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Head to head · Prices checked Oct 21, 2026

Keychron C1 Pro vs K5 Max

Get the Keychron C1 Pro for the 8,000 Hz polling rate.

Keychron C1 Pro 8K QMK Wired Custom Mechanical Keyboard ISO Layout Collection

polling rate

Keychron C1 Pro

4.8 · 10 reviews

from$50at MK

Shop nowCompare 3 stores

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.

Keychron C1 Pro

Keychron K5 Max

  • Layout size

    80%

    100%

  • Connection

    Wired

    Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

  • Low profile

    No

    Yes

  • Max polling rate

    8,000 Hz

    1,000 Hz

  • Case material

    ABS, Plastic

    ABS, Aluminum

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Keychron C1 Pro
  • Keychron K5 Max
Performance
91
81
Build quality
83
82
Productivity
98
89
Customizability
91
88
Portability
57
53

What they share

  • Hot-swappable
  • Switch options: Clicky, Linear, Tactile
  • QMK
  • VIA
  • Sound dampening
See every spec side by side

From real owners

What owners say

Ratings and quotes collected from verified store reviews, including the critical ones.

Keychron C1 Pro

4.8

10 owner reviews

Praise
“My son loves it. Upgrade from an implosion cap version. Not used to the US layout but he it learning some python. Might as well use a US Keyboard”
TheodorVerified buyer· via Keychron
Critique
“Looks great and sounds amazing but keys gets stuck/don’t work or double press too often. When I remove the key caps to clean, it still doesn’t fix the problem. Example, my 7 key doesn’t work when pressed and my G key when pressed wrotes two g’s instead of one.”
Z.D.Verified buyer· via Keychron

Keychron K5 Max

4.1

16 owner reviews

Praise
“This is by far the best keyboard I've ever had. I did my research with AI defined the one I should get. I'm glad I did this first! I type about a hundred words a minute and do a lot of document creation as well as coding. This keyboard keeps up with me in the…”
MarcVerified buyer· via Keychron
Critique
“The printing quality of the Hungarian keycaps is very poor. The stroke thickness of the letters varies even within a single keycap—one letter is thick while another is thin. They look ugly. Also, on the internet the "esc" key appears orange, but in reality it…”
bncz· via Keychron

Full specs

Keychron C1 Pro vs K5 Max specs

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

17 of 28 specs differ

Keychron C1 Pro

Keychron K5 Max

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky, Linear, Tactile
Clicky, Linear, Tactile

Hot-swappable

Yes
Yes

Mount style

Tray Mount
PCB Mount, Plate Mount

Low profile

No
Yes

Sound dampening

Yes
Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

Yes
No

Layout

Layout size

80%
100%

Layout standard

ANSI, ISO, ISO-DE, ISO-ES, ISO-IT
ANSI, ISO, ISO-DE, ISO-Nordic, ISO-UK

Ergonomics

Standard
Standard

Knob

Yes
No

Display

None
None

Media keys

No
Yes

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Wired
Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

8,000 HzBetter
1,000 Hz

Battery

Wired only
2,000 mAh

USB-C

Yes
Yes

Build & materials

Case material

ABS, Plastic
ABS, Aluminum

Plate material

Plastic
Polycarbonate

Keycaps

PBT
ABS, PBT

Weight

830 g
720 g

Dimensions

20 x 357 x 131 mm
18 x 424 x 119 mm

Typing angle

11°
3°

Backlight

RGB, south-facing
RGB, north-facing

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes
Yes

VIA

Yes
Yes

N-key rollover

Yes
Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes
Yes

Extras

Released

2023
2024

Where to buy

Compare prices

Live prices from the stores we track, cheapest in-stock offer first.

Lowest price across stores, Amazon excluded.

  • MKUS

    In stock
    $50Visit
  • KeychronHK

    In stock
    $54Visit
  • Keychron (DE)DE

    In stock
    $80Visit
  • AmazonGlobal

    Check price
    Visit
  • KeychronHK

    In stock
    $94Visit
  • Keychron (DE)DE

    In stock
    $125Visit
  • AmazonGlobal

    Check price
    Visit
  • MKUS

    Out of stock
    $99Visit

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