Best gaming keyboard 2025 - mechanical, TKL, and wireless boards tested

What is the best gaming keyboard? Whether you're into first-person shooters, epic RPG adventures, or just need a reliable typing tool, equipping yourself with a good gaming keyboard can transform your setup. With options such as ultra-fast switches for peak competitive gaming response, extra macro keys to perform extra functions at the touch of a button, or extra noise dampening to create a whisper-quiet typing experience, there are all sorts of ways to up your game.

After testing dozens of options, we've found the best gaming keyboard overall to be the Glorious GMMK3 Pro, thanks to its incredible versatility. Meanwhile, the best budget gaming keyboard is the Corsair K55 Core and the best quiet gaming keyboard is the Be Quiet! Dark Mount. There are loads more quality options listed below, plus, if you're not sure what to look for you can read the how to choose a gaming keyboard and FAQ sections to help guide you.

Why you can trust our advice ✔ At PCGamesN, our experts spend hours testing hardware and reviewing games and VPNs. We share honest, unbiased opinions to help you buy the best. Find out how we test.

Best gaming keyboards 2025:

How to choose the best gaming keyboard

When looking for the right keyboard (either among those on this list, or elsewhere) we recommend considering all the following points before making a decision.

Start with price. If you're on a tight budget you can find some decent gaming-focused keyboards for around $30 (£25) but going much lower than that can bring too many compromises. At around $30, the main compromise is you'll have to miss out on mechanical keyswitches. That means the keys can tend to not feel quite as snappy and responsive and definitely won't last as long as mechanical ones, but that's why they're so cheap.

At around $50 you can get mechanical keyboards from less well-known brands, such as the Royal Kludge RK61. These are solid options but aren't going to fit into wider gaming peripheral apps from bigger brands - such as Logitech G Hub and Razer Synapse - that allow for syncing all your lighting and macros. For a bigger brand, you'll be looking at $80+ for mechanical boards while premium models built from metal and with swappable parts easily push north of $200.

Next to consider is size. Perhaps the biggest trend in keyboards right now is for smaller sizes - known as form factors - such as tenkeyless (TKL), 75%, 65%, and 60%. These all refer to the size of the keyboard in relation to a traditional full-size keyboard with 105 keys. TKL chops off the number pad section and 75% does the same but squishes the cursors and Home/End cluster closer to the other keys. 65% and 60% are even smaller, often losing the cursor and F1-12 keys for a really small keyboard. Smaller keyboards look great and leave you lots of extra room for your mouse to move but learning to live without the removed keys can be a frustration.

Gaming keys are the next factor to consider. They were originally one of the main features that defined a gaming keyboard. They give you extra buttons to press to fire off macros or other commands, without needing to reassign other standard keys to these functions. These days, there's less focus on them but some people still prize having dedicated extra keys.

Media keys may also interest you. These are the volume wheels, mute buttons, and play/pause/skip track buttons with which some keyboards are equipped. You can also find some keyboards that come with screens and multi-function dials. They're all super-useful features though more for general desktop use than actual gaming.

When it comes to typing feel and build quality, membrane or mechanical keys should be next on your choices list. We outline the difference between mechanical vs membrane switches below in the FAQ section but the main difference is between a longer-lasting, better-feeling but more expensive board (mechanical) and a cheaper, shorter-lasting board (membrane).

With those choices out the way, RGB is of course also a factor. Is it an essential addition, or simply a flashy extravagance? That's for you to decide but some form of backlighting is often useful for seeing keys easily in darker environments. Some cheaper boards have only zones of lighting while others have per-key lighting for highly-programmable light shows.

As for wired or wireless, it used to be the case that wireless technology wasn't responsive enough for reliable gaming performance but these days it works great. Wireless keyboards are more expensive, though, and you need to charge them once a week. A simple wired board won't ever suffer a disconnect or need charging, though, and unlike a mouse or headset, it's not like you often move a keyboard. If you're specifically looking for only keyboards without wires, check out our best wireless mechanical keyboard guide.

Finally, the very latest big deal in gaming keyboards is the ability for keys to respond in a tuneable way. This means you can have keys act like analog triggers or setup clever functions such as rapid trigger and Snap Tap. The former of these lets you re-press a key far quicker than usual while the latter lets you switch between two keys - left and right strafe, for instance - far more quickly than usual.

Gaming keyboard frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is a gaming keyboard - do I need a gaming keyboard?

The line between a gaming keyboard and just a decent quality keyboard has blurred in recent years. It used to be that a gaming keyboard was one with extra gaming keys and a certain style but these days it's far less obvious. Some of the best gaming keyboards according to some gamers look very plain and have fewer keys than a normal keyboard.

Some of the criteria that define a gaming keyboard are that its response is optimized for gaming. So, for instance, while the Logitech MX Keys mini is a lovely compact keyboard for office work, it's Bluetooth connection isn't optimized for ultra-fast gaming inputs. Meanwhile, some gaming keyboards have high polling rates and make a point of tweaking latency so that your keyboard inputs are delivered as rapidly as possible to your PC.

Another factor is RGB lighting and styling. We don't see as many wacky "gamer" styled boards these days as we used to but RGB lighting that flashes in all sorts of fun patterns or that sometimes can be configured to react to the games you're playing is another indicator.

Programmable extra gaming keys and multimedia buttons are also associated with gaming boards. Having dedicated extra G keys that can be programmed to perform all manner of functions, from triggering multiple other button presses to mimicking mouse inputs, means you get loads of extra functionality without having to remember lots of strange button combinations.

Mechanical gaming keyboards also tend these days to focus less on a satisfying keyswitch feel for typing and instead have fast-moving linear switches with a programmable response so that gamers can get the ultimate fast feel for competitive gaming.

Ultimately, it comes down to your preferences. If you do care about a reasonably fast-feeling board that isn't going to have trouble with a high latency or having the keyboard become unresponsive when too many keys are pressed at once (the key rollover of the board indicates how many keys can be pressed at once) then make sure the board you're looking at mentions that it's reasonably fast-responding and has at least 6-key rollover (six keys can be pressed at once) and ideally N-key rollover (all keys can be pressed at once - sometimes styled as NKRO).

Otherwise, it's entirely down to you whether you want the satisfying typing feel of a clicky or tactile switch or a smooth linear switch, if you prefer a clean style to a more outlandish design, whether you want all the RGB, or if you need a full-size board or an ultra-compact model.

What are mechanical switches - mechanical vs membrane?

PCGamesN has a comprehensive guide on mechanical keyboard switches, for a more complete picture of what these switches are and can do. In a nutshell, though, there are two main types of keyboard switches: mechanical and membrane.

Membrane or rubber dome keyboards are a cheaper form of keyboard that uses switches where the spring and switch contact is formed by a rubber dome with a carbon pad on its underside. When pressed the dome buckles and the pad touches PCB traces on the board underneath to connect the circuit. They're cheap and easy to produce (the domes are often formed into a single sheet of rubber) but the rubber domes can feel mushy and inconsistent while the contacts wear away quite quickly.

Mechanical switches, on the other hand, use individual springs and either metal contacts or magnetic or optical sensors to tell when the switch is pressed. The springs provide a more consistent feel while the switch contacts last many times longer than rubber membrane ones. Mechanical switches can also be swapped out individually (sometimes soldering is required and sometimes they can be "hot-swapped" by just pulling the switch from the board) and there are dozens of switch options with different springs, lubrication, clicky or smooth contacts, and more.

Can a gaming keyboard make you game better?

Yes and no. For most games, almost any keyboard that doesn't inherently have poor-quality, unresponsive switches will do what you need. However, for many other scenarios, gaming keyboards can transform your gaming.

For a start, gaming keyboards tend to prioritize response over other factors so are less likely to leave you frustrated after a crucial key tap produces no result (or a delayed result) on screen. This is particularly true when it comes to wireless gaming keyboards.

Keyboards with mechanical switches also tend to offer a more reliable, faster response than membrane keyboards, though that's true whether the keyboard is a gaming one or not. Meanwhile, some people find extra gaming keys are a crucial addition for performing complex functions at the touch of a button, while the programmability of gaming keyboards can also help to optimize your gaming setup.

Finally, if you do opt for an analog mechanical keyboard, these can really unlock some interesting functions. You can make some keys react like analog triggers, providing subtle acceleration or braking input for racing games, for instance. Moreover, rapid trigger and Snap Tap functions can be transformative in some games.

What are Rapid Trigger and Snap Tap?

Rapid Trigger and Snap Tap are the names Razer has given to new functions that have been added to many keyboards with analog switches. Rapid Trigger uses the ability of analog switches to detect the exact height of a key - rather than just the moment it has passed a certain threshold like with a normal switch - to allow the key to be pressed again as soon as the keyboard detects that you've slightly released the key. In contrast, normal switches need the key to be pressed a certain distance to activate then bounce back up to a certain point before then can be pressed again.

This speed of re-pressing can be useful in a number of games. In fighting games it can allow for very fast combos while in FPS games, it can allow for fast counter-strafing.

Snap Tap, meanwhile, allows users to hold down one key then press another key and have the keyboard automatically re-press the first key once the second key is released. So, for instance, you can hold down A for left strafe, then tap D for right strafe and as soon as you've released D, the keyboard automatically starts triggering A again.

So, effectively, you can strafe left and right (or do whatever combo you want) by just holding down one key and tapping the other - there's no need to release both keys and alternate your key presses. So effective is Snap Tap at being used for counter-strafing (dodging left and right quickly to avoid being shot) that it has been banned in Counter-Strike 2. It's also a hugely useful/controversial feature in Valorant and Overwatch 2.

Do I need an expensive gaming keyboard?

Need is a subjective word. If you just want any gaming keyboard to get going, cheap membrane gaming keyboards from trusted brands will still be optimized for quick response and tend to have better-feeling keys than really cheap sub-$20 boards. When it comes to mechanical keyboards, the cheaper models are inherently more basic but will still offer most of the core responsive feel and reliability of more expensive boards. If you really value complete control, though, top-tier boards offer so much customization and amazing build quality.

If you want more help in building the perfect gaming set-up, read our article on the best gaming PC. Even an amazing keyboard won't make a difference if you're using it on a potato that hasn't even been baked. Plus, for the ultimate setup, we'd recommend looking at upgrading to one of the best gaming mouse options for complete confidence in your inputs.