Keyboard Builders' Digest / Switch trends
Best-selling keyboard switches of August 2025
In this overview of community-favorite mechanical switches, here are August's top picks, based on real sales data provided by vendors and manufacturers.
Published September 5, 2025
(Cover: Gateron Azure Dragon V4 switches shot by Unikeys.)
Hey fellow switch enthusiasts! A bunch of kind vendors got back to me with their sales volumes again, so let's continue our monthly series highlighting the community's most popular switch models! This time, we're diving into August's best-selling switches. Discussion over at r/mk if you'd like to share your experiences or opinion.
Summary: 18 contributors from all around the globe, representing about 1 million switches sold, with 118 switch models mentioned and 14 new switch models appearing first in the top lists.
The article is quite long, feel free to jump to the list of contributors, to my quick market overview, the aggregated top10 list, the shooting stars, newly added switches, the detailed results by shops, or to the disclaimer, aggregation rules used by the algorithm, and my closing thoughts with new features and developments. Finally, search and filter the mechanical switch database for your favorite switch types or specific models.
General market trends
Thanks to this compilation being fairly representative — we have data from the US to China, Japan to France, Germany to India, and Australia to the UK –, based on the sales volumes reported by all the shops, I can usually spot some interesting trends. For example, that the summer is officially over. :)
I mean, it was already over in August – at least based on the sales numbers coming in from our awesome contributor shops and manufacturers. In some cases, sales even doubled or nearly tripled. These are outliers, of course, but the overall growth trend is unmistakable.
After a rather weak summer season and mixed July, the trend is now showing a clear growth: out of 18 vendors, 11 reported growth, while 5 saw contraction. (The rest stagnated.) Most of the leading shops’ growth still wasn’t enough to reach pre-summer levels, despite some of them reporting the insane increase in demand already mentioned above – 100%, almost 200% in a single case.
This is likely a continued seasonal effect, with many smaller shops and community members back from their holiday, ready to pick up incoming parcels again.
Tactile switches account for 40% of the top 10 aggregated list positions, and a bit less (34%) of the top50 – as always: due to their smaller variety and greater concentration compared to linears, they may be overrepresented.
For even more insight, check out the detailed lists.
Contributors
Welcome our latest contributor joining the party: the iconic Yusha Kobo of Akihabara, Tokyo. I've added their last two months of data, so movements in their top 10 list are already visible.
Many thanks to all the shops who are contributing their detailed stats to this series. Exact sales volumes (rather than mere rankings) make the aggregated list more accurate. Thank you for your confidence on behalf of the community – we all know how sensitive this data is.
Clicking the links takes you to the individual top lists:
MonacoKeys (DE), Mechboards (UK), Delta Key Co. (FR), Lume Keebs (US), The Thocc Exchange (UK), BeaverKeys (CA), UniKeys (CN), Gateron (CN), Keebz N Cables (AU), Clackify (US), Coffeekeys (IT), TALPKEYBOARD (JP), SerpentKeys (UK), Mechanical Keyboards (US), Yusha Kobo (JP), AKKO EU (CN), YourKBD (CN), StacksKB (IN).
Switch testers
Many of you asked for switch testers. While I'm not a merchant myself, Clackify (US) specializes in exactly that – custom switch testers. Give them a shot. Or there's Unikeys (CN) with a massive selection, and also Monacokeys (DE) and CoffeeKeys (IT) in the EU. Other shops offer more specific switch testers too, e.g. Beaverkeys (CA) or Keebz N Cables (AU).
Novelties & Database updates
14 new switch models have recently been added to the database as a result of the incoming top lists – most of these are brand new, others older but included due to renewed interest.
- Gateron Lanes, a unique ALPs-inspired tactile, designed by Lanes.
- Hm. A light tactile (HMX K01) from Unikeys/HMX, another one with a matte scratchy top housing. HMX Moksae, a silent linear with double-shot stem. And the Keygeek M1 with that tasty top housing – yummy!
- The Gateron x ZYNOO Magnetic Spark is a unique Hall-effect switch in many aspects too. And with the $1.7 price tag it's probably the most expensive one in this month's line-up. ;) Something more affordable, still at Gateron: Gateron Phantom Blue.
- With Yusha Kobo came their in-house best-seller, the Yushakobo Fairy – a recolored Kailh Midnight Silent V2, with custom spring. Along with the Kailh Super Speed Copper and Kailh Choc (V1) Red Pro – more local favorites.
- Cherry MX Honey Silent made it to the top10 at mechanicalkeyboards.com.
- Geon Raptor HE V2 at Delta Key Co.
- Gateron Azure Dragon V4 at Serpentkeys.
- HMX Sandstorm at MonacoKeys.
- Moyu x JWICK Green Snake – Thocc Exchange is clearing the shelves.
- And we haven't even mentioned Wingtree yet. A new switch manufacturer founded by a former BSUN affiliate. More details, reviews and sound tests are coming.
Results
August's Top 10 – aggregated
Beside this Top10 feel free to check out the Top 300+ list too. (About the ranking: switch models appearing in multiple shop lists are prioritized over high sales in a single shop.)
| 1 |  | Gateron Oil King linear | buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  | Gateron Milky Yellow Pro linear | buy |
| 3 |  | Sillyworks x Gateron Type R tactile | buy |
| 4 |  | Akko Rosewood linear | buy |
| 5 |  | TTC Frozen V2 Silent (TTC Silent Glacier) silent linear | buy |
| 6 |  | Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2) tactile | buy |
| 7 |  | Gateron Lanes tactile | buy |
| 8 |  | Outemu Silent Honey Peach V3 silent linear | buy |
| 9 |  | Akko Cream Blue Pro V3 tactile | buy |
| 10 |  | OWlab Ti HE (50g) linear, Hall-effect | buy |
As you'll see, there's not much overlapping in the individual shop lists, because of the relatively few repetitions. It's no surprise that the well-known, widely available, recurring models made it into the aggregated list above.
Anyway, here is a more interesting list: the shooting stars.
Shooting stars
These are the switches with the highest gain in rank from June to July.
| 1 |  | MMD Princess Tactile V4 tactile | 59 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  | Gateron Smoothie linear | 58 | buy |
| 3 |  | Gateron KS-33 Low Profile Red linear | 58 | buy |
| 4 |  | Tecsee Pudding Medium linear | 50 | buy |
| 5 |  | Cherry MX2A Silent Red (PCB-mount RGB) silent linear | 42 | buy |
| 6 |  | Kailh Deep Sea Silent Mini White/Islet Low-Profile silent linear | 31 | buy |
| 7 |  | Neo Oat linear | 30 | buy |
| 8 |  | Siliworks X HMX Sonja linear | 24 | buy |
| 9 |  | Kailh Deep Sea Silent MINI Pink Island silent linear | 24 | buy |
| 10 |  | Cherry MX2A Brown tactile | 23 | buy |
And now let's take a look at the individual lists.
MonacoKeys (Germany)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
Here is the collection of Monaco's best sellers so you can find them all at once.
HMX Sandstorms are the newest tactile switch from HMX and feature a Type-R style bump, this switch also already receives similar good feedback like the Type R's. HMX Bad Sweethearts are the real star this month, they are the deepest sounding HMX switch yet, even deeper than Neo Oat's – Michael.
| 1 | | Neo Oat linear | 2 | €0.32 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  | Outemu Silent Lemon/Lime V3 silent tactile | 3 | €0.38 | buy |
| 3 | | Outemu Silent Honey Peach V3 silent linear | new | €0.38 | buy |
| 4 | | MMD Princess Tactile V4 tactile | 6 | €0.34 | buy |
| 5 |  | HMX Canglan V3 linear | -1 | €0.42 | buy |
| 6 |  | HMX Bad Sweetheart linear | new | €0.40 | buy |
| 7 | | Gateron Milky Yellow Pro linear | new | €0.34 | buy |
| 8 |  | Gateron Mini i tactile | new | €0.33 | buy |
| 9 |  | HMX Sandstorm tactile | new | €0.40 | buy |
| 10 |  | MMD Holy Panda V3 tactile | new | €0.36 | buy |
Mechboards (UK)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
Out of stock for a lot of our best sellers this month, so the list is not usual. Nice to see Xinhai selling again as it's a good switch. We're aiming to restock our switch selection this month so should be interesting to see what comes out on top next month – Ben.
| 1 |  | lowprokb Choc (V1) Sunset tactile | - | £0.85 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  | lowprokb Choc (V1) Ambients Twilight silent linear | - | £1.00 | buy |
| 3 |  | Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow linear | - | £0.28 | buy |
| 4 |  | Kailh Choc (V1) Red linear | new | £0.55 | buy |
| 5 | | Gateron Smoothie linear | new | £0.30 | buy |
| 6 |  | HMX Xinhai (light) linear | new | £0.37 | buy |
| 7 |  | Kailh Box Jade clicky | - | £0.45 | buy |
| 8 | | Gateron Milky Yellow Pro linear | new | £0.25 | buy |
| 9 |  | lowprokb Choc (V1) Ambients Nocturnal silent linear | -5 | £0.95 | buy |
| 10 |  | Novelkeys Cream linear | new | £0.75 | buy |
Delta Key Co. (France)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
August was a month a lot more active for switches compared to June & July. We lauched the Gateron Lanes that had a very good success. Still a great and growing demand of Hall-Effect switches – Guillaume.
| 1 | | Gateron Lanes tactile | new | $0.70 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Sillyworks x Gateron Type R tactile | 3 | $0.60 | buy |
| 3 |  | Geon Raptor HE V2 linear, Hall-effect | new | $0.42 | buy |
| 4 | | OWlab Ti HE (50g) linear, Hall-effect | -3 | $0.50 | buy |
| 5 |  | Gateron x Bowl L'Orange linear | new | $0.50 | buy |
| 6 |  | Cherry MX2A Black linear | -2 | $0.50 | buy |
| 7 | | Gateron Oil King linear | 2 | $0.69 | buy |
| 8 |  | Haimu x Geon HG Red silent linear | -1 | $0.43 | buy |
| 9 |  | AEBoards Raeds Hall Effect (HE) linear, Hall-effect | new | $0.72 | buy |
| 10 |  | GAZZEW Boba U4T tactile | new | $0.65 | buy |
Lume Keebs (US)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
We’re excited to share that we’ve recently added several new switches to our lineup including new Keygeek, BSUN, HMX switches with more on the way. Behind the scenes, we’re also working on expanding our product collection and continuing to fine-tune our fulfillment process – Emily.
| 1 | | TTC Frozen V2 Silent (TTC Silent Glacier) silent linear | 2 | $0.55 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | OWlab Ti HE (50g) linear, Hall-effect | 2 | $0.48 | buy |
| 3 | | Sillyworks x Gateron Type R tactile | 4 | $0.50 | buy |
| 4 |  | Durock Ice King Linear linear | 2 | $0.50 | buy |
| 5 | | Gateron Oil King linear | - | $0.65 | buy |
| 6 |  | MMD Vivian linear | 2 | $0.35 | buy |
| 7 | | MMD Princess Tactile V4 tactile | new | $0.29 | buy |
| 8 |  | KEYGEEK X MZ Y3 linear | new | $0.23 | buy |
| 9 |  | Keygeek Y2 linear | new | $0.35 | buy |
| 10 | | HMX Bad Sweetheart linear | new | $0.35 | buy |
The Thocc Exchange (UK)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
August was a busy month for us with some really unique switches featuring. Our Unity switch is outselling everything else by a long margin, but unlubed cherry has put in a strong performance. People are enjoying the MX2A moulds without lube for the unique scratchy sound profile. Keygeek are huge at the moment. They can't seem to make bad switches - really delivering on price and quality – Matty.
| 1 | ![Thocc Exchange Unity [pre-order] 894](pic/switch/351.jpg "Thocc Exchange Unity [pre-order] 894") | Thocc Exchange Unity [pre-order] silent tactile | 1 | £0.35 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  | Moyu x JWICK Green Snake linear | new | £0.10 | buy |
| 3 | | Cherry MX2A Black linear | new | £0.35 | buy |
| 4 | | HMX Bad Sweetheart linear | -3 | £0.33 | buy |
| 5 |  | Cherry Nixie linear | new | £0.35 | buy |
| 6 | | Cherry MX2A Brown tactile | 3 | £0.33 | buy |
| 7 | | TTC Frozen V2 Silent (TTC Silent Glacier) silent linear | 3 | £0.45 | buy |
| 8 |  | Keygeek Blue Cheese V2 linear | new | £0.40 | buy |
| 9 |  | Akko Creamy Cyan clicky | new | £0.33 | buy |
| 10 |  | Keygeek x Moyu Athena (40g) linear | new | £0.33 | buy |
BeaverKeys (Canada)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
Customers stuck to the true and tested this month with the Gateron Milky Yellow Pro sitting at the top by a healthy margin. Lots of new additions to the shop will land by mid September, lets see if that will shake things up =) – Peter.
| 1 | | Gateron Milky Yellow Pro linear | 1 | 0.35CAD | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2) tactile | new | 0.85CAD | buy |
| 3 | | Akko Rosewood linear | -2 | 0.42CAD | buy |
| 4 |  | Akko x HMX Cilantro tactile | - | 0.42CAD | buy |
| 5 | | Durock Ice King Linear linear | new | 0.75CAD | buy |
| 6 | | KEYGEEK X MZ Y3 linear | 4 | 0.37CAD | buy |
| 7 | | Gateron Oil King linear | 1 | 0.87CAD | buy |
| 8 |  | HMX Cloud (42g) linear | new | 0.44CAD | buy |
| 9 |  | KTT Kang White V3 linear | -6 | 0.39CAD | buy |
| 10 |  | Gateron Quinn tactile | -1 | 0.85CAD | buy |
UniKeys (China)
[7% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
We will be launching Wingtree switches during early September. Wingtree is a new switch manufacturer founded by an old friend who used to be an affiliate with BSUN. During the launch, we will release a variety of switch types including linear, tactile, light tactile, and silent switches that are designed and manufactured by Wingtree. More reviews and sound tests are coming – Dashan.
| 1 |  | HMX K01 tactile | new | $0.33 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Keygeek Y2 linear | new | $0.35 | buy |
| 3 | | KEYGEEK X MZ Y3 linear | 2 | $0.23 | buy |
| 4 | | Sillyworks x Gateron Type R tactile | 2 | $0.50 | buy |
| 5 |  | Keygeek B1 linear | -4 | $0.35 | buy |
| 6 | | OWlab Ti HE (50g) linear, Hall-effect | -3 | $0.48 | buy |
| 7 | | HMX Bad Sweetheart linear | - | $0.35 | buy |
| 8 |  | HMX Moksae silent linear | new | $0.35 | buy |
| 9 |  | Keygeek Explosion linear | - | $0.35 | buy |
| 10 |  | Keygeek M1 linear | new | $0.35 | buy |
Gateron (China)
[10% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
| 1 |  | Gateron KS-33 Silent Red 2.0 silent linear | $0.38 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2) tactile | $0.60 | buy |
| 3 |  | Gateron Magnetic Jade Pro linear, Hall-effect | $0.80 | buy |
| 4 |  | Gateron Sea Salt Smoothie linear | $0.24 | buy |
| 5 | | Gateron Smoothie linear | $0.30 | buy |
| 6 |  | Gateron Jupiter Banana tactile | $0.28 | buy |
| 7 |  | Gateron Phantom Blue clicky | $0.17 | buy |
| 8 | | Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow linear | $0.28 | buy |
| 9 |  | Gateron Melodic clicky | $0.65 | buy |
| 10 |  | Gateron x ZYNOO Magnetic Spark linear, Hall-effect | $1.70 | buy |
Keebz N Cables (Australia)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
We saw a return of our most popular switches of 2024/2025 to our catalogue, BSUN Taro N Sweet Potato, HMX Cheese V1 and Keygeek Blue Cheese V2. Gateron Lanes, a unique ALPs inspired tactile made it way to #2 and sold out in the same month – Jason.
| 1 | | Keygeek Blue Cheese V2 linear | new | 0.73AUD | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Gateron Lanes tactile | new | 0.86AUD | buy |
| 3 |  | Keebz N Cables x BSUN Taro N Sweet Potato linear | new | 0.67AUD | buy |
| 4 |  | Keebz N Cables Ice Kachang V2 tactile | -3 | 0.45AUD | buy |
| 5 |  | HMX Cheese linear | new | 0.60AUD | buy |
| 6 |  | KTT Hyacinth linear | new | 0.30AUD | buy |
| 7 |  | Keebz N Cables Mountain King tactile | -5 | 0.40AUD | buy |
| 8 |  | Keebhut Tropical Waters V3 linear | new | 0.42AUD | buy |
| 9 |  | KTT Strawberry V2 linear | - | 0.33AUD | buy |
| 10 |  | Haimu x YG Studio Mulberry tactile | new | 0.64AUD | buy |
Clackify (US)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
This month Gateron Type R took the lead, which is not a huge surprise to me. They earned it. I have a feeling next month is going to show some of the new HMX tactiles too though! – Calvin.
| 1 | | Sillyworks x Gateron Type R tactile | 1 | buy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2) tactile | -1 | buy | |
| 3 | | Gateron Quinn tactile | 2 | buy | |
| 4 |  | TTC Bluish White (V2) Silent silent tactile | -1 | buy | |
| 5 | | Gateron Oil King linear | -1 | buy | |
| 6 | | TTC Frozen V2 Silent (TTC Silent Glacier) silent linear | 2 | buy | |
| 7 | | Akko Rosewood linear | 3 | buy | |
| 8 |  | GAZZEW U4 RGB tactile | new | buy | |
| 9 |  | GAZZEW U4T tactile | new | buy | |
| 10 | | Outemu Silent Lemon/Lime V3 silent tactile | -1 | buy |
Coffeekeys (Italy)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
As you can see, the BSUN Light Sakura was our top sold switch, followed by the low profile family of Red, Blue and Brown switches from Gateron. The Oil King came on a third place also for the fact that we ran out of stock, but a new batch is already on the way, as well as for the WS Morandi, Gateron Baby Kangaroo and Gateron Quinn. For the month of September we are going to monitor our new entries' performance, the Neo Oat from Qwertykeys and the Keygeek Butterfly linear. (For this last one we have limited quantities available because the supplier sent us a small batch to test. We enjoyed them and so there is a new batch coming up the next month). To conclude, we are looking forward to the Mechanical Keyboard Italian Meetup that is taking place in Bologna the 6th of September, as Italian vendors and sponsor of the event (together with others) we are always thrilled to participate in a mechanical keyboards event held in our own country – Tommaso.
| 1 |  | BSUN Light Sakura silent linear | new | €0.32 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Gateron KS-33 Low Profile Red linear | 7 | €0.24 | buy |
| 3 | | Gateron Oil King linear | -2 | €0.57 | buy |
| 4 |  | Wuque Studio WS Silent Tactile silent tactile | 1 | €0.28 | buy |
| 5 |  | Gateron EF EverFree Silent Yellow silent linear | new | €0.33 | buy |
| 6 |  | Wuque Studio WS Morandi linear | -2 | €0.39 | buy |
| 7 |  | BSUN Taichi V2 linear | new | €0.30 | buy |
| 8 |  | Wuque Studio WS Silent Linear silent linear | 2 | €0.32 | buy |
| 9 | | Gateron Quinn tactile | -7 | €0.52 | buy |
| 10 | | Gateron Milky Yellow Pro linear | -3 | €0.29 | buy |
TALPKEYBOARD (Japan)
Yousuke regularly publishes his top10 rankings, this time here.
Before the temporary store closure, many customers purchased Kailh Choc V2 switches, so we focused on expanding the lineup and stock of Choc V2. After reopening the store, Chinese studio makers have been releasing interesting Cherry MX switches, so we shifted our focus to expanding that lineup. Sales numbers are increasing, but since the unit price is low, it is a bit tough from a business perspective :) – Yousuke.
| 1 | | Kailh Deep Sea Silent Mini White/Islet Low-Profile silent linear | - | ¥96 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Kailh Deep Sea Silent MINI Pink Island silent linear | - | ¥116 | buy |
| 3 |  | Kailh Deep Sea Silent Mini Brown/Whale Low-Profile silent tactile | 2 | ¥90 | buy |
| 4 |  | Kailh Deep Sea Silent Pro Box Islet silent linear | new | ¥96 | buy |
| 5 |  | Kailh Saker Mini ChocV2 linear | -2 | ¥96 | buy |
| 6 | | Keygeek Y2 linear | new | ¥38 | buy |
| 7 | | Tecsee Pudding Medium linear | - | ¥64 | buy |
| 8 |  | BSUN x Zuoce Studio Cheese Grape tactile | new | ¥50 | buy |
| 9 | | KEYGEEK X MZ Y3 linear | new | ¥36 | buy |
| 10 | | Siliworks X HMX Sonja linear | new | ¥58 | buy |
SerpentKeys (UK)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
| 1 | | Gateron Milky Yellow Pro linear | - | £0.23 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Gateron Smoothie linear | new | £0.28 | buy |
| 3 | | HMX Canglan V3 linear | new | £0.33 | buy |
| 4 | | HMX Xinhai (light) linear | -2 | £0.33 | buy |
| 5 | | Gateron Oil King linear | - | £0.60 | buy |
| 6 |  | XY Studio BSUN Jade Rosale linear | - | £0.50 | buy |
| 7 |  | Gateron Ink Black V2 linear | new | £0.70 | buy |
| 8 |  | Gateron Azure Dragon V4 tactile | new | £0.45 | buy |
| 9 | | Haimu x YG Studio Mulberry tactile | new | £0.38 | buy |
| 10 |  | HMX Pine Moon linear | -1 | £0.33 | buy |
Mechanical Keyboards (US)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
| 1 | | Gateron Oil King linear | 2 | $0.65 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  | Haimu Heartbeat silent linear | new | $0.30 | buy |
| 3 | | Gateron Jupiter Banana tactile | 1 | $0.28 | buy |
| 4 | | Cherry MX2A Silent Red (PCB-mount RGB) silent linear | 5 | $0.40 | buy |
| 5 |  | Cherry MX Honey Silent silent tactile | new | $0.50 | buy |
| 6 | | Neo Oat linear | new | $0.28 | buy |
| 7 |  | Cherry MX Silent Red (PCB mount) silent linear | new | $0.40 | buy |
| 8 |  | Cherry MX2A Blue clicky | new | $0.40 | buy |
| 9 |  | Cherry MX2A Blue (PCB-mount RGB) clicky | 1 | $0.50 | buy |
| 10 | | Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2) tactile | new | $0.60 | buy |
Yusha Kobo (Japan)
Our custom switch Yushakobo Fairy silent is still at the top of our ranking and silent switches in general are quite popular within our community – as they take about half of our Top 10 – Sabrina.
| 1 |  | Yushakobo Fairy silent linear | 1 | ¥71 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  | Outemu Cream Yellow Pro silent tactile | 1 | ¥49 | buy |
| 3 | | Kailh Deep Sea Silent MINI Pink Island silent linear | new | ¥99 | buy |
| 4 | | Tecsee Pudding Medium linear | new | ¥77 | buy |
| 5 | | TTC Bluish White (V2) Silent silent tactile | -1 | ¥88 | buy |
| 6 | | HMX Xinhai (light) linear | 3 | ¥66 | buy |
| 7 |  | Durock Silent T1 - Shrimp silent tactile | new | ¥99 | buy |
| 8 | | TTC Frozen V2 Silent (TTC Silent Glacier) silent linear | new | ¥99 | buy |
| 9 |  | Invokeys Hojicha Reserve tactile | new | ¥88 | buy |
| 10 |  | Kailh Choc (V1) Red Pro linear | new | ¥66 | buy |
AKKO EU (China)
[10% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
| 1 | | Akko Rosewood linear | - | €0.37 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  | Akko Fairy (silent) silent linear | - | €0.37 | buy |
| 3 |  | Akko Penguin Silent silent tactile | - | €0.37 | buy |
| 4 |  | Akko Cream Yellow Pro V3 linear | - | €0.24 | buy |
| 5 |  | Akko Cream Yellow Pro V5 linear | 3 | €0.29 | buy |
| 6 | | Akko Cream Blue Pro V3 tactile | -1 | €0.24 | buy |
| 7 |  | Akko Creamy Purple Pro V3 tactile | -1 | €0.26 | buy |
| 8 |  | Akko Cream Blue Pro V5 tactile | 1 | €0.29 | buy |
| 9 |  | Akko Piano Pro linear | new | €0.37 | buy |
| 10 |  | Akko Starlit linear | - | €0.34 | buy |
YourKBD (China)
[7% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
| 1 | | Outemu Silent Honey Peach V3 silent linear | - | $0.24 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Gateron Oil King linear | - | $0.60 | buy |
| 3 |  | Chosfox Poison Gas tactile | - | $0.30 | buy |
| 4 | | TTC Frozen V2 Silent (TTC Silent Glacier) silent linear | - | $0.68 | buy |
| 5 |  | Chosfox x Kailh Arctic Fox clicky | - | $0.55 | buy |
| 6 |  | Chosfox & HMX Hanami Dango V2 linear | - | $0.36 | buy |
| 7 |  | Chosfox White Fox V2 linear | - | $0.30 | buy |
| 8 | | Siliworks X HMX Sonja linear | - | $0.28 | buy |
| 9 |  | GEON Raw HE (50gf) linear Hall-effect | - | $0.45 | buy |
| 10 |  | Kailh Choc (V1) Pro Pink linear | - | $0.50 | buy |
StacksKB (India)
| 1 | | Akko Cream Blue Pro V3 tactile | 1 | ₹20 | buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | | Akko Cream Yellow Pro V3 linear | new | ₹20 | buy |
| 3 |  | Gateron G Pro 3.0 Brown tactile | 5 | ₹18 | buy |
| 4 |  | Akko Lavender Purple Pro V3 tactile | 3 | ₹22 | buy |
| 5 | | Akko Rosewood linear | -4 | ₹31 | buy |
| 6 | | Akko Penguin Silent silent tactile | new | ₹31 | buy |
| 7 | | Akko Fairy (silent) silent linear | -2 | ₹31 | buy |
| 8 |  | Akko Silver Pro V3 linear | new | ₹31 | buy |
| 9 | | Gateron Sea Salt Smoothie linear | new | ₹23 | buy |
| 10 | | Gateron Mini i tactile | new | ₹46 | buy |
Disclaimer
Keep in mind that most of the time I'm not in a position to verify the validity and accuracy of the data provided by shop runners. Some of these lists come automatically from their databases, with screenshots, however, some were put together manually. I asked for the numbers of the previous month, but some shops query the past 30 days, etc.
That said, take everything with a grain of salt, but I hope this compilation will still hold some value, highlighting trends, giving you some tips, and as a snapshot of the zeitgeist it will be also interesting to look back at on the long run.
About the algorithm
While contributors provide exact numbers, standardization, normalization, and other techniques remain essential to come up with a ranked list due to some remaining inconsistencies, unfortunately.
The current system:
- incorporates sales volume as a percentage – to mitigate the dominance of a single huge vendor
- rewards switches present in multiple lists – to compensate the effect of some switches being offered in a single shop only, thus reflecting availability
- incorporates the previous months with decaying weights – to rank the products that are in a tie.
As with all such statistical methods, if we were to tamper with the algorithm, it would produce completely different results.
Another source of confusion and inconsistency is the arrival of belated lists. When such datasets come in, I update the database but often not the already published article. While I add the specific list to the database, I don’t update the overall rankings in the write-up.
Final thoughts & Developments
Hey, I hope this write-up was useful to some of you because, again, it took me a lot of time to complete despite the heavy automation wherever possible. I'm closer to 15 hours now, rather than 20 as usual, but I'm going to add some offers of new switches only after publishing the article, so…
Beside these developments, the new switch models were both the best and most challenging part of compiling this article: researching these new switches, adding them to the database, tagging, and often diving into desperate investigations about missing actuation forces, pre-travels and whatnot. It's very time-consuming, just like looking for usable photos sometimes.
PSA: Because of continued attacks by botnets, I'm switching on and off some resource-heavy parts of kbd.news every now and then. Meaning that e.g. the switch comparison pages can be unavailable sometimes – these need proper caching, hopefully next week. Btw, the feature is still WIP, with some strange results. :)
That said, feel free to use and reference this post and the switch database. Spread the word so it makes sense for me to invest all this time and effort.
- Check out the switch database – with almost 400 switch models – with specs, photos, vendors, prices, typing tests.
- Some features: Search by keyword, filter by tags. You can order the list by price and release date now, as well as filter switches by color. Use permalinks to custom lists like silent tactiles or light, lubed linears with dust-proof stem and light diffuser. ;)
- Finally, the archive of all the monthly switch compilations is available too, e.g. the previous, July top list as a reference.
Thanks for reading this far, see you next month!
Published on Fri 5th Sep 2025. Featured in KBD #198.
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