Head to head · Prices checked Nov 2, 2026

Jamesdonkey S1 vs Keychron K3 V3

Get the Jamesdonkey S1 for the 2,000 mAh battery. Get the Keychron K3 V3 for hot-swappable.

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Battery

from$69at Mechkeys

Hot-swappable

from$84at MK

Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Jamesdonkey S1

Battery

Build quality in the bottom 10% of 75% boards under $100.

Rules this board out

Switches are soldered. Swapping them means soldering.
Low-profile switches and keycaps only. Standard MX keycaps will not fit.
No ISO layout. ISO-DE, UK, and other ISO variants are not offered.

$69 at Mechkeys

Get the

Keychron K3 V3

Hot-swappable

Build quality in the top 10% of 75% boards under $100.

Rules this board out

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

$84 at MK

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.

Jamesdonkey S1

Keychron K3 V3

Connection
Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Bluetooth, Wired
Wireless for several devices and wired for lower latency
Hot-swappable
No
Yes
Switch changes without soldering
Battery
2,000 mAh
1,550 mAh
A larger battery means fewer cables during the day
Case material
Aluminum
ABS, Aluminum
Switch options
Tactile
Clicky, Linear, Tactile

KeebFinder scores

How we score

Jamesdonkey S1
Keychron K3 V3

Performance: 49
82
Build quality: 43
83
Productivity: 71
80
Customizability: 46
89
Portability: 76
77

What they share

Layout size: 75%
Low profile

See every spec side by side

Full specs

Jamesdonkey S1 vs Keychron K3 V3 specs

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

14 of 26 specs differ

Spec

Jamesdonkey S1

Keychron K3 V3

Typing & switches

Switch options

Tactile

Clicky, Linear, Tactile

Hot-swappable

Yes

Mount style

—

PCB Mount, Plate Mount, Top Mount

Low profile

Yes

Sound dampening

Yes

Layout

Layout size

75%

Layout standard

ANSI

ANSI, ISO, ISO-DE, ISO-Nordic, ISO-SW, ISO-UK

Ergonomics

Standard

Display

None

Media keys

Yes

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Bluetooth, Wired

Max polling rate

—

1,000 Hz

Battery

2,000 mAhBetter

1,550 mAh

USB-C

Yes

Build & materials

Case material

Aluminum

ABS, Aluminum

Plate material

—

Aluminum

Keycaps

PBT

ABS, PBT

Weight

500 g

540 g

Dimensions

—

19 x 306 x 116 mm

Typing angle

—

3°

Backlight

White

RGB, north-facing

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes

VIA

Yes

N-key rollover

Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes

Extras

Released

2023

2024

For EU buyers

ISO layouts by store

Which stores sell ISO-DE, UK, and the other regional layouts.

Jamesdonkey S1

No ISO layout at the stores we track.

Keychron K3 V3

Keychron
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-Nordic, ISO-SW
In stockShips to you
Keychron (DE)
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-SW
In stockDoes not ship to you

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.

Jamesdonkey S13 stores