Keychron K12 vs V3
Get the Keychron V3 for the 8,000 Hz polling rate.
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4.8 (192)4.8 · 192 reviews
from$39at Keychron
4.6 (17)4.6 · 17 reviews
from$54at Keychron
Which one should you get?
Get the
Keychron K12
Build quality in the top 25% of 60% boards under $50.
- 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 V3
polling rate
Build quality in the top 5% 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 K12
Keychron V3
Layout size
60%
80%
Connection
Bluetooth, Wired
Wired
Wireless for several devices and wired for lower latency
Max polling rate
1,000 Hz
8,000 Hz
Higher polling helps competitive FPS and does nothing for typing
Case material
ABS, Aluminum, Plastic
ABS, Plastic
Mount style
Plate Mount, Tray Mount
Gasket Mount, Plate Mount, Tray Mount
- Keychron K12
- Keychron V3
- Performance
- 5891
- Build quality
- 7489
- Productivity
- 6898
- Customizability
- 7398
- Portability
- 9057
- Hot-swappable
- Switch options: Clicky, Linear, Tactile
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 V3
17 owner reviews
“Mainly bought this keyboard for the russian layout, despite this I prefer it over my steelseries apex pro, its nice feel and sounds nice”
“I bought this keyboard in March 2023 and genuinely liked it at first. It's solid, heavy, well-built, sounds great. Keychron clearly knows what they're doing in terms of design and firmware. The problem is the switches. After about a year and a half of normal…”
Keychron K12 vs V3 specs
Every tracked spec, side by side. Rows marked with a dot differ between the boards.
16 of 27 specs differ
Keychron K12
Keychron V3
Switch options
Hot-swappable
Mount style
Sound dampening
Screw-in stabilizers
Layout size
Layout standard
Ergonomics
Knob
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 V3
Keychron
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-FR, ISO-ES, ISO-SW
In stockShips to you
Keychron (DE)
ISO-DE, ISO-ES
In stockDoes not ship to you
Keychron (DE)
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-FR, ISO-ES, ISO-SW
Out of 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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