PCB Comparison

There is a lot of mechanical keyboard PCB’s to choose from. Here is my attempt to review some of the data and compare the information in a chart. This is by no means a complete list, especially regarding the more exotic form factors. If your favorite PCB is missing, feel free to drop me a line and I will happily add it.

When it comes to mechanical keyboard PCB’s there are a couple of things you might want to consider.

Size

This is pretty obvious, there is different sizes and form-factors of mechanical keyboards. 80%, 75% or maybe a numpad – this is definetly the most important decision to make when chosing a PCB for your mechanical keyboard build.

Switches

There are basically two commonly used contact styles for the switches: MX or ALPS. MX style are definelty the most common style. Almost any PCB supports the MX style contacts. Some support ALPS too.

Firmware

There is different firmware for mechanical keybaords. The most wide spread and probably most flexible with its web configurator is QMK.

Underglow

Underglow (Glow) are RGB LED’s placed on the bottom of the PCB. Different PCB’s come with a different amount of underglow LED’s. If you are planning on using an opaque case, this feature might not be relevant to you.

Bluetooth

If you are not a fan of wires, go for a bluetooth (BT) enabled PCB. If you do so, do not forget to get a matching LiPo battery to power the keyboard from. The charging circuit is usually included on the board and you charge the battery by plugging in USB.

USB

The USB connector that is used. The most common conectors are micro USB and USB Type-C. Personally I like USB Type-C best since you can plug it in any direction. Also the round plug looks more esthetically pleasing to me – but your taste may vary or you might not even care at all.

Switch LED’s

Almost any board will provide you with a means of mounting LED’s for the switches. Some even come with RGB LED’s pre-installed. The LED’s can come into two different positions: North or South. Meaning above or below the center of the switch. Which position you want your LED’s (if at all) will highly depend on the actual keycaps you are planning on using.

Hot Swap

Hot swap refers to the replacability of the key switches. If the PCB is hotswappable it means that you can easily setup your switches without soldering. You simply plug them in and are ready to go. This gives you great flexibility if you want to experiment with different switches. Maybe you want to try out different switches on different keys – with a hot swap capable PCB this can be done in seconds. One step closer to your endgame.

Mic

Some PCB’s even have a built in microphone. But this is “only” used to display fancy patterns on the underglow or switch LED’s you can not actually use it as a voice input. Also people on the other side would probably not appreciate the clicking of the switches.

Name	Brand	Price	Size	Switches	Keys	USB	Color	Glow		BT	HS	Split	Mic	RGB	Pos	QMK	Comment
1UP RGB Underglow	1UP Keyboards	$40.00	60%	MX	65	Mini	White	N	16	M	M	M	M	M	N	N
40%	Daisy	$29.70	40%	MX, Alps	42	Mini	White	N	8	M	M	M	M	M	N	N
BM16A	KPRepublic	$18.80	4x4	MX, Alps	16	Mini	Brown	N	4	M	M	M	M	M	S	N	With plastic case
BM43A	KPRepublic	$22.60	40%	MX	43	Type-C	Black	N	6	M	M	M	M	M	S	N
BM60RGB	KPRepublic	$48.41	60%	MX	63	Type-C	Black	N	6	M	N	M	M	N	N	N
CS87	Satan	$39.80	80%	MX	87	Mini	White	N	20	M	M	M	M	M	N	M	TKL
DZ60		$35.00	60%	MX	68	Type-C, Mini	Black	N	16	M	M	M	M	M	S	N
GH60	Satan	$26.90	60%	MX	64	Mini	White	M	-	M	M	M	M	M	N	N
GH60	YMDK	$21.90 - $26.90	60%	MX	64	Type-C, Mini	Black	N	12	M	M	M	M	M	S	N	With / without backlight. Black or White
GK61	Liang	$49.00	60%	MX	64	Type-C	White	M	-	M	N	M	N	N	N	M	comes with case
GK61 BT	KPRepublic	$55.00	60%	MX	61	Type-C	White	M	-	N	N	M	N	N	N	M
GK64S	Skyloong	$35.33	60%	MX	64	Type-C	White	N	-	N	N	M	N	N	N	M	Not sure about the amount of underglow LED's. Possibly not an original KBDFans board.
GK64S	KPRepublic	$45.00 - $55.00	60%	MX	64	Type-C	White	M	-	N	N	M	N	N	N	M
GON NerD	1UP Keyboards	$97.00	100%	MX	108	Mini	Black	N	-	M	M	M	M	M	S	M	Underglow needs soldering
GON NerD TKL	1UP Keyboards	$95.00	80%	MX	90	Mini	Black	N	-	M	M	M	M	M	S	M	TKL, Underglow needs soldereing
GON NerD60	1UP Keyboards	$79.00	60%	MX	64	Mini	Black	N	-	M	M	M	M	M	S	N	Underglow needs soldering
JD40	1UP Keyboards	$45.00	40%	MX, Alps	44	Mini	Black	M	-	M	M	M	M	M	S	M
JJ 40	JJ	$31.70	40%	MX, Alps	48	Mini	White	N	5	M	M	M	M	M	S	M
JJ 4×4	JJ	$21.90	4x4	MX, Alps	16	Mini	White	M	-	M	M	M	M	N	S	N
JJ 50	JJ	$33.70	50%	MX, Alps	60	Mini	Black	N	5	M	M	M	M	M	S	N
JJ Ergo	JJ	$43.02	Other	MX	76	Mini	Blue	M	-	M	M	N	M	N	-	N
KBD75 REV 2.0	KBDFans	$35.00 - $40.00	75%	MX	89	Type-C, Mini	White	N	16	M	M	M	M	N	S	N
Niu Mini	KBDFans	$30.00	40%	MX	48	Type-C	Black	N	14	M	M	M	M	M	S	N
Numpad	YMDK	$15.00	Numpad	MX	17	Mini	Red	M	-	M	M	M	M	M	S	M
Pad	Satan	$30.60	Numpad	MX, Alps	21	Mini	White	N	6	M	M	M	M	M	N	M
SP50	KPRepublic	$46.90	50%	MX	60	Mini	White	N	8	M	M	N	M	N	S	M	4 underglow LED's per side.
Super 16 Macro	1UP Keyboards	$10.00	4x4	MX, Alps	16		Black	M	-	M	M	M	M	N	N	M	Components need to be soldered, needs controller.
Sweet 16 Macro	1UP Keyboards	$7.50	4x4	MX, Alps	16		Black	M	-	M	M	M	M	N	-	N	Components need to be soldered, needs controller. Available in black or white.
XD60 Rev 2.0	Xiudi	$29.90	60%	MX, Alps	67	Mini	Black	N	6	M	M	M	M	M	N	N
XD64	Xiudi	$30.29	60%	MX, Alps	64	Type-C	Black	N	12	M	M	M	M	M	N	M
XD68	Xiudi	$30.90	65%	MX	69	Type-C	Black	N	7	M	M	M	M	N	N	N
XD75AM	Xiudi	$29.90	60%	MX, Alps	75	Mini	White	N	6	M	M	M	M	N	N	N
XD87HS	Xiudi	$39.90	80%	MX	87	Type-C, Mini	Black	N	14	M	N	M	M	M	N	N	TKL
YD60MQ	Generic	$40.55	60%	MX	64	Type-C	Black	N	16	M	M	M	M	M	S	N	Listed as DZ60 - but is not genuine
YMD75	YMDK	$28.50 - $29.90	75%	MX	84		Black	N	14	M	M	M	M	N	S	N
Zlant	1UP Keyboards	$45.00	40%	MX	48		Black	M	-	M	M	M	M	N	-	N

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