It probably comes as no surprise that we at Polygon have strong opinions about the keyboards we use every day. It also may not shock you to learn that those strong opinions often vary wildly from person to person. Some of us prefer that our keys sound as clicky as possible, while others dream of typing silently. Many of us are dedicated to our personal curated aesthetics, with custom keycaps or all-pink accessories. Still others just want something functional and inconspicuous.
Product recommendations arent one-size-fits-all. What one person is looking for in a keyboard for their flight simulator cockpit might be totally wrong for someone who wants a new keyboard for playing Overwatch.
Consider the Polygon staff a small sample size of experts, here to recommend our favorite keyboards for each of our specific needs.
The Corsair K70 is pretty much my go-to recommendation for solid gaming keyboards. (While I havent yet tried the second-generation MK.2 model, Ive every confidence that its just as good or better than the original.)
The feature that I enjoy the most is the aluminum frame, which raises the keys up a fair bit and makes for easy cleaning underneath. Theres also a metal rocker for volume, a full slate of media keys, a big friendly mute button, and built-in dimmer switches so you dont have to futz with the software when it gets dark. Its also available in a full range of Cherry MX switches, including the smooth and quiet Cherry MX Silent switches, also known as the Pink switches. The software has also been very reliable over the years.
Charlie Hall
I have flirted with the idea of getting a tenkeyless (a keyboard without a numeric keypad) over the years, but Im just hooked on using that right hand number pad and word processing buttons that come with a full-size board. However, playing spacefaring games and flight simulators as much as I do, desktop real estate comes at a premium. Gotta make room for the stick and throttle, after all. Thats why I opted for the HyperX Alloy FPS RGB for my recent trip to the edge of the universe in Elite: Dangerous.
Its a full-size board, but with an extremely small footprint. The bezel is almost nonexistent. Its also got the same raised keys as the K70, and it weighs a ton so its not as likely to move around on you while in VR. Im not as big a fan of the software, unfortunately, which can be a bit inconsistent from version to version.
Charlie Hall
Akko and Ducky keyboards are perfect for people who want to cater something to their tastes.
They have keyboards in a wide variety of styles. You can get a small version with no number pad, a bigger board with a number pad, or an even smaller board with scrunched up arrow keys. Theres also a pretty nice variety of switches, so if you want a specific type of clicky sound or feel, Akko and Ducky probably have what you need.
I use the Akko 3087s 87-key in Sakura Pink, which is a collaboration between the two companies, but theres such a variety of boards, youre bound to find one that suits your fancy. Just dont blame me if you end up spending a lot of money on artisan keycaps.
Julia Lee
This keyboard is definitely a Gamer Girl accessory in the just make it pink! trend, but Im a gamer girl, gosh darn it, and I like this bright pink keyboard. (Literally all of my other gaming accessories are angular and black with some neon green accents, and theyre perfectly functional but theyre not very fun.)
I programmed this dream Razer BlackWidow Chroma keyboard with a variety of lighting effects. At rest, its light orange with a few select keys (WASD, volume up and down) highlighted in neon violet. When Im typing, the keys light up with a vibrant ocean blue, delayed so that they flare up and disappear as I type.
In addition to being and I cannot stress this enough extremely aesthetic, the keys are super responsive and satisfying to clack, and its got a built-in wrist rest that is comfortable and ergonomic. It has all of the comforts of a high-quality keyboard with none of the drabness.
Jenna Stoeber
I often stream video from my PC to my TV, but I got tired of having to walk over to my desk every time I wanted to use the mouse and keyboard. Plus Id have to crane my neck to see the cursor on the TV uncomfortable! Eventually I picked up Logitechs Bluetooth keyboard with a built-in trackpad that was specifically built for this exact purpose, complete with easy access media buttons.
While this cheap little guy would be a nightmare to use for gaming, its just right for browsing YouTube on my TV from my couch.
Emily Heller
I cant justify my fascination with mechanical keyboards in any practical way. They arent meaningfully better at typing than the alternatives. But they do look cool, and they do sound great, and I dont know, man, that just presses a little pleasure button in my brain and makes me marginally happy.
Its happening now, those marginal bursts of pleasure, one tap at a time, as I write this on my fairly new, fully beloved Keychron K2, about as simple and inexpensive as entry into the world of mechanical keyboards as you could reasonably expect for Windows PC or Mac.
Mechanical keyboards can be an expensive hobby, but the Keychron K2 will get you started at $79.99 (which is inexpensive, comparatively). Its an 84-key or tenkeyless design, which is a fancy way of saying that it doesnt have a (10-key) number pad (get it? tenkeyless!), which is important to me because I dont work at a bank anymore, so I dont need that, and Id rather have my mouse closer to my keyboard. It also has, as you can see, full-size arrow keys, which Im always a fan of, and function (or media) keys, too.
I have the brown switch version, which is totally a dorky mechanical keyboard thing. Kychron uses Gateron brand switches, and brown is clicky without being obnoxious and piercing. The word people tend to describe brown switches is tactile, which means you dont have to press too hard to type, and also its not so loud that itll hurt anyones ears. They should put me on marketing.
One last bit of warning, if youre thinking of dipping your feet into the world of mechanical keyboards: They can take some getting used to. You may spend a week (read: I did) or more (re)learning how to type accurately on them. It was worth it to me.
OK, I lied. Another bit of warning: Watch your wrists. If you like to type with your wrists on the desk, youll need to transition to floating wrists or buy some pads to lift your wrists up off of the table. Or buy a keyboard tray. Or adjust the height of your desk, if thats an option. Otherwise, the angle will wind up hurting your precious wrists. And that would be very bad. But also probably dont type with your wrists resting on anything.
Dave Tach
Getting into smaller mechanical keyboards is an exercise in delicately balancing performance, price, and compromises. There may not be a keyboard that will check off all the boxes you need, but the Anne Pro 2 is the one that has come closest to hitting the mark for me.
The Anne Pro 2 is a 60% keyboard so it cuts off the entire numpad, function row, other operation keys, and even removes the arrow keys which may be a dealbreaker for some. But each key on these smaller units can be remapped, have multiple functions, or even have different properties depending on how you press the keys.
Everything about the Anne Pro 2 can be tweaked to your preference with software, including a new update that adds a fun but unnecessary feature that lights up the keyboard to the beat of my music. Either way, I arrived at the altar of small keyboards first with a bit of fear, but Im a convert now. I can never go back to anything larger than a 60%, and Ive come to fully believe the adage that less is more.
If youre ordering the Anne Pro 2 on Amazon, youll have the option for three different key switches depending on your preference. If thats a choice that gives you some analysis paralysis, go for the Gateron browns, which are the perfect balance between the options. Also, its worth knowing that this keyboard works great as a wireless keyboard too, but it has problems with repeating keys. With the amount of typing I do all day, it can be pretty annoying, so for the time being I have it wired.
Jeff Ramos
If your keyboard doesnt have macro keys or if you need more of them, this three-by-three macro pad will do the trick. Its software stores the data in the hardware, which means you can set it up, plug it into other laptops and PCs, and itll remember what its supposed to do. You can customize the lighting, the commands, and all that good stuff. I have a key macroed just to type since I dont have a numpad anymore. Useful stuff!
Julia Lee
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