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The 5 Best 60% Keyboards - Winter 2024 Reviews

Updated
Best 60% Keyboards

A 60% keyboard is a small keyboard that typically lacks a Numpad, 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 215 keyboards and over 15 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 typing or programming 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 3.8mm 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 Upper Mid-Range 60% Keyboard

    Around the upper mid-range price range, we recommend the Razer Huntsman Mini Analog. This keyboard has recently gone on sale at some online retailers and may be much closer or even a bit cheaper than our best mid-range pick below. We'll keep an eye on this price, but it's a great time to consider picking up the Hunstman Mini. 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 is 1.5mm. 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 Mid-Range 60% Keyboard

    If you're looking for the best 60% keyboard at a mid-range price point that offers solid gaming and general typing performance, we recommend the Obinslab Anne Pro 2. Note that this keyboard has recently been hard to find in stock from major online retailers. We recommend checking smaller keyboard retailers like mechanicalkeyboards.com, which typically have more reliable stock.

    When you use this keyboard connected with its cable, it has exceptionally low latency that's roughly on par with more gaming-focused options like our top pick, the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini above. However, its wireless latency doesn't compete as it only connects wirelessly via Bluetooth. This Bluetooth capability provides longer battery life and flexibility for everyday browsing and productivity. It's also a great pick for multi-device setups, allowing you to pair with up to four devices simultaneously.

    This keyboard is available in various switch types from major brands like Kailh, Gateron, and Cherry, making it easy to find a switch that suits your preferences. It also comes with a few colorful keycaps to add a bit of personal flair to your board. On the note of the keycaps, this board has doubleshot PBT keycaps like the higher-priced options on this list, which is a nice touch for a budget board. They feel great on the fingertips and have a nice texture for a good grip. While most compact boards lack arrow keys, this keyboard has a feature you can enable to make the right-side modifier keys act as arrow keys.

    See our review

  4. Best Budget 60% Keyboard

    While the Razer and SteelSeries models above offer in-depth customization, and the Obinslab offers Bluetooth flexibility, 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

  5. Best Cheap 60% Keyboard

    Although it has higher wired latency than the Obinslab Anne Pro 2 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, adjustable reset points, and an Analog Mode that mimics gradual inputs from a controller joystick. See our review
  • Keychron Q4: The Keychron Q4 is a premium 60% keyboard with a high build quality and a very satisfying typing experience. However, its latency is much higher than the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless, so the Q4 suits typists and casual gamers better. 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
  • Ducky One 2 Mini V2: The Ducky One 2 Mini V2 is a very good upper mid-range 60% keyboard with a comfortable typing experience. However, its latency is much higher than that of other keyboards on this list, making it best suited for typists or more casual gamers looking for a smaller board. 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 offer 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. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Oct 18, 2023: We've audited this article and opted not to change our current recommendations, as all picks continue to represent the best options for their respective categories.

  4. Aug 16, 2023: Minor in-text adjustments to further clarify product information.

  5. Jun 20, 2023: We've swapped the position of our 'Best Budget' and 'Best Mid-Range' picks to better reflect their recent pricing. We've also made some minor changes to our text for clarity and confirmed all other picks are in stock and remain the best choices for their categories.

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.