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Head to head · Prices checked Oct 30, 2026

Royal Kludge R87 PRO vs Varmilo Sword V2 87 Sakura R2

Get the Royal Kludge R87 PRO for hot-swappable and knob.

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Quick verdict

Which one should you get?

Get the

Royal Kludge R87 PRO

Hot-swappable

Build quality in the top 20% of 80% boards under $100.

Rules this board out

  • South-facing LEDs. Shine-through legends stay dark, and some sculpted keycaps can clip the LED.

Get the

Varmilo Sword V2 87 Sakura R2

Build quality in the bottom 35% of 80% boards at any price.

Rules this board out

  • Switches are soldered. Swapping them means soldering.

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.

Royal Kludge R87 PRO

Varmilo Sword V2 87 Sakura R2

  • Hot-swappable

    Yes

    No

    Switch changes without soldering

  • Case material

    Plastic

    Aluminum

  • Switch options

    Linear

    Clicky

  • Mount style

    Gasket Mount

    Plate Mount

  • Knob

    Yes

    No

KeebFinder scores

How we score
  • Royal Kludge R87 PRO
  • Varmilo Sword V2 87 Sakura R2
Performance
83
51
Build quality
78
52
Productivity
93
48
Customizability
91
53
Portability
85
52

What they share

  • Layout size: 80%
  • Keycaps: PBT
See every spec side by side

Full specs

Royal Kludge R87 PRO vs Varmilo Sword V2 87 Sakura R2 specs

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

12 of 24 specs differ

Royal Kludge R87 PRO

Varmilo Sword V2 87 Sakura R2

Typing & switches

Switch options

Linear
Clicky

Hot-swappable

Yes
No

Mount style

Gasket Mount
Plate Mount

Sound dampening

Yes
No

Layout

Layout size

80%
80%

Layout standard

ANSI
ANSI

Ergonomics

Standard
Standard

Knob

Yes
No

Display

None
None

Media keys

Yes
Yes

Connectivity & battery

Connection

Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, Wired
—

Battery

6,000 mAh
—

USB-C

Yes
No

Build & materials

Case material

Plastic
Aluminum

Plate material

—
Aluminum

Keycaps

PBT
PBT

Weight

760 g
—

Dimensions

43 x 131 x 43 mm
—

Backlight

RGB, south-facing
White

Firmware & software

QMK

Yes
No

VIA

Yes
No

N-key rollover

Yes
No

Mac & Windows

Yes
Yes

Extras

Released

2024
2023

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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