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Head to head · Prices checked Nov 11, 2026

Keychron J12 HE vs Sikakeyb SK5 Mountain City

Get the Keychron J12 HE for hall effect and rapid trigger.

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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.

Get the

Sikakeyb SK5 Mountain City

Build quality in the bottom 10% of 75% boards under $200.

Rules this board out

  • Switches are soldered. Swapping them means soldering.

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

Sikakeyb SK5 Mountain City

  • 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

  • Hot-swappable

    Yes

    No

    Switch changes without soldering

  • Case material

    Plastic

    Aluminum, Plastic

  • QMK

    Yes

    No

    The deep option when you want to remap every key

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Keychron J12 HE
  • Sikakeyb SK5 Mountain City
Performance
88
38
Build quality
75
44
Productivity
89
42
Customizability
86
46
Portability
80
58

What they share

  • Layout size: 75%
See every spec side by side

Full specs

Keychron J12 HE vs Sikakeyb SK5 Mountain City specs

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

11 of 22 specs differ

Keychron J12 HE

Sikakeyb SK5 Mountain City

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky, Linear, Magnetic, Tactile
—

Hall effect (magnetic)

Yes
No

Rapid trigger

Yes
No

Hot-swappable

Yes
No

Mount style

Gasket Mount
—

Sound dampening

Yes
No

Layout

Layout size

75%
75%

Layout standard

ANSI
ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard
Standard

Display

None
None

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
—

Max polling rate

1,000 Hz
—

USB-C

Yes
No

Build & materials

Case material

Plastic
Aluminum, Plastic

Keycaps

PBT
—

Weight

952 g
—

Dimensions

30 x 148 x 342 mm
—

Backlight

RGB, south-facing
None

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes
No

VIA

Yes
No

Mac & Windows

Yes
No

Extras

Released

2026
2022

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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