Head to head · Prices checked Nov 10, 2026

Ducky Year of the Snake vs Jamesdonkey R4

Get the Ducky Year of the Snake for via and sound dampening. Get the Jamesdonkey R4 for knob.

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VIA

Ducky Year of the Snake

from$169at MK

Compare 2 stores

Knob

Jamesdonkey R4

from$166at Mechkeys

Compare 2 stores

Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Ducky Year of the Snake

VIA

Build quality in the top 15% of 75% boards under $200.

Rules this board out

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

$169 at MK

Get the

Jamesdonkey R4

Knob

Build quality in the bottom 50% of 75% boards under $200.

Rules this board out

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

$166 at Mechkeys

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 Snake

Jamesdonkey R4

Connection
Wired
Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Wireless for several devices and wired for lower latency
Case material
ABS
Aluminum
Knob
No
Yes
VIA
Yes
No
GUI remapping without compiling firmware
Sound dampening
Yes
No

KeebFinder scores

How we score

Ducky Year of the Snake
Jamesdonkey R4

Performance: 80
54
Build quality: 81
67
Productivity: 95
63
Customizability: 89
79
Portability: 66
77

What they share

Layout size: 75%
Hot-swappable
Mount style: Gasket Mount
QMK
Keycaps: PBT

See every spec side by side

Full specs

Ducky Year of the Snake vs Jamesdonkey R4 specs

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

11 of 26 specs differ

Spec

Ducky Year of the Snake

Jamesdonkey R4

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky, Linear, Tactile

—

Hot-swappable

Yes

Mount style

Gasket Mount

Sound dampening

Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

Yes

Layout

Layout size

75%

Layout standard

ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard

Knob

Yes

Display

None

Media keys

Yes

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Wired

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

1,000 Hz

—

Battery

Wired only

4,000 mAh

USB-C

Yes

Build & materials

Case material

ABS

Aluminum

Plate material

FR4

—

Keycaps

PBT

Weight

—

1,900 g

Dimensions

—

45 x 150 x 329 mm

Backlight

RGB, south-facing

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes

VIA

Yes

N-key rollover

Yes

Mac & Windows

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.

Ducky Year of the Snake2 stores