Head to head · Prices checked Nov 2, 2026

Focus Lab CTRL87 vs Keychron Q12 HE

Get the Focus Lab CTRL87 for the 8,000 mAh battery. Get the Keychron Q12 HE for hall effect and rapid trigger.

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Battery

Focus Lab CTRL87

No reviews

from$275at ktechs

Compare 2 stores

Hall effect

Keychron Q12 HE

4.0 (2)4.0 · 2 reviews

from$310at Keychron (DE)

Compare 4 stores

Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Focus Lab CTRL87

Battery

Rules this board out

Switches are soldered. Swapping them means soldering.

$275 at ktechs

Get the

Keychron Q12 HE

Hall effect

Build quality in the top 20% of 96% boards at any price.

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.
Compact full-size layout. The numpad is present, the gaps of a full-size board are not.

$310 at Keychron (DE)

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.

Focus Lab CTRL87

Keychron Q12 HE

Layout size
87%
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
Hot-swappable
No
Yes
Switch changes without soldering
Battery
8,000 mAh
4,000 mAh
A larger battery means fewer cables during the day

KeebFinder scores

How we score

Focus Lab CTRL87
Keychron Q12 HE

Performance: 81
93
Build quality: 57
85
Productivity: 57
97
Customizability: 52
93
Portability: 58
55

What they share

Connection: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Case material: Aluminum
Sound dampening
Keycaps: PBT

See every spec side by side

Full specs

Focus Lab CTRL87 vs Keychron Q12 HE specs

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

22 of 29 specs differ

Spec

Focus Lab CTRL87

Keychron Q12 HE

Typing & switches

Switch options

—

Clicky, Linear, Magnetic, Tactile

Hall effect (magnetic)

Yes

Rapid trigger

Yes

Hot-swappable

Yes

Mount style

Plate Mount

Gasket Mount, Plate Mount

Sound dampening

Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

Yes

Layout

Layout size

87%

96%

Layout standard

—

ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard

Southpaw

Knob

Yes

Display

LED

None

Media keys

Yes

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

8,000 HzBetter

1,000 Hz

Battery

8,000 mAhBetter

4,000 mAh

USB-C

Yes

Build & materials

Case material

Aluminum

Plate material

FR4

Aluminum

Keycaps

PBT

Weight

2,100 g

2,201 g

Dimensions

35 x 365 x 147 mm

31 x 409 x 145 mm

Typing angle

—

5°

Backlight

RGB

RGB, south-facing

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes

VIA

Yes

N-key rollover

Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes

Extras

Released

2026

2025

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.

Focus Lab CTRL872 stores