Keyboard Builders' Digest / Switch trends

Best-selling keyboard switches of December 2025

Here are December’s top mechanical switches, the community’s favorites based on vendor sales data.

KBD.news
Published January 7, 2026

(Cover: Taro N Sweet Potato V2 switches. Photo by Keebz N Cables.)

A bunch of kind vendors got back to me with their sales volumes again, so let's continue this series highlighting the community's most favored switch models – diving into December's best-selling switches! I'm still waiting for some regular contributor shops to get back to me, but wanted this write-up out today. (To be updated if I get more data.) Discussion over at r/mk if you'd like to share your experiences or opinion.

Summary: 17 contributors from all around the globe, representing about 1 million switches sold, with 100 switch models mentioned and 12 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 coming from the US to China, Japan to France, Germany to India, and Australia to the UK –, and based on the sales volumes reported by all the participating shops, I can usually spot some interesting trends.

In contrast to my expectation, last month's trend doesn't really shows a clear increase, the results are very mixed. Only 7 out of 16 shops reported gains at various levels, with 7 reporting a decrease, one stagnating, and one new contributor (without base data for the previous month). All this despite the calendar effect favoring the potential increase (30 vs 31 days).

Perhaps I was surprised because, looking back, the previous December seemed outstanding — but maybe only in light of the commercial chaos that followed.

The linear vs tactile ratio is 60:40 in the top 10 and 58:38 in the top 100 (with four models representing clickies). The current top tactile Gateron Type R made it to one of the top spots this time, in a tight race, again. However, keep in mind that the smaller variety and greater concentration of tactiles compared to linears may result in their overrepresentation.

In addition, silent switches account for 40% of the top 10 and 27% of the top 100 now.

Just like in November, looking into the per-shop lists may reveal the effect of stock clearances: Some older switch models appear in the individual Top 10 lists as customers snap them temporarily at discounts. Keep this in mind as well while evaluating the rankings.

For first-hand insights, shared by shop runners, check out the detailed lists below.

Contributors

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), Lume Keebs (US), The Thocc Exchange (UK), UniKeys (CN), Clackify (US), Delta Key Co. (FR), BeaverKeys (CA), InputGear (DE), Keebz N Cables (AU), SerpentKeys (UK), DIYKEY (CN), Gateron (CN), Mechboards (UK), AKKO EU (CN), Yusha Kobo (JP), Mechanical Keyboards (US), 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 also Monacokeys (DE) and CoffeeKeys (IT) in the EU, Thocc Exchange and SerpentKeys in the UK, while Unikeys (CN) is revamping their tester page. Other shops offer more specific switch testers too, e.g. Beaverkeys (CA) or Keebz N Cables (AU).

Novelties & Database updates

12 new switch models have recently been added to the database as a result of the incoming top lists – some of these are new, however, some rather old switches have been "hacked" into the list again – by stock clearances. I'm looking at you, DNDKB JingWei.

In addition, e.g. Kailh Speed Gold, Gateron Banana Smoothie or Kailh's Autumn MINI Choc V2 aren't that new either. No problem, these anomalies don't really mess up the overall top list.

Some more interesting new additions:

• KBDFans Roller V2 – an improved iteration of this unique linear switch with ball bearings.
• New version of the Taro N Sweet Potato, Keebz N Cables' buttery smooth hit model.
• Keygeek PA – made fully of Nylon, thus "PA" aka Polyamide. Allegedly, "a nylon stem plus a nylon bottom housing creates a clacky yet bassy and condensed sound profile". Give it a try.
• BSUN Golden Apple is the first switch that uses the PEI material – providing a firm bottom-out feel and a thocky sound profile according to Unikeys.
• The HMX Toast by Rena Lab features a light diffuser with a cute toast. For people who'd like to see little toasts shine up on their keyboards.

• The HMX Snowfall, this tactile with glittery sparkle inside its polycarbonate top housing, made it to the top list of multiple shops.
• FEKER White Marble V3 – a linear with marble-like sound signature.
• Finally, the Icey Ice Mango Berry is a new tactile by Keebz N Cables, inspired by a strawberry and mango ice dessert by a Perth Taiwanese dessert joint.

Results

December's Top 10 – aggregated

Beside this Top10 feel free to check out the Top 400+ list too. (About the ranking: switch models appearing in multiple shop lists are prioritized over high sales in a single shop.)

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 November to December:

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.

December was a bit slower than expected for switches, however, the Roller V2 switches made a nice entrance. For January we have big restocks coming up and a large number of new switches including many Wingtree! – Michael.

Lume Keebs (US)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Silent switches have been getting a lot of love lately, and we hear you. We’ve been spending extra time adding some new switch additions and restocks to balance quietness with a satisfying feel – Emily.

The Thocc Exchange (UK)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

December was a quieter month for new releases but it seems like people knew what they wanted to buy for Christmas already. Safe havens like the Huano Sakura, Unity (or charity silent tactile) and TTC Frozen Silent drove consistent demand. Below our top ten there is a broad bench of great tactiles and some old faithfuls like the Oil King. I am so excited about HMX Toast by Rena Labs (Bad Sweetheart Studio) this month. Think we will see that one rocket off the shelves – Matty.

UniKeys (China)
[7% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Clackify (US)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

TTC Silent Bluish White V2s back on the top of the list this month was a pleasant surprise. I would personally suggest checking them out alongside HMX Blue Stars. There have been lots of great switches coming out recently, so be sure to check out some of the new releases too! Also, check out our latest product – switch earrings! – Calvin.

Delta Key Co. (France)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

BeaverKeys (Canada)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Silent switches remain very popular taking four spots in the top 10. I recommend checking out the MZ Studio U3 to the silent switch crowd as it strikes a very nice balance between low noise and a responsive typing feeling in my opinion – Peter.

InputGear (Germany)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

CandyKeys now no longer exists, InputGear will be the new source for all things keyboard switches at www.inputgear.de - We look forward to a nice 2026! – David.

Keebz N Cables (Australia)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

2025 ended with the release of our in-house switches Icey Ice MangoBerry and Taro N Sweet Potato V2. We were really happy to hear that Clickandthock has rated Taro N Sweet Potato V2 as his number 1 linear of 2025 for its extremely smooth and creamy travel, making it two years in a row, with Taro N Sweet Potato V1 hitting the number 1 spot in 2024 – Jason.

SerpentKeys (UK)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year! Several new switches were added to the site last month, including Gateron Type R, Keygeek Cheese V2, HMX Hydra, and HMX Sunset Gleam V2 — all of which joined the top 10 list right away! – Ollie.

DIYKEY (China)
[10% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

We observed strong momentum for Kailh low-profile switches in December, likely driven by growing demand for low-profile switches. TTC maintained its popularity among enthusiasts, reflecting continued interest in office-friendly silent switches. Behind the scenes, we're preparing to launch a new fast actuation silent low-profile switch series later this year, focused on sound and fast actuation – Tami.

Gateron (China)
[10% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Mechboards (UK)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Oil Kings regain their spot as switch royalty after being out of stock for a while. Nice to see two new switches to our selection make it to the top 10 with Akko Rosewood and Gaterons new Banana Smoothie switch – Ben.

AKKO EU (China)
[10% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

We’re currently preparing the V5 version of Lavender Purple — please stay tuned – Albert.

Yusha Kobo (Japan)

Yushakobo Fairy stays number one with its sales. Gateron Mint Smoothie – another silent one we recently started selling is doing great. And as a surprise - HMX Blue Star - that joined our lineup during mid December - did amazing in terms of sales ranking 3rd on its very first month – Sabrina.

Mechanical Keyboards (US)
[5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

StacksKB (India)

As usual HMX numbers split due to sheer variety. Akko Cilantro/Bittersweet were stocked after Christmas, which affected ranking – Aditya.

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 may 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 month to break ties.

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 may 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 it took me a lot of time to complete it again, despite the heavy automation wherever possible. Thankfully, this time I'm closer to 10 instead of 15-20 hours. This is only partly the result of my efficiency, less new switches and contributors may heavily influence this number. :)

Developments

Hm. The days and months blur together again, I can remember only a single major development recently, but I can't disclose it yet. Many small tweaks here and there, some improvements in the admin scripts, and of course the maintenance of the databases (switches and offers) is getting major tasks on their own as well.

As always, creating the entries and tagging the new switch models was the most challenging part when working on the current list: researching these new switches, 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.

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 450 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, November top list as a reference.

Thanks for reading this far, see you next month!

Published on Wed 7th Jan 2026. Featured in KBD #204.

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