KBDFans Athena vs Keychron Q5 HE
Get the Keychron Q5 HE for hall effect and rapid trigger.
KeebFinder may earn a commission when you buy through these links, at no extra cost to you.
5.0 (8)5.0 · 8 reviews
from$159at Divinikey
5.0 (3)5.0 · 3 reviews
from$212at MK
Which one should you get?
Get the
KBDFans Athena
Build quality in the top 15% of 75% boards under $200.
- No ISO layout. ISO-DE, UK, and other ISO variants are not offered.
- No numpad.
Get the
Keychron Q5 HE
Hall effect
Build quality in the top 10% of 96% boards under $300.
- Magnetic switches only. Standard MX switches will not fit.
- 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.
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
Keychron Q5 HE
Layout size
75%
96%
Hall effect (magnetic)
No
Yes
Adjustable actuation helps in games and not in normal typing
Rapid trigger
No
Yes
Faster resets help in games and not in normal typing
Connection
Wired
Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Wireless for several devices and wired for lower latency
Mount style
Top Mount
Gasket Mount, Plate Mount
- KBDFans Athena
- Keychron Q5 HE
- Performance
- 70100
- Build quality
- 8489
- Productivity
- 7697
- Customizability
- 8895
- Portability
- 6355
- Hot-swappable
- Case material: Aluminum
- VIA
- Sound dampening
What owners say
Ratings and quotes collected from verified store reviews, including the critical ones.
KBDFans Athena
8 owner reviews
“What a piece of art. The cnc and attention to detail is immacualte. Gif screen and VIA software could use some love, but it's perfectly fine for what it is.”
Keychron Q5 HE
3 owner reviews
“Excellent build quality with a sturdy metal chassis. Heavier than I thought haha. The keys sound significantly better than they do in videos online, though I did run into a slight issue with the initial firmware update.”
KBDFans Athena vs Keychron Q5 HE specs
Every tracked spec, side by side. Rows marked with a dot differ between the boards.
18 of 29 specs differ
KBDFans Athena
Keychron Q5 HE
Switch options
Hall effect (magnetic)
Rapid trigger
Hot-swappable
Mount style
Sound dampening
Screw-in stabilizers
Layout size
Layout standard
Ergonomics
Knob
Display
Connection
Max polling rate
Battery
USB-C
Case material
Plate material
Keycaps
Weight
Dimensions
Typing angle
Backlight
QMK
VIA
VIAL
N-key rollover
Mac & Windows
Released
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.
Keychron Q5 HE
Keychron
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-CH
In stockShips to you
Keychron (DE)
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-CH
In stockDoes not ship to you
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.
- Check on Amazon
Amazon
Check price
Not sold on either?
Still torn?
Answer a few quick questions and the keyboard finder ranks 2,000+ boards by how you will actually use yours.













