Mechanical keyboards: size, build and layout
With a custom keyboard, you decide how big it is, how it feels and how it sounds. The key questions before you buy:
Which size do you need?
- Full-size and 96%: with a numpad – for anyone who works with numbers a lot. 96% packs the keys closer together.
- TKL (80%): no numpad, but F-row and arrow keys stay – more room for your mouse.
- 75% and 65%: compact, arrow keys included. 75% keeps the F-row.
- 60% and 40%: very compact, many functions live on a second layer.
- Alice and ergo: split, slightly angled key clusters for a more natural hand position.
Our guide keyboard sizes & layouts helps you choose.
Kit or pre-built?
A kit (barebone) includes case, PCB and plate – you choose switches and keycaps yourself and buy them separately. Prebuilt or fully built keyboards come fully assembled, ready to type on. Each product page lists what a kit includes and what's missing.
ISO-DE or ANSI?
Many of our keyboards are available with a PCB for the German ISO layout with the tall Enter key and the < > | key. Make sure PCB, plate and keycaps all match the same layout. All boards with German layout are in ISO-DE keyboards.
Hot-swap, mounting and sound
With hot-swap, switches just plug in and can be swapped later without soldering. The mounting – gasket or top mount, for example – decides how much the keyboard gives while you type. Gasket mount isn't a quality tier but a build style: firm and direct or soft and flexy is a matter of taste. Plate material, foams, switches and keycaps shape the sound at least as much. More in our guide gasket mount & sound.
Wireless and Hall effect
Many boards are tri-mode: wired, 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth. For gaming there are keyboards with Hall effect switches, where you set the actuation point and can use rapid trigger. In-stock keyboards ship from Germany within one business day.
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