Cherry MX Green vs Kailh BOX Navy
Two clicky switches with two different click mechanisms: the Cherry MX Green against the Kailh BOX Navy is a comparison of tone, not of volume. Our library of every switch we simulate 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 | Cherry MX Green | Kailh BOX Navy |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 80 g | 60 g |
| Bottom-out force | 105 g (our estimate) | not published |
| 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. 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 Green. How we derive a bottom-out figure .
Verdict
The type row says clicky twice, which undersells it: these two clicks are produced by different mechanisms. 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 Navy. Weight separates them clearly: measured at actuation, the Cherry MX Green is 20 g heavier than the Kailh BOX Navy, which changes both fatigue and sound. The scoring splits them: the Kailh BOX Navy 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 Navy
- Typing pick
- Kailh BOX Navy
- 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 Navy
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 Green or Kailh BOX Navy: the long answer
Noise is the headline on this pair, so start there. Put them through the player above and the Cherry MX Green lands as loud, slightly deeper click than Blue with a firm landing where the Kailh BOX Navy lands as the deepest, loudest, most forceful click in production. 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 Navy, which is most of the tonal difference you are hearing. 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. Worth repeating: the audio here is a simulation built from specs and community descriptions, not a recording of either switch.
Back to the mechanical side. Weight is the loud fact here. At actuation the Cherry MX Green takes 80 g where the Kailh BOX Navy takes 60 g, and 20 g is enough to change how the third hour feels. On distance the Kailh BOX Navy registers at 1.8 mm against 2.2 mm, and the full stroke runs 4.0 mm on the Cherry MX Green against 3.6 mm on the Kailh BOX Navy. The stroke itself is shared: both stack a click mechanism on a bump you already feel. Everything else about them is close enough that the spring is the honest tiebreak.
On the practical side, both are mid priced. Neither ships lubed, so budget an evening with a brush if you want either at its best.
The Kailh BOX Navy is the default here: a lighter spring at actuation and a shorter distance to actuation go its way for fast inputs, and the click turns a long writing session into a rhythm, if your room allows it 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.
For either one on its own terms, read the Cherry MX Green page and the Kailh BOX Navy 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 Navy?
We pick the Kailh BOX Navy 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 Navy is quieter in a shared room?
Neither, honestly. Both are clicky switches that announce every keystroke, so neither belongs in a quiet shared space. If noise is the deciding factor, a silent tactile is the better direction entirely.
Cherry MX Green vs Kailh BOX Navy: which one is the heavier press?
The Cherry MX Green. Both brands publish at actuation, which makes 80 g against 60 g an honest 20 g rather than two numbers from different rulers.
More comparisons
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