75% keyboards: a UK buying guide

The Keychron V1 Max is the safest pick here for most people. It lists at £109.99 in a UK ISO layout^[1], and for that you get a gasket-mounted polycarbonate plate, screw-in stabilisers, 5-pin hot-swap sockets, a knob and wireless over Bluetooth or a 2.4 GHz receiver. It runs QMK and VIA, so any key can be remapped in a browser. The case is plastic, which keeps the weight down to 770 g.

The Montech MKey PRO 75 Darkness is cheaper at £79.99 from Scan, in UK ISO, with a gasket mount, hot-swap sockets, a knob, wireless and Gateron G Pro 3.0 switches^[2]. It also lists QMK and VIA support. Our details come from that one listing, which also says it isn't Mac compatible, so treat it as a promising budget board rather than a proven one.

Two popular imports are worth knowing about, with a caveat. The Aula F75 is known for a soft, rounded sound from a thick foam stack, and lists at $79.99 in the US^[3]. The Epomaker TH80 V2 Pro adds a small colour screen and a 10,000 mAh battery for $77.99^[4]. Neither is sold in UK ISO: we found the Aula only in ANSI and German, Spanish or French ISO, and the Epomaker only in ANSI. If you type on a UK layout, that rules them out.

The Keychron Q1 Max is the 75% people usually mean when they talk about a first custom-style board. It lists at £219.99 in UK ISO, fully assembled^[5]. The case is machined aluminium with a double-gasket mount and a polycarbonate plate, it weighs 1,724 g, and it has the same wireless, knob, QMK and VIA as the V1 Max. Owners describe it as thocky. You're paying for the case: the weight and stiffness give a deeper sound and a board that doesn't move on the desk. Our Q1 Max against V1 Max comparison goes through what changes.

The Keychron K2 Max sits between the two. At £119.99 for the aluminium-frame UK ISO version^[6], it's a compact 75% with no knob, hot-swap sockets, QMK and wireless, and OSA-profile PBT keycaps. Keychron's UK store showed it as backordered when we checked, so look at the delivery estimate before you order.

If you're coming from a laptop or a slim office keyboard, a low-profile board will feel more familiar. The Keychron K3 Max is very thin and weighs 525 g, lists at £109.99 in UK ISO, and keeps hot-swap sockets, QMK and VIA, and three ways to connect^[8]. Its switches are Gateron low-profile ones, which aren't MX-compatible, so spares have to be low-profile switches that fit Keychron's sockets.

The NuPhy Air75 V3 is the other well-known slim 75%, with an aluminium top frame over a plastic base, a knob and a 4,000 mAh battery^[7]. It lists at $139.95 in the US. A UK-layout version is sold, but we couldn't find a UK list price, so compare what UK sellers are asking before you decide. It uses NuPhy's own low-profile switches, with the same restriction on swaps. Our low-profile keyboards page lists the rest.

The Keychron Q1 HE is the Q1's aluminium body with Gateron magnetic switches instead of mechanical ones. Actuation is adjustable from 0.5 mm to 3.8 mm and it has rapid trigger, for £229.99 in UK ISO^[9]. The sockets only take compatible magnetic switches, so it's worth being sure you want magnetic before you buy. Our magnetic keyboards guide explains the settings.

The Corsair K65 Plus Wireless Tactile is Corsair's most hobby-style board: a wireless 75% with a top-mounted plate, two layers of dampening, hot-swap sockets for mechanical switches and tactile MLX Fusion switches, for £159.99 in UK ISO^[10]. Corsair quotes up to 266 hours of battery life with the lighting off.

The ASUS ROG Azoth is the premium option: gasket-mounted, hot-swappable, wireless, with a small OLED screen, a three-way knob and pre-lubed ROG NX Red linear switches. Scan listed it at £264.98 in a UK ISO layout^[11].

Layout first. Many 75% boards launch in US ANSI and some never get a UK version, as with the Aula and Epomaker above. Check the listing shows a £ on the 3 key and a tall Enter. Our ANSI or ISO guide covers the differences.

Then look at the right-hand column on the layout picture. Makers fill it differently, and a knob usually replaces one key, so check that Delete, Home and Page Up and Down are where you'd want them. On boards that run QMK or VIA you can move them; on boards with their maker's own software, check what it lets you change.

If you plan to change keycaps later, 75% boards need a few odd sizes on the bottom row and right side, often a 1.75u right Shift and 1u modifiers, and UK ISO needs the ISO Enter and short left Shift as well. Most large keycap sets include them, but check the kit list before you buy. Our sizes guide has more on how 75% compares with 65% and TKL.