Do mechanical keyboards make you type faster?

Not as far as the evidence shows. A mechanical keyboard has a separate switch under each key, while a membrane or laptop keyboard presses rubber domes onto a membrane sheet. We found no controlled study that compares those two keyboard types for typing speed. The one controlled study we found compared four switch types with each other ¹, and it found that tactile switches did better than linear switches in one pair comparison ². That is a narrow result about switches, not a verdict on whether mechanical keyboards make you faster.

No controlled study compares mechanical and membrane keyboards for speed

Informal typing-test results that group people by keyboard type come from volunteers who chose to take the test and report their own keyboard. They cannot separate the keyboard from the typist's skill, practice or motivation. We do not treat them as evidence of a keyboard effect.

The honest answer is therefore that the speed question is open. A fair test would need matched groups of typists, the same text, and the same keyboard switch or membrane type across comparisons. We did not find one. For the general picture of how fast people type on a keyboard, see the average typing speed guide and the explanation of how typing speed is measured.

The 2024 study tested four switch types with 33 people

A 2024 laboratory study at Tianjin University had 33 participants type English on keyboards with four common switch types: red, black, brown and blue ¹. The study reported a pair comparison of blue and red switches, and there the tactile switch, blue, performed better than the linear switch, red, in typing speed and accuracy ².

Tactile switches give a bump when the key registers, and linear switches give a smooth press. The study suggests that the feel of the switch can affect performance, at least in short tests. It does not say how large the effect is in everyday work, and it does not test the switches over weeks or months.

Backlight also improved speed in the same study

The same study found that turning on the keyboard backlight improved typing speed, and also improved how people felt about typing, including refreshing feeling and pleasure ³. That is a result about lighting, not about the mechanical switch itself. It is a reminder that conditions other than the switch can change results in a short test.

What the study does not show

The study has four limits that matter for your choice:

• It compared switches with each other, not mechanical keyboards with membrane or laptop keyboards.
• It used 33 participants ¹ in a laboratory, so it cannot tell you how a typical office worker will perform.
• It tested English text, so it says nothing about other languages, coding or long documents.
• It is a single laboratory study, not a long-term trial of people living with a keyboard for months.

Those limits mean the result is a reason to test switches, not a reason to buy one for speed. If you are choosing for speed, the motion-capture study of about 30 typists found three predictors of high performance: a letter is always pressed by the same finger, upcoming keystrokes are prepared in advance, and hand movement is kept small ⁴. A new keyboard will not supply those habits.

It depends on comfort, noise and your hands

A mechanical keyboard can be the right choice even when it does not make you faster. Clicky or loud switches suit a private office and can annoy people in a shared room, so the environment matters. Feel is personal: tactile switches may suit some typists, and linear switches may suit others. The study result gives a direction for trying switches, not a rule.

Keep comfort and pain separate. Keyboard type does not settle whether a keyboard causes wrist problems. A 2022 Cochrane review found insufficient randomised trial evidence to say whether ergonomic positioning or equipment is beneficial or harmful for treating carpal tunnel syndrome ⁵. If you have numbness, tingling or pain in your hands, see a clinician rather than changing keyboards.

What to do before you buy a mechanical keyboard

1. Decide what you want from the change: feel, sound, or speed. The evidence we found supports only a narrow claim: switch type can change typing performance in short lab tests.
2. Try the switch type you are considering. Type for a few days on a keyboard that feels right, not only in a short test.
3. Record your speed and accuracy on one fixed test before and after the change, using the method in how typing speed is measured. Expect the first days to feel unfamiliar.
4. If speed is your real goal, work on technique first. The guide to how to type faster covers the methods that apply on any keyboard, and the guide to touch typing explains how to build the habits.

For a related question about the layout you type on, see is Dvorak faster than QWERTY and is Colemak worth learning. The overall guide to keyboard layouts compared puts the switch question next to the layout question.