Cherry MX Green vs Kailh BOX Jade
The Cherry MX Green and the Kailh BOX Jade are separated mostly by spring weight, 30 g of it at actuation, with the Cherry MX Green the firmer press and the Kailh BOX Jade the easier one to hold down. Our library of every switch we simulate 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 Green | Kailh BOX Jade |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 80 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | 105 g (our estimate) | 65 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2.2 mm | 1.8 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 3.6 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Cherry and Kailh 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. Neither Cherry nor Kailh publishes a bottom-out figure, so the two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation from the forces that are published rather than a rating. How that derivation works .
Verdict
This is clicky against clicky with a catch, because the Cherry MX Green and the Kailh BOX Jade make their click in different ways. There is a real weight gap too: 80 g against 50 g at actuation, so the Cherry MX Green asks noticeably more of your fingers over a long session. They also click differently: a click jacket sliding down the stem on the Cherry MX Green against a click bar snapping inside the housing on the Kailh BOX Jade. Where we land: the Kailh BOX Jade for gaming and typing, the Cherry MX Green for a shared office. Read that office call as relative: the Cherry MX Green clicks too, just less insistently.
- Gaming pick
- Kailh BOX Jade
- Typing pick
- Kailh BOX Jade
- Office pick
- Cherry MX Green
Force curves
Cherry MX Green
Cherry publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 105 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 BOX Jade
Kailh 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.
Cherry MX Green or Kailh BOX Jade: the long answer
Put the two side by side on paper before you trust your ears. Weight is the loud fact here. At actuation the Cherry MX Green takes 80 g where the Kailh BOX Jade takes 50 g, and 30 g is enough to change how the third hour feels. Travel differs at both ends, with the Kailh BOX Jade registering first at 1.8 mm and the Cherry MX Green running deepest at 4.0 mm. Type is not in play. Both are clickies, and both stack a click mechanism on a bump you already feel. With the stroke shared, that spring gap does most of the deciding here.
Sound decides more of these arguments than force curves do. Played back to back, the Cherry MX Green is loud, slightly deeper click than Blue with a firm landing against loud, crunchy, metallic double click; unapologetic from the Kailh BOX Jade. They do not even click the same way: a click jacket sliding down the stem on the Cherry MX Green against a click bar snapping inside the housing on the Kailh BOX Jade, which is most of the tonal difference you are hearing. A click you love at your own desk can still be the loudest thing in someone else’s meeting. As everywhere on the site, these are simulations built from published specifications and documented character. Accurate enough to compare, not a recording.
On what they cost to fill a board, both are mid priced. Neither ships lubed, so budget an evening with a brush if you want either at its best.
The Kailh BOX Jade is the default here: a lighter spring at actuation and a shorter distance to actuation go its way for fast inputs, and the click keeps a long session in rhythm, assuming nobody nearby objects across a long session. Swap to the Cherry MX Green when the room is the constraint, as neither of these belongs in a quiet shared room, and this is only the less punishing of the two clicks. 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 Green page and the Kailh BOX Jade page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
For gaming, should I buy the Cherry MX Green or the Kailh BOX Jade?
We pick the Kailh BOX Jade for gaming. Of the two it has the quicker, less intrusive stroke, winning on a lighter spring at actuation and a shorter distance to actuation.
Which of the Cherry MX Green and the Kailh BOX Jade is quieter in a shared room?
Both are loud, so choosing between them is choosing a tone and not a volume. If the room is the constraint, neither of these is the answer and a silent tactile is.
Is the Cherry MX Green heavier than the Kailh BOX Jade?
The Cherry MX Green. Both brands publish at actuation, which makes 80 g against 50 g an honest 30 g rather than two numbers from different rulers.
More comparisons
More vs Cherry MX Green
Or browse every switch comparison on the site.