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Head to head · Prices checked Nov 7, 2026

Keychron K12 vs Royal Kludge S98 ES

Get the Keychron K12 for the 4,000 mAh battery. Get the Royal Kludge S98 ES for knob.

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Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Keychron K12

Battery

Build quality in the top 25% of 60% boards under $50.

Rules this board out

  • North-facing LEDs. Cherry-profile keycaps can hit the switch housing.
  • Compact layout only. No function row, dedicated arrow keys, or numpad.

Get the

Royal Kludge S98 ES

Knob

Build quality in the top 45% 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 K12

Royal Kludge S98 ES

  • Layout size

    60%

    96%

  • Connection

    Bluetooth, Wired

    Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

    Wireless for several devices and wired for lower latency

  • Battery

    4,000 mAh

    3,750 mAh

    A larger battery means fewer cables during the day

  • Mount style

    Plate Mount, Tray Mount

    Top Mount

  • Knob

    No

    Yes

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Keychron K12
  • Royal Kludge S98 ES
Performance
58
78
Build quality
73
70
Productivity
68
91
Customizability
73
79
Portability
90
56

What they share

  • Hot-swappable
  • Keycaps: ABS
See every spec side by side

Full specs

Keychron K12 vs Royal Kludge S98 ES specs

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

13 of 25 specs differ

Keychron K12

Royal Kludge S98 ES

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky, Linear, Tactile
—

Hot-swappable

Yes
Yes

Mount style

Plate Mount, Tray Mount
Top Mount

Sound dampening

No
Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

No
Yes

Layout

Layout size

60%
96%

Layout standard

ANSI
ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard
Standard

Knob

No
Yes

Display

None
LCD

Media keys

Yes
No

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 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, Aluminum, Plastic
—

Plate material

Plastic
—

Keycaps

ABS
ABS

Weight

—
1,879 g

Dimensions

—
42 x 409 x 140 mm

Backlight

RGB, north-facing
RGB

Firmware & software

N-key rollover

No
Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes
Yes

Extras

Released

2021
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.

Keychron K124 stores

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