Performance

Here we are including keyboards in the 100 – 200 EUR price range for the final complete product. It is an interesting price range because here we start having options that include QMK and VIA support along with an avalanche of products from the big companies. It is the price range where we can aim for maximum quality at a reasonable price.

Towards the lower end of the spectrum we find OEMs like Leopold and Varmilo, with different form factors starting at 20% (it’s a numpad) up to 100% and beyond. These are solid, decent keyboards, without a lot of unnecessary fluff, built to do their job and last a lifetime. These don’t always offer hot-swap options, however we can assume that once your budget went over 100 EUR you loosely know what switches you wish for. And Leopold for example are considered to be amongst the best quality prebuilt keyboards in the world.

We also have offers from Glorious with their GMMK (TKL and full size) and GMMK2 (65% and 96%). These also offer hot swap options, but unfortunately GMMK only accepts 3 pin switches, which means mutilating the aftermarket 5 pin switches (the two extra pins are plastic and not required for actuation purposes). Their price makes them appropriate for people who would like to try different switches, although instead I would suggest the TKL or full size offers from Keychron which are cheaper. If you go for a GMMK2 please ensure it specifically states 5 pin compatibility.

Razer Blackwidow V3 Pro ends up in this category simply due to its price and so do Corsair K70 mk2 and her bigger sister K100 which almost touch the 200 EUR mark. ASUS tries to tempt you with the ROG Strix Flare and ROG Falchion Wireless in a format that specifies “no number pad”.

In this price range we also find the Apex 7 series from Steelseries (TKL or full size) and the HyperX Alloy Elite 2.