Kailh Speed Gold vs Kailh Speed Silver
The Kailh Speed Gold and the Kailh Speed Silver are not the same kind of switch, so this comparison is settled by which stroke you want before a single number matters. Our library of every switch we simulate 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 | Kailh Speed Gold | Kailh Speed Silver |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 50 g | 40 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | 60 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 1.4 mm | 1.1 mm |
| Total travel | 3.5 mm | 3.5 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| 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. Kailh publishes no bottom-out figure for either of these, so the two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation from the forces that are published rather than a rating. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
The Kailh Speed Gold and the Kailh Speed Silver are different kinds of switch, clicky against linear, which outranks every number in the table above. There is a real weight gap too: 50 g against 40 g at actuation, so the Kailh Speed Gold asks noticeably more of your fingers over a long session. The Kailh Speed Silver also actuates earlier, 1.1 mm of pre-travel against 1.4 mm, which fast players tend to notice. The scoring splits them: the Kailh Speed Silver for gaming and a shared office, the Kailh Speed Gold for typing.
- Gaming pick
- Kailh Speed Silver
- Typing pick
- Kailh Speed Gold
- Office pick
- Kailh Speed Silver
Force curves
Kailh Speed Gold
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 Speed Silver
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 Speed Gold or Kailh Speed Silver: the long answer
The table above already holds the answer. Here is what it means under a finger. Start with the stroke, because the Kailh Speed Silver passes through the stroke without an event while the Kailh Speed Gold snaps a click at actuation. The springs are a long way apart: 50 g against 40 g at actuation, so the Kailh Speed Gold asks noticeably more of your fingers across a long session. The Kailh Speed Silver registers earlier, 1.1 mm against 1.4 mm, inside the same 3.5 mm of total travel. Settle the stroke you want to live with first and treat everything below as a tiebreak.
The ears usually get the last word here. Put them through the player above and the Kailh Speed Gold lands as crisp double click high in the stroke where the Kailh Speed Silver lands as short, sharp clack that fires early. Only one of these announces itself. The Kailh Speed Gold fires a click every time it registers, and that carries in a way an ordinary bottom-out does not. Both packs are synthesized rather than recorded, so read the comparison as a faithful sketch of each voice and not as a measurement of it.
On the practical side, both are mid priced. Lube is on you with both of these, which is a real cost in time whichever one you order.
This one genuinely splits. The Kailh Speed Silver for games, because there is no event in the middle of the stroke to fight on a fast repeat. The Kailh Speed Gold for writing, since the click keeps a long session in rhythm, assuming nobody nearby objects. The Kailh Speed Silver for an office, as no click mechanism means nothing that carries past the desk it sits on. The player above is the cheapest part of this decision, so use it before your wallet is involved.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Kailh Speed Gold page and the Kailh Speed Silver page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Kailh Speed Gold or the Kailh Speed Silver the better gaming switch?
We pick the Kailh Speed Silver for gaming. Its linear stroke has no bump or click to interrupt fast repeated presses, which is exactly what rapid inputs reward.
Is the Kailh Speed Gold quieter than the Kailh Speed Silver?
The Kailh Speed Silver. A click is engineered to be heard, so the Kailh Speed Gold travels through a room in a way an ordinary linear bottom-out does not.
Which has the heavier spring, the Kailh Speed Gold or the Kailh Speed Silver?
The Kailh Speed Gold, by 10 g. Both figures are published at actuation, 50 g against 40 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
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