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Head to head · Prices checked Oct 31, 2026

Keychron K3 Max vs Q4

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Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Keychron K3 Max

Build quality in the top 5% of 75% boards under $100.

Rules this board out

  • 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.
  • No numpad.

Get the

Keychron Q4

Build quality in the top 5% of 60% boards under $100.

Rules this board out

  • South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.
  • Compact layout only. No function row, dedicated arrow keys, or numpad.

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 K3 Max

Keychron Q4

  • Layout size

    75%

    60%

  • Connection

    Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

    Wired

    Wireless for several devices and wired for lower latency

  • Low profile

    Yes

    No

  • Case material

    ABS, Aluminum, Plastic, Wood

    Aluminum

  • Mount style

    Plate Mount

    Gasket Mount, Plate Mount

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Keychron K3 Max
  • Keychron Q4
Performance
81
66
Build quality
86
90
Productivity
94
95
Customizability
91
98
Portability
77
71

What they share

  • Hot-swappable
  • Max polling rate: 1,000 Hz
  • Switch options: Clicky, Linear, Tactile
  • QMK
  • VIA
  • Sound dampening
See every spec side by side

From real owners

What owners say

Ratings and quotes collected from verified store reviews, including the critical ones.

Keychron K3 Max

4.1

16 owner reviews

Praise
“Noce keyboard, i appreciate the level of customization QMK provides. One thing was little disappointing - the tactile feeling comparing to K3. Other than that its very good kb!”
SergeiVerified buyer· via Keychron
Critique
“I sold my k3 pro and got this. The one I got drops connection intermittently or doesn't type or respond right away. It sounds nice, but stiff reds are not as pleasant to type on as previous keyboards reds. I really thought I ordered hotswap RGB max but seems…”
SianiVerified buyer· via Keychron

Keychron Q4

4.7

10 owner reviews

Praise
“Perfect keyboard, sounds lovely, feels lovely, i just fee like the white keys are a lot more cream than pictured. Not an issue though! Just a little annoying haha”
E.B.Verified buyer· via Keychron

Full specs

Keychron K3 Max vs Q4 specs

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

14 of 28 specs differ

Keychron K3 Max

Keychron Q4

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky, Linear, Tactile
Clicky, Linear, Tactile

Hot-swappable

Yes
Yes

Mount style

Plate Mount
Gasket Mount, Plate Mount

Low profile

Yes
No

Sound dampening

Yes
Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

Yes
Yes

Layout

Layout size

75%
60%

Layout standard

ANSI, ISO, ISO-DE, ISO-Nordic, ISO-SW, ISO-UK
ANSI, ISO, ISO-DE, ISO-ES, ISO-FR, ISO-Nordic, ISO-SW, ISO-UK, JIS

Ergonomics

Standard
Standard

Knob

No
Yes

Display

None
None

Media keys

Yes
Yes

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Wired

Max polling rate

1,000 Hz
1,000 Hz

Battery

1,550 mAh
Wired only

USB-C

Yes
Yes

Build & materials

Case material

ABS, Aluminum, Plastic, Wood
Aluminum

Plate material

Aluminum, Plastic, Polycarbonate
Steel

Keycaps

ABS, PBT
ABS, PBT

Weight

580 g
1,500 g

Dimensions

22 x 306 x 116 mm
20 x 121 x 303 mm

Typing angle

3°, 7°
7°

Backlight

RGB, north-facing
RGB, south-facing

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes
Yes

VIA

Yes
Yes

N-key rollover

Yes
No

Mac & Windows

Yes
Yes

Extras

Released

2023
2022

For EU buyers

ISO layouts by store

Which stores sell ISO-DE, UK, and the other regional layouts.

Keychron K3 Max

  • Input Gear

    ISO-DE

    Out of stockShips to you

  • Keychron

    ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-Nordic, ISO-SW

    Out of stockShips to you

  • Keychron (DE)

    ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-SW

    In stockDoes not ship to you

Keychron Q4

  • Keychron

    ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-Nordic, ISO-FR, ISO-ES, ISO-SW

    In stockShips to you

  • Keychron (DE)

    ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-Nordic, ISO-FR, ISO-ES, ISO-SW

    In stockDoes not ship to you

Where to buy

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.

Keychron Q44 stores

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