The 4 Best Budget Mechanical Keyboards of 2025

We recommend the Keychron V5 Max as hands down the best budget mechanical keyboard for most people. It has an impressive collection of features typically found on more expensive custom keyboard offerings, including a gasket mount design that produces a softer, slightly cushioned-feeling typing experience. It also includes high-quality PBT keycaps and layers of acoustic-dampening material sandwiched inside that help to round out your typing sound profile.

This keyboard is part of a wider V Max lineup that includes bigger and smaller variants. We recommend any of these variants as they share the same basic construction and set of features; the major difference is their size and layout. Each model in the wider series is also built with customizability in mind. Everything from the switches, stabilizers, keycaps, and even the software and firmware are customizable. There's even an included toolkit to help you completely disassemble them, making these keyboards a great budget-friendly base if you're interested in tinkering and adding to your build down the line.

If wireless connectivity isn't something you need, we recommend checking out the original Keychron V Series keyboards instead. These wired-only models lose the gasket mount design and don't quite deliver the same premium-feeling typing quality, but they're almost always available for cheaper and come in a full variety of sizes and layouts.

We recommend the ROYAL KLUDGE RK61 as the best cheap mechanical keyboard with a wireless connection. This compact, lightweight, and highly portable model is well-suited for smaller desks. It's a great option if you're often taking your keyboard on the go to use remotely or even just jumping between hot desks. Just note that its compact design means it lacks a function row, a numpad, and dedicated arrow keys (although it does have plenty of pre-programmed hotkeys to stand in for these missing keys, including hotkeys that act like arrow keys when you hold down the Fn button).

In addition to its good overall build quality, this keyboard offers excellent connectivity options. You can pair it with up to three devices using Bluetooth, use it wired, or get a variant with a USB receiver to use with any device with a USB-A port. Other variants of this board are also available, including a hot-swappable version that allows you to change out the stock switches to customize the keyboard for the typing experience you want.

The Keychron C1 Pro is essentially a more basic, wired-only model similar to our top pick, the Keychron V5 Max, and we recommend it as the best cheap mechanical keyboard if you prefer a wired connection. Note that this board is at its best value when available for around $55 USD, but as it's occasionally priced higher on some online retailers, you should check Keychron's product page to make sure you get the lowest price. Overall, it doesn't quite match the V5 Max for typing quality since it has a more conventional and slightly stiffer-feeling tray mount design. However, it still packs some surprising features at its price point, including pre-lubed switches, high-quality PBT keycaps, and south-facing LEDs that allow greater flexibility for aftermarket keycap compatibility.

You can also choose between several different assembly configurations, with choices between white-only or full RGB backlighting, as well as the option for a hot-swappable PCB that allows you to change out the stock switches easily. For further customization, this keyboard is compatible with VIA software, so you can create custom profiles, adjust the backlighting, and record macros to any key, among other options. If you like this keyboard but need a numpad, check out the Keychron C2 Pro instead. It is a larger, 100% variant that's only a bit more expensive. We recommend whichever size variant works best for your needs, as they're both impressively full-featured and well-built options that provide excellent value at an entry-level price point.

For gaming on a budget, we recommend the Corsair K70 RGB TKL. It offers exceptional gaming performance in a compact TKL (tenkeyless) layout. This form-factor removes a numpad to give you more space for mouse movement but retains important keys like the function row and arrow keys, which are missing on more compact models. Its build quality is excellent, featuring a hard plastic chassis, durable PBT keycaps, and uniquely designed kickstands that flip out sideways to minimize accidental collapse during intense gameplay.

From a performance standpoint, it has extremely low single-key and multi-key latency and supports an effective polling rate of up to 4000Hz. While you won't notice the difference this higher polling rate brings, it does translate to slightly snappier and more consistent performance handling under the hood.

You can buy this keyboard with either Cherry MX Red or Speed mechanical switches. Both are smooth linear options without a tactile bump, but the Speed switches offer a noticeably shorter pre-travel distance and are best suited for fast-paced competitive play. You may also see a Champion Series variant of this keyboard, which uses Corsair OPX optical switches. These don't offer any meaningful performance advantage, but they typically outlast traditional mechanical switches thanks to their contactless design. Just note that OPX and MX Speed switches are extremely sensitive and easy to trigger, so if you also plan to use this board for typing or general use, Cherry MX Reds are the safer pick.