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Head to head · Prices checked Nov 7, 2026

Ducky Year of the Horse vs Varmilo APT108 Beijing Opera

Get the Ducky Year of the Horse for via. Get the Varmilo APT108 Beijing Opera for hall effect and sound dampening.

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Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Ducky Year of the Horse

VIA

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

Varmilo APT108 Beijing Opera

Hall effect

Build quality in the top 50% of 100% boards under $200.

Rules this board out

  • Magnetic switches only. Standard MX switches will not fit.
  • North-facing LEDs. Cherry-profile keycaps can hit the switch housing.

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

Varmilo APT108 Beijing Opera

  • Hall effect (magnetic)

    No

    Yes

    Adjustable actuation helps in games and not in normal typing

  • Case material

    ABS, Aluminum

    ABS

  • Switch options

    Linear

    Linear, Tactile

  • VIA

    Yes

    No

    GUI remapping without compiling firmware

  • Sound dampening

    No

    Yes

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Ducky Year of the Horse
  • Varmilo APT108 Beijing Opera
Performance
78
83
Build quality
68
54
Productivity
59
79
Customizability
68
71
Portability
52
54

What they share

  • Layout size: 100%
  • Connection: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
  • Hot-swappable
  • Max polling rate: 1,000 Hz
  • Mount style: Plate Mount
  • Keycaps: PBT
See every spec side by side

Full specs

Ducky Year of the Horse vs Varmilo APT108 Beijing Opera specs

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

10 of 22 specs differ

Ducky Year of the Horse

Varmilo APT108 Beijing Opera

Typing & switches

Switch options

Linear
Linear, Tactile

Hall effect (magnetic)

No
Yes

Hot-swappable

Yes
Yes

Mount style

Plate Mount
Plate Mount

Sound dampening

No
Yes

Layout

Layout size

100%
100%

Layout standard

ANSI
ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard
Standard

Display

None
None

Media keys

No
Yes

Connectivity & battery

Connection

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

Max polling rate

1,000 Hz
1,000 Hz

Battery

4,200 mAh
—

USB-C

Yes
Yes

Build & materials

Case material

ABS, Aluminum
ABS

Plate material

Aluminum
Plastic

Keycaps

PBT
PBT

Backlight

RGB, south-facing
RGB, north-facing

Firmware & software

VIA

Yes
No

N-key rollover

Yes
Yes

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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