The world of gaming keyboards moves faster than you probably think. Years ago, you would spend a couple of hundred dollars just to get a mechanical keyboard with RGB lighting. Despite major advancements in the quality of mechanical keyboards and the enthusiasts that surround them, you'll still pay high prices among mainstream brands for the same gaming keyboards we had a few years back. You don't need to settle.

There's a massive and expanding market of mechanical keyboards that are excellent for gaming, which undercut mainstream brands on pricing, and they deliver more features and a better typing experience. You can spend up if you just want a shiny keyboard that sits on your desk, but if you dig in a little deeper, you'll come out with something that sounds and feels excellent, all while spending less money.

What gaming keyboards get wrong

Don't trust what's on the tin

I want to separate gaming keyboards into two buckets. There are gaming keyboards, and then there are keyboards with gamer esthetics. It's a small but important distinction, and some keyboards can shift between the two buckets depending on what kinds of games you play. A gaming keyboard is something like the Wooting 80HE, which is generally a keyboard with magnetic switches that's specifically designed to give you a competitive edge in multiplayer games. A keyboard with gamer esthetics is something like the Corsair K70 Core TKL. It's a mechanical keyboard that doesn't provide any clear advantage for playing games, but it looks like it would fit in a PC gaming setup.

Separate the two buckets of keyboards, and it becomes a lot easier to judge a keyboard on its merits rather than its gaming association. And that's where problems with keyboards like the Corsair K70 Core TKL and Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro become more obvious. These keyboards are usually defined by features and software. The BlackWidow V4 Pro comes with a ton of media and macro controls, while the Corsair K70 Core TKL comes with the expansive iCue software. Much less important are the materials, layout, and construction, which usually leads to a high price and sub-par typing experience.

There are some exceptions, like the Asus ROG Azoth, that deliver an enthusiast-level typing and gaming experience, but they're expensive at north of $200. Most gaming keyboards are constructed with plastic, include little or no dampening foam internally, use a top-mounted switch, and come with stock Cherry-branded switches that haven't been lubricated, even at the factory. These traits aren't universal, but understanding them paints keyboards like the Cherry Xtrfy MX 3.1 in a different light. It includes an aluminum build, but you can't upgrade it, it sounds terrible, and it costs $120 despite using a wired connection.

At risk of making too many generalizations, I don't want you to walk away with the impression that all gaming keyboards are bad, or that you should avoid them. Some keyboards, such as the aforementioned Corsair K70 Core TKL get things right -- in that particular case, the keyboard includes dampening foam. And it's worth reiterating that there are legitimate reasons for buying a gaming keyboard rather than one with gamer esthetics, prioritizing things like a high polling rate and magnetic switches if you primarily play competitive shooters.

When buying a gaming keyboard, though, you're usually sacrificing something without any good reason, and paying a higher price in the process.

Priced for an add-on at Best Buy

The "Best Buy tax" isn't exclusive to Best Buy

I have a term I like to use called the Best Buy tax. No, I'm not picking on Best Buy here, and it's not charging more for gaming keyboards simply because it can. There are certain brands that are large enough to get shelf space within your local Best Buy or other electronics retailer, though, and those brands usually charge a premium considering you can walk in and pick up the keyboard yourself.

A great example of this is the Glorious GMMK 3 Pro. It's a great keyboard, fit with enthusiast-grade features like gasket-mounted switches, an aluminum frame, and a hot-swappable PCB that supports both mechanical and magnetic switches. You'll also spend around $300 on even a basic configuration, while there are plenty of other niche brands that offer these same features and build quality for $100 or even less. That's the Best Buy tax. If I don't know anything about which brands are reliable and which aren't, I can walk into my local Best Buy and pick up a high-quality keyboard, even if that means overspending by potentially hundreds of dollars.

The idea behind the Best Buy tax isn't exclusive to Best Buy or any other physical retailer. It's that mechanical keyboards with gaming-focused esthetics, especially from mainstream brands, usually prioritize bullet-pointed features over build quality and typing experience, all while charging a price that may seem reasonable in a vacuum, but sounds way too expensive once you know about the other options on the market. Let me provide some examples.

The aformentioned Corsair K70 Core TKL costs $100 for the wired version and $150 for the wireless version. It includes some board foam, but it's constructed entirely out of plastic short of a thin aluminum top, it has soldered switches so you can't change them, and it uses a top mount. The Aula F87 is also a TKL keyboard, and it's also constructed out of plastic. But it's wireless, it uses a gasket mount that produces a superior typing experience, it has five layers of dampening as opposed to two, it comes with pre-lubed switches, and the switches are hot-swappable. It's a better keyboard, which is shocking considering it costs only $70 -- less than half the price of the Corsair K70 Core TKL Wireless.

Another example: The HyperX Alloy Origins 60 is a 60% keyboard that's wired, made of plastic, uses a top mount, and lacks hot-swappable switches. It's around $80 at the time of writing. The RK Royal Kludge RK61 -- one of our favorite budget mechanical keyboards -- is also plastic, but it's wireless and comes with hot-swappable switches. It's just $50.

You can find your Corsairs and Razers and Logitechs of the world in your local Best Buy, but more often than not, you'll be spending more money for a worse keyboard compared to what you can find online from more niche brands.

How to get a keyboard you love for gaming

Prioritize function over form

If this is a whole new world to you, there are a few guiding principles to keep in mind when shopping for a keyboard.

First, a hot-swappable PCB is a must. These are ubiquitous among niche keyboard brands, and you're even starting to see hot-swappable PCBs show up in a lot of mainstream keyboards. Unless you're soldering switches yourself, a hot-swappable PCB gives you the flexibility to cheaply and effectively transform the sound and feel of your keyboard with a new set of switches. Switches are a whole topic on their own, so make sure to shop around. For me, I like Gateron Oil Kings and WS Morandi switches. They're both heavy linear switches, and they feel excellent for typing and gaming.

Next, the mount. I've continually referenced a gasket mount throughout this article, and that's what I'd recommend for most people. The PCB is sandwiched between gaskets, dampening the feel and sound of the keyboard. There are some switches with some plate materials that sound better with a top mount, but that's not what we're dealing with when talking about mainstream gaming keyboards. Start with a gasket mount unless you have a particular reason to go with some other mounting solution.

Finally, board foam. You should look for a keyboard with three to five layers of sound dampening ideally. There's a lot of wiggle room here, though. The plate materials and casing both influence the sound of the keyboard, as do the materials used for the sound dampening and where it's placed inside the keyboard. Regardless, it's good to prioritize at least some sound dampening inside the keyboard, which is something that's surprisingly absent from most mainstream gaming keyboards.

Those are the hallmarks of a good keyboard that you can use for gaming. Once again, though, keyboards specifically built for competitive games like those offered by Wooting fit in a different category, as they offer high polling rates and unique features like magnetic switches while compromising in other areas.

It's a whole world to explore

I'm not here to say your gaming keyboard is bad or that you wasted money buying it. Ultimately, keyboards are all about preference, so if you like a mainstream gaming keyboard, and it works for you, more power to you. My goal is to expose those who may not know how deep the mechanical keyboard well goes to options that offer better features and a superior typing experience for less money. Although I recommend digging into that world, it's not right for everyone.

You can't put your hands on an Amazon listing like you can a keyboard at Best Buy or Micro Center, and you'll almost always need to settle for a sub-par software experience compared to what brands like Corsair and Razer offer. If you just want something that works, a mainstream gaming keyboard is great. If you want something that really feels like your own, dig into the wide world of mechanical keyboard offerings that aren't specifically tailored for gamers.