Alps SKCM Blue vs Alps SKCM White
Nothing in the spec sheet decides between the Alps SKCM Blue and the Alps SKCM White, so this comparison comes down to voice and to what each one costs to fill a board. Our full switch library already points each of these at the other. Hear them back to back below with the trims matched before you read a single number.
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 | Alps SKCM Blue | Alps SKCM White |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 70 g | 70 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | not published |
| Pre-travel | 1.7 mm | 1.7 mm |
| Total travel | 3.5 mm | 3.5 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | No | No |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Both of these are rated at actuation, which is the one case where the advertised numbers compare directly. Every other force row still has to be matched basis to basis.
Verdict
This is a clicky versus clicky contest: the Alps SKCM Blue and the Alps SKCM White share the same stroke character, which makes the smaller spec gaps decisive. Both are rated 70 g at actuation, the only measuring point with a published figure for each, so the spec sheet will not settle weight. With the numbers this close, the honest tiebreak is the voice: full-bodied vintage click, crisp leaf snap with body on the Alps SKCM Blue, bright vintage click, slightly softer than Blue on the Alps SKCM White. One pick, not three: the Alps SKCM Blue takes gaming and typing, and it is the less punishing of the two in a shared room, though neither really belongs in one. The Alps SKCM White is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Alps SKCM Blue
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Alps SKCM Blue, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
Force curves
Alps SKCM Blue
Alps publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the dashed end of the curve is an estimate, not a spec. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers.
Alps SKCM White
Alps publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the dashed end of the curve is an estimate, not a spec. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers.
Alps SKCM Blue or Alps SKCM White: the long answer
Start with feel, because it settles most switch arguments before sound comes up. The stroke is the same shape on both: both fire an audible click alongside the bump. That leaves the spec sheet to separate them. Both come out at 70 g at actuation, and actuation is the only point with a figure for each of them, so the tie is on the spec sheet rather than proven in the hand. Distance is not the difference: both register at 1.7 mm and stop at 3.5 mm. Neither one out-feels the other on type, so the small differences in the table are where the decision lives.
Now the part spec sheets cannot carry: the voice. Put them through the player above and the Alps SKCM Blue lands as full-bodied vintage click, crisp leaf snap with body where the Alps SKCM White lands as bright vintage click, slightly softer than Blue. Either way, both of these are heard by everyone in the room, so the choice between them is a choice of tone and not of volume. These demos are synthesized from published specs and documented character rather than studio recordings, which every player on the site says plainly.
On what they cost to fill a board, both are premium priced. Neither ships lubed, so budget an evening with a brush if you want either at its best. Worth knowing before you order: neither of these uses an MX style stem, so neither will drop into a standard hot-swap board or accept ordinary MX keycaps, and they do not share a mount with each other either.
This one does not split. Every axis we score points the same direction: the Alps SKCM Blue is our pick for gaming and for typing, and the quieter of two switches that both announce themselves. On speed, this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. On typing feel, the click turns a long writing session into a rhythm, if your room allows it. On noise, neither of these belongs in a quiet shared room, and this is only the less punishing of the two clicks. That leaves the Alps SKCM White to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. None of this beats hearing them yourself, which the player above lets you do in about a minute.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Alps SKCM Blue page and the Alps SKCM White page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Alps SKCM Blue or the Alps SKCM White the better gaming switch?
We pick the Alps SKCM Blue for gaming. This is close to a coin toss. The scoring hands it over by a margin you would not feel in a match.
Is the Alps SKCM Blue quieter than the Alps SKCM White?
Neither is quiet. Two click mechanisms means two switches that broadcast every press, and picking between them will not save your colleagues. If noise decides this, look at a silent tactile instead.
Which switch is heavier, the Alps SKCM Blue or the Alps SKCM White?
Neither, as far as the published numbers go: both are rated 70 g at actuation, the only measuring point with a published figure for each. Bottom-out is where two switches matched at actuation often diverge, but neither switch here has a published bottom-out figure at all. Treat this as a tie on the spec sheet rather than a proven match in the hand.
More comparisons
More vs Alps SKCM Blue
More vs Alps SKCM White
Or browse every switch comparison on the site.