The 7 Best Linear Switches in 2026 (With Both Force Ratings — and Where They Come From)

Look up the bottom-out force of a Gateron Oil King and you’ll get four answers.

Divinikey says 65g. Kinetic Labs says 80g. One Amazon listing says 80g. Another takes that same number and labels it “Tactile Force” — on a switch that is not tactile.

Gateron, the company that manufactures it, publishes no bottom-out figure at all.

That’s the state of this category. Nearly every linear switch roundup hands you a number with nothing attached to it. No source, no date, no sign that anyone at the factory ever signed off on it. Plenty of those numbers are a vendor’s estimate copied from another vendor’s estimate. Some are just wrong.

So this list does the thing nobody else bothers with. Every force figure below comes with its source attached. When the manufacturer publishes it, we say so. When only a shop publishes it, we say that too. And when nobody publishes it — which happens more often than you’d think — we leave the cell empty instead of filling it with a guess.

Our top picks at a glance

The Gateron Ink Black V2 is the best linear switch for most buyers: vendors consistently list 60g actuation and 70g bottom-out, and it has the widest independent coverage of any premium linear. On a budget, take the Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow — the only switch here whose maker publishes both force figures.

Quick Verdict: our picks at a glance

Best Overall — Gateron Ink Black V2. RTINGS’ top linear pick, and the premium linear with the deepest independent coverage. Vendors consistently list 60g actuation / 70g bottom-out. Buy the right one: the Ink Silent Black V2 publishes identical numbers and is a completely different switch.

Best Factory Lubrication / Deepest Sound — Gateron Oil King. Gateron publishes 55±5g actuation, a 20mm black-plated spring and a Nylon-over-Ink housing. KeebWorks, who bought a set, called them possibly the deepest and thockiest switches they’d reviewed — and pointed out that this also makes them among the quieter ones. Careful: Gateron revived “Oil King” as a four-switch family in 2026, and the new silent linear is 45gf, not 55.

Best Budget — Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow. 50±15gf actuation, 67gf bottom-out, and the only switch on this list where the manufacturer publishes both figures together. ThereminGoat measured its bottom-out at roughly 65–67gf.

Best Mainstream Pick — Cherry MX2A Red. Cherry’s own spec table gives 30 cN initial / 45 cN actuation / 100 cN final force — a three-point set no competing roundup reports. It’s also the one switch here you can buy in a brand-official kit rather than a repackaged tray.

Best for Fast-Paced Gaming — Cherry MX2A Speed Silver. 1.2mm pre-travel, 3.4mm total. And per Cherry’s own tables it has exactly the same spring as the Red. It’s shorter, not lighter.

Best Short-Travel Pick — Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro. 50gf operating force, 3.3mm total travel, 5-pin, dustproof stem. Akko publishes no bottom-out figure — every one you’ll see online is a vendor’s estimate.

Best Enthusiast Pick — HMX Xinhai. Loud, clacky, high-pitched, almost no stem wobble. Ships in 37g and 55g weights under one name. Most people want the 55g; reviewers report the 37g causes mistypes.

Comparison table: all 7 linear switches

Two things about that table are deliberate.

The score column is missing on purpose. RTINGS is the only outfit publishing measured switch data, and its scores sit behind a membership wall we couldn’t read — so we didn’t invent them. A blank cell beats a fabricated number every time.

And every force figure carries a source in brackets. That bracket is the whole article.

Why nobody can tell you what a linear switch actually weighs

For most of these switches, the bottom-out force you keep seeing quoted was never published by the manufacturer. Everyone knows it. Nobody says it.

Actuation force vs bottom-out force: what the two numbers mean

Actuation force is how hard you push before the switch registers a keystroke. It’s the number everybody prints, because it’s the number manufacturers publish.

Bottom-out force is how hard you push at the very end of the stroke, when the stem meets the bottom housing. It’s the number you actually feel, because most people bottom out on most keypresses. It’s also the number almost nobody publishes.

That gap explains why a switch listed at “50g” can feel nothing like another switch listed at “50g.” The spring is progressive. The number on the box is one point on a curve.

The Force-Figure Provenance Table

Read the Oil King row again. One switch. Four different bottom-out claims in the wild. And the manufacturer’s own page contains none of them.

Why Cherry’s “final force” isn’t the bottom-out number you think it is

This one deserves care, because it’s where most sites would fudge it.

Cherry publishes a three-point force set for the MX2A Red: initial force 30 cN, actuation force 45 cN, final force 100 cN. It’s tempting to grab that 100 cN and print it as “bottom-out force.” Don’t.

Cherry’s final force is the force at the end of actuator travel, per Cherry’s own datasheet convention. That’s not the same construct as the bottom-out force enthusiasts talk about — the force at the moment the stem meets the bottom housing. Different measurement. Different point on the curve. Different number.

Which explains the mess perfectly. Vendor bottom-out figures for Cherry switches run from 55 cN to 75g to 100 cN, and none of them agree, because they’re all reverse-engineering a number Cherry never gave them.

Cherry publishes a force curve. Cherry does not publish a “bottom-out” figure in the sense you mean it. Anyone who tells you otherwise is guessing.

Best Overall: Gateron Ink Black V2

You want a premium linear that isn’t a lottery ticket. This is the one with enough independent coverage that you actually know what you’re getting — as long as you buy the right one.

Overview. The Ink Black V2 is the switch reviewers reach for when they need a reference premium linear, and it’s RTINGS’ top linear pick. Divinikey and Milktooth both list it at 60g actuation, 70g bottom-out. Note the wording: vendors list it. Gateron publishes no spec table for the base Ink Black V2 on its current site, so those figures are attested, not official. Nobody else makes that distinction.

The old knock on this switch — contact leaves falling out — belonged to the V1. Divinikey’s current listing states plainly that the V2 uses upgraded contact leaves specifically to prevent fallout. That’s a fix, and it’s worth saying out loud instead of pretending the complaint never happened.

Core specs

• Type: linear (confirmed, Gateron Ink Series listing)
• Actuation: 60g (vendor-attested)
• Bottom-out: 70g (vendor-attested)
• Total travel: 4.0mm
• Housing: proprietary “Ink” blend, top and bottom · Stem: POM
• Spring: 20mm, coated
• Mount: 5-pin PCB · Factory lubed: yes

Acoustic Profile & Typing Feel

Hirosarts, who bought a set, describes the feel as thick and buttery, the sound as a muted thocky sort of butter. Milktooth’s comparison against the Oil King puts both in low-pitched, bassy territory, with the Ink Black V2 carrying a chirpier character on the release stroke where the Oil King is rounder. Zkeebs found the Ink Black V2 slightly higher-pitched and clackier of the two, with a little scratchiness out of the box.

One practical note nobody covers: the housing is transparent smoky black, so RGB shines through (Zkeebs). If your board has per-key lighting, that’s a real point in its favour.

The Ink family variant trap

Read this twice.

• Ink Black V2 — the switch this section covers. 60g / 70g / 4.0mm, 20mm spring. Not silent.
• Ink Silent Black V2 — a silent linear publishing the identical 60g / 70g / 4.0mm figures (Milktooth, Divinikey, keybumps). Same numbers, different switch.
• Ink V2 PRO Black — a successor with its own Gateron spec page: 60±15gf, PC top housing, 15.4mm spring, item code KS-JP-Z35C03-Y02-221. Different spring entirely.
• Ink Box Black — 67g / 80g, 1.9mm pre-travel (Hirosarts).

Hirosarts, a page currently ranking for this exact search, states that among the Ink linears the Ink Black V2 is the only truly silent option. That is flatly wrong. The Ink Black V2 is not silent. The Ink Silent Black V2 is. We’re not point-scoring — we’re telling you a top-ranking page will actively steer you into the wrong switch.

(An inference, clearly marked as ours: that Ink Box Black 80g bottom-out may well be where the phantom “80g” attached to the Oil King came from. We can’t prove it. It’s a plausible origin story for a number that shouldn’t exist.)

Pros and cons

Pros

• Widest independent review coverage of any premium linear
• Both force figures consistent across every vendor checked
• Smoky housing passes RGB through
• V1’s contact-leaf defect explicitly addressed in the V2

Cons

• Minor stem wobble and slight off-centre scratchiness; commonly filmed to fix (Hirosarts)
• Gateron publishes no spec sheet for it — every number is vendor-attested
• Four near-identically-named siblings, one of them a silent switch with identical published specs

Best for. The buyer spending real money on a premium linear who wants the most cross-checked switch on the market, and who’ll happily add films if the wobble bothers them.

The verdict. Divinikey and Milktooth independently converge on 60g / 70g, RTINGS ranks it their top linear, and Divinikey confirms the V2 fixed the contact-leaf fault — about as much corroboration as any switch in this category gets.

Best Factory Lubrication / Deepest Sound: Gateron Oil King

You want thock without opening a single switch, buying a syringe of Krytox, or losing an evening to it. This is the switch that made “no modding required” a real thing.

Overview. Gateron’s own product page publishes the spec set: linear, 55±5g operating force, 2.0mm pre-travel, 4.0mm total travel, POM stem, nylon top housing, Ink bottom housing, 20mm black-plated spring, plug-in LED support, pre-lubed, 5-pin, 35-piece packs.

What Gateron does not publish, anywhere on that page, is a bottom-out force. The 65g figure everybody quotes comes from Divinikey (65±5g) and Milktooth (65g). It’s probably right. It’s not a manufacturer spec, and we won’t launder it into one.

Core specs

• Type: linear (Gateron, official)
• Operating force: 55±5g (Gateron, official)
• Bottom-out: 65±5g (vendor-attested — Gateron publishes none)
• Pre-travel / total travel: 2.0mm / 4.0mm
• Top: nylon · Bottom: Ink blend · Stem: POM
• Spring: 20mm black-plated (Gateron) — though Zkeebs calls it stainless steel. Both logged; we’re not picking a winner
• Mount: 5-pin, pre-lubed

Acoustic Profile & Typing Feel

KeebWorks bought a set and reviewed them hands-on, and their finding is the most useful thing written about this switch: possibly the deepest and thockiest switches they’d reviewed to date — and, they noted, that also makes them among the quieter ones. Thocky does not mean loud. That cuts against the internet’s instinct, and it’s worth internalising before you buy.

They also rated the factory lube application as one of the best they’ve seen on any stock switch. Milktooth calls the feel creamy, silky and buttery next to the Ink Black V2’s more polished character.

There’s a catch, and KeebWorks reported it honestly. Some units stick on very slow keypresses — audible in a quiet room, no practical effect at normal speed. Worse, they found the switches sluggish and inconsistent for roughly the first week, which they attributed to the factory lube. It resolved after break-in. A week is unusually long; most switches settle in a day or two.

“Oil King” means four different switches in 2026

The most important paragraph in this section.

Gateron revived the Oil King name in 2026 and turned it into a family of four. ThereminGoat documented it in June 2026: an all-black linear, a pink silent linear, a purple silent tactile, and a yellow heavy tactile. It first surfaced in a Gateron sale post in early March 2026, then an Instagram post on 2 April 2026. He is openly incredulous about the lineage.

The specs are not the original’s. Gateron’s own “Oil King Switch Series Set” page lists the Linear Silent at 45gf with 3.8mm travel, the Tactile Silent at 55gf with 1.5mm pre-travel, and the Heavy Tactile at 60gf.

The new silent linear is 45gf, not 55gf. Gateron currently sells both the original “Oil King Linear Switch Set” and the new “Oil King Switches Series Set” on the same store. Search “Oil King” in 2026 and you can land on a 45gf silent linear thinking you’re buying the classic thock switch. Not one ranking page tells you this.

Also live: an “Oil King V2” with thickened pins, now a dominant Amazon SKU. The switch reviewed here is the original 55±5g all-black linear.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Factory lube application rated one of the best on any stock switch (KeebWorks)
• Possibly the deepest, thockiest sound in the category — and quieter than you’d expect (KeebWorks)
• Gateron publishes an actual official spec sheet for the original
• Zero modding required to sound good

Cons

• Some units stick on very slow presses; ~7-day break-in before they feel right (KeebWorks)
• Fully opaque black housing means no RGB shine-through at all (Zkeebs)
• Gateron publishes no bottom-out force, and vendors disagree wildly — 65g vs 80g
• The name now refers to four different switches

Best for. The buyer who wants the deepest sound out of a sealed bag, doesn’t run RGB, and can tolerate a week of break-in before the switches feel like themselves.

The verdict. Buy it for the sound and the lube, not the convenience — KeebWorks rated the factory lube among the best on any stock switch and called the sound possibly the deepest they’d tested, then spent a week waiting for the sluggishness to break in.

Best Budget: Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow (KS-9 3.0)

It’s the only switch on this entire list where the manufacturer publishes both force numbers. That’s not a coincidence. It’s why it won the slot.

Overview. The G Pro 3.0 Yellow is the third iteration of the KS-9 platform, released around Q2/Q3 2023 with almost no announcement (ThereminGoat). KBDfans reproduces Gateron’s datasheet in full: 50±15gf operating force, 67gf “bottom touching force,” 2.0±0.6mm pre-travel, 4.0mm total travel, 15.4mm spring, POM stem, transparent PC top, white nylon bottom.

MechanicalKeyboards.com, KeebsForAll, Mechboards, Milktooth, Thockfactory and UniKeys all independently list the same 50g / 67g pair. Every source checked agrees. On this roster, that’s genuinely unusual.

ThereminGoat measured the 3.0’s bottom-out closer to 65–67gf, down from the G Pro 1.0’s roughly 70gf.

Core specs

• Type: linear (Gateron datasheet)
• Operating force: 50±15gf (Gateron) · Bottom-out: 67gf (Gateron)
• Pre-travel / total travel: 2.0±0.6mm / 4.0mm
• Top: transparent PC · Bottom: white nylon · Stem: POM
• Spring: 15.4mm
• Mount: 5-pin (a 3-pin variant exists — MtnKbd lists one)
• Factory lubed: yes, in theory

Acoustic Profile & Typing Feel

ThereminGoat makes a point worth stealing: the clear-over-white housing breaks people’s expectations. Most of us built our mental model of “Gateron Yellow” on Milky Yellows (KS-3-X1) or KS-8s, whose thicker, milkier housings give a more muted, firmer bottom-out. The 3.0 doesn’t do that. Its bottom-out is more direct and responsive — though he’s careful to say it isn’t sharply pointed either.

Milktooth files it as polished, high-pitched, resonant and creamy, with a bouncy, clacky profile. If you were expecting a muted milky Gateron, this is brighter than the name suggests.

The yellow decoder: Milky Yellow Pro vs Yellow Pro vs G Pro 3.0

“Gateron Yellow” isn’t one switch. It’s at least four SKUs, and Gateron sells them all simultaneously on its own store.

mkbguide decodes the codes: KS-3 is the original MX-clone platform, KS-3X1 is the full milky housing, KS-3X47 is milky top with black bottom.

Gateron’s own KS-9 vs KS-3 explainer is the useful document, and it publishes no bottom-out for either. Both sit around 50gf with near-identical force curves. The Milky Yellow Pro (KS-3) is quieter and deeper thanks to the nylon, but the stem is relatively loose — more wobble. The Yellow Pro (KS-9) uses an upgraded mould with a firmer snap-on structure, so less wobble, and the PC housing reads higher-pitched and fuller.

Here’s the trap nobody in the top ten mentions: the Milky Yellow Pro’s LED compatibility is restricted. Per Gateron, it takes only 2-pin 3mm round lights and non-raised SMD LEDs, because of the housing and base design. The Yellow Pro (KS-9) takes 2-pin, 4-pin, SMD and RGB-SMD. Buy Milky Yellow Pros for an RGB board because they’re cheaper and deeper, and you may not get the lighting you paid for.

Pros and cons

Pros

• The only switch here where the manufacturer publishes both actuation and bottom-out
• Every independent source checked agrees on 50g / 67g
• Clear PC top passes light well; broad LED compatibility

Cons

• Factory-lube consistency is the real flaw. A verified Amazon buyer opened a “factory lubed” G Pro 3.0 and found no lube at all
• A Mechboards customer reports switches that stopped registering input consistently after a period of use, forcing them onto spares
• Pin count is genuinely contested — most vendors list 5-pin, MtnKbd lists 3-pin. Both exist
• Brighter and clackier than the “Gateron Yellow” reputation implies

Best for. Anyone filling a full-size board on a budget who’d rather have honest specs and a bit of QC roulette than a premium switch at triple the cost.

The verdict. 50±15gf / 67gf straight off Gateron’s datasheet with six vendors independently confirming both — the trade-off is transparent: you’re buying the best-documented switch on this list and accepting that the factory lube is a coin flip.

Best Mainstream Pick: Cherry MX2A Red

The default answer. Also the one switch here you can buy as a factory-official kit instead of somebody’s repackaged tray.

Overview. Cherry’s spec table is more informative than the entire first page of search results, and almost nobody reports it. Here it is in full:

Construction, per Cherry: factory-applied premium lubricant, a noise-reducing barrel spring, a spring-centering stem, glide-optimised stem guidance ribs, diamond-polished stem and spring guidance.

Official part numbers: MX2A_L1NA and MX2A-L1NB (RGB), MX2A_L1NN and MX2A-L1NW (non-RGB).

Core specs

• Type: linear (Cherry, official)
• Initial / actuation / final: 30 / 45 / 100 cN (Cherry, official)
• Pre-travel / travel: 2.0mm / 4.0mm
• Contact: MX Gold Crosspoint, >100M keystrokes
• Factory lubricated, barrel spring, guidance ribs
• SKUs: MX2A-L1NB (RGB), MX2A-L1NW (non-RGB)

Acoustic Profile & Typing Feel

Cherry’s marketing says the MX2A is a meaningful step up: new barrel spring, more factory lube, redesigned guidance ribs. ThereminGoat took a set apart and came back more measured.

He credits Cherry for finally being explicit — the MX2A is the first time the company has drawn a clear line in the sand between old and new. But on inspection he found the stems largely identical to legacy MX stems, the obvious change being noticeably more factory lube on the slider rails and centre pole. On the celebrated barrel spring, his verdict: the difference is noticeable but beyond subtle, and he wagered that had Cherry not advertised it, most users would never have clocked it.

That’s the honest counterweight, and you won’t find it on the pages ranking above this one.

MX vs MX2A: which mould are you actually getting?

RTINGS’ Cherry MX Red review covers the legacy MX1A mould, not the MX2A. Anyone quoting RTINGS’ Cherry measurements as MX2A data is quoting the wrong switch.

Cherry doesn’t help. The product page at cherry.de is titled “CHERRY MX RED” while the images and key-benefit bullets on that same page say “CHERRY MX2A RED.” When the manufacturer can’t keep its own naming straight, the reader has no chance.

Two more things (mkbguide): not everything moved to MX2A. The MX Special line — Clear, Grey, Green, White, Black Clear-Top — deliberately retains legacy MX1A construction. Newer community releases like Northern Light, Blossom, Falcon and Honey are MX2A from day one. And the MX2A Silent Red is a separate switch (1.9mm pre-travel, 3.7mm total). Don’t fold it in.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Cherry publishes a genuine three-point force curve — more data than any other maker here
• Rated >100 million keystrokes, MX Gold Crosspoint contacts
• Brand-official Amazon kit exists (36-piece Cherry Switch Kit) rather than a repackaged tray
• Distinct part numbers for RGB and non-RGB

Cons

• ThereminGoat found the MX2A changes subtle on teardown — you may be paying partly for marketing
• Cherry publishes no community-style bottom-out figure; vendor guesses run from 55 cN to 75g
• Cherry’s own page can’t decide whether it’s an MX Red or an MX2A Red
• RTINGS’ widely-cited Cherry data is the old mould

Best for. The buyer who wants a switch that will be available, supported and identical in five years, and who values a factory-sealed kit over enthusiast novelty.

The verdict. Nothing else here gives you 30 / 45 / 100 cN straight from the manufacturer’s table with a >100M keystroke rating behind it — but ThereminGoat’s teardown, which called the new barrel spring noticeable but beyond subtle, is the reason to buy this for reliability rather than for feel.

Best for Fast-Paced Gaming: Cherry MX2A Speed Silver

Every roundup calls this the “lighter, faster” switch. Cherry’s own spec tables say it isn’t lighter at all.

Overview. Cherry publishes: linear, initial force 30 cN, actuation force 45 cN, final force 100 cN, pre-travel 1.2mm, actuator travel 3.4mm, MX Gold Crosspoint, >100M keystrokes.

Compare that with the MX2A Red a section above. The force triple is identical. Same 30, same 45, same 100.

It’s not lighter than the Red. It’s shorter. The two switches share the same spring weighting. The only thing Cherry changed is the travel geometry — 1.2mm to actuation instead of 2.0mm, 3.4mm total instead of 4.0mm.

That’s not our opinion. It’s on Cherry’s public tables, and every ranking page in this category has been calling the Speed Silver a lighter switch anyway. Buy it expecting a featherweight press and you’ll be disappointed by a 45 cN actuation that feels exactly like a Red.

Cherry’s SKUs also settle a question nobody else answers: MX2A-51NA (3-pin faceplate, RGB), MX2A-51NB (5-pin PCB, RGB), MX2A-51NN (3-pin, non-RGB), MX2A-51NW (5-pin, non-RGB). Cherry ships both pin counts as separate part numbers. Check the code before you order.

Core specs

• Type: linear (Cherry, official)
• Initial / actuation / final: 30 / 45 / 100 cN (Cherry, official — identical to the MX2A Red)
• Pre-travel: 1.2mm · Actuator travel: 3.4mm
• Contact: MX Gold Crosspoint, >100M keystrokes
• SKUs: MX2A-51NA / 51NB / 51NN / 51NW (pin count and RGB encoded in the code)

Acoustic Profile & Typing Feel

Sound-wise this is a Cherry MX2A with 0.6mm less travel, so expect a shorter, tighter stroke rather than a different character. And we’ll say plainly what we can’t say: no publicly readable lab measurements exist for the MX2A Speed Silver’s sound. RTINGS reviewed the legacy Speed Silver, and that review is behind a membership wall we didn’t read. Anyone quoting dB figures for this switch either paid for them or made them up.

The feel trade-off is real and easy to state. A 1.2mm actuation point is an advantage in twitch shooters and a genuine liability for typing — you’ll trigger keys you only meant to rest your fingers on.

And a “best for gaming” pick should be honest about this: hall-effect boards with adjustable actuation points now do everything the Speed Silver was invented to do, and let you dial the actuation to whatever you want. Its entire pitch has been undercut by a technology that didn’t exist when it launched.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Shortest actuation of any full-height mechanical linear on this list, at 1.2mm (Cherry, official)
• Cherry ships explicit 3-pin and 5-pin part numbers — no guessing at hot-swap fit
• 100M keystroke rating, same contact system as the Red
  
  
• Brand-official Amazon kit available

Cons

• Accidental actuation while typing is a structural downside of 1.2mm pre-travel
• Not actually lighter than the MX2A Red — same 45 cN actuation, same 100 cN final force
• Hall-effect boards with adjustable actuation undercut its whole reason for existing
• No publicly readable acoustic or force measurements for the MX2A version

Best for. Competitive FPS players on a standard mech board who want the shortest possible key press and won’t be writing essays on the same keyboard.

The verdict. At 1.2mm pre-travel and 3.4mm total it is the shortest-throw switch here by Cherry’s own table — but that same table gives it a 45 cN actuation identical to the Red, so buy it for travel, never for lightness.

Best Short-Travel Pick: Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro

Short travel, dustproof stem, five pins — and a manufacturer whose two websites publish different specs for the same switch.

Overview. Akko lists the V3 Cream Yellow Pro as a linear with 50gf operating force, 3.3mm total travel and roughly 2.0mm pre-travel. The Pro upgrades over the non-Pro are documented by Akko itself: 5-pin for stability, a dustproof stem, silver contacts upgraded to palladium gold, phosphor copper upgraded to alloy copper, and pre-lubed rails.

Now the awkward part. Akko’s EU site and Akko’s global site contradict each other. akkogear.eu publishes 50 ± 10gf operating force and 2.0 ± 0.6mm pre-travel. en.akkogear.com publishes 50gf ± 5gf and 2.0 ± 0.5mm. Same switch. Same company. Different tolerances.

That’s not a vendor getting it wrong. That’s the manufacturer disagreeing with itself, and it’s exactly the kind of thing a roundup should tell you instead of quietly picking whichever number reads better.

Akko publishes no bottom-out force at all. LumeKeebs says 60g. IKASAYA says 60g. KBD.news says 55g. Take your pick — they’re all estimates.

Core specs

• Type: linear (Akko — “Tactile Position: N/A,” “Tactile Force: N/A,” which confirms it)
• Operating force: 50 ± 10gf (Akko EU) / 50gf ± 5gf (Akko global)
• Bottom-out: not published. Vendors say 55g or 60g
• Pre-travel / total travel: ~2.0mm / 3.3mm
• Top: PC · Bottom: nylon · Stem: POM (Deskhero says “LY” — logged, unresolved)
• Spring: 20mm (LumeKeebs, KBD.news) or 22mm (Deskhero) — vendors disagree
• Mount: 5-pin, dustproof stem, lubed rails

Acoustic Profile & Typing Feel

LumeKeebs reviewed the Pro hands-on and found no spring ping and no scratchiness out of the box, with a hard, creamy, mid-toned bottom-out and a poppy top-out. They place the spring weight right at the median for linears.

An Akko customer review of the Pro adds a useful corrective: it’s louder, clackier and less “creamy” than the standard V3s, with a larger spring and a crisper upstroke. So if you’re buying it because of the word “cream,” adjust expectations.

(One attribution point we’re going to be pedantic about: KeebWorks’ well-known review — the one calling this switch too light for typing and slightly scratchy at slow presses, and saying gaming is where it shines — is a review of the non-Pro. Different switch. We won’t pin those findings on the Pro, and neither should anyone else.)

Cream vs Creamy vs Pro: the three-name problem

Akko’s own global site serves the URL akko-v3-cream-yellow-pro-switch-45pcs under the page title “Akko V3 Creamy Yellow Pro Switch.” RTINGS files it as “V3 Creamy Yellow Pro.” The EU store calls it “V3 Cream Yellow Pro.” One switch, three names, one of them from the manufacturer’s own CMS.

More importantly: the non-Pro is a genuinely different switch.

Pros and cons

Pros

• 3.3mm total travel with a full 5-pin mount and dustproof stem
• No spring ping or scratchiness out of the box (LumeKeebs)
• Real internal upgrades over the non-Pro: palladium gold contacts, alloy copper leaf
• Genuinely affordable for what it is

Cons

• Akko’s own two websites publish contradictory specs for it
• No bottom-out force published by the manufacturer; vendors split between 55g and 60g
• The stem shape doesn’t sit properly in standard MX switch-holders, which makes hand-lubing awkward (Akko customer review)
• Louder and clackier than the “creamy” name suggests

Best for. The gamer who wants shorter travel than a Cherry without paying enthusiast markup, building on a hot-swap PCB where the 5-pin mount and dustproof stem earn their keep.

The verdict. LumeKeebs found it free of spring ping and scratchiness stock, with a hard creamy bottom-out at 3.3mm travel — a good switch to actually use, and one whose paper specs you should trust only as far as Akko’s two websites agree with each other, which is not very far.

Best Enthusiast Pick: HMX Xinhai

The anti-thock switch. Loud, bright, clacky, almost no wobble — and it ships in two weights under one name, 18 grams apart.

Overview. Xinhai is designed by HC Studio and manufactured by HMX, and it’s the switch here that best represents what post-Gateron, post-Cherry enthusiast design sounds like in 2026.

One caveat before any number below: HMX publishes no English manufacturer spec sheet. Every figure traces back to a vendor. Not one is manufacturer-confirmed. RTINGS has a review; it’s paywalled and we didn’t read it.

Core specs

• Type: linear
• Two spring weights under one name: 37g actuation / 45g bottom-out (light) and 55g / 62.5g (heavy)
• Pre-travel / total travel: 2.0mm / 3.4mm (The Key Source Magazine measured 3.44mm)
• Top: PA12 · Bottom: modified nylon · Stem: POM, long-pole
• Spring: 22mm KOS single-stage extended
• Mount: 5-pin, factory lubed
• Conflicts logged: MechanicalKeyboards.com lists the light bottom-out at 46g rather than 45g. Milktooth calls the top housing “nylon” rather than PA12 — PA12 is a nylon, so that’s imprecision, not contradiction

Acoustic Profile & Typing Feel

LumeKeebs describes Xinhai as clean, clacky, loud, bright and high-pitched — clackier and higher-pitched than the HMX Cloud, most likely because of the shorter travel and more abrupt bottom-out. They report very little stem wobble and smoothness that barely improves with hand lubing or films, because it’s already smooth.

The Key Source Magazine, who reviewed it hands-on, supplies the detail that explains it: the PA12 top housing produces a notably softer, less pronounced top-out sound than HMX’s usual PA66/PA2 housings, while the POM stem gives a crisper, higher-pitched bottom-out than the POK stem in the Macchiato.

If you came here for thock, avoid this switch. If you want a bright, snappy, high-pitched board, it’s the best-characterised option on the roster.

37g or 55g? Get this wrong and you’ll hate it

Both weights ship under the name “HMX Xinhai.”

The Key Source Magazine bought the 37g and found it genuinely difficult to type on. The light actuation caused numerous inconsistencies and mistypes, made worse by the short 3.4mm travel, which makes accidental bottom-out easy. They adapted over time — and still recommend the 55g to most people.

It gets worse for cross-shoppers. Thock King publishes only the 55g / 62.5g figures and omits the light version entirely. Buy a 37g Xinhai, check the spec against Thock King, and you’ll be reading numbers for a switch 18g heavier than the one in your hand. Kinetic Labs sells both.

One more disambiguation: Xinhai and Macchiato share identical housing materials. The only difference is the stem — Xinhai uses POM (crisper, higher-pitched), Macchiato uses POK (a pronounced mid-range thock). Don’t cross-reference reviews between them.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Very little stem wobble, and very smooth stock (LumeKeebs)
• Bright, clean, high-pitched acoustics — the most distinctive sound profile on this list
• Long-pole stem with a 22mm KOS spring, factory lubed
• Three credible independent hands-on sources (Milktooth, The Key Source Magazine, LumeKeebs)

Cons

• Reports of factory lube pooling in the centre well, and of spring ping (The Key Source Magazine)
• The 37g variant causes mistypes — most people should not buy it
• No manufacturer spec sheet exists in English, so every published number is a vendor’s
• Amazon access is via Zkeebs, a reseller — Amazon’s own listing carries a “small business brand” badge, not HMX’s

Best for. The builder who’s already tried Gaterons and Cherries, wants something clacky and bright rather than deep, and is buying the 55g.

The verdict. Take the 55g: LumeKeebs found it very smooth with almost no stem wobble, while The Key Source Magazine found the 37g’s light actuation caused enough mistypes that they recommend the heavier weight to nearly everyone — and since HMX publishes no spec sheet at all, treat every number here as a vendor’s word, not a manufacturer’s.

What to actually look for in a linear switch

Thocky vs clacky: it’s the housing, not the price

Sound comes from materials, not cost. Nylon housings are quieter and deeper — that’s why the Oil King (nylon top, Ink bottom) sounds the way it does, and why Gateron’s own explainer says the nylon Milky Yellow Pro reads deeper than the PC-topped Yellow Pro.

Polycarbonate is higher-pitched and fuller. PA12, in the Xinhai, softens the top-out specifically, which is why that switch sounds bright on the bottom-out without being harsh on release.

Long-pole stems shorten total travel and sharpen the bottom-out. Xinhai has one. So does the Akko non-Pro. That’s part of why both read clackier than their spec sheets suggest.

Linear switches for gaming: travel matters more than weight

Start with the Speed Silver finding, because it reframes everything: Cherry’s tables give the MX2A Red and the MX2A Speed Silver the identical 30 / 45 / 100 cN force curve. The Speed Silver is shorter, not lighter.

So when you’re shopping for gaming, stop reading the actuation force. Read the pre-travel. That’s the number that changes how fast a key registers. Then be honest about the cost: 1.2mm pre-travel means accidental keypresses when you type.

Budget linear switches: where the money actually goes

At the budget end you’re paying for the mould and the plastic, and the factory lube is the first thing to get inconsistent. That’s not cynicism — it’s the G Pro 3.0’s documented flaw, with a verified Amazon buyer finding no lube inside a “factory lubed” switch.

At the premium end you’re paying for lube consistency, better housings and tighter tolerances. Whether that’s worth the jump is your call. But the line is real and visible.

3-pin vs 5-pin, and when you have to clip

5-pin switches have two extra plastic legs that stabilise the switch on a PCB-mount board. Plate-mount boards usually need 3-pin.

You can clip those two legs off a 5-pin switch with flush cutters and it becomes a 3-pin. That conversion only runs one direction, so clip carefully.

Cherry sidesteps the whole thing by shipping distinct part numbers — MX2A-51NA is 3-pin, MX2A-51NB is 5-pin. Nobody else here does that, and vendors for the G Pro 3.0 openly contradict each other on pin count.

Factory lube: what “pre-lubed” does and doesn’t guarantee

“Pre-lubed” is a claim, not a standard. No minimum, no consistency requirement, no penalty for missing it.

KeebWorks rated the Oil King’s factory lube among the best they’ve seen on a stock switch. In the same category, a verified buyer opened a G Pro 3.0 and found none at all. Same phrase on both boxes.

Where you buy changes what you get

This is the part every other roundup skips, and the part that decides whether you get the switch you ordered.

Then there’s who’s actually selling it. Cherry and Akko have brand-official Amazon listings. HMX reaches Amazon through Zkeebs — a reseller, and Amazon’s own listing carries a “small business brand” badge to prove it.

Repackaging isn’t automatically bad. But a repackager writes its own product description, and that’s precisely how an Oil King ends up on Amazon with a “Tactile Force” spec line.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Gateron Ink Black V2 a silent switch? No. The Ink Silent Black V2 is the silent one, and it publishes the identical 60g / 70g / 4.0mm figures — which is exactly why buyers mix them up (Milktooth, Divinikey, keybumps). This question exists because a top-ranking review, Hirosarts, states the opposite and calls the Ink Black V2 the only truly silent Ink switch. It isn’t silent at all.

What’s the difference between Gateron Milky Yellow Pro and Gateron Yellow Pro? Milky Yellow Pro is KS-3; Yellow Pro (also sold as G Pro Yellow) is KS-9. Both sit around 50gf operating force with near-identical force curves, per Gateron’s own explainer. The Milky is quieter and deeper thanks to its nylon housing, but the stem is looser and its LED compatibility is restricted to 2-pin 3mm round lights and non-raised SMD LEDs. The Yellow Pro has a firmer mould, less wobble, and broad RGB support.

Should I buy the 37g or the 55g HMX Xinhai? Most people should buy the 55g. The Key Source Magazine, who bought and typed on the 37g, found the light actuation caused frequent mistypes, made worse by the short 3.4mm travel. They adapted eventually and still recommend the 55g to most buyers.

Is the Cherry MX2A actually better than the old MX Red? Cherry says yes: new barrel spring, factory lubrication, redesigned guidance ribs. ThereminGoat, who took them apart, is more measured — he found the stems largely unchanged from legacy MX and described the barrel-spring difference as noticeable but beyond subtle, wagering most users wouldn’t have noticed if Cherry hadn’t advertised it. Both views are worth holding.

Why do different sites list different bottom-out forces for the same switch? Because most manufacturers don’t publish one. Gateron publishes no bottom-out for the Oil King. Akko publishes none at all. Cherry publishes a “final force” instead, which measures something different. Vendors fill the vacuum with estimates, and the estimates disagree — sometimes by 15 grams or more.

What does “Oil King” mean in 2026? Four different switches. Gateron revived the name in 2026 across an all-black linear, a pink silent linear (45gf — not 55), a purple silent tactile and a yellow heavy tactile, documented by ThereminGoat and live on Gateron’s own store. If you want the classic thock switch, you want the all-black linear at 55±5g.

Can I use 5-pin switches in a 3-pin board? Yes. Clip off the two plastic legs with flush cutters and a 5-pin becomes a 3-pin. Several switches here ship as 5-pin: Oil King, Ink Black V2 and Xinhai. Cherry avoids the question entirely by shipping separate part numbers for each pin count (MX2A-51NA for 3-pin, MX2A-51NB for 5-pin).

How We Researched This

This guide was compiled using a synthesis-based research methodology. Technical specifications come from official manufacturer spec sheets. Acoustic and typing-feel observations are drawn from published independent reviews (cited by name where they exist) and from the wider mechanical-keyboard enthusiast community.

No hands-on units were physically tested for this guide. Instead, we cross-referenced technical data and reviewer findings across multiple independent sources to compile an objective, comparative analysis. Where a claim reflects a manufacturer’s own rating rather than an independent measurement, we say so. For more details on our standards, please visit our dedicated Methodology page.

What we’d actually put in a board

If you want one switch and you don’t want to think about it: the Gateron Ink Black V2, at a vendor-attested 60g / 70g, with more independent coverage behind it than anything else in the category. Just check the SKU doesn’t say Silent, Pro or Box.

If you’re filling a full-size board and the budget is real: the Gateron G Pro 3.0 Yellow, because Gateron publishes 50±15gf and 67gf on the same datasheet — the only switch on this list where that’s true. That single fact is worth more than every roundup on the first page of search results, all of which will confidently quote you a bottom-out figure their manufacturer never printed.