The 6 Best Linear Mechanical Switches - Fall 2024

The best linear switches we recommend for most people are the Gateron Ink Black V2. This switch is a longstanding favorite in enthusiast circles, and for good reason. People gravitate towards linear switches for the unrivaled smoothness they bring to the table, and these are among the smoothest ones you can get right out of the box without needing any home-lubing on your part. They've also got an attractive sound profile that's still fairly quiet and almost muffled-sounding, which is great if you're concerned about disrupting anyone around you while typing.

The only real downside is that these switches also carry a reputation for being a little wobbly to type on, which is unusual since they're five-pin switches and are typically more stable. If you want to elevate your experience with these switches, you can add switch films to increase the stability and get the full premium typing experience. Also, if your keyboard's PCB has three-pin sockets, you'll need to clip the extra two pins for compatibility, but the added effort is certainly worth it.

For a mid-range option, we recommend the NovelKeys x Kailh Cream switches. It's easy to see where these switches get their name, as both the upper and lower housings are a soft cream color. These housings, as well as the switch stem and slider, are made of POM plastic. In their marketing material, Kailh somewhat exaggerates by calling POM plastic self-lubricating. While this isn't strictly true, these switches are reasonably smooth from the factory but get a bit smoother as you break them in. If you're going for as much smoothness as possible, look into lubing these yourself.

These switches are also reputed for being fairly soft-sounding, even compared to other linear options. Overall, they provide a pleasant linear experience without any one element that's too in your face. Also note that, like with our best pick above, these are five-pin switches. This only means you'll need to clip off those extra pins if your PCB only accepts three-pin switches.

At a budget price point, we recommend the Gateron G Pro Yellow switches. Gateron has many versions of Yellow switches that stretch across different lineups or families of switches. When shopping, you may see Yellow Ink, Yellow Cap V2, KS-8 Yellow, and more. While all these different models are somewhat similar linear switches, comparing the different versions and generations can be confusing. Most of what sets Gateron's various Yellow models apart are small cosmetic changes, often different housing colors or finishes, or tiny differences in the geometry that produce slightly tweaked typing elements or sound signatures.

Ultimately, we recommend the G Pro Yellow switches because they're a clear community favorite made from new molds with tighter tolerances for their stems and housings. Notably, unlike older Gateron Yellow switches, these newer ones are pre-lubed from the factory, making them a surprisingly smooth and no-fuss linear option at a budget price point.

If you're working on a cheaper build, we recommend the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro switches. These switches are Akko's most recent iteration in a lineup of affordable Cream Yellow linear switches. This newest version boasts some small material upgrades over the previous Akko V3 Cream Yellows, aimed at improving their overall durability and consistency in the long run. They also have newly lubed rails, significantly boosting their smoothness. In addition, these switches now have a five-pin design, which provides better stability but also means you'll need to clip the support pins if you have a three-pin PCB.

Altogether, these switches offer surprisingly high-level stability, smoothness, and consistency, considering they're significantly less expensive than some premium favorites among linear advocates. Unless you're looking for a specific attribute in one of the more premium switches above, these switches are worth considering for builds at any budget.

If you're a linear fan looking for the best gaming switch for your build, look no further than the Cherry MX Speed Silver, the all-time classic gaming switch. While some enthusiasts have moved away from some of the earlier Cherry MX designs, there's magic in the Speed Silvers that keeps people coming back. In the end, these switches are pretty straightforward. They're not quite as smooth out of the box as other options on this list, but they're ultra-fast, which makes them perfectly suited for any fast-paced or competitive gaming.

If you want to double down on speed, check out Kailh Super Speed Silver switches instead. These offer the same outstanding latency performance but are noticeably smoother even before lubing and have a marginally shorter pre-travel distance. We don't necessarily recommend them to everyone because of their extremely light actuation force, which may feel too sensitive for some and increase your chances of accidental keystrokes that can spell disaster in competitive situations.

We recommend Kailh Speed Silver switches if you're on a budget, are into gaming, and want to dodge the premium price of the above Cherry MX Speed Silver switches. The Kailh Speed Silver switches feel just as lightweight, and as a bonus, they have a clear top housing that provides better RGB illumination. That said, they do have a marginally short pre-travel distance. Although this minor difference may not be perceptible to everyone, it may feel a little too sensitive for some and may result in more accidental key presses.

If you're wondering why you wouldn't just get these over the more expensive Cherry MX Speed Silver switches above, it mostly boils down to the minor difference in latency performance. The small latency difference isn't going to be something you'll notice in-game. Still, when it comes to competitive gaming, where multiple components later in the chain (keyboard, CPU, GPU, display, internet connection) all add to the total system latency, minor optimizations can have an impact when it all adds up.