Cherry MX Red MX2A vs Gateron Yellow
Money is the honest first difference between the Cherry MX Red MX2A and the Gateron Yellow: one is budget friendly and the other mid priced, multiplied by a full board. Our library of every switch we simulate cross-links them because this matchup keeps coming up. Start with the A/B bursts below, then take the spec table and the picks in order.
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 Yellow |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | not published |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Budget |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Both makers rate these at actuation, which is the one case where the advertised numbers compare directly. Every other force row still has to be matched basis to basis. 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
The Cherry MX Red MX2A and the Gateron Yellow are both linears, so nothing separates them at the fingertip until you look at springs and acoustics. The Gateron Yellow is the cheaper board to fill by a full bracket, budget friendly against mid priced. Their springs sit close together, just 5 g apart at actuation, with the Gateron Yellow the marginally firmer press. We land on the Cherry MX Red MX2A for every use we score, and it is the one that carries less across a room, so the Gateron Yellow makes sense only if you preferred its voice in the player above.
- Overall pick
- Cherry MX Red MX2A
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Cherry MX Red MX2A, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
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 Yellow
Gateron 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 or Gateron Yellow: the long answer
Start with what these cost to fill a board, because that is the widest gap between them. The Cherry MX Red MX2A is mid priced, while the Gateron Yellow is budget friendly. One of them has already been lubed for you and one has not, which is worth more than the price gap if you were not planning to open 70 switches.
On to the mechanical side. Springs split them by 5 g at actuation: 50 g for the Gateron Yellow, 45 g for the Cherry MX Red MX2A. Both are linears either way, so nothing sits between the top of either key and the bottom. Distance is not the difference: both register at 2.0 mm and stop at 4.0 mm. None of these gaps is large. Stack them up and they still point somewhere, but gently.
The ears usually get the last word here. Through the A/B player above, the Cherry MX Red MX2A comes through as neutral mid-pitched clack with a faint scratch on the slide, while the Gateron Yellow reads as smooth, slightly deep clack; famously good for the money. Worth repeating: the audio here is a simulation built from specs and community descriptions, not a recording of either switch.
The scoring gives up trying to divide this pair: the Cherry MX Red MX2A is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair. On typing feel, nothing about it gets tiring by the afternoon, which is the whole test for a writing switch. On noise, it is the one of these two you would not apologize for. That leaves the Gateron Yellow 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.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Cherry MX Red MX2A page and the Gateron Yellow page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Cherry MX Red MX2A or Gateron Yellow for gaming?
We pick the Cherry MX Red MX2A 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 Red MX2A or the Gateron Yellow?
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 Yellow is smooth, slightly deep clack; famously good for the money.
Which switch is heavier, the Cherry MX Red MX2A or the Gateron Yellow?
The Gateron Yellow, by 5 g. Both figures are published at actuation, 50 g against 45 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Cherry MX Red MX2A or the Gateron Yellow?
The Gateron Yellow sits in the budget friendly bracket and the Cherry MX Red MX2A in the mid priced one. We do not hold a reliable per-switch price for both, so the bracket is the honest answer rather than a total.
More comparisons
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