Gateron Blue vs Outemu Blue
Nothing in the spec sheet decides between the Gateron Blue and the Outemu Blue, so this comparison comes down to voice and to what each one costs to fill a board. 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 | Gateron Blue | Outemu Blue |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 60 g | 60 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | 65 g |
| Pre-travel | 2.3 mm | 2.2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Budget | Budget |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Gateron and Outemu 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.
Verdict
Gateron and Outemu are selling the same stroke here, so the Gateron Blue and the Outemu Blue separate on spring, distance and voice instead. Both are rated 60 g at actuation, the only measuring point with a published figure for each, so the spec sheet will not settle weight. Travel favors the Outemu Blue: it registers at 2.2 mm where the Gateron Blue needs 2.3 mm. Split by use: the Outemu Blue for gaming and typing, the Gateron Blue for a shared office. Read that office call as relative: the Gateron Blue clicks too, just less insistently.
- Gaming pick
- Outemu Blue
- Typing pick
- Outemu Blue
- Office pick
- Gateron Blue
Force curves
Gateron Blue
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.
Outemu Blue
Gateron Blue or Outemu Blue: the long answer
The table above already holds the answer. Here is what it means under a finger. Both are clickies, so both fire an audible click alongside the bump and the argument moves to the numbers. Weight looks like a tie, 60 g each at actuation, but without a bottom-out figure for each of them there is nothing to check it against. Same depth, different trigger point: 2.2 mm on the Outemu Blue against 2.3 mm on the Gateron Blue, both inside 4.0 mm. Neither one out-feels the other on type, so the small differences in the table are where the decision lives.
What the table cannot tell you is how either one lands in a room. Through the A/B player above, the Gateron Blue comes through as bright, slightly rattly click-jacket snap, while the Outemu Blue reads as harsh, loud, rattly click-jacket snap. 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. One caveat we repeat wherever a player appears: no studio recording sits behind either of these. They are built from what each maker publishes and what the community reports.
On price and practicality, both are budget friendly. Lube is on you with both of these, which is a real cost in time whichever one you order.
Where we land: the Outemu Blue unless noise is the deciding factor. On speed, the honest answer is that either would do, and it wins on a margin too small to feel. On a long draft, the click turns a long writing session into a rhythm, if your room allows it. When other people are listening, the Gateron Blue instead, 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 Gateron Blue page and the Outemu Blue page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Gateron Blue or Outemu Blue for gaming?
We pick the Outemu Blue 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 is quieter, the Gateron Blue or the Outemu Blue?
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 Gateron Blue heavier than the Outemu Blue?
Neither, as far as the published numbers go: both are rated 60 g at actuation, the only measuring point with a published figure for each. Bottom-out is where two switches matched at actuation often diverge, but only Outemu publishes one, 65 g for the Outemu Blue, and there is nothing to hold it against. Treat this as a tie on the spec sheet rather than a proven match in the hand.
More comparisons
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