Keychron K3 HE vs K5 Max
Get the Keychron K3 HE for hall effect and rapid trigger.
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4.4 (8)4.4 · 8 reviews
from$119at Keychron
4.1 (16)4.1 · 16 reviews
from$94at Keychron
Which one should you get?
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.
- Missing ISO-UK, ISO-Nordic. The other board is sold in those layouts.
- No numpad.
Get the
Keychron K5 Max
Build quality in the top 15% of 100% boards under $100.
- Low-profile switches and keycaps only. Standard MX keycaps will not fit.
- North-facing LEDs. Cherry-profile keycaps can hit the switch housing.
- Missing ISO-FR, ISO-ES. The other board is sold in those layouts.
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 K3 HE
Keychron K5 Max
Layout size
75%
100%
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
Battery
2,600 mAh
2,000 mAh
A larger battery means fewer cables during the day
Case material
ABS, Aluminum, Wood
ABS, Aluminum
- Keychron K3 HE
- Keychron K5 Max
- Performance
- 9281
- Build quality
- 8681
- Productivity
- 8889
- Customizability
- 8988
- Portability
- 8253
- Connection: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
- Hot-swappable
- Low profile
- Max polling rate: 1,000 Hz
- QMK
- VIA
What owners say
Ratings and quotes collected from verified store reviews, including the critical ones.
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 K5 Max
16 owner reviews
“This is by far the best keyboard I've ever had. I did my research with AI defined the one I should get. I'm glad I did this first! I type about a hundred words a minute and do a lot of document creation as well as coding. This keyboard keeps up with me in the…”
“The printing quality of the Hungarian keycaps is very poor. The stroke thickness of the letters varies even within a single keycap—one letter is thick while another is thin. They look ugly. Also, on the internet the "esc" key appears orange, but in reality it…”
Keychron K3 HE vs K5 Max specs
Every tracked spec, side by side. Rows marked with a dot differ between the boards.
16 of 28 specs differ
Keychron K3 HE
Keychron K5 Max
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 K3 HE
Keychron
ISO-DE
In stockShips to you
Keychron (DE)
ISO-DE, ISO-FR, ISO-ES
In stockDoes not ship to you
Keychron K5 Max
Keychron
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-Nordic
In stockShips to you
Keychron (DE)
ISO-DE, ISO-UK
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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