Head to head · Prices checked Oct 28, 2026

Keychron Q5 HE vs Royal Kludge S98

Get the Keychron Q5 HE for hall effect and rapid trigger.

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Hall effect

Keychron Q5 HE

5.0 · 2 reviews

from$212at MK

Compare 4 stores

Royal Kludge S98

No reviews

from$89at Royal Kludge

Compare 2 stores

Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Keychron Q5 HE

Hall effect

Build quality in the top 10% of 96% boards under $300.

Rules this board out

Magnetic switches only. Standard MX switches will not fit.
South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.

$212 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.

$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 Q5 HE

Royal Kludge S98

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
4,000 mAh
3,750 mAh
A larger battery means fewer cables during the day
Switch options
Clicky, Linear, Magnetic, Tactile
Linear, Tactile
Mount style
Gasket Mount, Plate Mount
Gasket Mount, Top Mount

KeebFinder scores

How we score

Keychron Q5 HE
Royal Kludge S98

Performance: 100
66
Build quality: 89
72
Productivity: 97
82
Customizability: 96
72
Portability: 55
53

What they share

Layout size: 96%
Connection: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
Hot-swappable
Knob
Sound dampening

See every spec side by side

Full specs

Keychron Q5 HE vs Royal Kludge S98 specs

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

16 of 29 specs differ

Spec

Keychron Q5 HE

Royal Kludge S98

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky, Linear, Magnetic, Tactile

Linear, Tactile

Hall effect (magnetic)

Yes

Rapid trigger

Yes

Hot-swappable

Yes

Mount style

Gasket Mount, Plate Mount

Gasket Mount, Top Mount

Sound dampening

Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

Yes

Layout

Layout size

96%

Layout standard

ANSI, ISO, ISO-CH, ISO-DE, ISO-UK

ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard

Knob

Yes

Display

None

TFT

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

8,000 Hz

—

Battery

4,000 mAhBetter

3,750 mAh

USB passthrough

Yes

USB-C

Yes

Build & materials

Case material

Aluminum

—

Plate material

Aluminum

—

Keycaps

PBT

ABS, PBT

Weight

2,301 g

1,879 g

Dimensions

32 x 408 x 145 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

2024

2023

For EU buyers

ISO layouts by store

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

Keychron Q5 HE

Keychron
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-CH
In 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.

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Lowest price across stores, Amazon excluded.

Keychron Q5 HE4 stores