11 Best Keyboard Brands (Pre-built) In 2024 - Setupgamers (2024)

If you’re in search of the best keyboard brand then you’ve come to the right place.

All brands are different and the products they produce continually evolve. Moreover, some brands specialize in keyboards while others don’t.

In this post, we have put together our top current keyboard brands based on reputation, recent models, and progression.

These lists aim to point you in the direction of the best brand/ pre-built keyboard for you.

Contents:

6 Best “Enthusiast” keyboard brands
5 Best “Gaming” keyboard brands

What is the best “Enthusiast” keyboard brand?

6. AKKO

Akko was founded in Shenzhen, China in 2016 with the concept of “lifestyle gaming peripherals”.

The founders wanted to “diversify the industry” with new ideas to “make peripherals more than just a tool”. To achieve this, their goal involved embodying pop-cultural imagery, color trends, interests, attitudes, and cultural elements.

In the company’s early days, Akko became known for its partnership with big brands like Ducky and collaborations with esports teams. Noticeably for their keycap designs, which led them to become one of the world’s leading keycap manufacturers.

Nowadays, Akko’s innovation has turned more towards their own keyboards. Many of which are feature-packed, have great aesthetics, and come in comprehensive sizes. Due to manufacturing their own switches and keycaps, they also retail at very affordable prices.

On the whole, the quality of Akko boards is high, particularly those from their more recent lineups. Despite being a fairly new brand, they are working hard to progress the hobby further.

If you’re looking for an entry point into the mechanical keyboard world, we can highly recommend the 3098B, ACR, and MOD series. Each offers excellent bang for your buck and would make a great starter keyboard.

5. IQUNIX

IQUNIX is a Chinese keyboard brand based in Shenzhen. It was founded in 2014 by Levan Li – an enthusiast who was unsatisfied with the poor amount of choice of mechanical keyboards out there. This resulted in him designing and constructing his own creations, fueled by the love of his craft.

IQUNIX tends to focus on incredible aesthetics and an unbridled typing experience. Many IQUNIX pre-builds stand out for their acclaimed eye-catching designs, often in hard to come by form factors. An example is the F96/ F97 series, a popular keyboard range that has a space-saving 96% layout.

In terms of typing experience, IQUNIX is right up there with the best keyboard brands. Many of their pre-builds feel solid and have virtually zero pinging or hollowness. If you’re looking for a full, deep-sounding keyboard with no modding required, then we can recommend the one from the 80 Series.

Due to IQUNIX being a Chinese company, it’s worth noting that you will have to factor in some risk if you buy from this brand. Despite IQUNIX providing a one-year warranty, there have been instances where consumers have had to pay large shipping fees in logistics/ customs for returns.

4. Drop

Drop (formerly Massdrop) is a high-end mechanical keyboard and PC peripherals brand based in California, USA. Founded in 2012, the company empowers people around the world to discover new, community-inspired products, and participate in product development.

Most people know Drop for its e-commerce store, where keyboard fanatics can get everything from mechanical keyboard switches to unique and artisan keycaps, stabilizers, and even fancy cables. In addition to selling other brands’ products, they use this platform to retail their own products too.

Drop keyboards tend to be clean, modern, and functional. The majority of their boards are CNC crafted from a single block of aluminum in either a low or high-profile design. Rounded corners and minimal branding are often standard. Along with a hot-swappable PCB, QMK support, and eye-catching RGB backlighting.

Some of Drop’s best-sellers include keyboards from their ALT, CTRL, and SHIFT lineup. Released in 2020, these were some of the best pre-built, hot-swaps at the time. Today, they’re looking a bit outdated – but they’re likely due for a refresh soon.

3. Keychron

Founded in 2017, Keychron is one of the newer companies in the PC peripherals market. Despite this, their products have become quite popular on a global scale in a rather short period. People new to mechs love what they’re doing and they draw a lot of people into the hobby.

Keychron’s team consists of a core of Hong Kong-based industrial and product designers with over ten years of experience. They entered the market after seeing a gap for Mac-first wireless mechanical keyboards, a sub-niche that they still cater to today.

Due to being product people first, Keychron’s early models were a bit rough around the edges. Take for example, the bestselling K2 which has a metal, screw-on “frame” design and looks a bit cheap. Nonetheless, consumers still appreciated the quality and features, especially for the asking price.

With the release of the Q-series in 2022, Keychron upped their game in the mech keyboard space. Today, they are some of the best pre-built keyboards you can buy under a custom price point. This is thanks to their gasket mount structure, solid aluminum body, and excellent acoustics.

Although Keychron are a reputable brand, they are a SE Asian company too, which means that they do tend to struggle with customer service. As a result, we suggest buying through Amazon if you decide to go for their keyboards (for quick and easy refunds).

2. Glorious

Glorious is a lifestyle gaming hardware company based in Dallas, Texas, USA.

The company was founded in 2014 by a passionate team of enthusiasts seeking to change the status quo of an industry. Their mission was to take on the massive corporate gaming hardware companies that dominated the market and bring high-quality, affordable products to the everyday man.

Considering the keyboard market was quite niche at the time (with customers prepared to pay a high price/ wait in time for a quality product), Glorious did well to emerge in such an environment.

They found a way to produce good entry-level keyboards at their price range. Moreover, due to their location, many people in the community appreciated that their products were always in stock. Of course, they did have some quality control issues in the beginning but for many starter companies that’s always going to be the case.

In February 2019. Glorious hit it off with the release of their GMMK lineup. Dubbed “the world’s first RGB modular mechanical keyboard”, the Compact became one of the most recommended boards for beginners looking to hot-swap their switches. This set the trend for many other budget keyboard brands and their following boards.

The future of high-end keyboards at Glorious came in 2021 with the release of the GMMK Pro. This is a premium, gasket-mound keyboard with a solid aluminum case. The following year saw the release of the GMMK 2 – an update to the original line of GMMK boards with some new keyboard sizes.

Glorious has come a long way in the past few years. Currently, they’re right up there competing with the best keyboard brands.

1. Ducky

Ducky produce some of the best mechanical keyboards in the world and has long been a favorite in the gaming community.

Based in Taiwan, the company founded its brand in 2008, striving to provide users with mechanical keyboards of the highest standard. Since then, they have earned a global reputation and have gradually begun branching out into mice and other peripherals.

Ducky boards are innovative, performance-oriented, and solidly built. Enthusiasts applauded early models for their unique small form factors, onboard programmability, and intangibles, allowing for plenty of customization. While previous designs weren’t always the flashiest, they were free from unwanted gimmicks.

Build quality has always been an ongoing theme of Ducky keyboards, and one of the main reasons for their success. Thanks to their top-notch manufacturing, Ducky produce higher quality pre-builds -that on average will last you longer than most gamer keyboards. In our experience, they tend to keep on giving even years down the line from their purchase.

If you buy a Ducky board today, you can expect zero board flex, and an excellent typing sound out of the box. Ducky keyboards have always had great sounding stabilizers, and on their latest One-3 line, things have only gotten better. We also like that they now line their boards with foam to improve the case acoustics.

Overall, if you’re searching for a solid pre-build at an affordable price, you can’t go wrong with Ducky.

What is the best “Gaming” keyboard brand?

5. Cooler Master

Established in 1992, Cooler Master is one of the oldies on our list. Most people know the Taiwanese manufacturer for their computer cases and cooling devices, though they’ve always been on the forefront of gaming peripheral innovation. This is especially true for headsets, mice, and keyboards.

Five to ten years ago, Cooler Master had a reputation as one of the better “gaming” keyboard brands, producing solid keebs that would stick with consumers for years to come. However, due to their target market, their overall quality was not quite as good as the enthusiast brands.

Today, Cooler Master boards are still decent but they have fallen down the gaming keyboard pecking order somewhat. In terms of marketing and flagship models, brands such as Razer, and Corsair, among others have risen to become stiff competition for Cooler Master in this sector.

Nonetheless, Cooler Master is still capable of churning out a nice keyboard every once in a while. They produce some of the best low-profile gaming keyboards right now and their full-size offerings aren’t bad either. If you like the style of their designs, then reliability comes hand in hand.

4. Logitech

Logitech is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of input devices for personal computers. Founded over forty years ago, the Swiss multinational manufacturer has accumulated over 8000 employees and several peripheral product lines that they’ve either developed or acquired.

Two of these product lines fall under the keyboard category: Logitech-G and Logitech-MX. Logitech-G is their gaming range, while Logitech-MX is for the office environment. Logitech-G is what we’ll be referring to here, as we are gamers after all…

Overall, Logitech has a good reputation as a keyboard brand, especially for their innovation. They were the first big brand to introduce hot-swappable switches, and their wireless LIGHTSPEED technology is excellent.

Moreover, with the introduction of GX switches, stock PBT Keycaps, and a standard bottom row, Logitech keyboards seem to be moving forward in terms of enthusiast features. As for reliability and customer service though, unfortunately, this seems to be heading in the opposite direction.

One thing to be aware of is that most Logitech keyboards fall into the full-size or TKL category. Therefore, if you’re a SFF fanboy, then a Logitech isn’t going to be for you.

3. SteelSeries

SteelSeries is a Danish manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories. Since 2001, SteelSeries has been a driving force in esports and professional gaming. From sponsoring pro players to creating innovative products specifically for pro teams.

To fine-tune the design of their products, SteelSeries work closely with relations and sponsors. This ensures they can meet the needs of gamers at the top level. SteelSeries is all about building products that push professional gaming further than anyone else had imagined.

When it comes to keyboards, most people know SteelSeries for their 2019 “Apex” line, specifically for their OmniPoint switches. Due to allowing customization of the actuation distance from 0.4 to 3.6 millimeters, the Apex Pro became an instant hit with FPS gamers seeking a hair-trigger actuation.

Even today, the Apex boards stand out among the crowd. Many tout the Apex Pro TKL as the best gaming keyboard they’ve ever used, and it still has a place in some pros’ and top streamers’ setups. XQC, Ninja, and Bugha all currently own and use the Apex Pro TKL.

2. Razer

Razer is an American-Singaporean company that produces high-performance gaming hardware and peripherals. Founded in 2005, Razer has become one of the most recognized logos in the global gaming and esports communities with over 175 million users.

Razer appeal to the mass-market consumer and are very much a mainstream company. Their keyboards tend to focus a lot on presentation and features while having a good balance of form and function. This is generally how they have built their success and become so popular.

In the past, Razer was a very controversial keyboard brand, but over the years, they’ve grown to be one of the best. Their quality control and durability issues have gotten much better, and they make good, premium products. Of course, you do pay with their prices, which are considerably higher than most.

Some of Razers’ top boards include the Huntsman V2 Analog, Huntsman Elite, and Razer BlackWidow Elite. All of which are great on the hardware side. Expect nice switches, pretty thick keycaps, etc. The software side however can be more frustrating, requiring Synapse to use all the basic features.

1. CORSAIR

CORSAIR is a leading global developer and manufacturer of high-performance gaming gear and technology. Headquartered in California, CORSAIR has been in the American market since 1994. In that time, they’ve expanded their lineup to just about everything short of keyboards.

CORSAIR makes some of the best gaming keyboards you can get your hands on. Both flagship and budget models come bustling with features, such as dedicated macro keys, media keys, and RGB backlighting. Generally, their boards are solidly built and have a nice switch selection, too.

Like Razer, Corsair do put a premium price tag on their keyboards. Other than that, some people might not like that their switches aren’t hot swappable or the gamery font of their keycaps. However, recent boards now have a standard bottom row for easy keycap customization.

All in all, if gaming is your main intention then you can’t really go wrong with this keyboard brand. The price justifies the level of performance and quality you’re getting. Moreover, the extensive feature set results in a board that’s enjoyable to play with daily.

We hope you enjoyed this post on the best keyboard brand.