Keychron J12 HE vs Royal Kludge M87
Get the Keychron J12 HE for hall effect and rapid trigger. Get the Royal Kludge M87 for knob.
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Which one should you get?
Get the
Keychron J12 HE
Hall effect
Build quality in the top 30% of 75% boards under $200.
- Magnetic switches only. Standard MX switches will not fit.
- South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.
- No numpad.
Get the
Royal Kludge M87
Knob
Build quality in the top 35% of 80% boards under $100.
- South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.
- No numpad.
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 J12 HE
Royal Kludge M87
Layout size
75%
80%
Hall effect (magnetic)
Yes
No
Adjustable actuation helps in games and not in normal typing
Rapid trigger
Yes
No
Faster resets help in games and not in normal typing
Switch options
Clicky, Linear, Magnetic, Tactile
Linear
Knob
No
Yes
- Keychron J12 HE
- Royal Kludge M87
- Performance
- 8866
- Build quality
- 7669
- Productivity
- 8983
- Customizability
- 8678
- Portability
- 8085
- Connection: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
- Hot-swappable
- Mount style: Gasket Mount
- Sound dampening
- Keycaps: PBT
Keychron J12 HE vs Royal Kludge M87 specs
Every tracked spec, side by side. Rows marked with a dot differ between the boards.
12 of 25 specs differ
Keychron J12 HE
Royal Kludge M87
Switch options
Hall effect (magnetic)
Rapid trigger
Hot-swappable
Mount style
Sound dampening
Layout size
Layout standard
Ergonomics
Knob
Display
Media keys
Connection
Max polling rate
Battery
USB-C
Case material
Keycaps
Weight
Dimensions
Backlight
QMK
VIA
Mac & Windows
Released
Compare prices
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Lowest price across stores, Amazon excluded.
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