(Image credit: Future)

As a writer, I really do care about using a keyboard with great comfort and typing feel. But as gamer, I'd also like some of the best features for gaming, whether that's Hall effect switches for rapid trigger, extra macro keys for MMO gaming, or yes, even RGB to get that 1337 g4m3r aesthetic.

The topper is that many of the fantastic keyboards we're seeing popping up—the Gamakay x NaughShark NS68 on this list, the NuPhy Air60 HE, or the Lofree Flow 2, to name a few—are priced very well for what you're getting. That's especially surprising for overtly gaming-oriented keyboards like the NaughShark, given that historically you'd often have to essentially pay a gamer tax for extra features and build quality.

There are almost too many keyboards to choose from this year, but we've managed to narrow it down to just three nominees for the best gaming keyboard of the year.

Best gaming keyboard 2025: the nominees

So there we are, a solid budget, quiet, and ergonomic choice; 2025 really has given us quite the range of gaming keyboards to choose from. If you want to know which of these is the winner of the PC Gamer Hardware Award for best gaming keyboard, you'll have to wait until New Year's Eve, as that's when we'll crown the victor.

Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.

Jacob got his hands on a gaming PC for the first time when he was about 12 years old. He swiftly realised the local PC repair store had ripped him off with his build and vowed never to let another soul build his rig again. With this vow, Jacob the hardware junkie was born. Since then, Jacob's led a double-life as part-hardware geek, part-philosophy nerd, first working as a Hardware Writer for PCGamesN in 2020, then working towards a PhD in Philosophy for a few years while freelancing on the side for sites such as TechRadar, Pocket-lint, and yours truly, PC Gamer. Eventually, he gave up the ruthless mercenary life to join the world's #1 PC Gaming site full-time. It's definitely not an ego thing, he assures us.

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