Kailh BOX White vs Kailh Choc White V1
The Kailh BOX White and the Kailh Choc White V1 do not fit the same keyboard, so this comparison starts with what you already own rather than with how either one sounds. 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 | Kailh BOX White | Kailh Choc White V1 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | 60 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 1.8 mm | 1.5 mm |
| Total travel | 3.6 mm | 3 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | No |
| Price tier | Mid-range | 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 two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because Kailh publishes no bottom-out figure for either of these. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
Both the Kailh BOX White and the Kailh Choc White V1 are clickies, so this matchup comes down to weight, travel and sound rather than feel. These are not drop-in alternatives to each other. The Kailh Choc White V1 needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps. Weight is nearly even at actuation: 50 g for the Kailh Choc White V1 against 45 g, a gap most fingers will barely register. Where we land: the Kailh Choc White V1 for gaming, the Kailh BOX White for typing and a shared office. Read that office call as relative: the Kailh BOX White clicks too, just less insistently.
- Gaming pick
- Kailh Choc White V1
- Typing pick
- Kailh BOX White
- Office pick
- Kailh BOX White
Force curves
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 Choc White 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.
Kailh BOX White or Kailh Choc White V1: the long answer
Before anything else, check that both of these will go into the board you own. The Kailh Choc White V1 is a low-profile switch and does not use an MX style stem, so it needs a board and keycaps made for it and cannot go into a standard-height MX board alongside the other. Both are mid priced. Neither is factory lubed, so enthusiasts often hand lube both for the smoothest result.
On to the mechanical side. The Kailh Choc White V1 carries the heavier spring at actuation, 50 g to 45 g. That is a real 5 g without being a change of bracket. Neither the trigger point nor the depth matches: 1.5 mm to actuation on the Kailh Choc White V1 against 1.8 mm, and 3.0 mm of total travel on the Kailh Choc White V1 against 3.6 mm. The stroke itself is shared: each announces actuation to your finger and to the room at once. None of these gaps is large. Stack them up and they still point somewhere, but gently.
The ears usually get the last word here. Two different voices: sharp, clean tick-tick; click bar snapping on press and release on the Kailh BOX White, bright, thin double-click from a miniature click bar on the Kailh Choc White V1. A click you love at your own desk can still be the loudest thing in someone else’s meeting. 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.
All three questions get different answers on this pair. Fast inputs: the Kailh Choc White V1, because the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair. A long draft: the Kailh BOX White, since the click keeps a long session in rhythm, assuming nobody nearby objects. A room with other people in it: the Kailh BOX White, 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.
For either one on its own terms, read the Kailh BOX White page and the Kailh Choc White V1 page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for gaming, the Kailh BOX White or the Kailh Choc White V1?
We pick the Kailh Choc White V1 for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Is the Kailh BOX White quieter than the Kailh Choc White V1?
Neither is quiet. Two click mechanisms means two switches that broadcast every press, and picking between them will not save your colleagues. If noise decides this, look at a silent tactile instead.
Which switch is heavier, the Kailh BOX White or the Kailh Choc White V1?
The Kailh Choc White V1, by 5 g. Both figures are published at actuation, 50 g against 45 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
Can the Kailh BOX White and the Kailh Choc White V1 go in the same keyboard?
No. The Kailh Choc White V1 does not use an MX style stem and is low profile as well, so it needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps, while the Kailh BOX White is a standard MX switch. Whichever you pick decides the keyboard, not the other way round.
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