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The 4 Best 60% Keyboards of 2024

Updated Sep 11, 2024 at 12:35 pm
Best 60% Keyboards

A 60% keyboard is a small keyboard that typically lacks a numpad, a navigational cluster, and a function row. Instead, you can still access most of these missing commands with hotkey combinations. These little units are having their moment in the sun right now, and it's easy to see why. They offer gamers⁠—and on-the-go typists⁠—much more room on their desks for dynamic mouse movements while gaming or to keep a coffee close at hand. While many of these picks are gaming-focused, they're still versatile for general work or typing tasks.

We've tested over 235 keyboards and over 20 compact 60% units. Below are our picks for the best 60 percent keyboard. If you want more gaming-oriented options, check out our list of the best gaming keyboards. Or, if you want a dedicated programming or typing keyboard, we have options for those in our best keyboards for programming and best keyboards for typing articles.


  1. Best 60% Keyboard

    The best 60% keyboard we've tested is the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless. It's a compact version of the enduringly popular SteelSeries Apex Pro. Like its full-size cousin, this keyboard also has an adjustable pre-travel distance feature, which means you can customize the sensitivity of your keypresses. Whether you want a nearly instant 0.2mm actuation point for competitive gaming or a longer pre-travel of up to 3.8 mm for general typing, you can fine-tune your preferences for each key, making this a versatile unit that's great for both work and play.

    This keyboard also connects using a USB receiver or Bluetooth, so you don't have to worry about cable management. Depending on what sort of connectivity you rely on, its battery supplies enough power for 30 to 40 hours of use, which is on the lower end of the scale, but that's not too surprising given its fully customizable RGB backlighting lighting. If you're concerned about the battery life, there's a wired version of this board, the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini. The wired version offers the same high-end performance and features, and it's typically cheaper, especially when it goes on sale.

    See our review

  2. Best Mid-Range 60% Keyboard

    Around a mid-range price point, we recommend the Razer Huntsman Mini Analog. While its price fluctuates quite a bit, it's at its best value when it's around the $100 USD mark, but more recently, it's gone on sale at some online retailers and may be much closer or even a bit cheaper than our best mid-range pick below. Like our top pick, this keyboard has an adjustable pre-travel distance feature. However, its optical switches are somewhat less consistent and accurate than the magnetic switches on the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless. Plus, the range isn't as wide as the lowest and most sensitive setting you can set, which is 1.5 mm. It performs similarly to the SteelSeries model, with equally low latency and excellent RGB backlighting. However, the Razer has a few more interesting features that the SteelSeries lacks.

    One such feature is the 'Analog Mode.' When enabled, the switches register how far down you've pressed a key to respond in-game, like a gamepad controller, instead of registering it as a binary on/off input. This feature is beneficial if you're a fan of racing games or flight simulators, as it gives you much finer movement control than you'd typically get with your average WASD keys. It's worth noting that this is a wired-only unit, unlike our top pick above, so you'll have to do some cable management. Thankfully, the cable is a detachable USB-A to USB-C cable, so if you find it too stiff or bulky, you can easily change it for something more flexible.

    See our review

  3. Best Budget 60% Keyboard

    While the Razer and SteelSeries models above offer in-depth customization, the Corsair K65 RGB MINI is a straightforward budget pick focused on raw gaming performance. Instead of non-standard switches with adjustable pre-travel distances, the Corsair comes with typical Cherry MX switches. You can get your choice of switch type, including Cherry MX Speeds, a classic gaming switch with a feather-light actuation force and a short pre-travel distance for a sensitive and smooth keypress throughout—though beware, these switches can make you more prone to making more mistakes while typing as even light touches can register a keystroke.

    The high-quality PBT keycaps have a bit of texture, so your fingers won't slip off of them, even during tense, competitive games. They also have clear legends that allow the RGB lighting to shine through them, making them easy to read in darker rooms. Overall, this keyboard's gaming performance is unparalleled at this price point, with its higher-than-average maximum polling rate and split-millisecond latency for a highly consistent and responsive in-game experience. It's also compatible with Corsair's iCUE software, meaning you can sync up your lighting effects with other Corsair products, like your mouse or PC components, for a unified theme in your setup.

    See our review

  4. Best Cheap 60% Keyboard

    Although it has higher latency than all our other recommendations and feels less well-built than the Corsair K65 RGB MINI, the ROYAL KLUDGE RK61 is your best bet for a cheap compact board. It's well-suited for casual gamers or on-the-go professionals looking for a smaller home and office board. Surprisingly, for the price, it has a hot-swappable printed circuit board, so you can swap out the stock switches with other mechanical switches of your choice for a typing experience tailored to your needs.

    It's a great choice if you're just getting into keyboards since it's a cheap way to test out what switches you like without spending a small fortune. Plus, it comes in several variants that offer wireless connectivity options, different backlighting configurations, and a range of sizes, so you'll surely find the best version for you.

    See our review

Notable Mentions

  • Wooting 60HE: The Wooting 60HE is a mechanical gaming keyboard with Hall Effect switches that allow you to customize the pre-travel of individual keys, just like you can on the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless. It's a wired-only model and is more expensive than the SteelSeries. However, it offers several additional software features tailored for enthusiast gamers, including a low latency Tachyon Mode, the ability to set up to four inputs to a single keypress, and an Analog Mode that mimics gradual inputs from a controller joystick. See our review
  • Keychron Q60 Max: The Keychron Q60 Max is a premium wireless keyboard with a unique HHKB 60% layout, placing the Control key where Caps Lock usually is and moving Backspace down a row. It has a more premium-feeling aluminum case and offers a better typing experience compared to our top pick, the Apex Pro Mini Wireless. It also offers marginally better gaming performance, though it isn't designed exclusively for gaming. However, it lacks the analog customizability of the SteelSeries and is significantly more expensive. See our review
  • Keychron Q4: The Keychron Q4 is a premium 60% keyboard. It has a solid aluminum case design and offers a higher-quality typing experience compared to the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless. It's also much easier to customize if you want to change out switches or stabilizers. However, its latency is much higher than the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless, so the Q4 is a better match for typists and casual gamers. See our review
  • NuPhy Air60 V2: The NuPhy Air60 V2 is a standout wireless option at a similar upper mid-range price point as the Razer Huntsman Mini Analog. While the Razer is purely gaming-focused, the NuPhy is a more versatile option for work, everyday browsing, or casual gaming. It offers better typing quality, and its wireless versatility and low-profile design make it great for portability. It comes in various stock switch types and is hot-swappable, so you can change the stock switches if you like. See our review
  • HyperX Alloy Origins 60: The HyperX Alloy Origins 60 is a great 60% gaming keyboard that's typically cheaper than the Corsair K65 RGB MINI and has flip-out feet that offer a couple of different incline settings, which the Corsair lacks. That said, it doesn't provide higher-than-average polling rate settings and doesn't quite offer the same level of raw gaming performance, so it isn't as well-suited for competitive play. See our review

Recent Updates

  1. Sep 11, 2024: We've added the Keychron Q60 to our list of Notable Mentions. We've also removed the Ducky One 2 Mini V2 as it's now a less compelling option than newer releases for a similar price.

  2. Jun 18, 2024: We've adjusted some of our category names to more accurately reflect current pricing, and we've removed the Obinslab Anne Pro 2 as it's become difficult to reliably find in stock.

  3. Apr 22, 2024: We've verified all our picks for pricing and availability but haven't changed our lineup with this update.

  4. Feb 08, 2024: We've checked our picks and confirmed they continue to represent the best options available for their respective categories. We've also verified the price and availability of all our recommendations.

  5. Dec 14, 2023: We've added the NuPhy Air60 V2 to our list of Notable Mentions as a similarly priced wireless alternative to the Razer Huntsman Mini Analog that's better geared towards work and everyday browsing—with an emphasis on portability. We've also removed the Ducky One 2 Mini V2 from our list of Notables as it doesn't quite offer the same build quality, typing quality, and performance compared to newer releases.

All Reviews

Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best 60 percent keyboards available. We factor in the price (a cheaper product wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), the feedback from our visitors, and availability (no keyboard that is difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).

If you'd like to do the work of choosing yourself, here is our list of 60 percent compact keyboard reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no product is perfect for every use, most keyboards perform well enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.