Keyboard Switches Tier List
Switch opinions are the most personal thing in this entire library, which is why the board is useful: you can see your own preferences as a shape. Twelve switches, unranked, on sound, feel and how they behave once soldered in. All twelve entries begin in Unranked, so the ordering is entirely yours: drag or tap into S–F, rename the rows, share the link or export a PNG.
Cherry MX Red
Cherry MX Brown
Cherry MX Blue
Holy Panda
Gateron Yellow
Topre
Zealios
Kailh Box Jade
Alpaca
Gateron Ink Black
Boba U4T
Kailh Speed Silver0 of 12 items ranked.
Board saved automatically in this browser. Original.
How this board is built: the 12 tiles are an editorial starting set, not an official roster and not a published ranking — every entry waits in Unranked until you place it. Item tiles are original pictograms or two-letter emblems drawn for this site rather than character artwork, film stills or club logos, so nothing here is licensed material reused from a rights holder. Tiers you set are your own judgement.
What's included in this Keyboard Switches board
The board arrives with all 12 entries present as tiles and none of them assigned to a tier. That is deliberate: a template that opens with a finished ranking only invites you to agree or disagree with whoever made it, whereas an empty ladder makes you commit to an ordering of your own. Drag a tile onto a row, or on a phone tap the tile and then the tier you want. You can add rows for extra categories, rename the standard ones, and remove any entry you do not recognise — a list you can defend is more useful than a long one you cannot.
How to rank this Keyboard Switches board
Rank sound first — pitch, volume and whether it is pleasant to live with, not just to hear once. Then weigh feel: actuation weight, tactility, and how the switch behaves on a long typing session rather than a five-minute test. Third, judge real-world behaviour, which is where the ranking usually changes: a switch that sounds great in a tester can feel scratchy in a full board, and stabilisers change everything about the space bar. Finish by separating typing from gaming. Low-weight linear switches are popular for games and tiring for eight hours of writing, and a list that does not say which one it means is really a list about one person's desk.
Using the board without over-thinking it
Most people finish a board like this in a couple of minutes and then reorder the middle rows for another ten. That middle is where the honest disagreement lives, so do not rush it: place the obvious top three and the obvious bottom three first, then work inward. If two entries still feel identical, that is a real observation — say so in a row note or a text tile rather than inventing a difference. When the ordering settles, export the PNG so the arrangement is saved somewhere permanent, and copy the share link if you want someone else to argue with it.
Ranking criteria used here
- sound
- feel and weight
- how it behaves in a real keyboard
Before you share it
Put your criterion in the board title, so a reader knows whether they are looking at a favourites list or an analytical one. If the subject changes with patches, seasons or releases, add the date. And remember the share link carries tier names, colours and the tile order — uploaded photos stay on your device, so export a PNG when those matter.
All 12 items in this template
Back to the boardCherry MX RedCherry MX BrownCherry MX BlueHoly PandaGateron YellowTopreZealiosKailh Box JadeAlpacaGateron Ink BlackBoba U4TKailh Speed SilverKeyboard Switches tier list FAQ
Is a more expensive switch better?
Not reliably. Price tracks novelty and group-buy scarcity more than quality, and several cheap switches beat expensive ones on sound.
Do I need to try before ranking?
Ideally yes. A tester is enough for weight and tactility, but not for sound in a real case, and sound is half the hobby.
