Whether you're a gamer, a writer or a general office worker, the best mechanical keyboards can really enhance your time at the desk. They are nicer to type on, more responsive for gaming and come with a host of additional features which make them some of the best overall keyboards you can buy today.
Mechanical keyboards come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, too, catering to a wide range of budgets. Although they do tend to be more expensive than traditional rubber dome membrane keyboards, that's not always the case. Whether you need something small, something comfortable or something to help you game as well as possible, here are the best mechanical keyboards you can buy in 2022.
- Best Mechanical Keyboard Overall: Steelseries Apex Pro
- Best Gaming Keyboard: Corsair K100 RGB Optical
- Best 60 Percent Keyboard: Razer Huntsman Mini
- Best Mechanical Keyboard For Professionals: Das Keyboard 5QS
- Best Customizable Mechanical Keyboard: Logitech G Pro X
- Best Budget Mechanical Keyboard: Redragon K551
- Best Wireless Gaming Keyboard: Logitech G915
- Best Mechanical Keyboard For Typing: Das Keyboard Code V3
Best Mechanical Keyboard Overall
The Fastest Keyboard, With Deep Customization
- Switches: Steelseries OmniPoint
- Lighting: Per-key RGB
- Size: Full
There are numerous switch options you can choose from with a mechanical keyboard, with each having their advantages and disadvantages. SteelSeries does away with all that with the Apex Pro, by offering truly customizable switches. Its optical OmniPoint Switch design is both incredibly fast and deeply adjustable. You can customize the actuation point to between 0.4mm and 3.6mm, which in turn also adjusts the actuation force. Whether you like a deep switch or something shallower, you can customize the Apex Pro for it.
You can even have different actuation points and forces for different tasks, letting you enjoy something lighter for long typing sessions and something a bit heavier handed for gaming all in one package.
It enjoys dynamic RGB lighting on every key and a unique media control system with a roller and button. There’s also an OLED smart display to give you information about your games, apps and the keyboard itself.
The aluminum frame and range of available accessories really put this keyboard over the top, making it the best mechanical keyboard you can buy in 2022.
Best Gaming Keyboard
Every Feature You Could Ask For
- Switches: Corsair OPX or Cherry MX Speed Silver
- Lighting: Per-key RGB
- Size: Full
Corsair has been making some of the best gaming keyboards for years, so it's no surprise to see its current flagship, the K100, taking the top spot in this category. It is a fantastically well-built keyboard with a sturdy frame and robust set of features. Its per-key RGB lighting is some of the best around, with a detailed and intuitive backend software in the CUE application.
It has an extremely fast polling rate of 4,000Hz, which combined with the extremely fast actuation of the Corsair OPX optical switches (or to a lesser extent, the Cherry MX Speed Silver alternative) makes it one of the most responsive mechanical keyboards available today.
It comes complete with a comfortable wrist rest and uses PBT keycaps on all the keys for a premium feel. The media controls through the scroll wheel and iCUE control wheel make it a versatile and convenient design when listening to music or adjusting in-game audio.
Best 60 Percent Keyboard
No Space Wasted
- Switches: Razer Optical
- Lighting: Per-key RGB
- Size: 60%
If you want a capable mechanical keyboard but don't need all the extras and don't have a lot of space, then the Razer Huntsman Mini is a great option. It's a 60% keyboard with no function keys, no arrow keys nor a numpad, but that gives it an extremely trim profile and makes it perfect for travelling or small gaming stations.
Inside this tiny frame is a mighty construction, with Razer's excellent optical switches to make it extremely responsive for gaming or typing, and each key enjoys Chroma-supported RGB backlighting that is deeply customizable.
The keycaps are doubleshot PBT to improve durability, and the textured surface helps avoid dirt build up over time.
Even though you have fewer keys on this keyboard than some of the other designs on this list, you still have full control over the key bindings, so if you want to add back-in some functions that were lost with a board of this size or want to add macros to certain keys, it's only a few clicks away.
Best Mechanical Keyboard For Professionals
Understated And Performative
- Switches: Das Keyboard Gamma Zulu
- Lighting: Per-key RGB
- Size: Full Size
The 5QS is Das Keyboard’s new flagship mechanical keyboard, and one look at the feature and specification lists will tell you why. This keyboard features the Das Keyboard Gamma Zulu switches, with an incredible durability of over 100 million keypresses. They also enjoy detailed per-key RGB lighting and are fully customizable for key remapping or macros using the Das Keyboard software.
One of the standout features of this keyboard, however, is its purported ability to improve productivity. The RGB lighting can be leveraged with custom APIs to give you information on the weather, CPU usage, email notifications, stock prices and more. This is a truly smart mechanical keyboard that is both excellent for typing and other work, but it's also an informative and adjustable tool that can do more than most keyboard designs. It comes with a comfortable wrist-rest too, and the dial in the corner allows for easy interaction with media controls and other functions that can further improve productivity.
Best Customizable Mechanical Keyboard
Compact, With Swappable Switches
- Switches: Logitech GX Blue Clicky, Brown Tactile, or Red Linear
- Lighting: Per-key RGB
- Size: Tenkeyless
If you find yourself changing switches regularly or you'd love to have a variety of switch types on your keyboard, then the Logitech G Pro X is a perfect choice for you. It comes with options for three different switch types: Logitech's own Blue Clicky, Brown Tactile and Red Linear switches. But while you can get this board with any of them, you can also purchase switch kits which let you take out existing switches and replace them with ones you prefer.
Elsewhere, the G Pro X is a capable tenkeyless keyboard with a compact design, per-key RGB lighting and it has excellent build quality with a durable design that doesn't ring or knock under heavy use. There aren't many advanced features with this small keyboard, but it does have a Windows key toggle to avoid mishaps when gaming, and a detachable micro-USB cable for easier transport and replacement.
Best Budget Mechanical Keyboard
Amazingly Affordable
- Switches: Outemu Red
- Lighting: Rainbow RGB
- Size: Full-size
Mechanical keyboards are often quite expensive, but Redragon bucks the trend with its K551, which is an incredibly affordable mechanical keyboard. It uses Outemu Red switches, which are designed to be comparable to the beloved Cherry MX Red switches, and though it doesn't have per-key RGB lighting, it does have the option of whole-board single colors or the rainbow design where there are different colors for different layers of switches.
The frame is sturdy, and though there's a little key rattle when under hard use, there isn't any ringing. The nkey rollover means that even heavy use during complex games doesn't lead to any missed inputs, and there are function-key media controls that cover the basics. For a mechanical keyboard under $35, this is an absolute steal and easily the best budget mechanical keyboard you can buy today.
Best Wireless Gaming Keyboard
Low Profile And A Low Battery Life
- Switches: Logitech GL Tactile, Clicky, or Linear
- Lighting: Per-Key RGB
- Size: Full-size
Logitech's G915 Lightspeed offers a truly premium wireless mechanical keyboard experience. It's an incredibly fast and responsive keyboard. The fast onboard processing helps to avoid any limited lag from the wireless connection and makes it more than competitive with most wired keyboards. The GL switches are low profile and incredibly comfortable for typing and gaming, and they offer per-key RGB lighting that is deeply customizable in the Logitech software. There are options for tactile, Clicky and Linear switches, each offering slightly different noise and feedback profiles, but all are excellent for any task.
This keyboard can connect to two devices at once using its 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connections, and its battery lasts an impressive 40 hours when using the RGB lighting, or much longer if you turn it down or off entirely.
The whole design is thin and lightweight, but if you want something even more portable, this keyboard is also available in a Tenkeyless design without the numpad.
Best Mechanical Keyboard For Typing
Simple But Effective
- Switches: Cherry MX Brown, Blue, or Green
- Lighting: Uniform white
- Size: Full-size
Keyboards exclusively for typing just need to be good for typing. They don't need over the top RGB lighting, fancy media controls or customizable switches. That's what makes the Das Keyboard Code V3 so compelling: It's attractive, functional and understated, making it easier to focus on the work at hand. The white lighting is subtle but provides enough illumination to let you continue to type or code in the dark, and all of the switches are fully programmable with alternative keybindings or macros.
The whole design is slim and clean, with no extraneous logos or other eye catching elements, giving this keyboard a professional look and feel. The USB cable is detachable and the underside of the board has cable routing channels to help keep your desk tidy.
