Cherry MX Ergo Clear vs Zeal PC Zealios V2
Weight is the real gap here: 5 g between the Zeal PC Zealios V2 and the Cherry MX Ergo Clear at actuation, which is enough to change how a long session ends. Our library of every switch we simulate 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 Ergo Clear | Zeal PC Zealios V2 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | bottom-out |
| Actuation force | 55 g | 60 g |
| Bottom-out force | 65 g (our estimate) | 67 g |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Street price | varies | ~$1.00 / switch |
Cherry advertises an actuation force for the Cherry MX Ergo Clear and Zeal PC a bottom-out force for the Zeal PC Zealios V2, so the two headline numbers are not measured at the same point. Compare row by row, not brand claim to brand claim. Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure for the Cherry MX Ergo Clear, so the figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation from the forces that are published rather than a rating. How we derive a bottom-out figure .
Verdict
Stroke character is a tie. Two tactiles feel alike under a finger, which pushes the decision onto the rows below the type row. Their springs sit close together, just 5 g apart at actuation, with the Zeal PC Zealios V2 the marginally firmer press. Their voices split them more than their specs: the Cherry MX Ergo Clear sounds like rounded, softened thud; hand-lubed smoothness, while the Zeal PC Zealios V2 gives you rounded clack behind a huge sharp top-of-stroke bump. Where we land: the Cherry MX Ergo Clear for gaming and a shared office, the Zeal PC Zealios V2 for typing.
- Gaming pick
- Cherry MX Ergo Clear
- Typing pick
- Zeal PC Zealios V2
- Office pick
- Cherry MX Ergo Clear
Force curves
Cherry MX Ergo Clear
Cherry publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 65 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.
Zeal PC Zealios V2
Cherry MX Ergo Clear or Zeal PC Zealios V2: the long answer
Read the spec sheet once, carefully, and most of this decision makes itself. Spring weight barely separates them, 5 g at actuation with the Zeal PC Zealios V2 on the firmer side, which most fingers will not register. Both are tactiles either way, so both raise a bump close to the point the press registers. Travel is a straight match, 2.0 mm of pre-travel and 4.0 mm in full on both. Same family of stroke, so read the detail rather than the headline.
The ears usually get the last word here. Two different voices: rounded, softened thud; hand-lubed smoothness on the Cherry MX Ergo Clear, rounded clack behind a huge sharp top-of-stroke bump on the Zeal PC Zealios V2. The usual caveat applies. Nothing here is a studio recording; both packs are synthesized from published specs, and the players say so.
On what they cost to fill a board, both are premium priced, with the Zeal PC Zealios V2 at roughly $1.00 per switch, about $70 for a typical 70 pack and no reliable street price for the Cherry MX Ergo Clear. Neither ships lubed, so budget an evening with a brush if you want either at its best.
So who should buy which? For gaming we lean toward the Cherry MX Ergo Clear, because this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. For long typing sessions the Zeal PC Zealios V2 makes the stronger case, since it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. And if your keyboard shares a room with other people, the Cherry MX Ergo Clear is the one we would trust, as it makes the least fuss of the pair in a shared space. Match the trims above, play both, and trust whichever one you keep replaying.
For either one on its own terms, read the Cherry MX Ergo Clear page and the Zeal PC Zealios V2 page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Cherry MX Ergo Clear or the Zeal PC Zealios V2 the better gaming switch?
We pick the Cherry MX Ergo Clear for gaming. The two are close enough for gaming that either works; our scoring defaults to it by a small margin.
Which is quieter, the Cherry MX Ergo Clear or the Zeal PC Zealios V2?
Nothing in either one is built to reduce noise, so on raw volume this is a tie decided by your keyboard rather than your switch. What you will actually hear is a difference of pitch and texture, which the player above shows better than a sentence can.
Is the Cherry MX Ergo Clear heavier than the Zeal PC Zealios V2?
The Zeal PC Zealios V2, and the comparison is clean: actuation on both sides, 60 g to 55 g.
More comparisons
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