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Head to head · Prices checked Oct 28, 2026

Royal Kludge RK C68 HE vs R65

Get the Royal Kludge RK C68 HE for hall effect and rapid trigger. Get the Royal Kludge R65 for knob.

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Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Royal Kludge RK C68 HE

Hall effect

Build quality in the bottom 25% of 65% boards under $100.

Rules this board out

  • 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.

Get the

Royal Kludge R65

Knob

Build quality in the top 15% of 65% boards under $100.

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 RK C68 HE

Royal Kludge R65

  • 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

    Wired

    Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

    Wireless for several devices and wired for lower latency

  • Switch options

    Magnetic

    Linear

  • Knob

    No

    Yes

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Royal Kludge RK C68 HE
  • Royal Kludge R65
Performance
92
67
Build quality
51
84
Productivity
71
89
Customizability
61
89
Portability
71
86

What they share

  • Layout size: 65%
  • Hot-swappable
  • Sound dampening
  • Keycaps: PBT
See every spec side by side

Full specs

Royal Kludge RK C68 HE vs R65 specs

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

11 of 23 specs differ

Royal Kludge RK C68 HE

Royal Kludge R65

Typing & switches

Switch options

Magnetic
Linear

Hall effect (magnetic)

Yes
No

Rapid trigger

Yes
No

Hot-swappable

Yes
Yes

Mount style

—
Gasket Mount

Sound dampening

Yes
Yes

Layout

Layout size

65%
65%

Layout standard

ANSI
ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard
Standard

Knob

No
Yes

Display

None
None

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Wired
Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

8,000 Hz
—

USB-C

Yes
Yes

Build & materials

Case material

—
Aluminum

Keycaps

PBT
PBT

Weight

640 g
580 g

Dimensions

41 x 332 x 117 mm
41 x 116 x 41 mm

Backlight

RGB, south-facing
RGB

Firmware & software

QMK

No
Yes

VIA

No
Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes
Yes

Extras

Released

2025
2024

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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