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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Dimensions
    2. Build Quality
    3. Ergonomics
    4. Hardware Customizability
    5. Backlight Features
    6. Backlight Clarity
    7. Cable & Connector
    8. Wireless Versatility
    9. Macro Keys And Programming
    10. Extra Features
    11. In The Box
  5. Typing Experience
    1. Typing Quality
    2. Typing Noise
    3. Switches
    4. Keystrokes
    5. Latency
  6. Performance
    1. Single-Key Latency
    2. Multi-Key Latency
    3. Data Transmission
    4. Chord Split
  7. Software and Operating System
    1. Configuration Software
    2. Computer Compatibility
    3. Wireless Mobile Compatibility
  8. Comments

Keychron Q5 vs Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.]

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Keychron Q5
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.]

Tested using Methodology v1.0

Updated Mar 12, 2024 01:29 PM

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Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Apr 08, 2025 01:09 PM

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Keychron Q5 Picture
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Picture
ConnectivityWired
Size
Compact (96%)
Mechanical
Yes
ConnectivityWireless
Size
Compact (96%)
Switch Type
Mechanical
N-Key Rollover (NKRO)
Yes
Hot-Swappable Switches
Yes
  1. Recommended in 5 articles:
  2. Keyboards
  3. Mechanical
  4. Typing
  5. Programming
  6. Keychron

Variants

  • Q5 (Carbon Black)
  • Q5 (Navy Blue)
  • Q5 (Silver Grey)
  • Q15 Max (Black - Ortholinear)
  • Q6 Max (Carbon Black - 100%)
  • Q2 Max (Carbon Black - 65%)
  • Q8 Max (Carbon Black - 65%/Alice)
  • Q1 Max (Carbon Black - 75%)
  • Q10 Max (Carbon Black - 75%/Alice)
  • Q3 Max (Carbon Black - 80%/TKL)
  • Q5 Max (Carbon Black - 96%)
  • Q14 Max (Carbon Black - 96%/Alice)
  • Q13 Max (Carbon Black - 96%/Alice)
  • Q12 Max (Carbon Black - 96%/Southpaw)
  • Q65 Max (Carbon Black - Special 65%)
  • Q60 Max (Retro - Special 60%)
  • Q6 Max (Shell White - 100%)
  • Q2 Max (Shell White - 65%)
  • Q8 Max (Shell White - 65%/Alice)
  • Q1 Max (Shell White - 75%)
  • Q10 Max (Shell White - 75%/Alice)
  • Q3 Max (Shell White - 80%/TKL)
  • Q5 Max (Shell White - 96%)
  • Q14 Max (Shell White - 96%/Alice)
  • Q13 Max (Shell White - 96%/Alice)
  • Q12 Max (Shell White - 96%/Southpaw)
  • Q65 Max (Shell White - Special 65%)
  • Q15 Max (White - Ortholinear)

Review

See Keychron Q5 Review
See Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Review
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Our Verdict

Keychron Q5

Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.]

The Keychron Q5 and the Keychron Q5 Max are mechanical keyboards with 96% form factors. Each keyboard also belongs to wider respective Q and Q Max lineups with other size variants available. The biggest difference between these lineups is that the Q series are wired-only models while the Q Max series are wireless models that you can connect via Bluetooth or a 2.4GHz receiver. Both keyboards have layers of sound-dampening material inside the case, but the Q Max series keyboards have several additional layers the standard Q series boards lack.

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Main Differences for
Gaming

Threshold 

0.10

Gaming 

8.5
8.4

Latency 
 

7.3
9.2

Pre-Travel 
 

2.7 mm
2.5 mm

Full Comparison

Design

Dimensions 
 

Top Picture  

Keychron Q5 Top Picture
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Top Picture

Size 
 

Compact (96%)
Compact (96%)

Height 
 

1.7" (4.4 cm)
2.0" (5.0 cm)

Width  

15.4" (39.1 cm)
16.1" (40.8 cm)

Depth 
 

5.7" (14.5 cm)
5.7" (14.5 cm)

Depth With Wrist Rest 
 

N/A
N/A

Weight 
 

5.14 lbs (2.330 kg)
4.86 lbs (2.206 kg)
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

9.0
8.5

Build Quality Close Up  

Keychron Q5 Build Quality Close Up
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Build Quality Close Up

Keycap Material  

PBT
PBT
Show Text 

Ergonomics 
 

6.0
6.0

Side Picture  

Keychron Q5 Side Picture
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Side Picture

Curved/Angled 
 

Straight
No

Split Keyboard 
 

No

Key Alignment 
 

Staggered

Minimum Incline 
 

5.2°
5.2°

Medium Incline 
 

N/A
N/A

Maximum Incline 
 

N/A
N/A

Home Row Height 
 

37.6 mm (1.5")

Wrist Rest  

No
Show Text 

Hardware Customizability 
 

9.8

Customizability Overview  

Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Customizability Overview

Replaceable Cherry Stabilizers 
 

Yes

Stabilizer Fixation 
 

Screw-in

Spacebar Stabilizer Size 
 

6.25u

Size Of Right Mod Keys 
 

1u

Hot-Swappable Switches 
 

Yes

Switch Stem Shape 
 

Cherry MX Style

Switch PCB Socket 
 

5-pin Cherry

North-Facing Cherry MX Interference 
 

No
Show Text 

Backlight Features 
 

9.6
10

Backlighting Picture  

Keychron Q5 Backlighting Picture
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Backlighting Picture

Brightness Max  

Keychron Q5 Brightness Max
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Brightness Max

Backlighting  

Yes
Yes

Brightness Min  

Keychron Q5 Brightness Min
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Brightness Min

White Shot 
 

Keychron Q5 White Shot
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] White Shot

RGB 
 

Yes

Per-Key Backlighting 
 

Yes
Yes

Effects 
 

Yes
Yes

Software Controllable 
 

Yes
Yes

Color 
 

RGB

Color Mixing 
 

Poor
Show Text 

Backlight Clarity 
 

4.0

White Shot  

Keychron Q5 White Shot
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] White Shot
Show Text 

Cable & Connector  

Connectivity  

Wired
Wireless

Detachable 
 

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

Length  

5.9 ft (1.8 m)
5.9 ft (1.8 m)

Connector (Keyboard side) 
 

USB type-C
USB type-C
Show Text 

Wireless Versatility 
 

0.0
10

Bluetooth 
 

No
Yes

Bluetooth Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
3

Proprietary Receiver 
 

No
Yes

Battery Type 
 

No Batteries
Rechargeable
Show Text 

Macro Keys And Programming 
 

6.0

Dedicated Macro Keys Count  

3

Onboard Macro Programming 
 

No

Macro Programming With Software 
 

Yes
Show Text 

Extra Features 
 

Extra Features  

Keychron Q5 Extra Features
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Extra Features

Media Keys 
 

Hot Keys
Non-Dedicated

Trackpad / Trackball  

No
No

Scroll Wheel 
 

No
No

Control Knob 
 

Yes

USB Passthrough 
 

No
No

Numpad  

Yes
Yes

Windows Key Lock 
 

No
Yes

Lock Indicator  

Caps Lock
Caps & Num Lock

Macro Programmable Keys 
 

All
Show Text 

In The Box  

Bundle Picture  

Keychron Q5 Bundle Picture
Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Bundle Picture
Show Text 
Typing Experience

Typing Quality 
 

8.5
8.5

Key Spacing 
 

19.0 mm (0.748")
Show Text 

Typing Noise 
 

10
7.5

Typing Sample  

Average Loudness 
 

52.2 dBA

High Pitch Clicks 
 

No

Noise 
 

Very Quiet
Show Text 

Switches 
 

Wobble Video  

Switch Name 
 

Gateron G Pro Brown
Gateron Jupiter Banana

Switch Type 
 

Mechanical

Feel 
 

Tactile
Tactile

Analog 
 

No
Show Text 

Keystrokes 
 

Key Switch Actuation Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Key Switches 
 

Gateron G Pro Brown
Gateron Jupiter Banana

Mechanical 
 

Yes

Feel 
 

Tactile
Tactile

Operating Force 
 

51 gf
55 gf

Actuation Force 
 

40 gf
38 gf

Pre-Travel 
 

2.7 mm
2.5 mm

Total Travel 
 

4.0 mm
3.2 mm
Show Text 

Latency 
 

7.3
9.2

Latency Video  

Latency Wired 
 

11.7 ms
3.2 ms

Latency Receiver 
 

N/A
4.4 ms

Latency Bluetooth 
 

N/A
9.5 ms
Show Text 
Performance

Single-Key Latency 
 

7.3
9.2

Single-Key Latency Graph  

See details on graph tool

Best Connection 
 

3.2 ms

Best Connection Std Dev  

±0.3 ms

Wired 
 

11.7 ms
3.2 ms

Receiver 
 

N/A
4.4 ms

Bluetooth 
 

N/A
9.5 ms

PCB (Estimated) 
 

1.0 ms
Show Text 

Multi-Key Latency 
 

8.7

Latency Video  

Multi-Key Latency Graph  

See details on graph tool

Connection Evaluated  

Receiver

Key Press 
 

4.5 ms

Key Release 
 

6.7 ms
Show Text 

Data Transmission 
 

8.2

Multi-Key Raw USB  

Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.] Multi-Key Raw USB

Connection Evaluated  

Receiver

USB Polling Rate 
 

1,000 Hz

Effective Update Rate 
 

1,000 Hz

N-Key Rollover (NKRO) 
 

Yes

Multiple Keys Per USB Report 
 

No
Show Text 

Chord Split 
 

7.8

Chord Split Graph  

See details on graph tool

4 Chord Split Delay 
 

5.6 ms

8 Chord Split Delay 
 

13.9 ms
Show Text 
Software and Operating System

Configuration Software 
 

Software Picture  

Keychron Q5 Software Picture

Software Tour  

Software Name  

VIA
VIA

Software Windows Compatible 
 

Yes
Yes

Software macOS Compatible 
 

Yes
Yes

Onboard Memory 
 

Yes
Yes

Profiles 
 

6+
6+

Account Required 
 

No

Cloud Sync 
 

No

Macro Programming 
 

Software

Ease Of Use 
 

Easy
Show Text 

Computer Compatibility 
 

8.2
10

Windows 
 

Full
Fully Compatible

macOS 
 

Full
Fully Compatible

Linux (Ubuntu 22) 
 

Full
Fully Compatible

Media Key Compatibility 
 

Windows, MacOS & Linux

Android  

No
Fully Compatible

iOS  

No
Fully Compatible

iPadOS  

No
Fully Compatible
Show Text 

Wireless Mobile Compatibility 
 

10

Android 
 

No
Fully Compatible

iOS 
 

No
Fully Compatible

iPadOS 
 

No
Fully Compatible

Media Key Compatibility 
 

Android, iPhone & iPad
Show Text 

Check Price

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Searching
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Back to Top

Keychron Q5

Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.]

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Keychron Q5 vs Keychron Q5 Max [Q1 Max, Q2 Max, etc.]: Main Discussion

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