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Head to head · Prices checked Nov 10, 2026

Ducky Year of the Horse vs Royal Kludge S98 DE

Get the Ducky Year of the Horse for the 4,200 mAh battery. Get the Royal Kludge S98 DE for knob.

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Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Ducky Year of the Horse

Battery

Build quality in the top 20% of 100% boards under $200.

Rules this board out

  • South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.

Get the

Royal Kludge S98 DE

Knob

Build quality in the top 45% of 96% boards under $150.

Rules this board out

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

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.

Ducky Year of the Horse

Royal Kludge S98 DE

  • Layout size

    100%

    96%

  • Battery

    4,200 mAh

    3,750 mAh

    A larger battery means fewer cables during the day

  • Switch options

    Linear

    Linear, Tactile

  • Mount style

    Plate Mount

    Top Mount

  • Knob

    No

    Yes

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Ducky Year of the Horse
  • Royal Kludge S98 DE
Performance
78
68
Build quality
68
70
Productivity
59
91
Customizability
68
79
Portability
52
57

What they share

  • Connection: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
  • Hot-swappable
See every spec side by side

Full specs

Ducky Year of the Horse vs Royal Kludge S98 DE specs

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

15 of 25 specs differ

Ducky Year of the Horse

Royal Kludge S98 DE

Typing & switches

Switch options

Linear
Linear, Tactile

Hot-swappable

Yes
Yes

Mount style

Plate Mount
Top Mount

Sound dampening

No
Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

No
Yes

Layout

Layout size

100%
96%

Layout standard

ANSI
ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard
Standard

Knob

No
Yes

Display

None
LCD

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

1,000 Hz
—

Battery

4,200 mAhBetter
3,750 mAh

USB passthrough

No
Yes

USB-C

Yes
Yes

Build & materials

Case material

ABS, Aluminum
—

Plate material

Aluminum
—

Keycaps

PBT
ABS

Weight

—
1,879 g

Dimensions

—
41 x 140 x 41 mm

Backlight

RGB, south-facing
RGB

Firmware & software

VIA

Yes
No

N-key rollover

Yes
No

Mac & Windows

No
Yes

Extras

Released

2026
2024

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.

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