Cherry MX Clear vs Topre 55g Electrocapacitive
The Cherry MX Clear and the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive do not fit the same keyboard, so this comparison starts with what you already own rather than with how either one sounds. Our full switch library puts these two on each other's shortlist, and the player below is the fastest way to settle it: match the volumes, then work down through the 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 Clear | Topre 55g Electrocapacitive |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 65 g | 55 g |
| Bottom-out force | 95 g (our estimate) | not published |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2.2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | No |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Premium |
| 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 Clear. How we derive a bottom-out figure .
Verdict
Both the Cherry MX Clear and the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive are tactiles, so this matchup comes down to weight, travel and sound rather than feel. Check your board first: the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive does not use an MX style stem, so the two are not interchangeable in the same keyboard. 10 g at actuation is a bracket apart, not a shade, and it is the Cherry MX Clear carrying the heavier end at 65 g. One pick, not three: the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive takes gaming and typing, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room. The Cherry MX Clear is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Topre 55g Electrocapacitive
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
Force curves
Cherry MX Clear
Cherry publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 95 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.
Topre 55g Electrocapacitive
Topre 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 Clear or Topre 55g Electrocapacitive: the long answer
This pair has a fit problem to clear before feel or sound matter. The Topre 55g Electrocapacitive does not use an MX style stem, so it will not drop into a standard hot-swap board or accept ordinary MX keycaps. The Cherry MX Clear is mid priced, while the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive is premium priced. Only the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive comes factory lubed, so the Cherry MX Clear asks for either an evening with a brush or tolerance of a drier stroke.
Now the part the spec table measures. At actuation the Cherry MX Clear is the firmer press, 65 g against 55 g, a difference you notice after a paragraph rather than on the first keystroke. Both are tactiles either way, so both give a finger something to aim at on the way down. Same depth, different trigger point: 2.0 mm on the Cherry MX Clear against 2.2 mm on the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive, both inside 4.0 mm. Everything else about them is close enough that the spring is the honest tiebreak.
Sound decides more of these arguments than force curves do. The Cherry MX Clear sits at deep thud with a heavy, emphatic bottom-out; the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive answers with deeper, firmer thock with authority. As everywhere on the site, these are simulations built from published specifications and documented character. Accurate enough to compare, not a recording.
That leaves an unusually simple answer, because one switch wins on all three counts: the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive 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, nothing about it gets tiring by the afternoon, which is the whole test for a writing switch. On noise, it is the one of these two you would not apologize for. That leaves the Cherry MX Clear to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. Whichever way you land, listen to both above with the volume trims matched before you spend anything.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Cherry MX Clear page and the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Cherry MX Clear or the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive the better gaming switch?
We pick the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive for gaming. This is close to a coin toss. The scoring hands it over by a margin you would not feel in a match.
Which is quieter, the Cherry MX Clear or the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive?
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 Cherry MX Clear reading as deep thud with a heavy, emphatic bottom-out against deeper, firmer thock with authority from the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive.
Cherry MX Clear vs Topre 55g Electrocapacitive: which one is the heavier press?
The Cherry MX Clear, by 10 g. Both figures are published at actuation, 65 g against 55 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
Can the Cherry MX Clear and the Topre 55g Electrocapacitive go in the same keyboard?
No. The Topre 55g Electrocapacitive does not use an MX style stem, so it needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps, while the Cherry MX Clear is a standard MX switch. Whichever you pick decides the keyboard, not the other way round.
More comparisons
More vs Cherry MX Clear
More vs Topre 55g Electrocapacitive
Or browse every switch comparison on the site.