Gateron Green vs Kailh BOX Jade
Weight is the real gap here: 30 g between the Gateron Green and the Kailh BOX Jade at actuation, which is enough to change how a long session ends. Our switch library links the two to each other for that reason. Play the A/B bursts below to hear them back to back, match the volumes, then read the spec 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 Green | Kailh BOX Jade |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 80 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | 65 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2.3 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 | Budget | Mid-range |
| 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. Kailh publishes no bottom-out figure for the Kailh BOX Jade, so the figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation from the forces that are published rather than a rating. How that derivation works .
Verdict
This is clicky against clicky with a catch, because the Gateron Green and the Kailh BOX Jade make their click in different ways. The springs are far apart, with the Gateron Green at 80 g actuation versus 50 g for the Kailh BOX Jade, a gap you feel within a paragraph of typing. They also click differently: a click jacket sliding down the stem on the Gateron Green against a click bar snapping inside the housing on the Kailh BOX Jade. Where we land: the Kailh BOX Jade for gaming and typing, the Gateron Green for a shared office. Read that office call as relative: the Gateron Green clicks too, just less insistently.
- Gaming pick
- Kailh BOX Jade
- Typing pick
- Kailh BOX Jade
- Office pick
- Gateron Green
Force curves
Gateron Green
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.
Kailh BOX Jade
Kailh publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 65 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 Green or Kailh BOX Jade: the long answer
The table above already holds the answer. Here is what it means under a finger. Weight is the loud fact here. At actuation the Gateron Green takes 80 g where the Kailh BOX Jade takes 50 g, and 30 g is enough to change how the third hour feels. On distance the Kailh BOX Jade registers at 1.8 mm against 2.3 mm, and the full stroke runs 4.0 mm on the Gateron Green against 3.6 mm on the Kailh BOX Jade. The stroke itself is shared: both fire an audible click alongside the bump. Same stroke character, so the spring is the fact to weigh.
Sound decides more of these arguments than force curves do. Two different voices: louder, deeper click backed by a heavy spring on the Gateron Green, loud, crunchy, metallic double click; unapologetic on the Kailh BOX Jade. They do not even click the same way: a click jacket sliding down the stem on the Gateron Green against a click bar snapping inside the housing on the Kailh BOX Jade, 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. As everywhere on the site, these are simulations built from published specifications and documented character. Accurate enough to compare, not a recording.
On cost and convenience, the Gateron Green is budget friendly, while the Kailh BOX Jade is mid priced. Neither is factory lubed, so enthusiasts often hand lube both for the smoothest result.
So who should buy which? The Kailh BOX Jade answers both the gaming and the writing question. On speed, it wins on a lighter spring at actuation and a shorter distance to actuation. On typing feel, the click keeps a long session in rhythm, assuming nobody nearby objects. The Gateron Green earns its place only when the room matters, as neither of these belongs in a quiet shared room, and this is only the less punishing of the two clicks. Before you order either, match the volume trims above and hear them back to back.
For either one on its own terms, read the Gateron Green page and the Kailh BOX Jade page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Gateron Green or the Kailh BOX Jade the better gaming switch?
We pick the Kailh BOX Jade 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 Gateron Green and the Kailh BOX Jade is quieter in a shared room?
Neither is quiet. Two click mechanisms means two switches that broadcast every press, and picking between them will not save your colleagues. If noise decides this, look at a silent tactile instead.
Which switch is heavier, the Gateron Green or the Kailh BOX Jade?
The Gateron Green is heavier: 80 g against 50 g, both measured at actuation, so this is a fair like-for-like comparison.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Gateron Green or the Kailh BOX Jade?
The Gateron Green sits in the budget friendly bracket and the Kailh BOX Jade 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.
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