Head to head · Prices checked Oct 29, 2026

Keychron Q1 Max vs Royal Kludge S98

Get the Keychron Q1 Max for the 4,000 mAh battery.

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Battery

Keychron Q1 Max

4.3 · 25 reviews

from$209at MK

Compare 5 stores

Royal Kludge S98

No reviews

from$89at Royal Kludge

Compare 2 stores

Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Keychron Q1 Max

Battery

Build quality in the top 5% of 75% boards under $200.

Rules this board out

South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.
No numpad.

$209 at MK

Get the

Royal Kludge S98

Build quality in the top 30% 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.

$89 at Royal Kludge

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 Q1 Max

Royal Kludge S98

Layout size
75%
96%
Battery
4,000 mAh
3,750 mAh
A larger battery means fewer cables during the day
Switch options
Clicky, Linear, Tactile
Linear, Tactile
Mount style
Gasket Mount, Plate Mount
Gasket Mount, Top Mount
Display
None
TFT
A case display rather than a typing feature

KeebFinder scores

How we score

Keychron Q1 Max
Royal Kludge S98

Performance: 82
66
Build quality: 89
72
Productivity: 97
82
Customizability: 98
72
Portability: 81
53

What they share

Connection: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Hot-swappable
Knob
Sound dampening

See every spec side by side

Full specs

Keychron Q1 Max vs Royal Kludge S98 specs

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

15 of 28 specs differ

Spec

Keychron Q1 Max

Royal Kludge S98

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky, Linear, Tactile

Linear, Tactile

Hot-swappable

Yes

Mount style

Gasket Mount, Plate Mount

Gasket Mount, Top Mount

Sound dampening

Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

Yes

Layout

Layout size

75%

96%

Layout standard

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

ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard

Knob

Yes

Display

None

TFT

Media keys

Yes

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

1,000 Hz

—

Battery

4,000 mAhBetter

3,750 mAh

USB passthrough

Yes

USB-C

Yes

Build & materials

Case material

Aluminum

—

Plate material

Polycarbonate

—

Keycaps

PBT

ABS, PBT

Weight

1,724 g

1,879 g

Dimensions

23 x 145 x 328 mm

41 x 140 x 41 mm

Typing angle

5°

—

Backlight

RGB, south-facing

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes

VIA

Yes

N-key rollover

Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes

Extras

Released

2023

For EU buyers

ISO layouts by store

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

Keychron Q1 Max

Input Gear
ISO-DE
Out of stockShips to you
Keychron
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-Nordic, ISO-CH
Out of stockShips to you
Keychron (DE)
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-CH
In stockDoes not ship to you

Royal Kludge S98

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.

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 Q1 Max5 stores