Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro vs NovelKeys NK Cream
The Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro and the NovelKeys NK Cream sit in different price brackets, which across the 70-odd switches a board needs is a bigger difference than most of the spec sheet. Our switch library links the two to each other for that reason. Play the A/B bursts below to hear them back to back, match the volumes, then read the spec table and the verdict.
Hear them back to back
simulated from real specssound loads on your first tapShortcuts: press A or B anywhere outside a text box to fire that burst. Use the volume trims to loudness-match the pair before judging which sounds better.
Spec by spec
| Spec | Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro | NovelKeys NK Cream |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 50 g | 55 g |
| Bottom-out force | 55 g (our estimate) | 70 g |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 3.3 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Budget | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Akko and NovelKeys both advertise an actuation force, so the two headline figures in this table are measured at the same point and can be read against each other. The figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because Akko publishes no bottom-out figure for the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
This is a linear versus linear contest: the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro and the NovelKeys NK Cream share the same stroke character, which makes the smaller spec gaps decisive. Budget also has a say, since the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro is budget friendly and the NovelKeys NK Cream is premium priced. Weight is nearly even at actuation: 55 g for the NovelKeys NK Cream against 50 g, a gap most fingers will barely register. Nothing here separates by use case: the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro is our pick for gaming and for typing, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room. Take the NovelKeys NK Cream only if you specifically want unique rounded POM clack-thock, deep and resonant.
- Overall pick
- Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro
This pair does not split by use case: the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro comes out ahead of the NovelKeys NK Cream on all three, so there is one pick here rather than three.
Force curves
Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro
Akko publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 55 g at the end of the stroke is our estimate and the run into it is dashed. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers. How we derive it.
NovelKeys NK Cream
Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro or NovelKeys NK Cream: the long answer
Money separates these two more cleanly than any spec does. The Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro is budget friendly, while the NovelKeys NK Cream is premium priced. Only the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro comes factory lubed, so the NovelKeys NK Cream asks for either an evening with a brush or tolerance of a drier stroke.
The specs are the smaller half of this pair, but they are not nothing. Actuation lands at 2.0 mm on both, but the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro bottoms out 0.7 mm sooner, 3.3 mm against 4.0 mm. Springs split them by 5 g at actuation: 55 g for the NovelKeys NK Cream, 50 g for the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro. The stroke itself is shared: both give you spring resistance and nothing else. Neither one out-feels the other on type, so the small differences in the table are where the decision lives.
Sound is where most people finally pick a side. Played back to back, the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro is muted creamy thock, budget icon against unique rounded POM clack-thock, deep and resonant from the NovelKeys NK Cream. Both packs are synthesized rather than recorded, so read the comparison as a faithful sketch of each voice and not as a measurement of it.
So who should buy which? The same switch wins every way we score it: the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair. On typing feel, its keystroke stays consistent and comfortable across a full day of writing. On noise, it is the quieter of the two once the room is listening. That leaves the NovelKeys NK Cream to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. The player above is the cheapest part of this decision, so use it before your wallet is involved.
Want the full story on either switch? Read the dedicated Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro page and the NovelKeys NK Cream page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for gaming, the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro or the NovelKeys NK Cream?
We pick the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro for gaming. The two are close enough for gaming that either works; our scoring defaults to it by a small margin.
Which of the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro and the NovelKeys NK Cream is quieter in a shared room?
Volume is roughly a wash: no dampening and no click mechanism on either, so your typing force and your case decide the level. The character is not a wash, with the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro reading as muted creamy thock, budget icon against unique rounded POM clack-thock, deep and resonant from the NovelKeys NK Cream.
Which switch is heavier, the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro or the NovelKeys NK Cream?
The NovelKeys NK Cream, by 5 g. Both figures are published at actuation, 55 g against 50 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro or the NovelKeys NK Cream?
The Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro sits in the budget friendly bracket and the NovelKeys NK Cream in the premium priced one. We do not hold a reliable per-switch price for both, so the bracket is the honest answer rather than a total.
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