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Head to head · Prices checked Nov 10, 2026

Royal Kludge A72 HE vs KBDFans Athena 1800

Get the Royal Kludge A72 HE for hall effect and rapid trigger.

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Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Royal Kludge A72 HE

Hall effect

Build quality in the bottom 45% of 65% boards under $100.

Rules this board out

  • Magnetic switches only. Standard MX switches will not fit.
  • No ISO layout. ISO-DE, UK, and other ISO variants are not offered.
  • 65% layout. No function row and no numpad.

Get the

KBDFans Athena 1800

Build quality in the top 15% of 100% boards under $150.

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.

Royal Kludge A72 HE

KBDFans Athena 1800

  • Layout size

    65%

    100%

  • Hall effect (magnetic)

    Yes

    No

    Adjustable actuation helps in games and not in normal typing

  • Rapid trigger

    Yes

    No

    Faster resets help in games and not in normal typing

  • Connection

    Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

    Wired

    Wireless for several devices and wired for lower latency

  • Ergonomics

    Alice

    Split Backspace

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Royal Kludge A72 HE
  • KBDFans Athena 1800
Performance
93
68
Build quality
60
78
Productivity
83
69
Customizability
73
82
Portability
94
43

What they share

  • Hot-swappable
  • Sound dampening
  • Keycaps: PBT
See every spec side by side

Full specs

Royal Kludge A72 HE vs KBDFans Athena 1800 specs

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

14 of 25 specs differ

Royal Kludge A72 HE

KBDFans Athena 1800

Typing & switches

Switch options

Magnetic
—

Hall effect (magnetic)

Yes
No

Rapid trigger

Yes
No

Hot-swappable

Yes
Yes

Mount style

Plate Mount
Top Mount

Sound dampening

Yes
Yes

Layout

Layout size

65%
100%

Layout standard

ANSI
ANSI, ISO

Ergonomics

Alice
Split Backspace

Knob

Yes
No

Display

LED
LED, LCD

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Wired

Max polling rate

8,000 HzBetter
1,000 Hz

Battery

7,500 mAh
Wired only

USB-C

Yes
Yes

Build & materials

Case material

—
Aluminum

Plate material

—
Aluminum, Brass, CarbonFiber, FR4, Polycarbonate, Steel

Keycaps

PBT
PBT

Weight

1,350 g
3,000 g

Dimensions

42 x 384 x 140 mm
—

Typing angle

—
9°

Backlight

RGB
RGB

Firmware & software

VIAL

No
Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes
No

Extras

Released

2026
2025

For EU buyers

ISO layouts by store

Which stores sell ISO-DE, UK, and the other regional layouts.

Royal Kludge A72 HE

No ISO layout at the stores we track.

KBDFans Athena 1800

  • KBDfans

    ISO

    Out of stockShips to you

  • MonacoKeys

    ISO

    Out of stockDoes not ship to you

Where to buy

Compare prices

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

Prices in USD are converted to your currency and can change at any time. KeebFinder may earn a commission when you buy through these links, at no extra cost to you.

Lowest price across stores, Amazon excluded.

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