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Head to head · Prices checked Oct 29, 2026

Keychron K3 Max vs Royal Kludge L98

Get the Royal Kludge L98 for the 8,000 mAh battery.

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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.
  • No numpad.

Get the

Royal Kludge L98

Battery

Build quality in the top 25% of 96% boards under $100.

Rules this board out

  • South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.
  • No ISO layout. ISO-DE, UK, and other ISO variants are not offered.
  • 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 K3 Max

Royal Kludge L98

  • Layout size

    75%

    96%

  • Battery

    1,550 mAh

    8,000 mAh

    A larger battery means fewer cables during the day

  • Low profile

    Yes

    No

  • Ergonomics

    Standard

    Southpaw

  • Switch options

    Clicky, Linear, Tactile

    Linear, Silent, Tactile

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Keychron K3 Max
  • Royal Kludge L98
Performance
81
78
Build quality
86
76
Productivity
94
80
Customizability
91
73
Portability
77
59

What they share

  • Connection: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
  • Hot-swappable
  • Sound dampening
See every spec side by side

Full specs

Keychron K3 Max vs Royal Kludge L98 specs

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

20 of 29 specs differ

Keychron K3 Max

Royal Kludge L98

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky, Linear, Tactile
Linear, Silent, Tactile

Hot-swappable

Yes
Yes

Mount style

Plate Mount
Gasket Mount

Low profile

Yes
No

Sound dampening

Yes
Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

Yes
Yes

Layout

Layout size

75%
96%

Layout standard

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

Ergonomics

Standard
Southpaw

Knob

No
Yes

Display

None
LCD

Media keys

Yes
No

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

1,000 Hz
—

Battery

1,550 mAh
8,000 mAhBetter

USB passthrough

No
Yes

USB-C

Yes
Yes

Build & materials

Case material

ABS, Aluminum, Plastic, Wood
—

Plate material

Aluminum, Plastic, Polycarbonate
—

Keycaps

ABS, PBT
PBT

Weight

580 g
990 g

Dimensions

22 x 306 x 116 mm
45 x 400 x 140 mm

Typing angle

3°, 7°
5°

Backlight

RGB, north-facing
RGB, south-facing

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes
No

VIA

Yes
No

N-key rollover

Yes
Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes
No

Extras

Released

2023
2025

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

Royal Kludge L98

No ISO layout at the stores we track.

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.

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