Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) vs Kailh Choc Red V1
Check compatibility before feel on this pair: the Kailh Choc Red V1 will not drop into the same board as the other one, which narrows the choice for most people to whatever their keyboard accepts. Our switch library 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 Low Profile Red (KS-33) | Kailh Choc Red V1 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | 60 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 1.7 mm | 1.5 mm |
| Total travel | 3 mm | 3 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | No |
| Price tier | Mid-range | 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 Choc Red V1, 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
Stroke character is a tie. Two linears feel alike under a finger, which pushes the decision onto the rows below the type row. Check your board first: the Kailh Choc Red V1 does not use an MX style stem, so the two are not interchangeable in the same keyboard. Weight is nearly even at actuation: 50 g for the Kailh Choc Red V1 against 45 g, a gap most fingers will barely register. Our picks: the Kailh Choc Red V1 for gaming, the Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) for typing and a shared office.
- Gaming pick
- Kailh Choc Red V1
- Typing pick
- Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33)
- Office pick
- Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33)
Force curves
Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33)
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 Choc Red V1
Kailh 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 Low Profile Red (KS-33) or Kailh Choc Red V1: the long answer
This pair has a fit problem to clear before feel or sound matter. The Kailh Choc Red V1 does not use an MX style stem, so it will not drop into a standard hot-swap board or accept ordinary MX keycaps. Both are mid priced. Factory lube is on the Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) alone. Budget the extra time if you pick the Kailh Choc Red V1 and want it at its best.
On to the mechanical side. The Kailh Choc Red V1 carries the heavier spring at actuation, 50 g to 45 g. That is a real 5 g without being a change of bracket. Type is not in play. Both are linears, and both give you spring resistance and nothing else. Both run to 3.0 mm, but the Kailh Choc Red V1 counts the press at 1.5 mm where the Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) waits until 1.7 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 Low Profile Red (KS-33) comes through as shallow, brighter clack; slim-board voice, while the Kailh Choc Red V1 reads as thin, shallow clack; the sound of ergo split boards everywhere. 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 picks split by use. Take the Kailh Choc Red V1 if games come first, because the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair. Take the Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) if the board is mostly a writing tool, since nothing about it gets tiring by the afternoon, which is the whole test for a writing switch. Take the Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) if other people have to sit near it, as it is the quieter of the two once the room is listening. None of this beats hearing them yourself, which the player above lets you do in about a minute.
For either one on its own terms, read the Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) page and the Kailh Choc Red V1 page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) or Kailh Choc Red V1 for gaming?
We pick the Kailh Choc Red V1 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 Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) or the Kailh Choc Red V1?
Neither is dampened, so volume comes down to your board and your typing force. The one audible difference on the spec sheet is lube: the Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) is lubed at the factory, which takes out spring ping and scratch rather than loudness.
Which switch is heavier, the Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) or the Kailh Choc Red V1?
The Kailh Choc Red V1. Both brands publish at actuation, which makes 50 g against 45 g an honest 5 g rather than two numbers from different rulers.
Can the Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) and the Kailh Choc Red V1 go in the same keyboard?
No. The Kailh Choc Red V1 does not use an MX style stem, so it needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps, while the Gateron Low Profile Red (KS-33) is a standard MX switch. Whichever you pick decides the keyboard, not the other way round.
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