily from specialty retailers such as MechanicalKeyboards.com, so it may not be immediately available with the design or switches you want. MechanicalKeyboards.com offers preorders (though you may have to wait a month or two) and maintains an incoming-shipments page. If you can’t wait that long, take a look at our other picks.
The One 2 SF has a non-standard keycap layout—it has a 1.75u Shift key and 1u Alt and Fn keys in the bottom row, in contrast to the typical 2.75u right Shift and 1.25u bottom-row keys. We also wish it were available with more colorful keycap options, since these non-standard keys are a bit trickier to find compatible replacements for. Most people don’t need to do this, and as compact keyboards have gotten more popular over the past few years, more keycap sets that accommodate these non-standard keys have surfaced.
As explained above, it’s possible, but confusing, to customize the One 2 SF. The keyboard is not fully programmable, and the included manual can be hard to follow. But most people don’t need to change the behavior of any keys, and those who want to do so need to struggle through the process only once. We do wish the One 2 SF had DIP switches for swapping the OS keys to Mac mode, and we wish it came with neutral OS keys instead of Windows ones.
The Magicforce feels better to type on than any other cheap mechanical keyboard, though its keycaps and case don’t look or feel as nice to type on as our top pick’s. We recommend the Cherry Brown switches or the Gateron Brown switches, depending on what’s available.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $0.
If you want an entry-level mechanical keyboard, the Qisan Magicforce 68-key model is the best place to start. Its 65%/68% layout is similar to the Ducky One 2 SF’s, with dedicated arrow keys and a small navigation cluster, but it’s a bit wider than our top pick. The Magicforce is much more pleasant to type on than any other budget keyboard we’ve tested, but its build quality and typing experience can’t match those of more expensive keyboards. Compared with our top pick, its case feels hollow and cheaper, and it has lower-quality ABS keycaps (unless you’re lucky enough to snag one of the few with PBT keycaps). It also lacks a warranty. But the Magicforce is a superb budget board with a sturdy (and good-looking) aluminum backplate, and even though the ABS keycaps are ugly, they’re standard size, which makes them easy to replace with better ones.
The Magicforce is available with a bunch of different switches of varying quality. We recommend Cherry, Gateron, or Kailh switches, in that order. You should avoid the models with Outemu switches or otherwise unnamed switches—they’re cheaper, but they feel unpleasant to type on and aren’t worth the savings. As with our other picks, we recommend Brown switches for most people, unless you know you want a different kind. Most models have an adjustable white backlight; some have an ice-blue backlight.
Next to other budget keyboards with flimsy, ugly cases and gritty-feeling, cheap switches, the Magicforce is well made and provides a superior typing experience for the price. Its aluminum backplate is solid and stylish, it stays put on a desk, and its open design looks nice. Even so, the Magicforce falls short of the pricier Ducky One 2 SF or Leopold FC660M in build quality. The Magicforce’s plastic case feels hollow and the stabilizers beneath the spacebar and modifier keys rattle and resonate throughout the case when you’re typing, problems our more expensive picks don’t have. (We also found that the Magicforce version with PBT keycaps doesn’t rattle or resonate quite as much as the more common model with thinner, cheaper ABS keycaps.)
The Magicforce is about half an inch wider than the One 2 SF but still notably smaller than tenkeyless boards. Like the One 2 SF, the Magicforce has a gentle slope that isn’t as bad for wrists, and it has feet to raise the back if you need them.
The most widely available version of the Magicforce comes with ABS keycaps that feel cheaper, have a particularly ugly font, and will develop a shine as they wear down over time. If you’re lucky, you might be able to find a model with more durable, better-looking PBT keycaps on Amazon, but they disappear frequently and typically have more limited switch options. All the media keys and other actions on the function layer are clearly labeled on both the ABS and PBT keycap sets. And all of the Magicforce’s keycaps are ANSI standard, which means if you want to upgrade you can easily find replacements without having to worry about unusual-size keys.
The Magicforce isn’t fully programmable, but it does have DIP switches on the underside for swapping Caps Lock and Ctrl, swapping the OS key and Fn, and locking the OS key. (And it comes with a manual that explains all of that clearly.) It also has clearly labeled media keys along the bottom alphabet row, and you can reach Fn plus the volume up, volume down, and mute keys with a single hand. We’ve used the Magicforce on Windows and Mac; although there’s no way to swap the OS and Alt keys on the keyboard itself, it’s easy enough to do in macOS. As on the One 2 SF, the Magicforce’s OS keys have the Windows logo.
Though the Magicforce has a cable-management channel built into the underside of its case, the only option it gives you is to route the removable Mini-USB cable from the plug to the back-center of the keyboard. This design makes it a little trickier to plug in and makes the usable cable length shorter, and it doesn’t provide much benefit. Since the Magicforce is a budget board, it doesn’t come with many extras; the only thing included in the box is a plastic keycap puller, which we don’t recommend using because it can damage the edges of your keycaps.
This budget model does not have a warranty that we could find. (The warranty card in the box is in Chinese, the Amazon listing directs us to the manufacturer website, and there is no manufacturer website.) On Amazon, we messaged the seller, who told us that the warranty was “the same as the Amazon policy” and that we could exchange the keyboard within three months, but Amazon’s return policy is 30 days.
The Drop Alt offers the best typing experience and the most customization with hot-swappable switches and full programmability, but it’s expensive.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $180.
If you’re willing to pay more for an even better typing experience and some fun extra features, get the Drop Alt. It’s a 68% keyboard just like the Ducky One 2 SF, but it has superior build quality and a more attractive design. Plus, the Alt is fully programmable and has hot-swappable switches, so you can try different switches without having to break out a soldering iron. If you want a keyboard you can tinker with—but don’t want to go off the deep end of soldering—this is the keyboard to get.
The Alt is available with Cherry MX Brown, Cherry MX Blue, Kailh Box White, or Kailh Speed Silver switches, and it has customizable RGB backlighting. (The Alt is also available with Halo switches, but we don’t recommend them. When we tested the tenkeyless Drop Ctrl, some of the Halo switches had visibly warped stems.) Best of all, the Alt has hot-swappable switches, which means you can easily try new switch types. (Swapping out switches on most mechanical keyboards requires the equipment, expertise, and time to desolder all the old switches and solder in new ones.) The Alt comes with a small metal tool that you can use to carefully pull out the switches, and then you can simply snap in different ones. I’ve personally had good experiences buying switches from NovelKeys, KBDfans, and 1UpKeyboards.
Of all the keyboards I tested for this guide, the Alt had the best build quality and felt the best to type on. Its aluminum case made the keyboard feel solid during typing, and the Cherry-style stabilizers and thick PBT keycaps provided a consistent, rattle-free typing experience. The Alt also looks snazzy, with a transparent ring around the edges of the case and shine-through PBT keycaps to show off the RGB backlighting. And I personally prefer the Alt’s low-profile design, where the keys appear to float above the case, over high-profile keyboards, where the keys are set into the case.
The Alt is the most ergonomically friendly compact keyboard we’ve tested. It’s just marginally narrower than the Ducky One 2 SF, and it comes with two metal feet that magnetically attach to the bottom of the case and can help to create a slight negative slope—it’s the only compact keyboard we’ve tested that allows for a negative slope without a separate keyboard tray. Without the included feet, the Alt lies completely flat; you could also attach the feet to the back to provide a gentle slope akin to the One 2 SF’s default position, if you prefer.
Unlike our other picks, the Alt is fully programmable—but doing so is tricky. If you don’t want to get into it, you can customize the lighting, and the Alt has media keys programmed by default. (They’re not labeled on the keycaps, so you have to memorize their locations.) It also works with both Windows and Mac out of the box, though you need to swap the OS key location in macOS or go through the full programming process if you want to move it.
If you do want to program the Alt, start with Drop’s instructions. You can use Drop’s keyboard configurator tool to customize your layout and backlighting, and then hit Compile and Download. Then you have to flash that layout to your keyboard—which is where things get complicated. You need to download the software for your OS and then follow these instructions. We tested the process on Windows, and it requires basic knowledge of how to navigate file structures in the terminal; we ran into an error because the config file needs to be in the same folder as the app (the directions weren’t explicit about this). Drop’s instructions say that folks there are working to improve the loading process, so we’ll keep an eye out for updates.
The Alt’s removable USB-C cable can plug into either USB-C port on the back-left or back-right side of the case. And the keyboard acts as a hub, so you can use its other USB-C port to connect devices, too. The Alt doesn’t come with any extra keycaps, but the package does include a nice aluminum-handled wire keycap puller, a metal tool to change out the hot-swappable switches, and two magnetic aluminum feet. Drop covers it with a one-year warranty and offers an extended three-year warranty for $35.
The Tab 75 has a full function row at the top but doesn’t take up more horizontal desk space. It can work wirelessly and comes with Mac-specific keycaps.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $130.
If you frequently use the function row of keys along the top of the keyboard, we recommend the Vortex Tab 75. It offers more keys than our 65% and 68% picks without being any wider, and it still provides a solid, satisfying typing experience. As a nice bonus, it can connect via Bluetooth, and it’s the only one of our picks that comes with Mac-specific OS keycaps. The Tab 75 is difficult to customize, though most people don’t need to program a 75% keyboard. But it doesn’t come with a manual, its media keys take two hands to activate and aren’t labeled, and its flat keycaps can take some getting used to.
The Tab 75 is available with a wide variety of Cherry switches, and as with our other picks we recommend MX Brown switches unless you know you want something else. It comes with plain gray keycaps, and even though the online manual has instructions for controlling the RGB backlight, none of the models we’ve tested have offered a backlight.
The Tab 75’s solid build quality and minimalist design are the reasons we recommend it over other 75% options like the Keychron K2. In our tests, it felt excellent to type on, and its Cherry-style stabilizers didn’t rattle during typing. At 12.38 by 5.13 by 1.5 inches, the Tab 75 takes up a bit less horizontal room than the One 2 SF or the Alt. The Tab 75 is deeper because of its additional top row, but that doesn’t negatively impact the ergonomics of your workspace. Like the One 2 SF, the Tab 75 has a gentle slope and doesn’t sit quite as flat as the Alt. Unlike our other picks, the Tab 75 lacks feet to adjust the angle—what you get is what you get.
The Tab 75’s PBT keycaps are durable, but their flat DSA profile can take some getting used to.
Most keyboards use Cherry or OEM profiles, where each row is a different height and each key is sculpted to cup your fingers. But all DSA keycaps are uniform, flat rectangles. This design makes it easier to find replacement keycaps since any keycap can go in any row, but it can feel weird to type on at first. We also appreciate the no-nonsense keycap font.
Luckily, 75% keyboards come with all the keys most people need, because it’s a pain to program the Tab 75. For starters, it doesn’t come with a manual, and the manual on Vortex’s website (PDF) is difficult to decipher. The media keys are on an Fn layer along the top row; by default you need two hands to activate most of them, and none of them are labeled on the minimalist keycaps. You can switch between Windows and Mac modes with Pn+Q and Pn+W, respectively.
As far as actual programming, you can move the Fn or Pn keys and record macros if you switch to one of the non-default layers by pressing Pn+M, comma, or period. The included manual isn’t especially helpful, so follow these instructions for the Tab 60, which also apply to the Tab 75. Last we checked, the Tab 75 doesn’t work with Vortex’s MPC programming tool; we’ll keep an eye out for updates.
Like the One 2 SF, the Tab 75 comes with a removable USB-C cable and lacks cable-management channels on the underside of the case. (The USB-C plug is located on the back-left side.) It also comes with a wire keycap puller and a selection of primary-color accent keycaps for Esc, the arrow keys, and other modifiers, as well as Cmd, Option, and Delete keys for Mac users—it’s the only one of our picks that comes with Mac-specific keycaps.
The Tab 75 can also connect via Bluetooth, and in our tests on Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS, we didn’t experience any hiccups or disconnects. To pair:
This is one extra step to connect in comparison with the more user-friendly process on the Keychron K2, but it’s not arduous. The Tab 75 requires two AAA batteries to run on a wireless connection, and the model we bought didn’t come with any—but if you want a recommendation, we have picks for rechargeable AAAs. It has a one-year warranty that covers manufacturer defects if you purchase it from MechanicalKeyboards.com.
The Anne Pro 2 is the easiest-to-program 60% keyboard, so it’s the best starting point if you want an even more compact keyboard. Plus, it has wireless support.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $94.
If you want an even more compact keyboard and you’re willing to retrain yourself to use shortcuts to access arrow keys, get the Obins Anne Pro 2. It’s by far the easiest 60% keyboard to program thanks to its straightforward, user-friendly software, which makes a huge difference on such a compact keyboard. The Anne Pro 2 is available with a bunch of different switches and can connect via USB-C or Bluetooth. It’s not quite as nice to type on or as good looking as the less-programmable Ducky One 2 Mini, but it still provides a satisfying typing experience.
The Anne Pro 2 is available with a wide variety of switches, including Cherry switches, Kailh Box switches, and Gateron switches. My personal favorites of those are Kailh Box Browns, which feel smoother and sturdier than Cherry MX Browns and aren’t quite as expensive, but you can’t go wrong with any of the options. The Anne Pro 2 is available with a white case and keycaps or a black case and keycaps, and both versions have RGB backlighting—though we found the backlight a bit dim even at the highest setting. All of the Anne Pro 2’s keycaps are ANSI standard, which makes them easy to replace.
We recommend the Anne Pro 2 because of how easy and user-friendly it is to customize—a crucial feature in a 60% keyboard without dedicated arrow keys. The Anne Pro 2 doesn’t come with a manual (a point against it), but it does have software that works on Windows and macOS and makes it super easy to remap every layer of the keyboard, customize the RGB backlight, and update the keyboard’s firmware. You can flash the new settings to the Anne Pro 2 with a click of the big orange Download button, and you don’t need to keep the software running to retain your settings. You can put any key exactly where you want it—media keys, arrow keys, the Fn key—which makes the transition to the smaller 60% layout as easy as it can get.
Even though the Anne Pro 2 doesn’t have the best build quality of the 60% keyboards we tested—that honor goes to the Ducky One 2 Mini—it’s still a solid keyboard that doesn’t flex or rattle when you’re typing. It sounds a bit louder and cheaper because of its more resonant backplate, but it still provides an enjoyable typing experience. The shine-through PBT keycaps will hold up well over years of typing, though they do have an uglier font with vertical bars through some of the legends, unlike the keycaps on the Ducky One 2 Mini and One 2 SF.
The Anne Pro 2 is the most compact of our picks: It’s about an inch and a half narrower than the Ducky One 2 SF because it lacks dedicated arrow keys and the row of navigation keys on the right side. It has a slightly steeper slope than the One 2 SF and no feet for adjusting the angle; we prefer the Ducky One 2 Mini’s flatter slope plus its adjustable feet to make up the difference for those who like a steeper angle.
The Anne Pro 2 includes a removable USB-C cable and doesn’t have any cable-management channels on the underside of the case. The black model we tested came with a wire keycap puller and some cute, colorful extra keycaps for the modifiers. The Anne Pro 2 can also connect via Bluetooth, and in our tests we didn’t experience any issues on Windows and macOS. We found these pairing instructions (PDF) to be a little clearer than those on the Obins website, but the process is still fairly straightforward. Whereas the Vortex Tab 75 runs on two replaceable AAA batteries, the Anne Pro 2 has an internal battery that you can’t easily replace.
According to the Anne Pro website, the Anne Pro 2 has a one-year warranty. But I’d personally order from MechanicalKeyboards.com for that retailer’s one-year warranty—which covers manufacturer defects—because we’ve had positive experiences with the customer service, and many companies based in China and Taiwan charge steep shipping costs for their own warranty service.
The Leopold FC660M is a 65%/68% keyboard similar to the Ducky One 2 SF, and we prefer its superior build quality, more minimalist design, flatter profile, and wider variety of keycap colors. Plus, the FC660M’s layout is closer to standard than the One 2 SF’s, with just one non-standard 1u key in the bottom row. But we don’t recommend it over the One 2 SF because it lacks volume controls—which most people use frequently—and offers no easy way to add them. It’s great if you’re willing to tinker with Karabiner for macOS or AutoHotkey for Windows to add volume keys, but take a look at the tutorials for each program to see if that’s something you’re willing to do before you buy.
The Leopold FC660C, former Wirecutter editor Nathan Edwards’s favorite compact keyboard, is similar to the FC660M but has Topre switches rather than the Cherry MX switches found in most of our picks. This makes the FC660C delightful to type on—it’s the next keyboard I’m saving up for—but it’s even more expensive and not compatible with most third-party keycap sets.
The Keychron K6 is a decent budget keyboard if your priority is a wireless connection and included Mac keycaps. Compared to the Magicforce, the K6 has some non-standard keycaps so they’re harder to replace. The K6 comes with a very short USB-C cable that’s also difficult to replace because the USB-C port is recessed into case on the left side—I tried 4 different USB-C cables, and all were too big to fit. This Cable Matters USB-C to USB-C Charging Cable worked out, but stuck out awkwardly.
The Keychron K2 V2 is an excellent budget 75% keyboard with hot-swappable Gateron switches. Its build quality and keycap quality don’t match the Vortex Tab 75’s, and its USB-C connection is inconveniently located on the left side of the keyboard and—just like the K6—is limited by a short included cable. Although the K2 isn’t programmable, it is a bit more user friendly than the Tab 75—for starters, it comes with a manual. Bluetooth pairing is straightforward, and you can change the function row to action keys on both Windows and Mac. Plus, all the keycaps have their functions labeled; the K2 looks less minimalist than the Tab 75 as a result, but it’s easier to remember what all the keys do.
The Ducky One 2 Mini is the 60% version of our top pick, the One 2 SF. Compared with the Anne Pro 2, the One 2 Mini is nicer to type on thanks to its more solid construction, and it has better-looking keycap legends. But the One 2 Mini isn’t programmable beyond DIP switches and macro recording, and it lacks Bluetooth support. I personally love the One 2 Mini because it has my preferred layout: Fn+I, J, K, and L activate the arrow keys, and Fn+M, the comma key, and the period key are mute, volume down, and volume up, respectively. But because 60% keyboards rely heavily on function layers for frequently used keys, easy programmability to customize those function layers is essential.
Keychron sells a selection of PBT keycap sets for compact keyboard layouts—we tested some, and they feel quite good for the price and have OS keys for MacOS and Windows. Be sure to double check the layout of your keyboard against the keycaps provided, but this is a great starting point if you want to swap out the keycaps on your compact mechanical keyboard.
We’ll test the new Ducky One 3 SF and Mini with hot-swappable switches when they’re available next year. We’re also looking forward to testing the Keychron Q2 against our picks. We plan to look at options from Epomaker and the Leopold FC660MBT (the FC660M with the addition of Bluetooth) for our next update.
At CES 2022, HyperX announced the Alloy Origins 65, a more compact version of one of our favorite mechanical keyboards for gaming. We look forward to testing the Origins 65 when it’s available in February.
In the 60% category, we’re currently testing the Kinesis Gaming TKO, the HyperX Alloy Origins 60, and an updated version of the Anne Pro 2 and will update this guide with our impressions early next year.
The Ducky x Varmilo Miya Pro is noticeably wider than other 68% options, but it does have all ANSI-standard keycaps. You have no way to turn off the Page Up or Page Down LEDs (which indicate whether the top row consists of number or function keys), not even by disabling the LEDs or turning the backlight all the way down. You can disguise the effect by cranking the LEDs all the way up, but then the other key is conspicuously unlit.
Input Club’s WhiteFox (and its goth sibling, the NightFox) is the compact keyboard that launched compact keyboards into widespread popularity. (And the Drop Alt is a similar layout and design that Drop started producing after the two companies stopped working together.) The original WhiteFox and NightFox are no longer widely available, so we can’t recommend them.
The Vortex Cypher feels surprisingly hollow and cheap to type on, has an ugly keycap font, and doesn’t come with a manual.
The Vortex Race 3 is the predecessor of the Tab 75. It’s a fine keyboard, but there’s no reason to buy it over the newer model, which has wireless and a standard-size Esc key.
The Keychron Q1 has excellent build quality and feels delightful to type on, but it’s disappointing that a keyboard this expensive ships with cheap-feeling ABS keycaps. The Tab 75 is cheaper and comes with better quality keycaps.
Although the Drevo Excalibur has a solid-feeling aluminum case, its stabilizers rattle, and the black model we tested had an unpleasant rubbery coating on the keycaps and an ugly font. The Keychron K2 is a little more expensive and a lot better.
The Qisan 82-key Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is the 75% equivalent of the 68-key Magicforce, but it’s available with very few switch options and a blue-only backlight.
The Vortex Tab 60 is a solid keyboard with PBT keycaps, but it doesn’t come with a manual, and at the time of our testing, it was not as programmable as a 60% keyboard needs to be. This could be fixed with a future firmware and software update from Vortex, and we’ll retest the Tab 60 if that happens.
The predecessor to the Tab 60, the Vortex Pok3r, comes with lower-quality ABS keycaps. In addition, the default layer isn’t programmable, and the keyboard lacks wireless support.
The Razer Huntsman Mini is also a well-made keyboard with quality PBT keycaps and RGB backlighting. But it’s available only with linear and clicky switches—no tactile options—and its programmability is too limited in the Razer Synapse software. We’ll retest it if this changes with a firmware or software update.
The Fujitsu HHKB Pro 3 Hybrid is a great Topre keyboard that’s fully programmable—and easy to program—and equipped with Bluetooth support. But the classic HHKB layout lacks keys in the bottom left and bottom right of the keyboard, and that’s too much for most people to get used to on an already restrictive 60% layout. Plus, it’s expensive. If you already love the HHKB layout, you don’t need us to tell you to get this keyboard, and if you’re not sure, you probably don’t want it.
The HHKB Pro 3 Classic is the same as the Pro 3 Hybrid but is not fully programmable and doesn’t support Bluetooth.
The Keychron K12 has Bluetooth and hot-swappable switches, but isn’t fully programmable.
The wireless Cooler Master SK622 and the wired SK620 are low-profile 60% keyboards. We experienced a strange pinging noise during typing, and they’re not programmable enough for such a compact layout.
I was so excited about the announcement of the Logitech Pop Keys, because I’ve wanted Logitech to make a wireless mechanical keyboard for years. Unfortunately, the more time I spent with the Pop Keys, the more my excitement faded. Despite its cute design, decent price, replaceable batteries, and rock-solid wireless connection, its unique circular keys just aren’t a great fit for a mechanical keyboard. After weeks of using it, I still struggle to type accurately on it. (The non-mechanical Logitech K380 also has circular keys, but I can adjust to those in a matter of hours.) It is possible to swap out the circular keycaps for DSA-profile square keycaps—the Pop Keys is not compatible with Cherry or OEM profile keycaps—but it has a handful of non-standard keycaps, notably a 6U spacebar, that make it both difficult and expensive to find a compatible set. Hopefully Logitech will reconsider the circular keycaps for its next mechanical keyboard.
The low-profile Keychron K3 and Keychron K7 both feel mushy, shallow, and unpleasant to type on, even compared to other low-profile boards we’ve tested. We also encountered wireless connection issues, and these models have worse battery life than either the Logitech K380 or the Pop Keys.
The Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini HyperSpeed is only available with clicky or linear switches, comes with cheap ABS keycaps, and the stabilizers on the space bar and modifier keys make an unpleasant, loud rattle.
The One 2 SF has six profiles that you can switch between by pressing Fn+Alt+1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. You cannot record macros to the default Profile 1, so you have to switch to one of the other profiles to start recording macros. The manual explains this, but it’s easy to miss this step and assume your keyboard is broken because macros won’t record to the default layer.
Kimber Streams is a senior staff writer and has been covering laptops, gaming gear, keyboards, storage, and more for Wirecutter since 2014. In that time they’ve tested hundreds of laptops and thousands of peripherals, and built way too many mechanical keyboards for their personal collection.
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