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Head to head · Prices checked Oct 28, 2026

Keychron J3 SE vs Royal Kludge S98

Get the Keychron J3 SE for the 4,000 mAh battery. Get the Royal Kludge S98 for knob.

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Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Keychron J3 SE

Battery

Build quality in the top 50% of 96% boards under $150.

Rules this board out

  • North-facing LEDs. Cherry-profile keycaps can hit the switch housing.

Get the

Royal Kludge S98

Knob

Build quality in the top 30% of 96% boards under $100.

Rules this board out

  • South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.

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 J3 SE

Royal Kludge S98

  • Battery

    4,000 mAh

    3,750 mAh

    A larger battery means fewer cables during the day

  • Switch options

    Clicky, Linear, Tactile

    Linear, Tactile

  • Knob

    No

    Yes

  • Display

    None

    TFT

    A case display rather than a typing feature

  • Weight

    1,145 g

    1,879 g

    Heavier boards stay planted and lighter ones travel

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Keychron J3 SE
  • Royal Kludge S98
Performance
80
66
Build quality
68
72
Productivity
89
82
Customizability
86
72
Portability
57
53

What they share

  • Layout size: 96%
  • Connection: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
  • Hot-swappable
  • Sound dampening
See every spec side by side

Full specs

Keychron J3 SE vs Royal Kludge S98 specs

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

13 of 24 specs differ

Keychron J3 SE

Royal Kludge S98

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky, Linear, Tactile
Linear, Tactile

Hot-swappable

Yes
Yes

Mount style

—
Gasket Mount, Top Mount

Sound dampening

Yes
Yes

Layout

Layout size

96%
96%

Layout standard

ANSI
ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard
Standard

Knob

No
Yes

Display

None
TFT

Connectivity & battery

Connection

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

Max polling rate

1,000 Hz
—

Battery

4,000 mAhBetter
3,750 mAh

USB passthrough

No
Yes

USB-C

Yes
Yes

Build & materials

Case material

ABS
—

Keycaps

PBT
ABS, PBT

Weight

1,145 g
1,879 g

Dimensions

43 x 406 x 139 mm
41 x 140 x 41 mm

Backlight

RGB, north-facing
RGB, south-facing

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes
No

VIA

Yes
No

N-key rollover

Yes
No

Mac & Windows

Yes
Yes

Extras

Released

2026
2023

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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