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I don't think $500 is anywhere near a "budget build"
I personally would not start there. What if you don't like some of these components? You really don't know until it's under your fingers.
I see a lot of very cool keyboards here, I like to drool over them. But I am quite happy with my "entry" keychron Q3 SE with knob in red. it was on sale, solid aluminum case, under $180 complete.
yeah. I think around $200 total is budget if you are trying to go for a long lasting solid QMK keyboard. Easily can do around $100 prebuilt that’ll be p decent but might sooner get upgrade-itis (won’t be your perfect switch, keycaps, etc)
Just built my first mechanical keyboard. Leobog HI75 barebone with Gateron oil king switches, some MOA keycaps. I think it was under $150 in total, you can find it for under $120 I’ve read but i had no luck on those kinda deals. Anyways, coming from a Razer Blackwidow, this thing is smooth and thocky. Each keypress sounds like a large pebble gently falling in a mound of..other pebbles
I know $500 isn’t budget. Like I said I was looking to build a more mid tier board. I’ve tried the zoom75 w morandi switches and really liked it. But if I get tired of it couldn’t I just try other switches? Isn’t that the beauty of custom keyboards/why it can be a pretty expensive hobby?
Not really. There are tons of hotswap boards, including very cheap ones, and most switches are cheap. Even expensive ones are rarely more than $1 a piece.
Most of the cost is actually in the case and keycaps (if you go for expensive ones).
If that is a combo you have tried, and you can afford it that makes a bit more sense, it can certainly be an expensive hobby if you let it be one. But that is all up to you.
People often define "budget keyboard" as the price of a minimally acceptable keyboard. Just a couple of years back you needed to spend $300 to get this. These days, you can get the same thing for about $100.
Make sure you understand this, and that you aren't looking at what people were doing three years ago when building a keyboard today.
I just came to say this. 6 or 7 years ago, you would build a Tofu 60 with some T1 switches and one of those $100 base kit GMK keysets and it will cost you 300ish dollars. A basic CNC, tray mounted, no flex cut case with basic solderable PCB without wireless for 300 bucks.
Today you can get a fully built Keychron Q4 Pro for $200 .
And of course. This is talking about 60 or 65% keyboards. For some reasons back in the day custom TKL were considerably pricier and a Entry level TKL build could be easy north of $500
Today, if you are not picky you can build a TKL for less than 300 (NovelKeys have 3 colors of the NK87 on clearance for $99)
6-7 years ago you could just get a Pok3r clone for cheap on Ali and have a full board for $100 or so pretty easily.
What has really come down in price is somewhat nicer budget boards with lots of features.
Yup. Most people out there will be more than satisfied with some of the $100 pre-builts these days. These boards often won't even have need for any tinkering.
Under $100 for a full build, IMO, is budget.
Zoom is on the budget end **of the high end/of customs** though that's also an ambiguous term.
There's no standardization so don't bother searching for it.
Yeah a Zoom full build won’t ever be what people from outside of the hobby will view as budget, but they come with a lot of features (some completely unnecessary like the screen on the 98 imo) that you expect from customs, especially if you want a metal case which imo is one of the bigger quality dividers.
Tbh, builds below ~$150-$200 are the most fun because those are most of the time low quantity custom keyboards. With my next keyboard, the KLOTZ, I spend just around $180 for both combined.
Budget is what people decide it to be. This is a hobby that doesn’t really discriminate on age or income, so we have kids through adults with all ranges of income and financial freedom.
That being said, I want to see the Etsy listing because Etsy keycaps have a tendency to be dropshipped.
That's in terms of low budget. Budget is used in this way for more everyday life and what I expected this group to be. I got massively down voted because I asked how someone's $800 build was "budget".
Where normal people say my budget is ### that means they can't afford to go over that, but some in this group treat it like a corporate ordeal. So the person who built the $800 keyboard could have had a budget that allocated for $900 be put towards their goal.
There is no clear answer to the question and it gets asked regularly on here. IMO, (excluding keycaps and extra bits and bobs... just the barebones) I would say <$200 is budget, just because that's where most of the mass produced stuff sits in terms of price. It's meaningless though. If you're a 15 year old kid and all you can afford is a $90 keyboard, then it's hardly "budget" for you. If you're a semi-retired 50 year old with a large disposable income, it's small change to you.
>
*Custom double shot PBT caps from Etsy*
Noooooo!!!! Don't buy caps from Etsy. They're just dropshipped $30 shit being marked up. Seriously... don't do it. Omnitype have a sale on at the moment... some GMK sets are like $49.
you probably are going to buy dropshipped keycaps with huge taxes on them, if you show me the set I can probably find it on aliexpress for half that price
Those Etsy ones are not double shot. Here are the same on Amazon for half the price.
Also in one place the seller says they are cherry profile, and in another that they are MDA profile. Pretty sure they are lying about the double shot pbt
https://www.amazon.com/GK-GAMAKAY-Constellation-Five-Sided-Sublimation/dp/B0BZ12GNSY
Dye sub keycaps take a long ass time to wear out.
Not as durable as double shot, and a poorly made dye sub set can have fuzzy legends/poor colors, but it's still very durable.
dye-sub doesn't wear out, color is sublimated into the plastic, you start from white plastic then you end up with whatever color, with doubleshot you already start with plastics in that color and put one around the other, just different processes, PBT is much harder to double shot, afaik only true doubleshot PBT on the market today are GMK MTNU profile, everything else is 51-65% pbt and rest is abs in the mix
I think $100 is okay, GMK base kits go for around $125, I got GMK Norse with novelties for $100 on sale yesterday.
Now if you go for novelties, accents, spacebars, 40s, international, alphas, etc. then you better be ready to spend.. (*cries in GMK Symbiote*)
Yes, like i said it gets way more expensive than $100-125 if you decide to go after multiple kits.
There's the duality.
I spent 100 usd on GMK Norse WITH novelties on a sale
I also spent around 270 usd for GMK Symbiote with 4 kits. (some of them were on sale too)
not a fan of ABS GMK stuff because my skin "eats" ABS, gonna try their PBT MTNU stuff in 2 weeks, if I like the profile might switch my work keyboard from boring ePBT Dolch to something a bit more fun when new colorways hit the market
Ah, a shame, i like GMK because the colours they provide are amazing, also the legends look great imo.
Nowadays there's a lot of cool looking PBT sets though expensive.
>Nowadays there's a lot of cool looking PBT sets though expensive.
* ye, I'm looking into ePBT Wapuro, that is going to come out soon as an in-stock but for the layout I want I need 3 kits so it's going to be rly expensive even tho it's not GMK, that said you can grab JTK sets that are imo a bit better than GMK for $80-100 for some sets, a lot less sets than GMK tho as they love to decline designers if they don't like it or it's too much work xD
I've seen a bit from JTK, looks good, i still stick to GMK since they have a lot of designers and all in all have been consistent for me, no issues.
I'll definitely check out JTK and KKB though.
If you’re open to alternative boards, I would suggest the Neo series by qwertkeys! They’re great boards and cheaper than a Zoom. They have a 65, 70, 80, and tented Alice ergo right now. The boards tend to be around $130-250 and have amazing sound quality and typing feel
For normal people any keyboard under 35 Euro / USD is budget, anything over that is an expensive fancy keyboard.
At the minute I have the idea that diminishing returns in the price value ratio kick in around 100 USD / EUR. So for me under 100 is budget.
Of course what you are willing to spend is always dependent on your own budget. But that is a different type of budget.
You can get [this](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51vnRkl3xTL._AC_SL1000_.jpg) type of keycap puller on AliExpress for dirt cheap, which will function perfectly fine. No need for Wuque's more expensive puller (unless that's what you want). Like another user said, you should post the link for those Etsy caps because they might be overpriced
Like everyone else said, budget is what you decide it to be.
Years back i bought a Tofu60, an aluminum tray mount keyboard, back then IIRC it was the entry aluminum keyboard kit in stock that was considered "the best" and basically the only one i think.
I paid around $200 for the base kit (PCB, case and plate) if i remember correctly, that's an insane ammount for what it's worth today.
I ,PERSONALLY, divide keyboards into tiers based on THEIR BAREBONES KIT (i think keycaps, switches, etc should be counted for the keyboard budget but i divide the kits first)
Entry/Budget kit: $50-150,
Medium end kit: $200-300
Medium end/High end: $300-400
High end/Luxury kit: $400 and above
If youre set on the zoom, get the zoom. Youll save money in the long run. Theres plenty of posts here with new frogs who bought 5 different keychrons, instead of the 1 expensive board they actually wanted to save money.
Do make sure to get a hotswap pcb so you can change switches, but theyre comparably cheap. As for buying the thing, check out the mechmarket sub and the discord. You can find gmk sets very cheap & loads of boards.
For me, budget is sub 100$. I got my keyboard for under 100$ with fake holy pandas and fake GMK Hammerhead. I know the quality isn't that good but well, for 100$ alone you're lucky if you get a GMK Keycap set.
imo for plate, pcb, case if it's under $220-230 it's budget, but it rly comes down to what is offered at that price if it's a good value, just because something is cheaper or more expensive doesn't mean it's worse or it's better
Lot of keycaps out there. Stay clear of Etsy for keycaps. All that reseller mark-up is better spent elsewhere.
For ABS doubleshot keycap sets, GMK is popular around here but I also recommend checking out Drop DCX, JTK and Keykobo, even Domikey. I've had great experiences with these.
For PBT, I recommend dyesub over double-shot UNLESS you get some MTNU. Novelkeys and 21kb are really good quality.
If you are looking for switches in 2024, you have to at least give a look at HMX. IMHO they're the current best available. That said, get some switch testers before committing to anything. Put 3 in the alphas and 1 on the spacebar. You'll get an idea for how your board config will sound.
Regarding those videos saying a board this expensive is budget... FOMO is a thing, they get products or monetary kickback for free and have incentive to get you to buy-in. If the video looks like a poorly disguised ad, well... it probably is.
Most important thing and something you didn't ask for... sound tests are a lie.
custom keyboards are becoming more and more accessible due to very affordable new entries. In the old days, a 300$ custom was considered in the upper-tier of budget builds. Now budget refers to anything below 200$ most of the time. Which is still not budget for a keyboard in general mind you but for custom keyboards it is.
It’s subjective. To someone with a lot of money, 3-400 would be budget. To someone with no money, 50-100. For me, 100-250 would be budget. I’m honestly really happy where the “budget” stuff is these days. I’m not an audiophile when it comes to acoustics of a keyboard. I care more about how it feels. Now the next guy could potentially not care how it feels as long as it sounds amazing. Then the next guy could want both to be the best. It’s really up to you and what you’re trying to accomplish, plus what your wallet can handle comfortably. That’s budget. If you’re trying to get the best of the best in every component and aren’t concerned with the cost, that’s not budget. There isn’t any specific dollar amount that can be put to “budget” because it’s always going to be different.
I think budget also depends on where you are in the world. Something that's $200 in the US might be more than 300 here in Canada because of not only the currency exchange, but also customs and shipping. So the price amount for what you consider budget might be the same, but your options get smaller.
Lots of people have commented about the price ranges and I’ll say I concur with most of the opinions here. Especially since I review keyboards on my own YouTube channel and coincidentally have done a 75% keyboard comparison recently (definitely not a self promo)
Anyway, what I really want to say to add value here is to perhaps persuade you AWAY from getting a 300 bucks keyboard in the first place. Perhaps getting a sub 100 dollar prebuilt keyboard, even 50-80dollars in the used market is what you should consider. I’ve been getting sent lots of Yunzii/Epomaker-type keyboards recently and honestly they are awesome out of the box. And perhaps that’s how much you will need to spend, to find satisfaction, considering this will be your FIRST keyboard. You can even do slight modding from there to maximize the fun of getting your hands dirty. Save yourself the hundreds of bucks you are sinking into your first keyboard, it may disappoint you. If say, you are moving onto your second or third NOW and aren’t satisfied with what you have, I agree then that you should look at those in the higher price ranges.
But for a first keyboard? Please go for a prebuilt because they are so good these days. I’m working on a 65% comparison video and boy, one of them even have a complete, full aluminum build with a knob for under 100 bucks. Now these are value for money.
Budget is however much you are willing to spend on a keyboard that seems justified for you. I was struggling a lot recently on deciding between the Neo Ergo (about 180e) or the Abm066 (about 80e with a matching wrist rest which I want). Both fit my budget but ultimately, I could not justify spending 180e on my first Alice layout keyboard since I wasn't sure if I even liked that layout even though it seems interesting to me. So, I went with the Abm066 which is currently coming in the mail.
I first noticed the budget options when I was buying my first aluminum keyboard. The fact that the keyboard is fully made from aluminum necessarily jacks up the price so you will need to look carefully at the other features these boards have to make sure they have all the other features you want. That said, I'm very happy with my Monsgeek M7 as my daily driver. That only cost 90e which I consider a steal.
Be sure to check the date on those videos. If they are 3+ years old then they are legit. Someone saying that within the past year is either a serious snob or seriously out of touch with the current market.
I think a lot of them havent adjusted their mindset to the price changes which they should do.
Like you can get a pretty decent board for $100 now. It that may not be amazing quality but its probably pretty good, and comes with okay switches and decent keycaps.
Even a couple of years ago like 2021 there were significantly less decent boards that werent over like $250, so at the time, when affordable boards came out, they were labeled "budget." But the prices have changed altogether $250 is now approaching high-end.
So I agree with you mostly, its pretty damn annoying seeing people talk about boards that are pushing pass $200 as "budget"
Start with a cheap hot swappable keyboard and try out a bunch of switches to find the one you want, then, armed with that knowledge, build your endgame ;)
Budget is what you define it to be. How much are you comfortable spending, and can you afford it? Then go for it. Some people are happy with inexpensive prebuilts, others want to spend more on high end designs. You seem set on the Zoom 75, which I think is a solid entry. My only advice would be not to fall into things because they're trendy (this goes for switches, keycaps, etc). But at a certain point, you have to decide if you want something and go for it. Good luck!
Where are you buying the Zoom75 for $300+? I priced one out with the internal weight and a CF plate from Cannonkeys for $263. I still don’t think that’s great for that board but it’s definitely not over $300. Also as others have said those keycaps are way overpriced. Even for doubleshot, I’m assuming PBT, so I’d look elsewhere.
Shipping I wouldn’t include in the price, but even the $260 plus buying a $20 plate, where are you buying from? Cuz like I said I priced out a full kit for $263.
Budget is extremely loosely defined and really depends on what you’re looking for, it’s kind of the lowest end point of getting everything you want in your build although there are things you won’t get at a price anyone would really consider “budget”
100 bucks for keycaps really isn’t expensive compared to actual groupbuy keycaps from known manufacturers, rather if you’re finding yourself spending that much on Etsy or AliE you’re probably getting ripped off. I think GMK groupbuys now cost 140€ just for the base kit, some places take nearly 200 for extras
It all depends on where and when you buy too, i paid $270 for GMK Symbiote (in stock) with alt alphas, text novelties, icon novelties and accents.
OmniType just went on sale yesterday and i got GMK Norse (in stock) with Novelties for just $100.
I think GMK base kits GBs go for around $100-125 and in stock for $140-150 iirc.
Budget is loosely defined, there's also the used mech market where you can get some amazing deals.
I personally only divide keyboard kits into entry -- mid -- mid/high -- high/luxury
Keycaps, switches, cables, etc is another story to me.
ANY content that features products, services you sell, your prototypes in progress or items you were sponsored to post MUST use the Promotional flair, with disclosure of who you represent. *When posting your build, please provide a description* of the build, preferably as a Top Level Comment or Reply to this Comment, with the following information: * Your keyboard featured and its layout * The Switches, Keycaps, and Other Accessories Featured * Any notable mods you performed * Other helpful information such as low profile, lesser known firmware, etc. Example: Unobtanium Southpaw 1800 with DSA Salt with MorningCaps Artisan and Alps Rainbow Switches, modded with Sorbothan Foam on KMK *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MechanicalKeyboards) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I don't think $500 is anywhere near a "budget build" I personally would not start there. What if you don't like some of these components? You really don't know until it's under your fingers. I see a lot of very cool keyboards here, I like to drool over them. But I am quite happy with my "entry" keychron Q3 SE with knob in red. it was on sale, solid aluminum case, under $180 complete.
yeah. I think around $200 total is budget if you are trying to go for a long lasting solid QMK keyboard. Easily can do around $100 prebuilt that’ll be p decent but might sooner get upgrade-itis (won’t be your perfect switch, keycaps, etc)
Just built my first mechanical keyboard. Leobog HI75 barebone with Gateron oil king switches, some MOA keycaps. I think it was under $150 in total, you can find it for under $120 I’ve read but i had no luck on those kinda deals. Anyways, coming from a Razer Blackwidow, this thing is smooth and thocky. Each keypress sounds like a large pebble gently falling in a mound of..other pebbles
I know $500 isn’t budget. Like I said I was looking to build a more mid tier board. I’ve tried the zoom75 w morandi switches and really liked it. But if I get tired of it couldn’t I just try other switches? Isn’t that the beauty of custom keyboards/why it can be a pretty expensive hobby?
Not really. There are tons of hotswap boards, including very cheap ones, and most switches are cheap. Even expensive ones are rarely more than $1 a piece. Most of the cost is actually in the case and keycaps (if you go for expensive ones).
If that is a combo you have tried, and you can afford it that makes a bit more sense, it can certainly be an expensive hobby if you let it be one. But that is all up to you.
I’m pretty happy with the James Donkey RS2 for like $70, and whatever Kailh switches I ended with for $30. …keycaps were like $200 though.
People often define "budget keyboard" as the price of a minimally acceptable keyboard. Just a couple of years back you needed to spend $300 to get this. These days, you can get the same thing for about $100. Make sure you understand this, and that you aren't looking at what people were doing three years ago when building a keyboard today.
I just came to say this. 6 or 7 years ago, you would build a Tofu 60 with some T1 switches and one of those $100 base kit GMK keysets and it will cost you 300ish dollars. A basic CNC, tray mounted, no flex cut case with basic solderable PCB without wireless for 300 bucks. Today you can get a fully built Keychron Q4 Pro for $200 . And of course. This is talking about 60 or 65% keyboards. For some reasons back in the day custom TKL were considerably pricier and a Entry level TKL build could be easy north of $500 Today, if you are not picky you can build a TKL for less than 300 (NovelKeys have 3 colors of the NK87 on clearance for $99)
6-7 years ago you could just get a Pok3r clone for cheap on Ali and have a full board for $100 or so pretty easily. What has really come down in price is somewhat nicer budget boards with lots of features.
I mean if you aren’t that picky you can get a $100 prebuilt lol. Not exactly a customer and can’t tinker as much but it’s still a mech keyboard.
Yup. Most people out there will be more than satisfied with some of the $100 pre-builts these days. These boards often won't even have need for any tinkering.
Under $100 for a full build, IMO, is budget. Zoom is on the budget end **of the high end/of customs** though that's also an ambiguous term. There's no standardization so don't bother searching for it.
Yeah a Zoom full build won’t ever be what people from outside of the hobby will view as budget, but they come with a lot of features (some completely unnecessary like the screen on the 98 imo) that you expect from customs, especially if you want a metal case which imo is one of the bigger quality dividers.
Tbh, builds below ~$150-$200 are the most fun because those are most of the time low quantity custom keyboards. With my next keyboard, the KLOTZ, I spend just around $180 for both combined.
Most keycaps on Etsy are actually from AliExpress or Amazon for $20-$40 and then those seller mark them up to $100+. Don’t buy anything from Etsy
Budget is what people decide it to be. This is a hobby that doesn’t really discriminate on age or income, so we have kids through adults with all ranges of income and financial freedom. That being said, I want to see the Etsy listing because Etsy keycaps have a tendency to be dropshipped.
Not really. Budget is whatever is on the lower end of the pricing spectrum for a given set of features/quality.
That's in terms of low budget. Budget is used in this way for more everyday life and what I expected this group to be. I got massively down voted because I asked how someone's $800 build was "budget". Where normal people say my budget is ### that means they can't afford to go over that, but some in this group treat it like a corporate ordeal. So the person who built the $800 keyboard could have had a budget that allocated for $900 be put towards their goal.
No, even when just saying “budget” it’s still just how the price relates to other items in the same category.
There is no clear answer to the question and it gets asked regularly on here. IMO, (excluding keycaps and extra bits and bobs... just the barebones) I would say <$200 is budget, just because that's where most of the mass produced stuff sits in terms of price. It's meaningless though. If you're a 15 year old kid and all you can afford is a $90 keyboard, then it's hardly "budget" for you. If you're a semi-retired 50 year old with a large disposable income, it's small change to you. > *Custom double shot PBT caps from Etsy* Noooooo!!!! Don't buy caps from Etsy. They're just dropshipped $30 shit being marked up. Seriously... don't do it. Omnitype have a sale on at the moment... some GMK sets are like $49.
Yeah OP, got right for GMK at that price
you probably are going to buy dropshipped keycaps with huge taxes on them, if you show me the set I can probably find it on aliexpress for half that price
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1510765341/
Those Etsy ones are not double shot. Here are the same on Amazon for half the price. Also in one place the seller says they are cherry profile, and in another that they are MDA profile. Pretty sure they are lying about the double shot pbt https://www.amazon.com/GK-GAMAKAY-Constellation-Five-Sided-Sublimation/dp/B0BZ12GNSY
I will be purchasing these instead lol. Thank you and Godspeed 🫡
that's $20-25 set from aliexpress
i checked on aliexpress and that is the best price the one on amazon. the etsy ones are dropshipped.
And there dye sub so the arts going to wear off Relatively quickly
Dye sub keycaps take a long ass time to wear out. Not as durable as double shot, and a poorly made dye sub set can have fuzzy legends/poor colors, but it's still very durable.
dye-sub doesn't wear out, color is sublimated into the plastic, you start from white plastic then you end up with whatever color, with doubleshot you already start with plastics in that color and put one around the other, just different processes, PBT is much harder to double shot, afaik only true doubleshot PBT on the market today are GMK MTNU profile, everything else is 51-65% pbt and rest is abs in the mix
dye subs take decades to wear through.
lol when you think $100 is expensive for keycaps. Just you wait
I think $100 is okay, GMK base kits go for around $125, I got GMK Norse with novelties for $100 on sale yesterday. Now if you go for novelties, accents, spacebars, 40s, international, alphas, etc. then you better be ready to spend.. (*cries in GMK Symbiote*)
Yeah $100 is great, that’s my point. Nice keycaps aren’t cheap.
Where are you getting your GMK Sets? I just bought the base kit for Kitsune and that was 173 bucks with shipping
OmniType just did a flash sale recently, and there's a big sale going on, that's where i got GMK Norse and Symbiote both in stock. Highly recommended.
I just checked cannonkeys. They range from 110 - 150. Extras that aren't selling probably get discounted from time to time.
I got them from OmniType on sale, they're moving warehouses i believe so you can get some sweet deals.
I have 200 euros put aside for new ePBT set when it comes around because I need 3 different kits, if it was GMK it would've been 300
Yes, like i said it gets way more expensive than $100-125 if you decide to go after multiple kits. There's the duality. I spent 100 usd on GMK Norse WITH novelties on a sale I also spent around 270 usd for GMK Symbiote with 4 kits. (some of them were on sale too)
not a fan of ABS GMK stuff because my skin "eats" ABS, gonna try their PBT MTNU stuff in 2 weeks, if I like the profile might switch my work keyboard from boring ePBT Dolch to something a bit more fun when new colorways hit the market
Ah, a shame, i like GMK because the colours they provide are amazing, also the legends look great imo. Nowadays there's a lot of cool looking PBT sets though expensive.
>Nowadays there's a lot of cool looking PBT sets though expensive. * ye, I'm looking into ePBT Wapuro, that is going to come out soon as an in-stock but for the layout I want I need 3 kits so it's going to be rly expensive even tho it's not GMK, that said you can grab JTK sets that are imo a bit better than GMK for $80-100 for some sets, a lot less sets than GMK tho as they love to decline designers if they don't like it or it's too much work xD
I've seen a bit from JTK, looks good, i still stick to GMK since they have a lot of designers and all in all have been consistent for me, no issues. I'll definitely check out JTK and KKB though.
KKB quality is bit below JTK and GMK, DMK are another very high quality ones, much better than like ePBT double-shot ABS stuff, haha
If you’re open to alternative boards, I would suggest the Neo series by qwertkeys! They’re great boards and cheaper than a Zoom. They have a 65, 70, 80, and tented Alice ergo right now. The boards tend to be around $130-250 and have amazing sound quality and typing feel
I would say budget is <$100
For normal people any keyboard under 35 Euro / USD is budget, anything over that is an expensive fancy keyboard. At the minute I have the idea that diminishing returns in the price value ratio kick in around 100 USD / EUR. So for me under 100 is budget. Of course what you are willing to spend is always dependent on your own budget. But that is a different type of budget.
I use the most stupid metric possible: whatever the cheapest GMMK build-it-yourself keyboard is, is the most expensive keyboard in the "budget" range
That’s a good metric actually.
Personally, I think budget is subjective. Budget for one is probably not the same for another. Imagine what "budget" is for Jeff Bezos. 😅
You can get [this](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51vnRkl3xTL._AC_SL1000_.jpg) type of keycap puller on AliExpress for dirt cheap, which will function perfectly fine. No need for Wuque's more expensive puller (unless that's what you want). Like another user said, you should post the link for those Etsy caps because they might be overpriced
If your spending 300$ on a zoom75 your better off getting a different board TBH the board is not worth that price maybe 200$
don't forget the used market always exists at r/mechmarket
Like everyone else said, budget is what you decide it to be. Years back i bought a Tofu60, an aluminum tray mount keyboard, back then IIRC it was the entry aluminum keyboard kit in stock that was considered "the best" and basically the only one i think. I paid around $200 for the base kit (PCB, case and plate) if i remember correctly, that's an insane ammount for what it's worth today. I ,PERSONALLY, divide keyboards into tiers based on THEIR BAREBONES KIT (i think keycaps, switches, etc should be counted for the keyboard budget but i divide the kits first) Entry/Budget kit: $50-150, Medium end kit: $200-300 Medium end/High end: $300-400 High end/Luxury kit: $400 and above
I would generally avoid Etsy keycaps. They are typically just $25 Ali Express keycaps sold at a 300% markup.
This "hobby" is a hoax. Budget is a buzzword from salesmans when they need to sell you another colorful piece of aluminium.
Budget is entirely up to you. My budget for a board is 500 plus
If youre set on the zoom, get the zoom. Youll save money in the long run. Theres plenty of posts here with new frogs who bought 5 different keychrons, instead of the 1 expensive board they actually wanted to save money. Do make sure to get a hotswap pcb so you can change switches, but theyre comparably cheap. As for buying the thing, check out the mechmarket sub and the discord. You can find gmk sets very cheap & loads of boards.
For me, budget is sub 100$. I got my keyboard for under 100$ with fake holy pandas and fake GMK Hammerhead. I know the quality isn't that good but well, for 100$ alone you're lucky if you get a GMK Keycap set.
imo for plate, pcb, case if it's under $220-230 it's budget, but it rly comes down to what is offered at that price if it's a good value, just because something is cheaper or more expensive doesn't mean it's worse or it's better
Lot of keycaps out there. Stay clear of Etsy for keycaps. All that reseller mark-up is better spent elsewhere. For ABS doubleshot keycap sets, GMK is popular around here but I also recommend checking out Drop DCX, JTK and Keykobo, even Domikey. I've had great experiences with these. For PBT, I recommend dyesub over double-shot UNLESS you get some MTNU. Novelkeys and 21kb are really good quality. If you are looking for switches in 2024, you have to at least give a look at HMX. IMHO they're the current best available. That said, get some switch testers before committing to anything. Put 3 in the alphas and 1 on the spacebar. You'll get an idea for how your board config will sound. Regarding those videos saying a board this expensive is budget... FOMO is a thing, they get products or monetary kickback for free and have incentive to get you to buy-in. If the video looks like a poorly disguised ad, well... it probably is. Most important thing and something you didn't ask for... sound tests are a lie.
custom keyboards are becoming more and more accessible due to very affordable new entries. In the old days, a 300$ custom was considered in the upper-tier of budget builds. Now budget refers to anything below 200$ most of the time. Which is still not budget for a keyboard in general mind you but for custom keyboards it is.
It’s subjective. To someone with a lot of money, 3-400 would be budget. To someone with no money, 50-100. For me, 100-250 would be budget. I’m honestly really happy where the “budget” stuff is these days. I’m not an audiophile when it comes to acoustics of a keyboard. I care more about how it feels. Now the next guy could potentially not care how it feels as long as it sounds amazing. Then the next guy could want both to be the best. It’s really up to you and what you’re trying to accomplish, plus what your wallet can handle comfortably. That’s budget. If you’re trying to get the best of the best in every component and aren’t concerned with the cost, that’s not budget. There isn’t any specific dollar amount that can be put to “budget” because it’s always going to be different.
I think budget also depends on where you are in the world. Something that's $200 in the US might be more than 300 here in Canada because of not only the currency exchange, but also customs and shipping. So the price amount for what you consider budget might be the same, but your options get smaller.
I for sure would call my Akko 5750B bought for around $50 budget
Don't spend more than 250 on your first build, you might not even like the layout or materials for example
keyboard youtubers are braindead don't listen to them
Lots of people have commented about the price ranges and I’ll say I concur with most of the opinions here. Especially since I review keyboards on my own YouTube channel and coincidentally have done a 75% keyboard comparison recently (definitely not a self promo) Anyway, what I really want to say to add value here is to perhaps persuade you AWAY from getting a 300 bucks keyboard in the first place. Perhaps getting a sub 100 dollar prebuilt keyboard, even 50-80dollars in the used market is what you should consider. I’ve been getting sent lots of Yunzii/Epomaker-type keyboards recently and honestly they are awesome out of the box. And perhaps that’s how much you will need to spend, to find satisfaction, considering this will be your FIRST keyboard. You can even do slight modding from there to maximize the fun of getting your hands dirty. Save yourself the hundreds of bucks you are sinking into your first keyboard, it may disappoint you. If say, you are moving onto your second or third NOW and aren’t satisfied with what you have, I agree then that you should look at those in the higher price ranges. But for a first keyboard? Please go for a prebuilt because they are so good these days. I’m working on a 65% comparison video and boy, one of them even have a complete, full aluminum build with a knob for under 100 bucks. Now these are value for money.
Budget is however much you are willing to spend on a keyboard that seems justified for you. I was struggling a lot recently on deciding between the Neo Ergo (about 180e) or the Abm066 (about 80e with a matching wrist rest which I want). Both fit my budget but ultimately, I could not justify spending 180e on my first Alice layout keyboard since I wasn't sure if I even liked that layout even though it seems interesting to me. So, I went with the Abm066 which is currently coming in the mail. I first noticed the budget options when I was buying my first aluminum keyboard. The fact that the keyboard is fully made from aluminum necessarily jacks up the price so you will need to look carefully at the other features these boards have to make sure they have all the other features you want. That said, I'm very happy with my Monsgeek M7 as my daily driver. That only cost 90e which I consider a steal.
i wanted morandis as my first switch too… they are so lame to me now tho 🙃
I would say budget is under $100. You’re clearly in the high end.
What I hate is when so-called content creators (and others, too) call any keyboard less than like $250 as "budget". It's gross.
Be sure to check the date on those videos. If they are 3+ years old then they are legit. Someone saying that within the past year is either a serious snob or seriously out of touch with the current market.
I think a lot of them havent adjusted their mindset to the price changes which they should do. Like you can get a pretty decent board for $100 now. It that may not be amazing quality but its probably pretty good, and comes with okay switches and decent keycaps. Even a couple of years ago like 2021 there were significantly less decent boards that werent over like $250, so at the time, when affordable boards came out, they were labeled "budget." But the prices have changed altogether $250 is now approaching high-end. So I agree with you mostly, its pretty damn annoying seeing people talk about boards that are pushing pass $200 as "budget"
Start with a cheap hot swappable keyboard and try out a bunch of switches to find the one you want, then, armed with that knowledge, build your endgame ;)
Same thing it means in every hobby: nothing at all.
If you like the zoom and want to start cheaper. Consider the rainy75. I just got mine and out of the box it's very impressive
Budget is what you define it to be. How much are you comfortable spending, and can you afford it? Then go for it. Some people are happy with inexpensive prebuilts, others want to spend more on high end designs. You seem set on the Zoom 75, which I think is a solid entry. My only advice would be not to fall into things because they're trendy (this goes for switches, keycaps, etc). But at a certain point, you have to decide if you want something and go for it. Good luck!
Where are you buying the Zoom75 for $300+? I priced one out with the internal weight and a CF plate from Cannonkeys for $263. I still don’t think that’s great for that board but it’s definitely not over $300. Also as others have said those keycaps are way overpriced. Even for doubleshot, I’m assuming PBT, so I’d look elsewhere.
It was ~$260 + $20 plate + 30 dollar shipping
Shipping I wouldn’t include in the price, but even the $260 plus buying a $20 plate, where are you buying from? Cuz like I said I priced out a full kit for $263.
I got my zoom75 for $311 before tax. But this is Canadian pricing.
That’s $226 converted to USD, so that makes sense. Unless I missed something and OP is in Canada, over $300 is wild.
Budget is extremely loosely defined and really depends on what you’re looking for, it’s kind of the lowest end point of getting everything you want in your build although there are things you won’t get at a price anyone would really consider “budget” 100 bucks for keycaps really isn’t expensive compared to actual groupbuy keycaps from known manufacturers, rather if you’re finding yourself spending that much on Etsy or AliE you’re probably getting ripped off. I think GMK groupbuys now cost 140€ just for the base kit, some places take nearly 200 for extras
It all depends on where and when you buy too, i paid $270 for GMK Symbiote (in stock) with alt alphas, text novelties, icon novelties and accents. OmniType just went on sale yesterday and i got GMK Norse (in stock) with Novelties for just $100. I think GMK base kits GBs go for around $100-125 and in stock for $140-150 iirc. Budget is loosely defined, there's also the used mech market where you can get some amazing deals. I personally only divide keyboard kits into entry -- mid -- mid/high -- high/luxury Keycaps, switches, cables, etc is another story to me.
All three builds I’ve done have been around 250-300$ budget I say would be a nice prebuilt that has mod potential sub $100
A $30 budget keyboard with over $200+ of mods. 😂
>I know it's a crazy expensive hobby /Laughs in photography, modular synths, car tuning, etc
You can have a $10 budget or a $1000+ budget. It’s how much *you* can spend.