The ROCCAT Vulcan TKL is an excellent mechanical TenKeyLess gaming keyboard. It has a solid plastic body, a sturdy-feeling brushed metal backplate, and flat profile keycaps with exposed, transparent switch housings that showcase the RGB backlighting. The unit we tested has ROCCAT Titan Tactile switches that feel light, responsive, and offer good feedback. If you prefer a different feel, it's also available with ROCCAT Titan Linear switches. It has outstanding companion software offering plenty of customization options, but it's only compatible with Windows. Unfortunately, the latency is a bit high for a wired gaming keyboard, and the larger stabilized keys sometimes have an extra stiffness that makes them harder to actuate.
Note: The Turtle Beach company purchased ROCCAT and is rebranding some of its current production models, including this keyboard. As such, you may see this keyboard sold as the Turtle Beach Vulcan TKL. Besides different branding, we expect both these models to be identical to the older ROCCAT branded models.
Our Verdict
The ROCCAT Vulcan TKL is excellent for gaming and has a great build quality with a sturdy-feeling brushed metal backplate. It has thin, flat keycaps that expose the switches beneath and showcases the superb full RGB backlighting. The unit we tested has ROCCAT Titan Tactile switches that feel light and responsive and offer good tactile feedback, but it's also available with ROCCAT Titan Linear switches if you prefer. Unfortunately, the latency is only decent, and only alphanumeric keys on the left side of the keyboard are macro-programmable.
- Impressive build quality.
- Full RGB backlighting with plenty of customization options.
- Light and responsive-feeling switches.
- Latency is a bit high for a wired gaming keyboard.
The ROCCAT Vulcan TKL is a wired keyboard that isn't designed to be used with mobile devices or tablets.
The ROCCAT Vulcan TKL is decent for office use. It feels well-built and has a metal backplate that adds rigidity. The ROCCAT Titan Tactile switches on our unit are light and responsive, offer good tactile feedback, provide great typing quality, and are quiet enough that they shouldn't bother those around you. Unfortunately, some of the larger stabilized keys are a little stiff and may disrupt some people's typing experience. Also, while the keyboard's low profile should feel comfortable and is unlikely to cause fatigue even during long typing sessions, it may still benefit from a wrist rest.
- Impressive build quality.
- Great typing quality.
- Larger stabilized keys feel heavier to actuate, especially the backspace.
- No included wrist rest.
The ROCCAT Vulcan TKL is good for programming. It has a great build quality, full RGB backlighting with individually-lit keys. Despite the lack of a wrist rest, the low-profile keycaps are comfortable to type on, even for long periods. The unit we tested has ROCCAT Titan Tactile switches that provide great typing quality, but it's also available with ROCCAT Titan linear switches if you prefer. The companion software offers plenty of customization options and the ability to set macros. However, only the alphanumeric keys on the left side of the keyboard are macro-programmable.
- Impressive build quality.
- Full RGB backlighting with plenty of customization options.
- Great typing quality.
- No included wrist rest.
- Only the alphanumeric keys on the left side are macro-programmable.
The ROCCAT Vulcan TKL is inadequate for home theater PC use. It's wired-only, so you'll have to sit within cable distance, and it doesn't have a trackpad, so you'll likely need to use a mouse for navigating menus. Despite these shortcomings, it has a sturdy-feeling build, full RGB backlighting, media hotkeys, and a dedicated mute button and volume wheel. It's compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux, but the software and certain buttons don't work on macOS and Linux.
- Full RGB backlighting with plenty of customization options.
- Wired-only.
- Lacks a trackpad.
Changelog
- Updated May 14, 2024: We've added a note about this keyboard's Turtle Beach rebrand to the Introduction and the Differences Between Variants sections of this review.
- Updated Mar 09, 2023: We've added a link to the newly-reviewed SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL (2023) in the Ergonomics section of this review.
- Updated Apr 12, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Apr 07, 2021: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the ROCCAT Vulcan TKL in black with ROCCAT Titan Tactile switches, but it's also available with ROCCAT Titan Linear switches. Though not a variant, the ROCCAT Vulcan TKL Pro is virtually identical to this keyboard, except it has a braided cable and Titan Optical Linear switches. You can see the label for our unit here.
Note: The Turtle Beach company purchased ROCCAT and is rebranding some of its current production models, including this keyboard. As such, you may see this keyboard sold as the Turtle Beach Vulcan TKL. Besides different branding, we expect both these models to be identical to the older ROCCAT branded models.
Popular Keyboard Comparisons
The ROCCAT Vulcan TKL is an excellent TenKeyLess gaming keyboard and occupies the lower end of ROCCAT's Vulcan lineup. Like the other Vulcan keyboards, it features very thin keycaps and exposed switches. This floating key design may take some getting used to, but it's very effective at showcasing the RGB lighting. Unfortunately, the latency is a bit high for a wired gaming keyboard. Despite this, it's a solid choice if you're looking for a TKL with superb lighting and aren't concerned with having the absolute lowest latency possible.
For other options, check out our recommendations for the best gaming keyboards, the best mechanical keyboards, and the best keyboards.
The ROCCAT Vulcan TKL and Redragon K552 KUMARA RGB are TenKeyLess gaming keyboards, but the ROCCAT is a better keyboard overall. The ROCCAT has a detachable USB-C cable and companion software that offers plenty of customization. You can also set macros using the companion software, though you can only set them to alphanumeric keys on the left side of the board. It's available with either ROCCAT Titan tactile or linear switches. On the other hand, the Redragon has significantly higher latency, no companion software, none of its keys are macro-programmable, and it's only available with clicky Outemu Blue switches.
The SteelSeries Apex 7 TKL and the ROCCAT Vulcan TKL are similar TenKeyLess gaming keyboards, but the SteelSeries is slightly better overall. The SteelSeries has better ergonomics with an included wrist rest, all its keys are macro-programmable, and it has a mini OLED screen. It's available in either SteelSeries linear Red, tactile Brown, or clicky Blue switches. On the other hand, the ROCCAT has low-profile keycaps with exposed switch housings that showcase the RGB lighting, and it has a removable USB-C type cable. It's available with either ROCCAT Titan Tactile or Linear switches. Unfortunately, it has significantly higher latency, and only the alphanumeric keys on the left side of the board are macro-programmable.
The ROCCAT Vulcan 120 AIMO and the ROCCAT Vulcan TKL are very similar keyboards visually and performance-wise, but they have a few notable differences. The Vulcan 120 AIMO is a full-size keyboard with an included wrist rest and lower latency. On the other hand, the Vulcan TKL is a TenKeyLess keyboard with a detachable USB-C cable. Both keyboards have dedicated mute buttons and volume wheels and are available with either ROCCAT Titan tactile or linear switches.
The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition is a better gaming keyboard than the ROCCAT Vulcan TKL. The Razer has much lower latency, all of its keys are macro-programmable, and its software is more intuitive. However, It's only available with Razer Linear Optical switches. On the other hand, the ROCCAT has lower profile keycaps with transparent switch housings that showcase the RGB lighting and a dedicated mute button and volume wheel. It's available with either ROCCAT Titan tactile or linear switches. Unfortunately, only half its alphanumeric keys are macro-programmable.
Test Results
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