Gateron Ink Red V2 vs Gateron Red
The Gateron Red and the Gateron Ink Red V2 sit in different price brackets, which across the 70-odd switches a board needs is a bigger difference than most of the spec sheet. Our full switch library 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 | Gateron Ink Red V2 | Gateron Red |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | 55 g (our estimate) |
| 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 | Premium | Budget |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Gateron 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. The two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because Gateron publishes no bottom-out figure for either of these. How that derivation works .
Verdict
This is a linear versus linear contest: the Gateron Ink Red V2 and the Gateron Red share the same stroke character, which makes the smaller spec gaps decisive. The Gateron Red is the cheaper board to fill by a full bracket, budget friendly against premium priced. The Gateron Ink Red V2 is the firmer of the two at bottom-out, 60 g to 55 g, though 5 g is not much to choose between. Gateron publishes no bottom-out figure at all, so both of those are our estimates. One pick, not three: the Gateron Ink Red V2 takes gaming and typing, and it is the one that carries less across a room. The Gateron Red is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Gateron Ink Red V2
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Gateron Ink Red V2, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
Force curves
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.
Gateron Red
Gateron publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 55 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 or Gateron Red: the long answer
Money separates these two more cleanly than any spec does. The Gateron Ink Red V2 is premium priced, while the Gateron Red 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.
The specs are the smaller half of this pair, but they are not nothing. At bottom-out they sit 5 g apart, 60 g against 55 g, close enough that lube and housing will decide the feel before the spring does. Gateron publishes no bottom-out figure at all, so both of those are our estimates. Type is not in play. Both are linears, and 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. Nothing here is decisive on its own, which is why the sound comparison matters more than usual on this pair.
What the table cannot tell you is how either one lands in a room. The Gateron Ink Red V2 sits at light and airy with the Ink housing's deep undertone; the Gateron Red answers with smooth, light clack with minimal scratch. 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.
The scoring gives up trying to divide this pair: the Gateron Ink Red V2 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, its keystroke stays consistent and comfortable across a full day of writing. On noise, it makes the least fuss of the pair in a shared space. That leaves the Gateron Red to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. The player above is the cheapest part of this decision, so use it before your wallet is involved.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Gateron Ink Red V2 page and the Gateron Red page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Gateron Ink Red V2 or Gateron Red for gaming?
We pick the Gateron Ink Red V2 for gaming. This is close to a coin toss. The scoring hands it over by a margin you would not feel in a match.
Gateron Ink Red V2 or Gateron Red: 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 Gateron Ink Red V2 leans toward light and airy with the Ink housing's deep undertone, while the Gateron Red is smooth, light clack with minimal scratch.
Gateron Ink Red V2 vs Gateron Red: which one is the heavier press?
The Gateron Ink Red V2 on the figures this page carries, 60 g to 55 g at bottom-out, but the comparison is not manufacturer against manufacturer: Gateron publishes no bottom-out figure at all, so both of those numbers are our own derivation from the forces it does publish.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Gateron Ink Red V2 or the Gateron Red?
The Gateron Red sits in the budget friendly 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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