Cherry MX Brown MX2A vs Kailh Brown
The Kailh Brown and the Cherry MX Brown MX2A 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 | Cherry MX Brown MX2A | Kailh Brown |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | not published |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Budget |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Both makers rate these 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. The figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure for the Cherry MX Brown MX2A. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
The Cherry MX Brown MX2A and the Kailh Brown are both tactiles, so nothing separates them at the fingertip until you look at springs and acoustics. The Kailh Brown is the cheaper board to fill by a full bracket, budget friendly against mid priced. Their springs sit close together, just 5 g apart at actuation, with the Kailh Brown the marginally firmer press. The Cherry MX Brown MX2A comes out ahead of the Kailh Brown for gaming and for typing, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room, so this comparison has one answer instead of a set of them.
- Overall pick
- Cherry MX Brown MX2A
This pair does not split by use case: the Cherry MX Brown MX2A comes out ahead of the Kailh Brown on all three, so there is one pick here rather than three.
Force curves
Cherry MX Brown MX2A
Cherry publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 60 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.
Kailh Brown
Kailh 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.
Cherry MX Brown MX2A or Kailh Brown: the long answer
Start with what these cost to fill a board, because that is the widest gap between them. The Cherry MX Brown MX2A is mid priced, while the Kailh Brown is budget friendly. One of them has already been lubed for you and one has not, which is worth more than the price gap if you were not planning to open 70 switches.
Now the part the spec table measures. At actuation the Kailh Brown is the firmer press, 50 g against 45 g, a difference you notice after a paragraph rather than on the first keystroke. Cherry and Kailh are both selling you tactiles here, so both raise a bump close to the point the press registers. Distance is not the difference: both register at 2.0 mm and stop at 4.0 mm. None of these gaps is large. Stack them up and they still point somewhere, but gently.
Sound decides more of these arguments than force curves do. Two different voices: soft, slightly sandy mid-pitch tap on the Cherry MX Brown MX2A, light sandy tap, classic budget tactile on the Kailh Brown. The usual caveat applies. Nothing here is a studio recording; both packs are synthesized from published specs, and the players say so.
That leaves an unusually simple answer, because one switch wins on all three counts: the Cherry MX Brown MX2A is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, the honest answer is that either would do, and it wins on a margin too small to feel. On typing feel, nothing about it gets tiring by the afternoon, which is the whole test for a writing switch. On noise, it makes the least fuss of the pair in a shared space. That leaves the Kailh Brown 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.
There is more on both than a head-to-head can carry. Start with the Cherry MX Brown MX2A page and the Kailh Brown page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
For gaming, should I buy the Cherry MX Brown MX2A or the Kailh Brown?
We pick the Cherry MX Brown MX2A for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Is the Cherry MX Brown MX2A quieter than the Kailh Brown?
Neither is dampened, so volume comes down to your board and your typing force. The one audible difference on the spec sheet is lube: the Cherry MX Brown MX2A is lubed at the factory, which takes out spring ping and scratch rather than loudness.
Is the Cherry MX Brown MX2A heavier than the Kailh Brown?
The Kailh Brown. Both brands publish at actuation, which makes 50 g against 45 g an honest 5 g rather than two numbers from different rulers.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Cherry MX Brown MX2A or the Kailh Brown?
The Kailh Brown sits in the budget friendly bracket and the Cherry MX Brown MX2A in the mid priced one. We do not hold a reliable per-switch price for both, so the bracket is the honest answer rather than a total.
More comparisons
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Or browse every switch comparison on the site.