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  1. Home
  2. Keyboard
  3. Compare
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Dimensions
    2. Build Quality
    3. Ergonomics
    4. Backlighting
    5. Cable & Connector
    6. Wireless Versatility
    7. Extra Features
    8. In The Box
  5. Typing Experience
    1. Keystrokes
    2. Typing Quality
    3. Typing Noise
    4. Latency
  6. Software and Operating System
    1. Software & Programming
    2. Keyboard Compatibility
  7. Comments

Keychron K8 vs Keychron Q1

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Keychron K8
Keychron Q1

Tested using Methodology v1.0

Updated Apr 15, 2024 12:27 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.0

Updated Dec 01, 2023 05:08 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Keychron K8 Picture
Keychron Q1 Picture
ConnectivityWireless
Size
TenKeyLess (80%)
Mechanical
Yes
ConnectivityWired
Size
Compact (75%)
Mechanical
Yes

Variants

  • K8 (Dark Gray)
  • Q1 (Carbon Black)
  • Q1 (Navy Blue)
  • Q1 (Space Grey)

Review

See Keychron K8 review

See Keychron Q1 review

0
0

Our Verdict

Keychron K8

Keychron Q1

The Keychron K8 is a TenKeyLess wireless board, while the Keychron Q1 is a 75% compact wired board. You can use the K6 wirelessly via Bluetooth and pair it with up to three devices at once. The K6 has more incline settings, and it comes with shine-through keycaps, which help make the legends easier to read in a dark room. Thanks to its switches' transparent casing, white backlighting looks white, while the Gateron Phantom switches on our Q1 unit have a brown casing, making white lighting look red. On the other hand, the Q1 is hot-swappable, and it comes with customization software to set macros to any key. Also, while we bought the fully-assembled variant, the Q1 has a barebones version.

0

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Dark Gray
K8
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Carbon Black
Q1
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Dark Gray
K8
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Navy Blue
Q1
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Dark Gray
K8
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Space Grey
Q1
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Dark Gray
K8
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Dark Gray
K8
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Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Gaming 

7.7
8.6

Macro Programmable Keys 
 

No
All

Software & Programming 
 

0.0
9.6

Pre-Travel 
 

2.2 mm
2.6 mm

Windows  

Partial
Full

Full Comparison

Design

Dimensions 
 

Top Picture  

Keychron K8 Top Picture
Keychron Q1 Top Picture

Size 
 

TenKeyLess (80%)
Compact (75%)

Height 
 

1.7" (4.3 cm)
1.7" (4.4 cm)

Width  

14.1" (35.8 cm)
12.9" (32.7 cm)

Depth 
 

5.1" (13.0 cm)
5.7" (14.5 cm)

Depth With Wrist Rest 
 

N/A
N/A

Weight 
 

1.98 lbs (0.900 kg)
3.62 lbs (1.642 kg)

Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.5
9.0

Build Quality Close Up  

Keychron K8 Build Quality Close Up
Keychron Q1 Build Quality Close Up

Keycap Material  

ABS
ABS

Show text

Ergonomics 
 

6.5
6.0

Side Picture  

Keychron K8 Side Picture
Keychron Q1 Side Picture

Board Design 
 

Straight
Straight

Minimum Incline 
 

4°
5.2°

Medium Incline 
 

8°
N/A

Maximum Incline 
 

12°
N/A

Wrist Rest  

No
No

Show text

Backlighting 
 

9.3
9.6

Backlighting Picture  

Keychron K8 Backlighting Picture
Keychron Q1 Backlighting Picture

White Shot 
 

Keychron K8 White Shot
Keychron Q1 White Shot

Brightness Max 
 

Keychron K8 Brightness Max
Keychron Q1 Brightness Max

Brightness Min 
 

Keychron K8 Brightness Min
Keychron Q1 Brightness Min

Backlighting  

Yes
Yes

Color 
 

RGB
RGB

Individually Backlit Keys 
 

Yes
Yes

Color Mixing 
 

Ok
Poor

Effects 
 

Yes
Yes

Programmable 
 

No
Yes

Show text

Cable & Connector  

Connectivity  

Wireless
Wired

Detachable 
 

Yes (Wired Mode and Charge)
Yes (Wired Only Keyboard)

Length  

3.9 ft (1.2 m)
5.9 ft (1.8 m)

Connector (Keyboard side) 
 

USB type-C
USB type-C

Show text

Wireless Versatility 
 

10
0.0

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
No

Bluetooth Multi-Device Pairing 
 

3
No

Proprietary Receiver 
 

No
No

Battery Type 
 

Rechargeable
No Batteries

Show text

Extra Features 
 

Extra Features  

Keychron K8 Extra Features
Keychron Q1 Extra Features

Media Keys 
 

Hot Keys
Hot Keys

Macro Programmable Keys 
 

No
All

Trackpad / Trackball  

No
No

Wheel  

No
No

USB Passthrough 
 

No
No

Numpad  

No
No

Windows Key Lock 
 

No
No

Lock Indicator  

Caps Lock
No Indicator

Show text

In The Box  

Bundle Picture  

Keychron K8 Bundle Picture
Keychron Q1 Bundle Picture

Show text

Typing Experience

Keystrokes 
 

Key Switch Actuation Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Key Switches 
 

Gateron Brown
Gateron Phantom Brown

Mechanical 
 

Yes
Yes

Feel 
 

Tactile
Tactile

Operating Force 
 

45 gf
49 gf

Actuation Force 
 

34 gf
39 gf

Pre-Travel 
 

2.2 mm
2.6 mm

Total Travel 
 

4.1 mm
4.0 mm

Show text

Typing Quality 
 

8.0
8.5

Show text

Typing Noise 
 

Typing Sample  

Noise 
 

Quiet
Very Quiet

Show text

Latency 
 

7.4
7.4

Latency Video  

Latency Wired 
 

11.0 ms
11.1 ms

Latency Receiver 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency Bluetooth 
 

22.9 ms
N/A

Show text

Software and Operating System

Software & Programming 
 

0.0
9.6

Software Picture  

Keychron K8 Software Picture
Keychron Q1 Software Picture

Software Name  

No Software
VIA

Account Required 
 

No Software
No

Profiles 
 

No Profile
6+

Onboard Memory 
 

No
Yes

Cloud Sync 
 

No
No

Macro Programming 
 

No
Software

Ease Of Use 
 

No Software
Easy

Software Windows Compatible 
 

No
Yes

Software macOS Compatible 
 

No
Yes

Show text

Keyboard Compatibility 
 

7.9
8.2

Windows  

Partial
Full

macOS  

Partial
Full

Linux  

Partial
Full

Android  

Partial
No

iOS  

Partial
No

iPadOS  

Partial
No

Show text

Check Price

Dark Gray
K8
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Carbon Black
Q1
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Dark Gray
K8
Searching
Finding store
Navy Blue
Q1
Searching
Finding store
Dark Gray
K8
Searching
Finding store
Space Grey
Q1
Searching
Finding store
Dark Gray
K8
Searching
Finding store
 
Dark Gray
K8
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Finding store
 
Back to Top

Keychron K8

Keychron Q1

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Keychron K8 vs Keychron Q1: Main Discussion

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