Head to head · Prices checked Nov 2, 2026

Focus Lab CTRL87 vs Meletrix Zoom98 SE

Get the Focus Lab CTRL87 for the 8,000 mAh battery and the 8,000 Hz polling rate. Get the Meletrix Zoom98 SE for hot-swappable.

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Battery

from$275at ktechs

Hot-swappable

from$245at Meletrix

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

Meletrix Zoom98 SE

Hot-swappable

Build quality in the top 5% of 98% boards under $300.

Rules this board out

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.

$245 at Meletrix

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

Meletrix Zoom98 SE

Layout size
87%
98%
Hot-swappable
No
Yes
Switch changes without soldering
Battery
8,000 mAh
4,500 mAh
A larger battery means fewer cables during the day
Ergonomics
Standard
Split Spacebar
Max polling rate
8,000 Hz
1,000 Hz
Higher polling helps competitive FPS and does nothing for typing

KeebFinder scores

How we score

Focus Lab CTRL87
Meletrix Zoom98 SE

Performance: 81
79
Build quality: 57
85
Productivity: 57
93
Customizability: 52
90
Portability: 58
55

What they share

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

See every spec side by side

Full specs

Focus Lab CTRL87 vs Meletrix Zoom98 SE specs

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

18 of 25 specs differ

Spec

Focus Lab CTRL87

Meletrix Zoom98 SE

Typing & switches

Switch options

—

Clicky, Linear

Hot-swappable

Yes

Mount style

Plate Mount

Gasket Mount

Sound dampening

Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

Yes

Layout

Layout size

87%

98%

Layout standard

—

ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard

Split Spacebar

Display

LED

LCD

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

8,000 HzBetter

1,000 Hz

Battery

8,000 mAhBetter

4,500 mAh

USB-C

Yes

Build & materials

Case material

Aluminum

Plate material

FR4

Polycarbonate

Keycaps

PBT

—

Weight

2,100 g

1,000 g

Dimensions

35 x 365 x 147 mm

22 x 450 x 150 mm

Typing angle

—

8°

Backlight

RGB

RGB, south-facing

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes

VIA

Yes

N-key rollover

Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes

Extras

Released

2026

2023

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