Tenkeyless keyboards: a UK buying guide

The Keychron C3 Pro 8K is hard to beat for the money: £54.99 in UK ISO^[1], with hot-swap sockets, a gasket-style mount, Cherry-profile double-shot PBT keycaps and an 8,000 Hz polling rate. It runs QMK and is set up through Keychron's Launcher web app. Its near twin, the Keychron C1 Pro 8K, costs the same; our C1 against C3 comparison covers the differences.

The Corsair K70 Core TKL is the big-brand alternative at £89.99 in UK ISO^[2]. It has an aluminium top plate over a plastic body, linear MLX Red switches and a volume dial, and weighs 743 g. It isn't hot-swappable, so you're keeping those switches, and its settings are handled by Corsair's own software rather than QMK or VIA.

Keychron's two wireless tenkeyless boards are about £10 apart and feel quite different. The Keychron V3 Max is £109.99^[3] with a gasket-mounted polycarbonate plate, a knob and OSA-profile PBT keycaps, which gives a softer feel. The Keychron K8 Max is £119.99^[4] with a steel plate on a tray mount, an aluminium top panel and no knob, which gives a firmer one. Both connect by cable, Bluetooth or a 2.4 GHz receiver, both have a 4,000 mAh battery and hot-swap sockets for 3-pin or 5-pin switches, and both run QMK and VIA. Our K8 Max against V3 Max comparison goes into which suits whom.

The Corsair K70 Core TKL Wireless is the wireless K70 Core TKL at £139.99, with a 2.4 GHz receiver, Bluetooth and a detachable wrist rest in the box^[5]. Corsair claims up to 1,000 hours over 2.4 GHz with the lighting off. Like the wired version, it isn't hot-swappable.

If you want something slimmer, the Keychron K1 Max is a low-profile wireless tenkeyless board at £109.99 in UK ISO, with hot-swap sockets for Gateron low-profile switches^[6]. Our low-profile keyboards page has the alternatives.

The be quiet! Light Mount TKL is built for quiet. Scan listed it at £119.99 in UK ISO^[7], with be quiet!'s Silent Linear V2 switches in hot-swap sockets, PBT keycaps, a brushed aluminium plate, and lighting along the top edge and sides rather than under every key. It's wired only. Our details come from that one listing, so check the box contents on the product page you buy from. For more quiet options, see our quiet keyboards guide.

At the other end, the Keychron Q3 Max is an all-aluminium wireless tenkeyless board that weighs 2,045 g, with a knob, screw-in stabilisers and 5-pin hot-swap sockets, for £219.99 fully assembled in UK ISO^[8]. It's the tenkeyless version of the Q1 Max and has the same appeal: a deep sound, no flex and no sliding about.

Tenkeyless is the most common size for esports boards with adjustable actuation and rapid trigger. Our magnetic keyboards guide explains those settings; here is how the main options differ.

The Wooting 80HE is the reference point: magnetic switches, 8,000 Hz polling and a gasket-mounted polycarbonate plate, from $199.99 for the plastic-case version^[9]. It comes in ANSI, ISO and JIS, and keeps the full function row and navigation block. Its hot-swap sockets only take magnetic switches.

The Corsair K70 PRO TKL is the better-value UK option at £169.99 in UK ISO^[10], with actuation from 0.1 mm to 4 mm, rapid trigger, 8,000 Hz polling and a knob. Its switches aren't swappable.

The Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless 8KHz uses Razer's analog optical switches rather than magnets but offers the same kind of tuning, plus 8,000 Hz polling. Scan listed the UK layout version at £209.99^[11]. The SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 is similar money at £209 with SteelSeries' own magnetic switches^[12], but as far as we can tell its UK version keeps the US key shape with UK legends, so it has no tall Enter. Our Huntsman against Apex Pro comparison covers the rest.

Check the layout on the listing. Most boards above are sold in UK ISO, but some sellers stock only the US version, and a few boards sold in the UK have UK legends on a US-shaped board. Our ANSI or ISO guide shows what to look for.

Decide whether you want hot-swap before price narrows the choice. The Keychrons and the be quiet! take standard MX-style switches; the Corsair K70 Core boards don't swap at all; and the magnetic and optical boards only take their own kind of switch, if any. If you think you'll want to change feel later, our hot-swap guide is worth a read first.

Finally, measure the space. A tenkeyless board is a few centimetres wider than a 75%, and if you're choosing it mainly to bring the mouse closer, the 75% boards go a little further while keeping the function row and arrows.