Head to head · Prices checked Oct 28, 2026

KBDFans Athena vs Nuphy Gem80

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KBDFans Athena

5.0 · 6 reviews

from$159at Divinikey

Compare 2 stores

Nuphy Gem80

No reviews

from$170at Nuphy

Compare 4 stores

Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

KBDFans Athena

Build quality in the top 10% of 75% boards under $200.

Rules this board out

No ISO layout. ISO-DE, UK, and other ISO variants are not offered.
No numpad.

$159 at Divinikey

Get the

Nuphy Gem80

Build quality in the top 10% of 80% boards under $200.

Rules this board out

South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.
No numpad.

$170 at Nuphy

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.

KBDFans Athena

Nuphy Gem80

Layout size
75%
80%
Connection
Wired
Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Wireless for several devices and wired for lower latency
Case material
Aluminum
Aluminum, Polycarbonate
Mount style
Top Mount
Gasket Mount
Display
LCD
None
A case display rather than a typing feature

KeebFinder scores

How we score

KBDFans Athena
Nuphy Gem80

Performance: 70
80
Build quality: 84
84
Productivity: 75
88
Customizability: 88
94
Portability: 63
76

What they share

Hot-swappable
VIA
Sound dampening

See every spec side by side

Full specs

KBDFans Athena vs Nuphy Gem80 specs

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

16 of 26 specs differ

Spec

KBDFans Athena

Nuphy Gem80

Typing & switches

Switch options

—

Mechanical

Hot-swappable

Yes

Mount style

Top Mount

Gasket Mount

Sound dampening

Yes

Layout

Layout size

75%

80%

Layout standard

ANSI

ANSI, ISO, ISO-DE

Ergonomics

Standard

Display

LCD

None

Media keys

Yes

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Wired

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

—

1,000 Hz

Battery

Wired only

4,000 mAh

USB-C

Yes

Build & materials

Case material

Aluminum

Aluminum, Polycarbonate

Plate material

Aluminum, CarbonFiber, FR4, Polycarbonate

Aluminum, FR4, Polycarbonate, POM

Keycaps

—

ABS, PBT

Weight

2,200 g

1,120 g

Dimensions

—

37 x 358 x 141 mm

Typing angle

9°

6°

Backlight

RGB

RGB, south-facing

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes

VIA

Yes

VIAL

Yes

N-key rollover

Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes

Extras

Released

2026

2024

For EU buyers

ISO layouts by store

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

KBDFans Athena

No ISO layout at the stores we track.

Nuphy Gem80

Input Gear
ISO-DE
Out of stockShips 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.

KBDFans Athena2 stores