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Head to head · Prices checked Oct 31, 2026

8BitDo Retro87 vs Royal Kludge F99

Get the 8BitDo Retro87 for knob. Get the Royal Kludge F99 for the 5,000 mAh battery.

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Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

8BitDo Retro87

Knob

Build quality in the bottom 40% of 80% boards under $150.

Rules this board out

  • No numpad.

Get the

Royal Kludge F99

Battery

Build quality in the bottom 45% of 96% boards under $100.

Rules this board out

  • South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.
  • Compact full-size layout. The numpad is present, the gaps of a full-size board are not.

What actually differs

The differences that matter

Skip the 40-row spec sheet. These are the specs that change how each board feels, sounds, and fits your desk.

8BitDo Retro87

Royal Kludge F99

  • Layout size

    80%

    96%

  • Battery

    4,000 mAh

    5,000 mAh

    A larger battery means fewer cables during the day

  • Switch options

    Clicky

    Linear, Silent, Tactile

  • Mount style

    Top Mount

    Gasket Mount

  • Knob

    Yes

    No

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • 8BitDo Retro87
  • Royal Kludge F99
Performance
63
62
Build quality
53
60
Productivity
73
76
Customizability
68
59
Portability
77
54

What they share

  • Connection: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
  • Hot-swappable
See every spec side by side

Full specs

8BitDo Retro87 vs Royal Kludge F99 specs

Every tracked spec, side by side. Rows marked with a dot differ between the boards.

12 of 23 specs differ

8BitDo Retro87

Royal Kludge F99

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky
Linear, Silent, Tactile

Hot-swappable

Yes
Yes

Mount style

Top Mount
Gasket Mount

Sound dampening

No
Yes

Layout

Layout size

80%
96%

Layout standard

ANSI
ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard
Standard

Knob

Yes
No

Display

None
None

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

1,000 Hz
—

Battery

4,000 mAh
5,000 mAhBetter

USB passthrough

No
Yes

USB-C

Yes
Yes

Build & materials

Case material

Aluminum, Plastic
—

Plate material

Aluminum
—

Keycaps

ABS
PBT

Weight

1,100 g
700 g

Dimensions

46 x 169 x 376 mm
—

Backlight

RGB
RGB, south-facing

Firmware & software

N-key rollover

Yes
No

Mac & Windows

Yes
Yes

Extras

Released

2024
2025

Where to buy

Compare prices

Live prices from the stores we track, cheapest in-stock offer first.

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Lowest price across stores, Amazon excluded.

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