Gateron Milky Yellow Pro vs Gateron Oil King
The Gateron Milky Yellow Pro and the Gateron Oil King 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 already points each of these at the other. Hear them back to back below with the trims matched before you read a single number.
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 Milky Yellow Pro | Gateron Oil King |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 50 g | 55 g |
| Bottom-out force | 62 g (our estimate) | 80 g |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Budget | Mid-range |
| Street price | varies | ~$0.65 / switch |
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 figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because Gateron publishes no bottom-out figure for the Gateron Milky Yellow Pro. How we derive a bottom-out figure .
Verdict
The Gateron Milky Yellow Pro and the Gateron Oil King are both linears, so nothing separates them at the fingertip until you look at springs and acoustics. The Gateron Milky Yellow Pro is the cheaper board to fill by a full bracket, budget friendly against mid priced. The Gateron Oil King is the firmer of the two at actuation, 55 g to 50 g, though 5 g is not much to choose between. One pick, not three: the Gateron Milky Yellow Pro takes gaming and typing, and it is the one that carries less across a room. The Gateron Oil King is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Gateron Milky Yellow Pro
Our three scores agree on this pair. The Gateron Milky Yellow Pro takes all of them, which is why there is a single card above instead of three.
Force curves
Gateron Milky Yellow Pro
Gateron publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 62 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 Oil King
Gateron Milky Yellow Pro or Gateron Oil King: the long answer
Money separates these two more cleanly than any spec does. The Gateron Milky Yellow Pro is budget friendly, while the Gateron Oil King is mid priced at roughly $0.65 per switch, about $46 for a typical 70 pack. Factory lube on both, so the smoothness you hear in the player is roughly the smoothness you get.
On to the mechanical side. At actuation the Gateron Oil King is the firmer press, 55 g against 50 g, a difference you notice after a paragraph rather than on the first keystroke. The stroke itself is shared: neither one puts a bump or a click in the way of the press. 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.
Sound is where most people finally pick a side. The Gateron Milky Yellow Pro sits at deeper, muted, creamy bottom-out from the milky nylon housing; the Gateron Oil King answers with deep, muted, oily thock; dark and full-bodied. These demos are synthesized from published specs and documented character rather than studio recordings, which every player on the site says plainly.
The scoring gives up trying to divide this pair: the Gateron Milky Yellow Pro 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, 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 Oil King to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. Whichever way you land, listen to both above with the volume trims matched before you spend anything.
For either one on its own terms, read the Gateron Milky Yellow Pro page and the Gateron Oil King page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Gateron Milky Yellow Pro or Gateron Oil King for gaming?
We pick the Gateron Milky Yellow Pro for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Gateron Milky Yellow Pro or Gateron Oil King: which one is quieter?
Nothing in either one is built to reduce noise, so on raw volume this is a tie decided by your keyboard rather than your switch. What you will actually hear is a difference of pitch and texture, which the player above shows better than a sentence can.
Which has the heavier spring, the Gateron Milky Yellow Pro or the Gateron Oil King?
The Gateron Oil King, by 5 g. Both figures are published at actuation, 55 g against 50 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Gateron Milky Yellow Pro or the Gateron Oil King?
The Gateron Milky Yellow Pro sits in the budget friendly bracket and the Gateron Oil King 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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