Every switch listing leads with a number like 45 g or 60 g, and buyers sort themselves into light and heavy camps based on it. Fair enough, but the number needs decoding. Actuation force is the resistance at the exact point in travel where the switch electrically fires, typically around 2.0 mm down on a standard MX-style switch. It is not the force to start the press, and crucially it is not the force at the bottom. A press is a journey along a rising curve, and one number is just one snapshot of it.
Actuation vs bottom-out: the two numbers that get confused
Bottom-out force is the resistance at full travel, usually 10 to 20 g above actuation: the Cherry MX Red actuates at 45 g and bottoms out around 60 g, while the MX Black runs 60 g to roughly 80 g. Here is the practical part: most typists bottom out on every stroke, so the bottom-out number often predicts perceived heaviness better than the actuation number the marketing leads with. This matters doubly because brands disagree about which one to publish. Cherry and Gateron rate actuation. Zeal, Gazzew and most JWK customs rate bottom-out, so the "67 g" Zealios V2 and the "62 g" Boba U4T are not in the weight class their numbers suggest against an actuation-rated switch. Akko publishes both, which everyone should. Every switch page on this site carries a "rated by brand at" row precisely so you never compare a bottom-out number against an actuation number without knowing it.
One methodology note while we are being precise about numbers, because it applies to every Cherry switch on this site. Cherry publishes an actuation force and a final force, never a bottom-out. The Cherry bottom-out figures you see here, including the 60 g on the MX Red above, are derived from Cherry's published initial and actuation forces across the rated travel. Read them as our estimate rather than a manufacturer rating. Where any other brand publishes a bottom-out of its own, the number on the page is theirs.
Grams, centinewtons and the tolerance nobody mentions
Force specs are technically centinewtons; 1 cN is about 1.02 gram-force, close enough that the hobby treats them as equal and talks in grams. The less comfortable fine print is manufacturing tolerance: independent measurement puts real-world spread around plus or minus 5 to 15 g against nominal, so the 50 g switch in your board may genuinely be a 45 or a 57. Springs also differ in character, not just peak: spring length and progressive versus linear winding change how the resistance ramps, which is part of why two switches with identical published numbers, like TTC's long 22 mm two-stage springs versus a standard coil, feel different in the finger. When precision matters, look at a measured force curve, which plots resistance across the whole travel; the force curve on each of our switch pages shows the shape, bump and all, rather than a single point.
Travel: the other half of the feel equation
Force never acts alone. Pre-travel is the distance to actuation, about 2.0 mm standard, and total travel about 4.0 mm. Speed switches like the MX Speed Silver cut pre-travel to 1.2 mm so the same 45 g arrives sooner, and short-travel designs like the Akko V3 Piano Pro at 3.1 mm of total travel change the rhythm of typing more than their weights suggest. Tactile switches complicate the picture further because the bump adds its own force peak: a Holy Panda spikes hard right at the top, so its 60 g of actuation force feels nothing like the same number on a smooth linear. And Topre 45g domes put their entire tactile event at the very top with a pillowy collapse after, which is why a 45 g Topre board feels lighter than the number reads.
Picking your weight without a scale
Rules of thumb that hold up: fast and twitchy hands like light springs (35 to 45 g actuation), all-day typists cluster at 45 to 55 g, and deliberate typists who hate accidental presses go 60 g and beyond. Light springs punish finger-resters with typos; heavy springs tire small hands over long sessions. If you are between camps, the Gateron Yellow weight of 50 g is the safest single guess in the hobby. Then verify with your ears and hands instead of the spec sheet: the simulator lets you hear candidates back to back, each switch library page shows the full force story, and a cheap switch tester settles the rest. Weight preferences are personal enough that no chart replaces thirty seconds of actually pressing the thing.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good actuation force for a keyboard switch?
Most people land between 45 g and 55 g actuation: light enough for hours of typing, heavy enough to rest fingers on keys without misfires. The Cherry MX Red at 45 g and Gateron Yellow at 50 g define this middle. Under 40 g (TTC Gold Pink at 37 g) suits very light typists; 60 g and up (MX Black at 60 g) suits deliberate, heavy hands.
What is the difference between actuation force and bottom-out force?
Actuation force is the resistance at the point the switch electrically registers, usually around 2 mm down. Bottom-out force is the resistance at full travel, typically 10 to 20 g higher. If you bottom out every stroke, as most people do, bottom-out force describes your experience better than the actuation number on the box.
Why do some brands list only bottom-out force?
Convention differs by maker. Cherry and Gateron rate actuation; Zeal, Gazzew and most JWK customs rate bottom-out; Akko helpfully lists both. A 67 g Zealios V2 and a 55 g-actuation tactile can be closer in feel than the numbers suggest. Our switch pages normalize this with a rated-by field so you always know which number you are reading.
Are grams even the right unit for switch force?
Technically switches are specified in centinewtons, but 1 cN is about 1.02 gram-force, so the community treats them as equal and speaks in grams. The bigger caveat is tolerance: manufacturing spread runs roughly plus or minus 5 to 15 g around nominal, so two switches from the same bag can measurably differ.
Keep learning
- Switch types explained: how bumps and clicks ride on top of the force curve.
- Silent switches: dampening changes feel as well as sound.
- Best switches for gaming: where light springs and short travel pay off.
- Compare any two weights by ear in the keyboard simulator.