Keyboard Builders' Digest
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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.

KBD.news
Published October 8, 2024
Creators! Feel free to tip me off about your keyboard related projects to bring them to 140K readers.

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.

Pic: Kailh Deep Sea Silent Minis – best-seller at Chosfox

Kailh Deep Sea Silent Minis – best-seller at Chosfox

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:

And the shops that sent ranking or comment only:

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]

Pic:

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.

1lowprokb Choc (V1) Sunset	972lowprokb Choc (V1) Sunset
tactile
- £0.85buy
2lowprokb Choc (V1) Ambients Twilightlowprokb Choc (V1) Ambients Twilight
silent linear
2 £0.95buy
3lowprokb Choc (V1) Ambients Nocturnallowprokb Choc (V1) Ambients Nocturnal
silent linear
4 £0.95buy
4Alpaca V2	752Alpaca V2
linear
new £0.55buy
5Gateron G Pro 3.0 Blue	158Gateron G Pro 3.0 Blue
clicky
new £0.28buy
6Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow	103Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow
linear
new £0.28buy
7Cherry MX1A Brown HyperglideCherry MX1A Brown Hyperglide
tactile
1 £0.50buy
8Gateron Oil KingGateron Oil King
linear
-6 £0.65buy
9Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2)	399Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2)
tactile
1 £0.55buy
10Gateron Ink Black V2Gateron Ink Black V2
linear
-4 £0.75buy

BeaverKeys [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Pic:

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.

1HMX Xinhai (heavy)	815HMX Xinhai (heavy)
linear
- 0.50CADbuy
2Gateron Oil KingGateron Oil King
linear
4 0.87CADbuy
3HMX | Sillyworks Hyacinth V2UHMX | Sillyworks Hyacinth V2U
linear
4 0.45CADbuy
4Aflion Blue SkyAflion Blue Sky
linear
new 0.70CADbuy
5BSUN | HC Studio Roselle	679BSUN | HC Studio Roselle
linear
3 0.75CADbuy
6KTT Kang White V3	783KTT Kang White V3
linear
-3 0.39CADbuy
7BSUN SpringBSUN Spring
linear
new 0.65CADbuy
8JWK Ultimate Black	147JWK Ultimate Black
linear
new 0.45CADbuy
9Durock Ice King Tactile	302Durock Ice King Tactile
tactile
-7 0.75CADbuy
10KTT Sea Salt Lemon	903KTT Sea Salt Lemon
linear
new 0.42CADbuy

UniKeys [7% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Pic:

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.

1HMX Snow CrashHMX Snow Crash
linear
new $0.35buy
2KEYGEEK X UNIKEYS PURPLE DAWNKEYGEEK X UNIKEYS PURPLE DAWN
linear
1 $0.25buy
3KEYGEEK X MZ Y3	935KEYGEEK X MZ Y3
linear
-1 $0.23buy
4HMX YG Macchiato	256HMX YG Macchiato
linear
5 $0.35buy
5HMX | Sillyworks Hyacinth V2UHMX | Sillyworks Hyacinth V2U
linear
- $0.28buy
6HMX Xinhai (heavy)	771HMX Xinhai (heavy)
linear
new $0.35buy
7HMX TwilightHMX Twilight
linear
new $0.35buy
8HMX Cloud (42g)	570HMX Cloud (42g)
linear
-2 $0.35buy
9HMX HibiscusHMX Hibiscus
linear
new $0.35buy
10XY Studio BSUN Jade Rosale	956XY Studio BSUN Jade Rosale
linear
-6 $0.55buy

Coffeekeys [10% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Pic:

1Wuque Studio WS MorandiWuque Studio WS Morandi
linear
- €0.39buy
2Wuque Studio WS Heavy	732Wuque Studio WS Heavy
tactile
new €0.34buy
3Wuque Studio WS Dash	398Wuque Studio WS Dash
Hall-effect
2 €0.78buy
4Gateron QuinnGateron Quinn
tactile
-1 €0.57buy
5Gateron Oil KingGateron Oil King
linear
1 €0.69buy

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

Pic:

1Akko Cream Yellow Pro V3	752Akko Cream Yellow Pro V3
linear
- €0.24buy
2Akko RosewoodAkko Rosewood
linear
- €0.37buy
3Akko Penguin Silent	327Akko Penguin Silent
tactile
2 €0.37buy
4Akko Fairy (silent)Akko Fairy (silent)
linear
-1 €0.37buy
5Akko Lavender Purple Pro V3	435Akko Lavender Purple Pro V3
tactile
-1 €0.26buy
6Akko Cream Blue Pro V3	254Akko Cream Blue Pro V3
tactile
- €0.24buy
7Akko Creamy Purple Pro V3	486Akko Creamy Purple Pro V3
tactile
1 €0.26buy
8Akko Silver Pro V3	18Akko Silver Pro V3
linear
1 €0.37buy
9Akko Piano ProAkko Piano Pro
linear
-2 €0.37buy
10Akko Dracula	898Akko Dracula
linear
new €0.36buy

Chosfox [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Pic:

1Kailh Choc v1 switches	734Kailh Choc v1 switches
varies
new variesbuy
2Kailh Deep Sea Silent Mini Low-ProfileKailh Deep Sea Silent Mini Low-Profile
linear
new $0.59buy
3Chosfox White Fox	807Chosfox White Fox
linear
-2 $0.30buy
4Chosfox x Kailh Arctic FoxChosfox x Kailh Arctic Fox
clicky
1 $0.60buy
5Chosfox Poison GasChosfox Poison Gas
tactile
-1 $0.30buy
6Chosfox Hanami Dango - PinkChosfox Hanami Dango - Pink
linear
-3 $0.50buy
7Chosfox&Outemu Yichu	973Chosfox&Outemu Yichu
silent linear
new $0.25buy
8Chosfox Voyager V2	559Chosfox Voyager V2
tactile
-1 $0.55buy
9TTC Frozen V2 Silent (TTC Silent Glacier)TTC Frozen V2 Silent (TTC Silent Glacier)
linear
- $0.69buy
10Outemu Silent Honey Peach V3Outemu Silent Honey Peach V3
silent linear
new $0.24buy
11Chosfox x JWK DD / JingleChosfox x JWK DD / Jingle
linear
-9 $0.30buy

Mechanical Keyboards

Pic:

1Cherry MX2A Silent Red (PCB-mount RGB)	665Cherry MX2A Silent Red (PCB-mount RGB)
linear
2 $0.40buy
2Cherry MX2A BlueCherry MX2A Blue
clicky
5 $0.40buy
3Gateron Jupiter Banana	706Gateron Jupiter Banana
tactile
-2 $0.28buy
4TTC Bluish White (V2) Silent	66TTC Bluish White (V2) Silent
tactile
-2 $0.60buy
5Kailh BOX V2 White (PCB mount)	91Kailh BOX V2 White (PCB mount)
clicky
5 $0.35buy
6Cherry MX2A Brown	971Cherry MX2A Brown
tactile
-2 $0.40buy
7Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2)	508Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2)
tactile
2 $0.60buy
8Cherry MX2A Brown	781Cherry MX2A Brown
tactile
-4 $0.40buy
9Cherry MX2A Black	674Cherry MX2A Black
linear
new $0.40buy
10SW x Haimu MP TactileSW x Haimu MP Tactile
tactile
new $0.40buy

SerpentKeys [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Pic:

1KTT HaluHalo V2KTT HaluHalo V2
linear
£0.30buy
2XCJZ Lucy Silent Linear V2XCJZ Lucy Silent Linear V2
linear
£0.50buy
3Gateron Milky Yellow ProGateron Milky Yellow Pro
linear
£0.23buy
4Gateron Oil King	98Gateron Oil King
linear
£0.60buy
5Invokeys Matcha Latte V2Invokeys Matcha Latte V2
linear
£0.60buy
6HMX Cloud (42g)	259HMX Cloud (42g)
linear
£0.33buy
7XY Studio BSUN Jade RosaleXY Studio BSUN Jade Rosale
linear
£0.52buy
8Gateron Summertime V2	981Gateron Summertime V2
linear
£0.52buy
9Durock Ice King TactileDurock Ice King Tactile
tactile
£0.42buy
10Invokeys Black Sesame V2Invokeys Black Sesame V2
linear
£0.60buy

CandyKeys

Pic:

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.

1Gateron Milky Yellow Pro	688Gateron Milky Yellow Pro
linear
3 €0.34buy
2Vertex V1Vertex V1
linear
new €0.36buy
3Cherry Nixie	242Cherry Nixie
linear
5 €0.44buy
4Gateron SmoothieGateron Smoothie
linear
new €0.37buy
5HMX YG Macchiato	262HMX YG Macchiato
linear
new €0.39buy
6Akko RosewoodAkko Rosewood
linear
new €0.37buy
7Gateron Beer	751Gateron Beer
tactile
new €0.52buy
8Gateron Ink Box BlackGateron Ink Box Black
linear
new €0.75buy
9HMX Cloud (42g)HMX Cloud (42g)
linear
-2 €0.42buy
10Kailh Speed Heavy Burnt Orange	690Kailh Speed Heavy Burnt Orange
tactile
new €0.39buy
11Cherry MX OrangeCherry MX Orange
linear
-6 €0.62buy
12Gateron MelodicGateron Melodic
clicky
new €0.53buy

Loobed Switches [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Pic:

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.

1SW X Captain Sterling SWK Dragon Ghost	808SW X Captain Sterling SWK Dragon Ghost
linear
$0.45buy
2Kailh BCP Black Cherry PieKailh BCP Black Cherry Pie
linear
$0.50buy
3Loobed Oak	477Loobed Oak
tactile
$0.50buy
4Prevail Nebula V2Prevail Nebula V2
linear
$0.53buy

Gateron

At Gateron, the new magnetic Jade Max and Pro switches took over lead. Check out their online shop for more info.

Pic: Gateron Magnetic Jade Pro

Gateron Magnetic Jade Pro

1Gateron Magnetic Jade MaxGateron Magnetic Jade Max
Hall-effect
$1.00buy
2Gateron Magnetic Jade ProGateron Magnetic Jade Pro
Hall-effect
$0.80buy
3Gateron Oil King	976Gateron Oil King
linear
$0.64buy
4Gateron Milky Yellow ProGateron Milky Yellow Pro
linear
$0.26buy
5Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow	585Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow
linear
$0.28buy
6Gateron Magnetic Jade	326Gateron Magnetic Jade
Hall-effect
$0.80buy
7Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2)	888Gateron Baby Kangaroo (V2)
tactile
$0.60buy

Keygem [5% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code]

Pic: Gateron Root Beer Float at Keygem

Gateron Root Beer Float at Keygem

For us it was the same list as last time :) – Elli.

1GAZZEW Boba U4Ttactile
2GAZZEW Boba U4tactile
3Wuque Studio WS Morandilinear
4GAZZEW U4 RGBtactile
5Gateron Smoothielinear
6Gateron Milky Yellow Prolinear
7Cherry Nixielinear
8Gateron Root Beer Floattactile
9Gateron Melodicclicky
10GAZZEW U4Ttactile

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.

Pic: MoErgo Cherry Blossoms, Chew PCB, Kemove switch puller

MoErgo Cherry Blossoms, Chew PCB, Kemove switch puller

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!

Do you like this post? Share, donate, subscribe, tip me off!

Published on Tue 8th Oct 2024. Featured in KBD #176.


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