Best Budget Mechanical Keyboards for 2024 | Tom's Hardware

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The list in brief1. Best Overall2. Best TKL3. Best 60-Percent4. Best Work/Play5. Best Productivity6. Best Clicky7. Best Low-Profile8. Shopping Tips9. Savings

The best gaming keyboards often don't come cheap, with most models from well-known brands selling for $100 or more — especially if they're wireless. And, of course, mechanical keyboard enthusiasts are willing to pay much more for limited-run, luxury custom kits that let you dial in the details of dozens of features.

But not everyone wants to spend hundreds of dollars on an input device, especially when they have other peripherals and components to buy. Thankfully, there are plenty of budget-friendly mechanical keyboards available that deliver a satisfying typing experience for less than $100. And if you end up with a keyboard that doesn't quite meet your needs, these mechanical keyboard mods can help improve on what you've got.

Best Overall

Best Budget Mechanical KeyboardAn $80 full-size wired keyboard with Gateron mechanical switches, an aluminum top plate, and on-the-fly macro recording.

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Best TKL

Best Budget TKL Mechanical KeyboardA sub-$50 gaming keyboard with clicky mechanical switches, RGB backlighting, and full N-key rollover.

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Best 60-percent

Best Budget 60-percent Mechanical KeyboardThis mini board has low-profile keys, clicky blue mechanical switches, and bright backlighting, and can often be found for under $35.

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Best Work/Play

Best Compact Budget Mechanical KeyboardThis sub-$50 keyboard is TKL-sized but has a 10-key number pad instead of navigation keys.

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Best Productivity

Best Budget Mechanical Keyboard for ProductivityA $60 full-size keyboard with a sleek, minimal design and your choice of linear, clicky, or tactile mechanical switches.

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Best Clicky

Best Clicky Budget Mechanical KeyboardA $50 full-size keyboard with a premium top plate and either Kailh Box White or Kailh Blue clicky switches.

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Best Low-Profile

Best Low-Profile Budget Mechanical KeyboardA full-size gaming keyboard with low-profile Kailh Choc White switches. Often on sale for around $50.

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Our expert review:

The Cooler Master CK552 is the best budget mechanical keyboard for most users. It’s a full-sized gaming keyboard with RGB backlighting, an aluminum top plate, and a 5.9-foot (1.8m) USB 2.0 cable. It comes with Gateron switches in Red (linear), Blue, (clicky), or Brown (tactile).

Our review unit came with Gateron Red switches that were responsive during gaming — so much so that our reviewer occasionally pressed keys they didn't mean to. This means it's not the best for heavy typing sessions. Choosing a different switch type might help, but the other switch options have been harder to find, recently.

For gamers and enthusiasts, the CK552 features onboard memory that can store up to four profiles and on-the-fly controls that make it easy to record macros and control the backlighting. It's also compatible with the Cooler Master Portal utility, which offers more granular controls over many of the same areas, but isn’t as robust as rivals (such as Razer Synapse). Still, this dual approach should appeal to people who don't like to install a bunch of software and those who want greater control over their peripherals.

Our expert review:

The Aukey KMG14 ($58) was the only clicky budget mechanical keyboard we tested that didn't make us want to "accidentally" spill something on top of it. The clicks are pronounced, sure, but they’re closer to the pleasant pinging end of the spectrum rather than the "unbearable clacking" end. Pretty much everything else about the keyboard was also a welcome surprise, especially given its price.

Aukey equipped the KMG14 with RGB backlighting and full N-key rollover. It also used double-shot ABS keycaps, which is surprising given how cheap this mechanical keyboard is. Still, the KMG14 comes with a keycap puller to make it easier to swap out the keycaps with something a little snazzier, which was a nice touch and something we wish some other manufacturers had thought to include with their more unfortunate looking keycaps.

While this is marketed as a gaming keyboard, we're recommending it for typing, simply because the clicks proved to be distracting to us and our teammates while we played games like Valorant and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. There are no tactile or linear switch options here. People who prefer single-player games — or who don't mind annoying their teammates every time they press a key — will find a fine gaming keyboard here.

Our expert review:

Redragon has a reputation for delivering shockingly capable and well-built devices at bargain-basement prices. And the Redragon K615 Elise continues that tradition, at just $35. The K615 is a compact wired mechanical gaming keyboard with RGB lighting, low-profile tactile Blue switches, and a solid feel that’s aided by a metal band that runs around the entire edge of the device. Redragon even throws in a removable USB-C cable and flip-up feet to lift the back of the keyboard up for a better typing / gaming angle.Of course, there are compromises given the crazy low price and compact form factor. K615 doesn’t come with software, so you’ll mostly have to live with the 18 lighting presets (although you can record a custom light show using a complex dance of key combos). The limitation of just 61 keys means that many common characters and functions (like the arrow keys) get relegated to secondary Fn functions. But that’s a limitation of the space-saving 60% form factor, not a fault of this particular keyboard.Also on the negative side: Redragon seems to only sell the K615 with clicky blue switches, rather than the red / linear type that most people prefer for gaming. That said, as these are low-profile switches with shorter travel, that may be less of an issue. And amazingly (again, given the price) the low-profile switches can be swapped in for something else. Four spare switches and a key and switch puller are also included in the box. Just know that the switches are Otemu style, with their pins closer together than most others. None of the many low-profile switches we had on hand would fit. So if you do want to replace the blue switches here, you may have to get replacements from somewhere like Aliexpress.Undoubtedly, the Redragon Elise K615 is a bargain for all you get. In our time testing it with games and productivity, the only thing we didn’t like about it was the general limitations of the 60% form factor – primarily the lack of dedicated arrow keys. We use these keys all the time while writing and editing, and also quite often to move the camera around in RTS games. It also would have been nice to have lighting presets that would change the keys to one solid color. But with some patience you should be able to do that via the custom setting if you follow the keyboard’s minimal included instruction sheet.The K615 looks good and feels solid. It's slim enough to easily slip into a bag for travel, and the removable cable aids in its impressive portability. If you want granular control of things like lighting and key binding via software, you’ll have to look elsewhere and likely have to spend at least twice as much. But for basic gaming and typing, the K615 delivers the goods without looking or feeling flimsy or cheap. And it includes some surprisingly premium features as well. There’s a whole lot to like for the $35 price, and if you can find The Redragon K615 Elise on sale for less than $30 as we did, it’s an absolute steal.

Our expert review:

The Havit KB487L doesn't fit neatly into any other category, but it's such an interesting keyboard that we had to include it here. It's a standard TKL shape, but instead of having the usual cluster of shortcut keys along the right-hand side, it has a number pad. This leads to a ‘have your cake and eat it too’ design that offers the space-saving advantages of a TKL keyboard but doesn't actually consign spreadsheet lovers to using the number row. Our reviewer, who rarely uses the shortcut cluster or number pad, didn’t notice the difference during everyday use — but it’s almost certain to throw off anyone who’s used to a more traditional layout.

Havit also equipped the KB487L with durable PBT keycaps that feel nice and boast a unique black, white, and orange color scheme that allow the KB487L to stand out among the sea of monochromatically faced keyboards currently available. This doesn't look or feel like a budget mechanical keyboard.

Luckily the KB487L’s beauty is more than skin deep. Our reviewer didn’t notice any mis-pressed keys throughout multiple days of playing Valorant or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and those games make it pretty easy to tell when you’re doing something wrong with the keyboard — namely by making what should have clearly been a headshot fly off somewhere between the lost cities of Atlantis and Narnia. It may not be your preferred experience, but it's better than most linear switch-equipped options.For those who like the look of the Havit keyboard but want RGB and at least the option of other switches, note that Redragon offers an aesthetically similar 94-key K636CL0-RGB. That keyboard offers hot-swappable switches and packs a lot of other niceties for its price (which often hovers around $36). But we think most people would prefer the feel of the Havit, as the Redragon's keys have a surprising amount of variation in their feel, perhaps due to the stabilizers. In our review unit, the right shift key felt drastically different than anything else on the keyboard, and some keys offering a much louder, hollow "thick" than others. It's forgivable given the surprisingly low price. But we'd choose the Havit KB487L for about $9 more.

Logitech's K845 replaces our previous budget productivity pick, the K840. The K845 costs about $10 more but adds white backlighting (five patterns, three brightness levels). For a $60, you get a full-sized mechanical layout with an aluminum top plate and your choice of red (linear), blue (clicky tactile) or brown (tactile) switches made by TTC. For $20 more, you can opt for one of the 845ch models, which feature Cherry MX Red or Blue switches. The company sent us a K845 with TTC blue switches, which we found to be a satisfying substitute over Cherry MX Blue switches. The switches are rated for 50 million clicks and the molded keycaps are comfortable and durable — though we didn't love the chunky font.

The Logitech K845 sports an aluminum top plate that both looks good and delivers a more premium feel than you might expect from a keyboard in this price range. That said, if you're used to pricier keyboards with lots of heft, the K845's 1.72-pound weight and plastic shell don't exactly scream "premium."

There are no dedicated macro or media keys, included software, or detachable cable. And the white backlight isn't as snazzy as RGB. But we also wouldn't expect all that in this price range. The flip-up plastic feet at the back do feel a bit more substantial and durable, though, than many other keyboards we've tested with higher price points. If you're after a simple, no-fuss, entry level mechanical clacker for productivity purposes (and perhaps some occasional gaming), the Logitech K845 is a great option — especially if you can snag it on sale.

Our expert review:

The MSI Vigor GK50 Elite is a great keyboard for typing. Like the Impulse, the Vigor GK50 Elite features the excellent Kailh Box White (clicky) switches. If you'd prefer something even louder, you can also pick this keyboard up with Kailh Blue switches.

While the plastic keycaps here aren’t fancy, they did a great job of fighting off fingerprint smudges during our testing. MSI also included a premium top plate, but skimped a bit on the cable, which is rubber and doesn't feel particularly durable. The Vigor GK50 Elite is a well-priced, albeit simple, keyboard with a premium typing experience.

That said, gamers might miss premium features, such as bonus macro keys and onboard memory. Additionally, the Vigor GK50 Elite is only available with clicky, tactile switches that can be exhausting to hit rapidly and repeatedly.

Read: MSI Vigor GK50 Elite review

Our expert review:

Mechanical keyboards with low-profile switches can come at a premium, but the MSI Vigor GK50 Low Profile offers one of the best budget mechanical keyboard experiences. It competes well against pricey keyboards and particularly excels in typing. Its low profile Kailh Choc switches bring back memories of typewriters with its shamelessly loud clicks. We also liked the fast response, which made our fingers want to get moving even faster.

It’s not the perfect keyboard. In fact, we found the stiffer shift key to be a hindrance and the stiffer spacebar to affect our ability to use it rapidly while gaming. On top of this, the accompanying software doesn’t download properly at the moment, so RGB and other customization is limited.

However, this clacker has the speedy switches that gamers need, a gamer-oriented design, and a typing experience that made us feel nostalgic and eager to start working.

Read: MSI Vigor GK50 Low Profile review

Choose your form factor: Keyboards come in many sizes, but the primary distinctions are full-size — which has a dedicated number pad — or tenkeyless (TKL) which doesn't. While number pads are useful for data entry or extra keys that can be customized for gaming or other tasks, many people just can't spare the extra desk space. For those with even smaller spaces, there are 60 or 65 percent keyboards that ditch navigation and even arrow keys in favor of making more room for sweeping mouse movements.

Choose your switch type: Mechanical switches aren't all created equal. Different switch types feature different actuation points, travel distances, and types of feedback. There are three main types of mechanical switches you should know:

Whether you're shopping for the one of the best budget mechanical keyboards or a different model, you may find savings by checking out our lists of the latest Newegg promo codes or Best Buy promo codes.

MORE: Best Gaming Keyboards

MORE: Best Wireless Keyboards

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After a rough start with the Mattel Aquarius as a child, Matt built his first PC in the late 1990s and ventured into mild PC modding in the early 2000s. He’s spent the last 15 years covering emerging technology for Smithsonian, Popular Science, and Consumer Reports, while testing components and PCs for Computer Shopper, PCMag and Digital Trends.

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