Mainstream

Here we will include keyboards between 50 and 100 EUR which use switches for translating the keypress into a letter on the screen. It is probably the most vast category in the world, only surpassed by the sheer number of membrane keyboards – which technically places us into a bit of a pickle. Considering the definition of the word mainstream, membrane keyboards should be included here.

And if we draw a conclusion from what we read so far, it means that most of the world is using entry level keyboards.

And that is OK. The price is what dictates in this case for large companies and the offers of cheap mechanical keyboards appropriate for office use is extremely small or inappropriate for the corporate medium. We also need to observe that a keyboard must fulfill some security criteria when used in a company, placing fully programmable keyboards with on-board memory in a tight spot as they can be a vector for malware attacks. And trust me, you do not want to be that guy, the only human in the company with a programmable keyboard with on-board memory in the context of a malware attack. It does not matter the IT department may have left a backdoor unpatched in the firewall, you have a huge target painted on yourself at that moment. It is IT’s fault to a degree because there are companies where your keyboard will simply not work unless it is on a list of approved devices, since a rogue USB stick poses as a keyboard to install malware.

Going back to keyboards there are quite a few interesting options in this price range. Of course preference matters, but so do the details.

First of all, we have a look at the form factor. There are some gems below 100 EUR like the Anne Pro 2 but that is a 60% keyboard even though it is wireless and has very nice programmability potential. A lot of people will be confused and uninterested.

There are full size or TKL or 75% keyboards that are decent here, like the Keychron K8 (TKL) starting at 69$ (nice) up to 84$ (aluminium frame case). Or the K10 (full size) starting at 74$ up to 94$ respectively. And these options are wireless and wired, with hot-swap options and RGB.

Here we also find the Razer Blackwidow Elite and Blackwidow v3 which give me a strong nostalgia hit – my first ever mechanical keyboard was a Razer Blackwidow (obviously with Cherry MX Blue switches).

In this price range we also find the Corsair K55, which has a fluctuating price depending on the store – I managed to find one for less than 50 EUR for example). Ditto for ASUS TUF Gaming K1, almost half the price of her bigger sister ROG Strix Scope which comes right under 100 EUR.

The Apex 3 series from Steelseries also fits here, with Apex 3 full size boasting an IP32 certification which means you can pour some beer over it without issues (please don’t do this).

Hyper X Alloy Origins is in this price range as well, although depending on the seller the prices can go slightly over 100 EUR.

Again, go to the shops, touch and then buy. Or order online with a reasonably decent return window (30 days is perfect).