Type on a virtual mechanical keyboard and hear every keystroke. Pick from 20 switches, then change the plate, case, mount, foam and keycaps and hear how each part shapes the sound.
The link saves your switch, build, colorway, lighting and sound settings so anyone who opens it hears the same keyboard.
Paste this code into any web page to add the simulator with your current settings.
Most keyboard sound sites play back a few recorded clips over and over. KeySim generates each keystroke as you type, using a model of how a real keyboard makes sound. That’s why you can change any part of the build and hear the result.
The engine simulates the slider hitting the housing, the keycap ringing and the plate and case resonating. It adds small natural variations so no two presses sound exactly alike.
Mix any switch with an aluminum, brass, steel, polycarbonate, FR4, POM or carbon fiber plate. Then choose a case, mount style, foam, lube, stabilizers and keycap material.
Type freely, take a timed typing test, let the auto-type demo play, or record your session and download the audio.
Every setting is saved in a link. Send your build to a friend, or embed the simulator on your own website with one line of code.
Every switch in the simulator, with how it feels and sounds. Press Listen to hear a quick sample on your current build, or Use to load it onto the keyboard.
| Switch | Type | Feel | Sound character | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry MX Red | Linear | Light | Light, smooth and quick. The classic linear for gaming and fast typing. | |
| Cherry MX Black | Linear | Heavy | A heavier linear spring with a firmer return and a slightly deeper tone. | |
| Cherry MX Silent Red | Linear Silent | Light | Dampened stem for a muted, office-friendly sound with soft bottom and top-out. | |
| Gateron Yellow | Linear | Medium | Budget favourite. Smooth travel with a bright, even clack. | |
| Gateron Oil King | Linear | Medium | Factory lubed and deep. The go-to linear for a rich, muted thock. | |
| Gateron Ink Black | Linear | Medium | Smoky housing with a high pitched, glassy clack and a very smooth stroke. | |
| NovelKeys Cream | Linear | Medium | Self lubricating POM housing. Marbly and scratchy until broken in. | |
| Alpaca Linear | Linear | Medium | Enthusiast linear with a poppy, satisfying upstroke. | |
| Cherry MX Speed Silver | Linear | Light | Short actuation for gaming. Fast, light and slightly brighter. | |
| Cherry MX Brown | Tactile | Light | Gentle tactile bump without a click. A safe all-rounder. | |
| Holy Panda | Tactile | Medium | Sharp, rounded bump and a famous snappy upstroke. | |
| Zealio V2 | Tactile | Medium | Premium tactile with a smooth, crisp bump and a clean sound. | |
| Boba U4T | Tactile | Medium | Big bump, deep thocky bottom out and a loud upstroke. | |
| Topre 45g | Tactile | Light | Electrocapacitive rubber dome. Soft, rounded thock with a pronounced return. | |
| Cherry MX Blue | Clicky | Medium | The original click jacket. Crisp double click on press and release. | |
| Kailh Box Jade | Clicky | Medium | Thick click bar for a sharp, loud click on both press and return. | |
| Kailh Box Navy | Clicky | Heavy | Heavier and deeper than Jade with a chunky, assertive click. | |
| Alps SKCM Blue | Clicky | Medium | Vintage complicated Alps. A high, crisp click from the 1980s. | |
| Buckling Spring | Vintage | Heavy | The legendary 1980s terminal keyboard. Spring snap, ping and a hollow steel body. | |
| Vintage Typewriter | Vintage | Heavy | Typebars hitting the platen, escapement ticks and a carriage return bell on Enter. |
Mechanical switches come in three main families. The family sets most of the feel and a big part of the sound. Try one of each in the simulator and the difference is obvious right away.
No bump and no click. The key travels in one smooth motion, so the sound mostly comes from the bottom out and the return.
A small bump tells your finger the key has registered, so you don’t have to press all the way down. Bigger bumps make a fuller, poppier sound.
A click jacket or click bar snaps at the actuation point and makes a crisp, high sound. Clicky switches are the loudest family.
The switch is only part of the story. Two keyboards with the same switches can sound completely different. Change these options in the Build tab and listen.
Stiff metal plates like aluminum, steel and brass sound brighter and ring more. Flexible plates like polycarbonate, POM and FR4 sound deeper and softer, which is where the “thock” comes from.
A hollow case adds low resonance and ping. Tray mount is stiff and loud. Gasket mount sits the plate on soft gaskets, which rounds off the sound and makes it lower and more even.
Case foam fills the empty space and removes hollowness. Lubing the switches cuts out scratch and spring ping, leaving a cleaner, creamier sound.
Thick PBT keycaps sound deeper and more muted. ABS sounds higher and clackier. Ceramic caps sound glassy and marbly. Taller profiles like SA add a deeper, louder clack.
Big keys like the spacebar, Enter and Shift use stabilizers. Stock stabilizers often rattle. Tuned stabilizers give a single solid thock instead.
A desk mat soaks up low thump from the desk. The room setting adds natural space around the sound, from a dry close mic to a large room.
Quick answers about the keyboard simulator and mechanical keyboard sounds.
It’s a web tool that plays mechanical keyboard sounds as you type, so you can hear different switches and builds before buying anything. This one runs fully in your browser and works with your real keyboard, your mouse or touch.
No. Every sound is generated live in your browser from a model of how keyboards make sound: the switch bottoming out, the keycap, the plate and the case. That’s what lets you mix any switch with any build. The results are close approximations of each switch’s character, not recordings of the exact product.
It depends on what you like. For a deep, muted “thock”, try Oil King or Boba U4T with a POM plate, gasket mount and foam. For a bright “clack”, try Ink Black with ABS keycaps and an aluminum plate. If you want clicks, try Box Jade. The Build tab has presets for each of these.
Thock is a deep, low and muted sound, usually from thick keycaps, soft plates and dampened cases. Clack is higher, sharper and brighter, usually from thin keycaps, stiff plates and hollow cases. Use the Tone slider in the Sound tab to move between the two.
Yes. Tap the keycaps on screen, or use your phone’s keyboard in the text box and typing test. The simulator picks a compact layout on small screens, and you can change it in the Look tab.
Yes. Keep the tab open and type in the text box. If you want sound while typing in other apps, that needs a desktop app, because browsers can only hear keys pressed on the page itself.
Yes. Press Record, type or run the demo, then press Stop. Your browser downloads the audio file right away. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Yes, it’s completely free, with no sign up and no download. Your settings and typing test best are saved only in your own browser.