Kailh Blue vs Kailh BOX White
Two clicky switches with two different click mechanisms: the Kailh Blue against the Kailh BOX White is a comparison of tone, not of volume. Our full 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 | Kailh Blue | Kailh BOX White |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 50 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | 60 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2 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 |
Kailh 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 Kailh publishes no bottom-out figure for the Kailh BOX White. How that derivation works .
Verdict
The type row says clicky twice, which undersells it: these two clicks are produced by different mechanisms. They also click differently: a click jacket sliding down the stem on the Kailh Blue against a click bar snapping inside the housing on the Kailh BOX White. Weight is nearly even at actuation: 50 g for the Kailh Blue against 45 g, a gap most fingers will barely register. The scoring splits them: the Kailh BOX White for gaming and typing, the Kailh Blue for a shared office. Read that office call as relative: the Kailh Blue clicks too, just less insistently.
- Gaming pick
- Kailh BOX White
- Typing pick
- Kailh BOX White
- Office pick
- Kailh Blue
Force curves
Kailh Blue
Kailh 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 White
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.
Kailh Blue or Kailh BOX White: the long answer
This one is decided by sound before anything mechanical. Through the A/B player above, the Kailh Blue comes through as bright budget click-jacket rattle, while the Kailh BOX White reads as sharp, clean tick-tick; click bar snapping on press and release. They do not even click the same way: a click jacket sliding down the stem on the Kailh Blue against a click bar snapping inside the housing on the Kailh BOX White, 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. The usual caveat applies. Nothing here is a studio recording; both packs are synthesized from published specs, and the players say so.
The mechanical picture is the smaller half of this, but it is not nothing. At actuation the Kailh Blue is the firmer press, 50 g against 45 g, a difference you notice after a paragraph rather than on the first keystroke. The stroke itself is shared: both fire an audible click alongside the bump. Neither the trigger point nor the depth matches: 1.8 mm to actuation on the Kailh BOX White against 2.0 mm, and 3.6 mm of total travel on the Kailh BOX White against 4.0 mm. None of these gaps is large. Stack them up and they still point somewhere, but gently.
On cost and convenience, the Kailh Blue is budget friendly, while the Kailh BOX White is mid priced. Neither is factory lubed, so enthusiasts often hand lube both for the smoothest result.
The split is simple. Buy the Kailh BOX White for how it plays and how it writes: the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair, and at the keyboard all day, the click keeps a long session in rhythm, assuming nobody nearby objects. Buy the Kailh Blue if other people have to sit near it, 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.
Want the full story on either switch? Read the dedicated Kailh Blue page and the Kailh BOX White page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for gaming, the Kailh Blue or the Kailh BOX White?
We pick the Kailh BOX White 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 Kailh Blue or the Kailh BOX White?
Neither, honestly. Both are clicky switches that announce every keystroke, so neither belongs in a quiet shared space. If noise is the deciding factor, a silent tactile is the better direction entirely.
Which switch is heavier, the Kailh Blue or the Kailh BOX White?
The Kailh Blue. Both brands publish at actuation, which makes 50 g against 45 g an honest 5 g rather than two numbers from different rulers.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Kailh Blue or the Kailh BOX White?
The Kailh Blue sits in the budget friendly bracket and the Kailh BOX White 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 Kailh Blue
More vs Kailh BOX White
Or browse every switch comparison on the site.