Cherry MX Nature White vs Cherry MX Red MX2A
Weight is the real gap here: 10 g between the Cherry MX Nature White and the Cherry MX Red MX2A at actuation, which is enough to change how a long session ends. Our switch library 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 Nature White | Cherry MX Red MX2A |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 55 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | 60 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Cherry advertises an actuation force for both of these, so the two headline figures in this table are measured at the same point and can be read against each other. Cherry publishes no bottom-out figure for the Cherry MX Red MX2A, so the figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation from the forces that are published rather than a rating. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
Cherry is on both sides of this one and both are linears, so the question is which of its own linears suits you. Weight separates them clearly: measured at actuation, the Cherry MX Nature White is 10 g heavier than the Cherry MX Red MX2A, which changes both fatigue and sound. Only the Cherry MX Red MX2A arrives factory lubed, which is an evening of work saved on a full board. We land on the Cherry MX Red MX2A for every use we score, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room, so the Cherry MX Nature White makes sense only if you preferred its voice in the player above.
- Overall pick
- Cherry MX Red MX2A
No use case rescues the Cherry MX Nature White here. The Cherry MX Red MX2A wins gaming, typing and the office question alike, so the block collapses to one.
Force curves
Cherry MX Nature White
Cherry 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 Red 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.
Cherry MX Nature White or Cherry MX Red MX2A: the long answer
Read the spec sheet once, carefully, and most of this decision makes itself. Springs split them by 10 g at actuation: 55 g for the Cherry MX Nature White, 45 g for the Cherry MX Red MX2A. These are two Cherry MX linears, so nothing sits between the top of either key and the bottom. The two stroke depths are identical, 2.0 mm to actuation inside 4.0 mm of total travel. Everything else about them is close enough that the spring is the honest tiebreak.
Now the part spec sheets cannot carry: the voice. Two different voices: balanced clack, sitting between Red's lightness and Black's depth on the Cherry MX Nature White, neutral mid-pitched clack with a faint scratch on the slide on the Cherry MX Red MX2A. Both packs are synthesized rather than recorded, so read the comparison as a faithful sketch of each voice and not as a measurement of it.
On cost and convenience, both are mid priced. Factory lube is on the Cherry MX Red MX2A alone. Budget the extra time if you pick the Cherry MX Nature White and want it at its best.
This one does not split. Every axis we score points the same direction: the Cherry MX Red MX2A is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. On typing feel, it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. On noise, it is the quieter of the two once the room is listening. That leaves the Cherry MX Nature White to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. Before you order either, match the volume trims above and hear them back to back.
For either one on its own terms, read the Cherry MX Nature White page and the Cherry MX Red MX2A page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for gaming, the Cherry MX Nature White or the Cherry MX Red MX2A?
We pick the Cherry MX Red MX2A 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 of the Cherry MX Nature White and the Cherry MX Red MX2A is quieter in a shared room?
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 Nature White reading as balanced clack, sitting between Red's lightness and Black's depth against neutral mid-pitched clack with a faint scratch on the slide from the Cherry MX Red MX2A.
Cherry MX Nature White vs Cherry MX Red MX2A: which one is the heavier press?
The Cherry MX Nature White. Both brands publish at actuation, which makes 55 g against 45 g an honest 10 g rather than two numbers from different rulers.
Do the Cherry MX Nature White and the Cherry MX Red MX2A need lubing?
The Cherry MX Red MX2A arrives lubed from the factory, so it is usable straight out of the bag. The Cherry MX Nature White does not, and on a full board that is an evening of work if you want it at its smoothest. Plenty of people run unlubed switches happily; it is a question of whether a slightly drier stroke bothers you.
More comparisons
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