Keychron K12 vs K3 HE
Get the Keychron K12 for the 4,000 mAh battery. Get the Keychron K3 HE for hall effect and rapid trigger.
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4.8 · 192 reviews
from$39at Keychron
4.4 · 8 reviews
from$119at Keychron
Which one should you get?
Get the
Keychron K12
Battery
Build quality in the top 20% of 60% boards under $100.
- North-facing LEDs. Cherry-profile keycaps can hit the switch housing.
- No ISO layout. ISO-DE, UK, and other ISO variants are not offered.
- Compact layout only. No function row, dedicated arrow keys, or numpad.
Get the
Keychron K3 HE
Hall effect
Build quality in the top 10% of 75% boards under $150.
- Magnetic switches only. Standard MX switches will not fit.
- Low-profile switches and keycaps only. Standard MX keycaps will not fit.
- North-facing LEDs. Cherry-profile keycaps can hit the switch housing.
- 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 K12
Keychron K3 HE
Layout size
60%
75%
Hall effect (magnetic)
No
Yes
Adjustable actuation helps in games and not in normal typing
Rapid trigger
No
Yes
Faster resets help in games and not in normal typing
Connection
Bluetooth, Wired
Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Wireless for several devices and wired for lower latency
Battery
4,000 mAh
2,600 mAh
A larger battery means fewer cables during the day
- Keychron K12
- Keychron K3 HE
- Performance
- 5892
- Build quality
- 7486
- Productivity
- 6988
- Customizability
- 7389
- Portability
- 9082
- Hot-swappable
- Max polling rate: 1,000 Hz
What owners say
Ratings and quotes collected from verified store reviews, including the critical ones.
Keychron K12
192 owner reviews
“I have recently bought a Keychron K12, and I'm really satisfied with it. You can say that the build quality is high, and I love the sound of the switches.”
“Bought this in December 2023. The good first: - the typing experience is genuinely fantastic. The plastic case creates this resonant, almost bass-cabinet effect that makes every keystroke satisfying. - Gateron G Pro Red switches are solid as always. For pure…”
Keychron K3 HE
8 owner reviews
“I am happy with this keyboard! I needed some time to adjust my typing habits, but so far so good.”
“please add a custom firmware file in your as the app can not recognize the keyboard and apparently doesn't have a correct firmware. the reset buttons do not work as well”
Keychron K12 vs K3 HE specs
Every tracked spec, side by side. Rows marked with a dot differ between the boards.
19 of 28 specs differ
Keychron K12
Keychron K3 HE
Switch options
Hall effect (magnetic)
Rapid trigger
Hot-swappable
Mount style
Low profile
Sound dampening
Layout size
Layout standard
Ergonomics
Display
Media keys
Connection
Max polling rate
Battery
USB-C
Case material
Plate material
Keycaps
Weight
Dimensions
Typing angle
Backlight
QMK
VIA
N-key rollover
Mac & Windows
Released
ISO layouts by store
Which stores sell ISO-DE, UK, and the other regional layouts.
Keychron K12
No ISO layout at the stores we track.
Keychron K3 HE
Keychron
ISO-DE
In stockShips to you
Keychron (DE)
ISO-DE, ISO-FR, ISO-ES
In stockDoes not ship to you
Compare prices
Live prices from the stores we track, cheapest in-stock offer first.
Prices in USD are converted to your currency and can change at any time. KeebFinder may earn a commission when you buy through these links, at no extra cost to you.
Lowest price across stores, Amazon excluded.
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