Head to head · Prices checked Nov 11, 2026

Keychron V5 Max vs Royal Kludge L98

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

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Keychron V5 Max

4.8 (5)4.8 · 5 reviews

from$99at MK

Compare 4 stores

Battery

Royal Kludge L98

No reviews

from$89at Royal Kludge

Compare 2 stores

Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Keychron V5 Max

Build quality in the top 10% 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.

$99 at MK

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.

$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 V5 Max

Royal Kludge L98

Battery
4,000 mAh
8,000 mAh
A larger battery means fewer cables during the day
Ergonomics
Standard
Southpaw
Switch options
Clicky, Linear, Tactile
Linear, Silent, Tactile
Mount style
Gasket Mount, Plate Mount
Gasket Mount
Display
None
LCD
A case display rather than a typing feature

KeebFinder scores

How we score

Keychron V5 Max
Royal Kludge L98

Performance: 83
78
Build quality: 86
76
Productivity: 97
80
Customizability: 98
72
Portability: 53
59

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 V5 Max vs Royal Kludge L98 specs

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

16 of 28 specs differ

Spec

Keychron V5 Max

Royal Kludge L98

Typing & switches

Switch options

Clicky, Linear, Tactile

Linear, Silent, Tactile

Hot-swappable

Yes

Mount style

Gasket Mount, Plate Mount

Gasket Mount

Sound dampening

Yes

Screw-in stabilizers

Yes

Layout

Layout size

96%

Layout standard

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

ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard

Southpaw

Knob

Yes

Display

None

LCD

Media keys

Yes

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired

Max polling rate

1,000 Hz

—

Battery

4,000 mAh

8,000 mAhBetter

USB passthrough

Yes

USB-C

Yes

Build & materials

Case material

ABS, Plastic

—

Plate material

Polycarbonate

—

Keycaps

ABS, PBT

PBT

Weight

925 g

990 g

Dimensions

22 x 149 x 392 mm

45 x 400 x 140 mm

Typing angle

4°

5°

Backlight

RGB, south-facing

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes

VIA

Yes

N-key rollover

Yes

Mac & Windows

Yes

Extras

Released

2023

2025

For EU buyers

ISO layouts by store

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

Keychron V5 Max

Keychron
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-Nordic, ISO-SW
Out of stockShips to you
Keychron (DE)
ISO-DE, ISO-UK, ISO-FR, ISO-ES, ISO-SW
Out of 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.

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 V5 Max4 stores