Gateron Red vs TTC Flame Red
The Gateron Red and the TTC Flame Red 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 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 Red | TTC Flame Red |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | 55 g (our estimate) | 54 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | Yes |
| 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. The two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because neither Gateron nor TTC publishes a bottom-out figure. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
Gateron and TTC are selling the same stroke here, so the Gateron Red and the TTC Flame Red separate on spring, distance and voice instead. Budget also has a say, since the Gateron Red is budget friendly and the TTC Flame Red is mid priced. Their springs sit close together, just 1 g apart at bottom-out, with the Gateron Red the marginally firmer press. Neither Gateron nor TTC publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those are our estimates. By use case, then: the Gateron Red for gaming, the TTC Flame Red for typing and a shared office.
- Gaming pick
- Gateron Red
- Typing pick
- TTC Flame Red
- Office pick
- TTC Flame Red
Force curves
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.
TTC Flame Red
TTC publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 54 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 or TTC Flame Red: the long answer
Start with what these cost to fill a board, because that is the widest gap between them. The Gateron Red is budget friendly, while the TTC Flame Red is mid priced. Only the TTC Flame Red comes factory lubed, so the Gateron Red asks for either an evening with a brush or tolerance of a drier stroke.
On to the mechanical side. Gateron and TTC are both selling you linears here, so both give you spring resistance and nothing else. The Gateron Red is nominally firmer at bottom-out, 55 g to 54 g, but 1 g is not a gap you buy a switch for. Neither Gateron nor TTC publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those are our estimates. Travel is a straight match, 2.0 mm of pre-travel and 4.0 mm in full on both. Same family of stroke, so read the detail rather than the headline.
What the table cannot tell you is how either one lands in a room. Put them through the player above and the Gateron Red lands as smooth, light clack with minimal scratch where the TTC Flame Red lands as smooth light glide, gentle bottom-out. As everywhere on the site, these are simulations built from published specifications and documented character. Accurate enough to compare, not a recording.
This one genuinely splits. The Gateron Red for games, because this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. The TTC Flame Red for writing, since it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. The TTC Flame Red for an office, as it is the one of these two you would not apologize for. Before you order either, match the volume trims above and hear them back to back.
Want the full story on either switch? Read the dedicated Gateron Red page and the TTC Flame Red page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Gateron Red or TTC Flame Red for gaming?
We pick the Gateron Red for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Which of the Gateron Red and the TTC Flame Red is quieter in a shared room?
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 Red leans toward smooth, light clack with minimal scratch, while the TTC Flame Red is smooth light glide, gentle bottom-out.
Which switch is heavier, the Gateron Red or the TTC Flame Red?
The Gateron Red, on the numbers we have: 55 g against 54 g at bottom-out. Read that as a guide rather than a like-for-like manufacturer comparison, because neither Gateron nor TTC publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those numbers are our own derivation from the forces they do publish.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Gateron Red or the TTC Flame Red?
The Gateron Red sits in the budget friendly bracket and the TTC Flame Red 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.
More comparisons
More vs Gateron Red
Or browse every switch comparison on the site.