Are Mechanical Keyboards Loud? (Know This FIRST!)

Mechanical keyboards are expensive enough to buy as compared to non-mechanical keyboards. You might be thinking if the mechanical keyboards are loud or not before choosing one for your work or gaming.

Though some of the mechanical keyboard switches make sound, they can be made quieter also for better usability in the office and other places where silence is needed.

Let’s get started!

Are mechanical keyboards loud?

Mechanical Keyboards with Clicky switches are loud and noisy. However, mechanical keyboards with tactile switches sound moderate, and those with linear switches are comparatively smooth and silent.

So, the loudness of mechanical switches depends on the type of switch you use.

Clickiness comparison of Mechanical Keyboard Switches

Type of Mechanical Keyboard Switch	Actuation Force	Key Type
Blue Switch	50g	Clicky
Brown Switch	45g	Tactile
Black Switch	60g	Linear
Red Switch	45g	Linear
Clear Switch	65g	Tactile
Green Switch	80g	Clicky

Linear vs Clicky vs Tactile Switch for Loudness Comparison

Key Type	Characteristics	Loudness
Linear	Smooth	Comparatively Silent
Tactile	Gives Bumpy Feeling	Moderate
Clicky	Clicky and Bumpy Feedback	Loud

Can we make mechanical switches quieter?

Mechanical Switches like the blue switch produce a lot of sounds that may annoy you if you need a quiet work environment. 

However, if we look at the brown switches, it has a tactile and clicky feeling like the Blue Switch. Still, it produces less sound than the blue switch, which is an added benefit for Brown Switch.

Brown Switch also is great if you love typing a lot as the actuation force is also less to activate the key.

We can make the mechanical keyboard keys quieter by applying lube to them. Using that, we can achieve a more silent mechanical switch keyboard.

Sound dampers like rubber rings can be used to reduce the mechanical keyboard key noise.

Also Read: How to make blue switches quieter?

Satisfying Click Experience

Though Mechanical Keyboards produce noise, it satisfies every click and feels better than membrane type of keyboards.

Every click gets registered with sound, and you get good feedback as if your keypress got registered, and you can press the following key. A satisfying click experience makes typing faster and also improves the typing experience.

Noise level based on Typing Style

The different keys have different noise levels, ie. Some are quieter, like the Brown Switch, and some noisier, like the blue switch.

The noise also varies and depends on the typing style also. If we forcefully mash the keys frequently, they will make loud noises. 

But once you practice typing using the mechanical keyboards for a while, you would identify a good typing style that would lower the noise that your typing would have produced before clicking. 

Are mechanical keyboards too loud for the office?

Mechanical Keyboards with clicky switches can irritate your colleagues or someone who does not like any noise in the workspace. Other keys like the linear keys are smooth, and no one would bother with the sound they produce.

Are mechanical Keyboards louder than Membrane keyboards?

Mechanical keyboards have individual mechanical keys that take input whatever we type. Thus, using the keys connected to a circuit, the mechanical keyboard registers our typing impressions.

In the case of a membrane keyboard, there is a membrane beneath the keyboard keys, and below the membrane, there is a circuit attached to it.

That membrane keyboard decides the keypress and does not have individual switches like a mechanical keyboard.

Membrane keyboards in terms of loudness are quieter than mechanical keyboards due to the membrane layer present beneath the keys.

The membrane layer dampens the noise and makes clicks silent as compared to the mechanical keyboards.

Conclusion

Let’s conclude the post on whether mechanical keyboards are loud!

Though Mechanical Keyboards are on a bit noisier side, the Brown switch is significantly quieter than the rest of the switches. I use the Blue mechanical switch keyboard, and I love the clicking sound it produces. 

Suppose you need a mechanical keyboard for a quieter environment. In that case, I recommend you check a mechanical keyboard with Cherry Mx Brown Switches that would give a tactile feeling without any annoying noise.

Also, you can use a desk mat, lubricant, and dampeners like O-shaped rings to lower the noise further.

I hope you enjoyed reading the post.