Keychron Q4 vs V4Aluminum vs Plastic 60% Keyboard Comparison
Choose the Keychron Q4 for a premium aluminum build and gasket mount, or the V4 for a more affordable plastic build with similar core features.
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4.7 (10)4.7 · 10 reviews
from$59at Keychron
5.0 (14)5.0 · 14 reviews
from$39at Keychron
Which one should you get?
Get the
Keychron Q4
Aluminum
Build quality in the top 5% of 60% boards under $100.
- Full CNC machined aluminum case for a premium, solid feel.
- Double-gasket mount design with silicone pads for improved acoustics and flex.
- Wider selection of international ISO layout options.
- South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.
Get the
Keychron V4
Plastic 60% Keyboard Comparison
Build quality in the top 5% of 60% boards under $50.
- More affordable price point for a fully-featured custom keyboard.
- Lighter 730g weight makes it easier to carry.
- Available in a translucent frosted black case option.
- South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.
- Missing ISO-UK, ISO-Nordic, ISO-FR. The other board is sold in those layouts.
Your budget and desire for premium materials are the deciding factors. The Keychron Q4 is the investment for enthusiasts who value an aluminum chassis, gasket-mounted typing feel, and a wider array of layout choices. The Keychron V4 delivers nearly identical programmability and core features in a lighter, more affordable plastic package, making it an outstanding entry point into custom keyboards.
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 Q4
Keychron V4
Case material
Aluminum
ABS, Plastic
Mount style
Gasket Mount, Plate Mount
Plate Mount, Tray Mount
Weight
1,500 g
730 g
Heavier boards stay planted and lighter ones travel
Layout standard
ANSI, ISO, ISO-DE, ISO-ES, ISO-FR, ISO-Nordic, ISO-SW, ISO-UK, JIS
ANSI, ISO, ISO-DE, JIS
ISO and JIS exist so regional layouts fit
Dimensions
20 x 121 x 303 mm
20 x 117 x 304 mm
- Keychron Q4
- Keychron V4
- Performance
- 6668
- Build quality
- 9086
- Productivity
- 9595
- Customizability
- 9898
- Portability
- 7075
- Layout size: 60%
- Connection: Wired
- Hot-swappable
- Max polling rate: 1,000 Hz
- Switch options: Clicky, Linear, Tactile
- Knob
What will you mostly use it for?
The keyboards tie in most categories due to their shared DNA in programmability and core specs. The Keychron V4 takes a clear lead for travel due to its lighter weight. For modding, the Q4's aluminum construction and gasket mount give it an edge as a premium starting platform. For gaming, office work, programming, and content creation, the choice hinges on budget versus material preference, not feature deficiencies.
It's a tie
- Both have a 1000 Hz polling rate for low latency.
- Both support the same switch types and are hot-swappable.
- Both have south-facing RGB LEDs to avoid keycap interference.
What owners say
Ratings and quotes collected from verified store reviews, including the critical ones.
Keychron Q4
10 owner reviews
“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”
Keychron V4
14 owner reviews
“Definitely the best 80 dollar keyboard out right now. Very well lubed and stabbed are tooned well. Unfortunately can't get via to work (VIA isn't accepting the json file)”
Keychron Q4 vs V4 specs
Every tracked spec, side by side. Rows marked with a dot differ between the boards.
6 of 25 specs differ
Keychron Q4
Keychron V4
Switch options
Hot-swappable
Mount style
Sound dampening
Screw-in stabilizers
Layout size
Layout standard
Ergonomics
Knob
Display
Media keys
Connection
Max polling rate
USB-C
Case material
Plate material
Keycaps
Weight
Dimensions
Typing angle
Backlight
QMK
VIA
Mac & Windows
Released
ISO layouts by store
Which stores sell ISO-DE, UK, and the other regional layouts.
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
Keychron V4
Keychron
ISO-DE
In stockShips to you
Input Gear
ISO-DE
Out of stockShips to you
Keychron (DE)
ISO-DE
In stockDoes not ship to you
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 Q4 vs V4: your questions
The primary difference is the case material and mounting style. The Q4 has a full CNC aluminum case with a double-gasket mount. The V4 has an ABS plastic case with a tray mount design, making it lighter and more affordable.
Yes. Both keyboards feature hot-swappable PCBs that support both 3-pin and 5-pin MX-style mechanical switches. This allows you to change switches without any soldering.
Yes. Both keyboards include a physical toggle switch to change between macOS and Windows modes. They also come with extra keycaps for both operating systems.
Yes. Both keyboards are fully programmable using the open-source QMK firmware and can be configured via the VIA or Keychron Launcher web apps for remapping keys and creating macros.
The Keychron Q4 is designed for a potentially softer acoustic profile. Its vendor description highlights a double-gasket design with silicone pads specifically to reduce metal resonance and improve typing sound.
Both feature south-facing RGB LEDs. This orientation prevents interference with Cherry-profile keycaps and provides better backlighting from the typist's angle, though the keycaps included are not shine-through.
The Keychron V4 is more portable. It weighs 730 grams, which is less than half the weight of the 1500-gram Q4, despite both sharing a similar 60% footprint.
Both the Q4 and V4 come with double-shot PBT keycaps in the OSA profile, which has an OEM-like height with an SA-like spherical shape. These are not shine-through keycaps.
Yes. Both models are available as barebone kits, which include the case, PCB, plate, and stabilizers, but no switches or keycaps, allowing for complete customization.
The fully assembled Q4 typically comes with Gateron G Pro switches (Red, Blue, or Brown). The fully assembled V4 comes with Keychron K Pro switches (Red, Blue, or Brown). Both are described as pre-lubricated.
The metadata lists both as having 'Knob Support,' but the vendor descriptions and specs do not show a knob as a standard feature on these 60% models. This may refer to compatibility or a specific variant.
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