Cherry MX Red MX2A vs Gateron Ink Red V2
On paper these two are the same spring. The Cherry MX Red MX2A and the Gateron Ink Red V2 tie at every published measuring point, so the answer has to come from sound and build. Our full 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 Red MX2A | Gateron Ink Red V2 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | 60 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Cherry and Gateron 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 Gateron 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 we derive a bottom-out figure .
Verdict
Stroke character is a tie. Two linears feel alike under a finger, which pushes the decision onto the rows the spec sheet cannot fill in. Both springs measure 45 g at actuation and match at bottom-out too, so weight will not settle it. Neither Cherry nor Gateron publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those are our estimates. Price splits them too: the Cherry MX Red MX2A is the mid priced option while the Gateron Ink Red V2 sits in the premium priced bracket, which adds up across a 70 switch board. One pick, not three: the Cherry MX Red MX2A takes gaming and typing, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room. The Gateron Ink Red V2 is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Cherry MX Red MX2A
No use case rescues the Gateron Ink Red V2 here. The Cherry MX Red MX2A wins gaming, typing and the office question alike, so the block collapses to one.
Force curves
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.
Gateron Ink Red V2
Gateron 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 Red MX2A or Gateron Ink Red V2: the long answer
Read the spec sheet once, carefully, and most of this decision makes itself. Weight settles nothing: 45 g at actuation and 60 g at bottom-out, identical on both. Neither Cherry nor Gateron publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those are our estimates. The stroke itself is shared: 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. Same stroke, same published spring: what is left to choose on is voice and the small print.
Now the part spec sheets cannot carry: the voice. Two different voices: neutral mid-pitched clack with a faint scratch on the slide on the Cherry MX Red MX2A, light and airy with the Ink housing's deep undertone on the Gateron Ink Red V2. 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 price and practicality, the Cherry MX Red MX2A is mid priced, while the Gateron Ink Red V2 is premium priced. Factory lube on both, so the smoothness you hear in the player is roughly the smoothness you get.
That leaves an unusually simple answer, because one switch wins on all three counts: the Cherry MX Red MX2A is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, the honest answer is that either would do, and it wins on a margin too small to feel. 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 Gateron Ink Red V2 to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. None of this beats hearing them yourself, which the player above lets you do in about a minute.
Want the full story on either switch? Read the dedicated Cherry MX Red MX2A page and the Gateron Ink Red V2 page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Cherry MX Red MX2A or Gateron Ink Red V2 for gaming?
We pick the Cherry MX Red MX2A for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Cherry MX Red MX2A or Gateron Ink Red V2: which one is quieter?
They are close. Neither is a silent switch and neither clicks, so loudness depends mostly on how hard you bottom out and the board they sit in. Their character differs though: the Cherry MX Red MX2A leans toward neutral mid-pitched clack with a faint scratch on the slide, while the Gateron Ink Red V2 is light and airy with the Ink housing's deep undertone.
Cherry MX Red MX2A vs Gateron Ink Red V2: which one is the heavier press?
Neither: they match at actuation and at bottom-out alike (45 g at actuation), so any difference in feel comes from the stroke rather than the spring. Neither Cherry nor Gateron publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those numbers are our own derivation from the forces they do publish.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Cherry MX Red MX2A or the Gateron Ink Red V2?
The Cherry MX Red MX2A sits in the mid priced bracket and the Gateron Ink Red V2 in the premium priced one. We do not hold a reliable per-switch price for both, so the bracket is the honest answer rather than a total.
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