To perform well in games, one must have a particular skill set. Naturally, these skills are honed through time, effort, and a whole lot of patience.
Although, there is one catch: Honing one’s skills becomes increasingly difficult without the right tools.
Most often, those with better tools will end up on top. So, why not look at getting some new stuff? One primary tool in gaming is, of course, the keyboard.
Best Overall
Runner Up
Budget Pick
This article will look at:
- Best offers for budget keyboards in 2023.
- A detailed description of each product.
- An analysis of the market and various manufacturers.
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How we choose keyboards
Not all keyboards are made the same. No, literally, they vary so much in what’s inside that comparing any two keyboards becomes obsolete. However, there are a few objective qualities that we like to see in any particular keyboard. These would be: Price, Build Quality, Switches, Wired/Wireless. These few categories are enough to quantify the desirability of any keyboard out there.
We will use this method to look at the entries on our list, and we hope you enjoy it. So, without further ado, let’s begin!
7. HyperX Alloy Origins 60
| Pros: | Cons: |
| ✅ 60% form factor ✅ supremely compact keyboard ✅ double shot PBT keycaps with side printing ✅ HyperX Mechanical switches ✅ RGB backlit keys with radiant lighting effects |
❌ high price ❌ software could be better |
Our first entry on the list is a high-quality product from industry veterans HyperX. The Alloy Origins 60 is nothing short of a fantastic keyboard, with exceptional performance suitable for only the highest levels of gaming.
When it comes to the price, it is more than adequate. Selling at around $79.99, this keyboard is worth every penny. Budget keyboard options are many, and it gets very competitive at this price range. Nevertheless, the Alloy Origins 60 shines through them all and is easily one of the best products for a low cost.
The build quality is also premium-grade. The body is made entirely out of metal, meaning that no damage will come to it, no matter what. This also provides a heavier frame to prevent sudden and unwanted movements across the table. Metal frames are an industry standard for premium keyboards, making the Alloy Origins 60 that much more valuable for its price.
The switches are linear, satisfying, and have absurdly low latency. Maximum performance is ensured, and HyperX never fails to deliver on its promises of high competitiveness.
HyperX Alloy Origins 60 features both a Wireless Bluetooth connection and a wired option for those who prefer it.
Overall, this keyboard will serve any purpose but shines the most during competitive gaming sessions. If you wanted to get it for office use, you could, but do keep in mind that it might not be too satisfying to use in such an environment due to its small size and unfitting design for extensive typing/working.
6. Keychron K2
| Pros: | Cons: |
| ✅ 75% layout 84 keys hot-swappable white LED backlight wireless mechanical keyboard ✅ nice design ✅ connects with up to 3 devices ✅ high quality ✅ 4000 mAh big battery |
❌ no color variations available ❌ software could be better |
Like the previous entry, the Keychron K2 is a ten-key-less mechanical keyboard with a competitive price. Its performance is great, and the overall design is minimalistic, slick, perfect for any aesthetic battle station you have.
The price is particularly alluring. At $69.00, rarely can one find a high-quality product from a reliable manufacturer. Well, Keychron saves the day by doing precisely that: offering the end-user a cheap and functional alternative to expensive gaming keyboards. It is seldom beat at this price range, and we can only say that it’s absolutely worth the price.
While the build quality is shoddy compared to what HyperX offers, it is not bad. Made from composite plastics instead of metal, the Keychron K2 is slightly lighter and prone to damage. Nevertheless, with proper care, no harm will come, and it will last you for quite some time.
Another reason for having a lighter, more detachable frame is this keyboard’s sheer customizability. Everything is changeable and hot-swappable, from the switches to the entire PCB. Whatever the user wants from this product, they can achieve it. Your creativity and imagination are the limits.
As we’ve said, the switches are very much under your jurisdiction. The keyboard comes with brown switches, which are responsive, tactile, and satisfying to use. But they can easily be swapped for new and better ones that are widely available online. We love seeing manufacturers give users the freedom to do as they wish, especially now.
The Keychron K2 features a Wireless and Wired connection, which is as good as possible. This product’s sheer versatility and feature completeness exceed its price range, making it a great deal.
Overall, the keyboard is fantastic for any use. However, gaming is the primary one, and office use might benefit more from other, larger keyboards that do not omit the ten-key part.
5. Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition
| Pros: | Cons: |
| ✅ faster than traditional Mechanical Switches ✅ fully syncs with popular games ✅ Oil-Resistant Doubleshot PBT Keycaps ✅ Razer Hypershift allows for all keys and keypress combinations to be remapped to execute complex commands ✅ durable and textured finish |
❌ too sensitive quick press ❌ highgly priced |
Razer has a couple of entries on this list for a good reason. They are a respected brand that keeps pumping out premium products of all price ranges. The Razer Huntsman lineup of keyboards is renowned in the gaming community for its quality. Here we have the Tournament Edition, an older, yet by no means worse, entry in that lineup.
The price is perfectly reasonable for a mainline Razer product. At $100, it’s on the higher end of the cost spectrum but is not too expensive. It offers everything that other premium Razer keyboards do and does it at a way lower price. For that reason, we believe that $100 is an understandable asking price for a new Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition.
Made from hard plastics, the Razer Huntsman has exceptional build quality. It’s smaller than most keyboards and is also of the ten-key-less variety like the previous two entries. The size makes it perfect for competitive games like Counter-Strike, where extra space is always nice.
The switches are Razer’s linear Optical switches that have sublime performance in-game. With near-zero latency, the Huntsman goes from click to action with lightning speed. Removing this delay gives players an edge over their opponents in competitive environments and a generally pleasurable gaming experience.
It also features additional buttons, a ‘Game Mode’ that disables the Windows key, and fully programmable macros perfect for any multi-tasking game like World of Warcraft.
The keyboard, being a bit older, is wired. While we’d prefer to have a choice, it’s not that big of a deal. Wired connections are known to be the quickest, and the Huntsman is all about speed.
We love Razer and their keyboards, and they indeed struck gold with this release.
4. Corsair K55 RGB PRO XT
| Pros: | Cons: |
| ✅ vivid per-key RGB backlighting ✅ IP42-rated dust and spill resistance ✅ soft rubber detachable palm rest ✅ dedicated volume and media keys ✅ connects all iCUE-compatible CORSAIR devices |
❌ highly priced ❌ no color variations available |
Another industry veteran that’s been making strides these past few years is Corsair. Their gaming equipment and parts are all premium and highly regarded by the gaming community. And yes, this includes their keyboard lineups. The Corsair K55 RGB Pro XT is a fantastic keyboard perfect for all uses, not just gaming.
It’s a full keyboard, meaning it doesn’t remove the ten-key part, which adds to its size. It’s beefy, taking up quite a lot of space vertically and horizontally. It features a considerable handrest that allows for comfortable prolonged use. This makes this keyboard stand out in non-gaming environments, unlike the previous entries. You can use this for long office work and writing without hurting your wrists.
We doubt one could find a deal better than this in terms of price. At just $50, this keyboard has it all, providing the user with great comfort and fantastic performance. If we only ranked by price, we’d say that this keyboard is the clear winner, but other aspects prevent us from making such a verdict.
Made primarily of rubber and plastic, the keyboard is undoubtedly comfortable to use but sacrifices a bit of build quality. But, not all keyboards need to be made as sturdy as possible, and some variety is always welcome, assuming it is done well. Corsair undoubtedly has done well here, and the rubber/plastic build is terrific to the touch and just feels elegant and pleasant.
It’s also IP42 dust and spill-resistant, meaning no damage will come to your keyboard or hinder your gaming sessions.
We can’t debate switches in this case, as this non-mechanical keyboard is built to resemble one. The backlit keys are all individually lit to provide additional clarity and are satisfying to use. Performance-wise, it doesn’t suffer significantly from being a non-mechanical product and offers comparable performance to most mechanical keyboards at this price range.
It’s a wired keyboard, and while we’d love to have had it in a wireless form, it isn’t that big of a deal. The sheer size is more impacting, but thankfully, the palm rest can be detached and the size reduced. Those who hate the ten-key part will be sad to know that it isn’t detachable and is simply a fact of the product.
At any rate, this Corsair keyboard is a fantastic product despite being a bit old in its tech.
3. Redragon K556
| Pros: | Cons: |
| ✅ satisfying tactile typing experience ✅ 18 Backlit Modes ✅ durable and high quality ✅ supports all computer systems ✅ no software bugs |
❌ might be too loud for some people ❌ no color variations available |
Redragon, as always, comes in clutch with an insanely good product at a competitively low price. They’re newcomers in the industry that have been making strides these past few years and have established themselves as the company offering premium products for a sub-premium price.
Their Redragon K556 RGB keyboard is a mechanical beast priced at a meager $59.99. At this price range, you will rarely find a premium mechanical keyboard. Redragon is known in the industry for a reason, and they’re here to set a standard with insane price-to-performance charts.
The switches are brown and satisfyingly tactile. Your fingers will thank you for getting this keyboard, as the keys feel amazing to the touch and are incredibly responsive. Performance-wise, the keyboard is blazing fast and is perfect for any gaming environment. The switches are also slightly quieter than usual, making this keyboard great for office use and long nocturnal gaming sessions.
Additional switches are included with the product for safe measure.
The build quality is brutal. This keyboard is made of aluminum and will last for ages and be immune to just about any damage. Unless you plan to throw your keyboard out of your apartment window, it’ll be just fine. However, we are led to believe that it’d survive the fall. With backlit keys, clarity is guaranteed, along with a slick look that looks and feels premium.
As with most of Redragon’s cheaper keyboards, this is a wired one, and that’s not as bad. However, with the ten-key part still attached here, the keyboard can get spacy, and the wire doesn’t help. Nevertheless, we believe there is no reason for worry as the keyboard can fit on any table due to its thin and short design.
Redragon continuously makes impressive products, and their K556 is no exception. As an honorable mention, we’d also like to note the K552 Kumara, a slightly older but cheaper Redragon model that does the job perfectly. It’s also a bit smaller, meaning that it’d be an excellent alternative for those who cannot fit the K556 on their table.
2. Razer BlackWidow TE Chroma v2
| Pros: | Cons: |
| ✅ provides a satisfying click sound ✅ ideal for typing and gaming requiring the highest accuracy ✅ tenkeyless design with a detachable USB cable ✅ ergonomic, magnetic wrist rest ✅ up to 80 million clicks |
❌ software could be better ❌ no color variations available |
Razer has been a dominant force in the peripheral market for years now. They’ve primarily exerted their ultimate authority over the mouse industry but have also captured a good chunk of the keyboard side of things. Their premium and high-performing products are critically acclaimed as some of the best available, and for a good reason.
One such product is the Razer BlackWidow TE Chroma v2, another in the astounding BlackWidow lineup that never ceases to amaze. Priced at around $114.99, this product is a bit more expensive than most on this list, but the price is more than justified. This keyboard comes with various features simply unavailable with most products in this price range, and its overall quality is way above its pay grade.
The build quality is as good as it can get. Both the keyboard and the keys are made of premium, highly resistant materials that will last forever. It’s smaller than most keyboards, featuring 87 keys. What it sacrifices in the number of keys it gains in space, and this keyboard can fit just about anywhere. While the cushioned palm rest can take up space, it is magnetically detachable and easily reattached if desired.
The switches are green, highly clicky and tactile, and satisfying. You can only expect high performance, responsive inputs, and overall satisfaction with these switches. Due to its overall design, this keyboard is also suitable for office use. While the switches were designed with gaming in mind, they are also incredibly well suited to writing and prolonged use, such as office workloads.
With so much personalization and customizability, this Razer keyboard truly feels like your own. It’s good out of the box but gets even better once you adjust it to your liking. And just for that, it’d deserve a place on any list.
1. Tecware Phantom 104
| Pros: | Cons: |
| ✅ 18 pre-set configurations on the mechanical keyboard ✅ Outemu mechanical switches for precise gaming ✅ SMD LEDs and FR-4 fiberglass printed circuit board ✅ all-new font ✅ 1000Hz pooling rate |
❌ highly priced ❌ no color variations available |
Tecware is a name you don’t often hear in gaming circles, but certainly not one that deserves such anonymity. They have some excellent products that are worth more than a mention, especially regarding budget solutions. Their keyboards are not “Razer-sharp” as their competition, but still have something to offer.
Tecware’s Phantom 104 keyboard is a mechanical keyboard solution that does its gaming job perfectly. Priced at just $39.99, Tecware provides the user with a cheap but well-performing gaming keyboard. It doesn’t have those named features like Razer’s Hypershift, or such and such, and it doesn’t really need them. Those seeking to buy at this price range likely don’t care for those high-grade (and often useless) features.
The build quality is bog standard, with composite plastics used instead of metal. This keyboard should last you for a while and won’t be prone to typical damage like dust or spillage. The PCB is made of Fiberglass, something Tecware likes to point out as this keyboard’s highlight. It certainly helps to have high-quality internal hardware, which drives the keyboard’s performance.
The switches are Outemu Switches that offer precise gaming performance. They’re also well suited for office and general typing use, and your fingers won’t break on them. A key-cap remover and spare switches are included in the package, which is commendable and should be an example to other manufacturers.
Overall, Tecware’s budget keyboard solution isn’t at all bad. They may be unknown in gaming, but there are enough reasons to make them known among budget gamers.
You can also consider the best gaming keyboard and mouse combo and add it to your collection.
Also read: Top 5 Best Gaming Chairs for League of Legends
Conclusion
Those were the best budget-friendly keyboards that kickstarted 2023 with amazing deals. We hope our detailed analysis of all the particular parts and products improved your knowledge of gaming peripherals. The market is always evolving and changing, and being adequately informed about it is pivotal for choosing the best of the best.
(5 votes, average: 4.20 out of 5)
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