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Head to head · Prices checked Nov 14, 2026

Keychron J12 HE vs Royal Kludge S98 JP

Get the Keychron J12 HE for hall effect and rapid trigger. Get the Royal Kludge S98 JP for knob.

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Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Keychron J12 HE

Hall effect

Build quality in the top 30% of 75% boards under $200.

Rules this board out

  • 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 S98 JP

Knob

Build quality in the top 40% of 96% boards under $150.

Rules this board out

  • Compact full-size layout. The numpad is present, the gaps of a full-size board are not.

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 J12 HE

Royal Kludge S98 JP

  • Layout size

    75%

    96%

  • 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

  • Mount style

    Gasket Mount

    Top Mount

  • Knob

    No

    Yes

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Keychron J12 HE
  • Royal Kludge S98 JP
Performance
88
78
Build quality
75
70
Productivity
89
91
Customizability
86
79
Portability
80
57

What they share

  • Connection: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
  • Hot-swappable
  • Sound dampening
See every spec side by side

Full specs

Keychron J12 HE vs Royal Kludge S98 JP specs

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

17 of 28 specs differ

Keychron J12 HE

Royal Kludge S98 JP

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky, Linear, Magnetic, Tactile
—

Hall effect (magnetic)

Yes
No

Rapid trigger

Yes
No

Hot-swappable

Yes
Yes

Mount style

Gasket Mount
Top Mount

Sound dampening

Yes
Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

No
Yes

Layout

Layout size

75%
96%

Layout standard

ANSI
JIS

Ergonomics

Standard
Standard

Knob

No
Yes

Display

None
LCD

Connectivity & battery

Connection

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

Max polling rate

1,000 Hz
—

Battery

—
3,750 mAh

USB passthrough

No
Yes

USB-C

Yes
Yes

Build & materials

Case material

Plastic
—

Keycaps

PBT
ABS

Weight

952 g
1,880 g

Dimensions

30 x 148 x 342 mm
140 x 410 x 40 mm

Typing angle

—
5°

Backlight

RGB, south-facing
RGB

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes
No

VIA

Yes
No

N-key rollover

No
Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes
Yes

Extras

Released

2026
2025

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.

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