Keyboard Builders' Digest / Switch trends
Best-selling keyboard switches of September, 2024
September part of this monthly overview of community favorite mechanical switches, based on real sales data provided by vendors and manufacturers.
Published October 8, 2024

Hey fellow switch enthusiasts! Welcome back to our monthly series featuring the actual community favorite switches for mechanical keyboards – this time listing September's best-selling switch models.
The article is quite long, featuring 13 vendors, feel free to jump to the results if you can't wait.
PSA
- As a reference, here are the previous, August top lists. The post has been updated multiple times after publication, feel free to check it out if you browsed the write-up in the early days.
- The collection of all the monthly switch compilations is available too, as well as a still WIP switch database with all the models mentioned in this series.
- The elephant in the room: the ultimate, aggregated top list. Where is it?! Well, a great deal of the shops have sent me detailed sales data, worth of hundreds of thousands of switches sold. That said, it doesn't really make sense to publish an overall switch ranking at this point, and the reason for that is: the sales volume of one vendor is on a completely different level, meaning the overall list would be almost identical to theirs.
Contributors
Many thanks to all the shops who contributed! The following vendors sent me detailed statistics with sales volumes so they deserve a little celebration. (Thanks a lot for your confidence, we all know how sensitive this data is.) Clicking the links, listed in the order the data was received, takes you to their top list:
- Mechboards (UK), BeaverKeys (CA), UniKeys (CN), Coffeekeys (IT), AKKO EU (CN), Chosfox (CN).
And the shops that sent ranking or comment only:
- Mechanical Keyboards (US), SerpentKeys (UK), CandyKeys (DE), Loobed Switches (US), Gateron (CN), Keygem (DE), PKKeyboards (US).
You can find the disclaimer at the bottom of the article, let's jump right in the lists and numbers!
Results
Mechboards [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
Choc switches still dominate our switch sales. A stock up of Ambients put them in the top as well. Also restocked Gateron Blue, and seems as though a couple of clicky fans had been waiting for them, which puts it in the top 5 – Ben.
1 | ![]() | lowprokb Choc (V1) Sunset tactile | - | £0.85 | buy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ![]() | lowprokb Choc (V1) Ambients Twilight silent linear | 2 | £0.95 | buy |
3 | ![]() | lowprokb Choc (V1) Ambients Nocturnal silent linear | 4 | £0.95 | buy |
4 | ![]() | Alpaca V2 linear | new | £0.55 | buy |
5 | ![]() | Gateron G Pro 3.0 Blue clicky | new | £0.28 | buy |
6 | ![]() | Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow linear | new | £0.28 | buy |
7 | ![]() | Cherry MX1A Brown Hyperglide tactile | 1 | £0.50 | buy |
8 | ![]() | Gateron Oil King linear | -6 | £0.65 | buy |
9 | ![]() | Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2) tactile | 1 | £0.55 | buy |
10 | ![]() | Gateron Ink Black V2 linear | -4 | £0.75 | buy |
BeaverKeys [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
HMX Xinhai still top of the list (this combines the light and heavy spring variants, but the heavier weights were more populal this month). Aflion Blue Sky made a come back at the store due to popular demand. As part of the same restock I added Aflion Carrot to the store, I've been using them non-stop for the past month. I also restocked Durock Ice King Linear for fans of the "thock". Currently I'm working non-stop to add even more variety to the store's switch collection and I'm excited for the months ahead – Peter.
1 | ![]() | HMX Xinhai (heavy) linear | - | 0.50CAD | buy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ![]() | Gateron Oil King linear | 4 | 0.87CAD | buy |
3 | ![]() | HMX | Sillyworks Hyacinth V2U linear | 4 | 0.45CAD | buy |
4 | ![]() | Aflion Blue Sky linear | new | 0.70CAD | buy |
5 | ![]() | BSUN | HC Studio Roselle linear | 3 | 0.75CAD | buy |
6 | ![]() | KTT Kang White V3 linear | -3 | 0.39CAD | buy |
7 | ![]() | BSUN Spring linear | new | 0.65CAD | buy |
8 | ![]() | JWK Ultimate Black linear | new | 0.45CAD | buy |
9 | ![]() | Durock Ice King Tactile tactile | -7 | 0.75CAD | buy |
10 | ![]() | KTT Sea Salt Lemon linear | new | 0.42CAD | buy |
UniKeys [7% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
HMX switches still seem to be very popular. HMX Twilight was a new release during September and it took over the No. 7 place which is pretty impressive. Although both Keygeek and BSUN have made major improvements to their products, it still seems difficult to beat HMX in the market. We are going to push out two new BSUN switches in October which were manufactured using BSUN's new molding. One of them is a long pole bottom-out, and the other is a more traditional rail bottom-out. I am eager to see how they perform in October – Dashan.
1 | ![]() | HMX Snow Crash linear | new | $0.35 | buy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ![]() | KEYGEEK X UNIKEYS PURPLE DAWN linear | 1 | $0.25 | buy |
3 | ![]() | KEYGEEK X MZ Y3 linear | -1 | $0.23 | buy |
4 | ![]() | HMX YG Macchiato linear | 5 | $0.35 | buy |
5 | ![]() | HMX | Sillyworks Hyacinth V2U linear | - | $0.28 | buy |
6 | ![]() | HMX Xinhai (heavy) linear | new | $0.35 | buy |
7 | ![]() | HMX Twilight linear | new | $0.35 | buy |
8 | ![]() | HMX Cloud (42g) linear | -2 | $0.35 | buy |
9 | ![]() | HMX Hibiscus linear | new | $0.35 | buy |
10 | ![]() | XY Studio BSUN Jade Rosale linear | -6 | $0.55 | buy |
Coffeekeys [10% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
1 | ![]() | Wuque Studio WS Morandi linear | - | €0.39 | buy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ![]() | Wuque Studio WS Heavy tactile | new | €0.34 | buy |
3 | ![]() | Wuque Studio WS Dash Hall-effect | 2 | €0.78 | buy |
4 | ![]() | Gateron Quinn tactile | -1 | €0.57 | buy |
5 | ![]() | Gateron Oil King linear | 1 | €0.69 | buy |
AKKO EU [10% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
1 | ![]() | Akko Cream Yellow Pro V3 linear | - | €0.24 | buy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ![]() | Akko Rosewood linear | - | €0.37 | buy |
3 | ![]() | Akko Penguin Silent tactile | 2 | €0.37 | buy |
4 | ![]() | Akko Fairy (silent) linear | -1 | €0.37 | buy |
5 | ![]() | Akko Lavender Purple Pro V3 tactile | -1 | €0.26 | buy |
6 | ![]() | Akko Cream Blue Pro V3 tactile | - | €0.24 | buy |
7 | ![]() | Akko Creamy Purple Pro V3 tactile | 1 | €0.26 | buy |
8 | ![]() | Akko Silver Pro V3 linear | 1 | €0.37 | buy |
9 | ![]() | Akko Piano Pro linear | -2 | €0.37 | buy |
10 | ![]() | Akko Dracula linear | new | €0.36 | buy |
Chosfox [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
1 | ![]() | Kailh Choc v1 switches varies | new | varies | buy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ![]() | Kailh Deep Sea Silent Mini Low-Profile linear | new | $0.59 | buy |
3 | ![]() | Chosfox White Fox linear | -2 | $0.30 | buy |
4 | ![]() | Chosfox x Kailh Arctic Fox clicky | 1 | $0.60 | buy |
5 | ![]() | Chosfox Poison Gas tactile | -1 | $0.30 | buy |
6 | ![]() | Chosfox Hanami Dango - Pink linear | -3 | $0.50 | buy |
7 | ![]() | Chosfox&Outemu Yichu silent linear | new | $0.25 | buy |
8 | ![]() | Chosfox Voyager V2 tactile | -1 | $0.55 | buy |
9 | ![]() | TTC Frozen V2 Silent (TTC Silent Glacier) linear | - | $0.69 | buy |
10 | ![]() | Outemu Silent Honey Peach V3 silent linear | new | $0.24 | buy |
11 | ![]() | Chosfox x JWK DD / Jingle linear | -9 | $0.30 | buy |
Mechanical Keyboards
1 | ![]() | Cherry MX2A Silent Red (PCB-mount RGB) linear | 2 | $0.40 | buy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ![]() | Cherry MX2A Blue clicky | 5 | $0.40 | buy |
3 | ![]() | Gateron Jupiter Banana tactile | -2 | $0.28 | buy |
4 | ![]() | TTC Bluish White (V2) Silent tactile | -2 | $0.60 | buy |
5 | ![]() | Kailh BOX V2 White (PCB mount) clicky | 5 | $0.35 | buy |
6 | ![]() | Cherry MX2A Brown tactile | -2 | $0.40 | buy |
7 | ![]() | Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2) tactile | 2 | $0.60 | buy |
8 | ![]() | Cherry MX2A Brown tactile | -4 | $0.40 | buy |
9 | ![]() | Cherry MX2A Black linear | new | $0.40 | buy |
10 | ![]() | SW x Haimu MP Tactile tactile | new | $0.40 | buy |
SerpentKeys [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
1 | ![]() | KTT HaluHalo V2 linear | £0.30 | buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ![]() | XCJZ Lucy Silent Linear V2 linear | £0.50 | buy |
3 | ![]() | Gateron Milky Yellow Pro linear | £0.23 | buy |
4 | ![]() | Gateron Oil King linear | £0.60 | buy |
5 | ![]() | Invokeys Matcha Latte V2 linear | £0.60 | buy |
6 | ![]() | HMX Cloud (42g) linear | £0.33 | buy |
7 | ![]() | XY Studio BSUN Jade Rosale linear | £0.52 | buy |
8 | ![]() | Gateron Summertime V2 linear | £0.52 | buy |
9 | ![]() | Durock Ice King Tactile tactile | £0.42 | buy |
10 | ![]() | Invokeys Black Sesame V2 linear | £0.60 | buy |
CandyKeys
Gaterons Pro Milky Yellows are this month way ahead of every other switch. Vertex, Nixie and HMX stuff is going as expected. Gateron Smoothie finally gets a bit of steam. The Kailh Heavy Burnt Orange are a bit older but we found some left in the back of the Warehouse. The Akko Rosewoods are also performing very well. For next month we expect that Everfree switches will make it in the Top 10 and with the next restock we can maybe get Gateron Melodics up in the Top10. We also expect the new HMX Joker to become as popular as the HMX 80Retro switches (Game1989, KD200 and FJ400) were in the summer – Fabian.
1 | ![]() | Gateron Milky Yellow Pro linear | 3 | €0.34 | buy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ![]() | Vertex V1 linear | new | €0.36 | buy |
3 | ![]() | Cherry Nixie linear | 5 | €0.44 | buy |
4 | ![]() | Gateron Smoothie linear | new | €0.37 | buy |
5 | ![]() | HMX YG Macchiato linear | new | €0.39 | buy |
6 | ![]() | Akko Rosewood linear | new | €0.37 | buy |
7 | ![]() | Gateron Beer tactile | new | €0.52 | buy |
8 | ![]() | Gateron Ink Box Black linear | new | €0.75 | buy |
9 | ![]() | HMX Cloud (42g) linear | -2 | €0.42 | buy |
10 | ![]() | Kailh Speed Heavy Burnt Orange tactile | new | €0.39 | buy |
11 | ![]() | Cherry MX Orange linear | -6 | €0.62 | buy |
12 | ![]() | Gateron Melodic clicky | new | €0.53 | buy |
Loobed Switches [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
We now have a restock of our popular Kailh BCPs! New to the store, HMX Lotus Linear, HMX Su Color R2 Purple, HMX Su Color R2 Pink. Our famous Ghost Dragons by Captain Sterling are expected to be restocked later this month just in time for the holiday season. It feels like switches arent receiving as much hype nowadays. Which makes sense as there are only so many unique things you can do with a switch esp with the market being so saturated – LoobedSwitches.
1 | ![]() | SW X Captain Sterling SWK Dragon Ghost linear | $0.45 | buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ![]() | Kailh BCP Black Cherry Pie linear | $0.50 | buy |
3 | ![]() | Loobed Oak tactile | $0.50 | buy |
4 | ![]() | Prevail Nebula V2 linear | $0.53 | buy |
Gateron
At Gateron, the new magnetic Jade Max and Pro switches took over lead. Check out their online shop for more info.
1 | ![]() | Gateron Magnetic Jade Max Hall-effect | $1.00 | buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ![]() | Gateron Magnetic Jade Pro Hall-effect | $0.80 | buy |
3 | ![]() | Gateron Oil King linear | $0.64 | buy |
4 | ![]() | Gateron Milky Yellow Pro linear | $0.26 | buy |
5 | ![]() | Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow linear | $0.28 | buy |
6 | ![]() | Gateron Magnetic Jade Hall-effect | $0.80 | buy |
7 | ![]() | Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2) tactile | $0.60 | buy |
Keygem [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
For us it was the same list as last time :) – Elli.
1 | GAZZEW Boba U4T | tactile |
---|---|---|
2 | GAZZEW Boba U4 | tactile |
3 | Wuque Studio WS Morandi | linear |
4 | GAZZEW U4 RGB | tactile |
5 | Gateron Smoothie | linear |
6 | Gateron Milky Yellow Pro | linear |
7 | Cherry Nixie | linear |
8 | Gateron Root Beer Float | tactile |
9 | Gateron Melodic | clicky |
10 | GAZZEW U4T | tactile |
PKKeyboards [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]
Top switches for the month of September (in no particular order): gateron oil kings, pkkeys misu, hmx Sunset Glam, Gateron Black Ink V2 – Kevin.
MoErgo Cherry Blossom
In other news, MoErgo has a new silent Choc switch too: the Cherry Blossom. As already mentioned in my recent editorial, Stephen sent me a set of these nice silent linears, which are based on Kailh's silent switches, with 30gf actuation. This weight makes it similar to the 35gf Ambient Twilight but a bit lighter. In addition, the housing is clear policarbonate – with per-key RGB in mind –, and it has a "deeper sound signature compared to the Ambient series. Less clacky." I don't have any Ambients at hand so can't compare the two.
The switches are not available yet though, at least on their own:
We are making a limited quantity of Glove80 with the Cherry Blossom switch as a production trial – MoErgo.
Disclaimer & Method
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, however, some were put together manually. I asked for the numbers of the previous month.
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.
Final thoughts
Hey, I hope this write-up was useful for some of you. I ran into some new switch models again, and learned a lot about vendors and switches in general while compiling this article – and managing the switch database behind the scenes.
Yep, there's a (still WIP) switch database with all the models mentioned in the top lists above: with specs, data sheets, offers of various vendors, converting and tracking prices (well, semi-automatically for now), in-stock info, etc. Lots of things to fix, but it should be already usable.
Thanks for reading this far, see you next month!
Published on Tue 8th Oct 2024. Featured in KBD #176.