Keyboards hold great importance to gamers as they have to constantly make use of the keys for using the resources provided in the game. You may think that gaming keyboards are highly expensive, but that is not so. It is quite possible to find a good gaming keyboard in just under 50 dollars.
Several brands have been making inexpensive keyboards that can offer you great aesthetics, backlighting, and fast typing. We have come up with some of the best keyboards under 50 that are largely capable of providing you smooth gaming.
These keyboards are reviewed in detail to help you find the perfect peripheral for your gaming setup. Some people prefer mechanical keyboards, which are durable yet loud, while others go for membrane keyboards that provide less sound but have a lower life span. In this article, we have reviewed both types of keyboards for finding the perfect match for you.
10 Best Gaming Keyboards Under 50 Dollars
- Best Overall Under 50: Redragon K552 Keyboard
- Best Mechanical for Gaming: Cooler Master Devastator 3
- Best Budget: Tecware Phantom 87
- Best RGB Keyboard: Havit Rainbow
- Best FPS: HyperX Alloy
- Best Backlit: Rii RK108 Gaming Keyboard
- Best for PC: Razer Cynosa Lite
- Best Small Keyboard: NPET K10
- Best for Programmers: VELOCIFIRE TKL02
- Qisan Mini Keyboard
1. Best Overall Under 50: Redragon K552 Keyboard
The Redragon K552 is a mechanical gaming keyboard, which means it is faster and can last longer. The keyboard is composed of metal alloy and plastic materials for making it sturdy and durable. The keys are soft to the touch and comfortable to type on.
Most keyboards have a separate number keypad towards the right, which can take up a lot of space. That is not the case with the K552 since it is a Tenkeyless keyboard. The number keys are merged with the special character keys to give you more room. This keyboard is quite suitable for both office and home use.
This is a wired keyboard, which makes it ideal for gamers. It has a long cable so that you can easily connect it to your system. On the other hand, wireless keyboards need to be charged, which can be quite bothersome for gamers. It has raised keys so that typing is comfortable and smooth.
The K552 has a special quality of being spill-resistant. It means that if you accidentally spill water on it, it won’t get damaged. And as a result, you won’t have to buy another keyboard. This feature makes it one of the top picks under 50, however, if you want to go for best gaming keyboards under 100 dollars then check the ultimate guide by FPSGadgets.
The special thing about the keyboard is that it offers RGB backlighting, which is rare to find in budget keyboards. When the backlit keys are turned on, the entire keyboard lights up, giving it a cool look. For gaming, the backlighting helps to remember the placement of keys for quick action. The Redragon K552 is a quality budget keyboard for the fast gaming experience.
2. Best Mechanical for Gaming: Cooler Master Devastator 3
The Cooler Master Devastator 3 is a full-sized keyboard that has several features for providing you with a fulfilling gaming experience. In terms of design, the keyboard has a textured surface and a small incline toward the bottom edge to provide support to your wrists. It has quality plastic construction, which is apparent from the stunning design.
The keyboard provides seven backlighting colors, which can be turned on with a press of a button. You can choose any color based on your preference and change it later on. The backlighting is neither too bright nor too light. It offers amazing aesthetics and makes gaming quite fun.
The keys are decently spaced and within reach of your fingers. The small media keys are located at the top for quick access. It provides a nicely planned layout so that all the keys are within easy reach for smooth gaming.
The good thing about this keyboard, which makes it one of the best keyboards under 50, is that it comes with a mouse. The mouse comes in the package, so now you won’t have to buy a separate mouse to complete your desktop PC setup. It provides a button for changing the DPI value so you can reach tiny spots on the screen.
The keycaps are made of good quality materials and do not wobble when you are typing. This is a combination keyboard, which is both mechanical and membrane. It uses rubber as well as switches to press down the key. So it will offer you little sound and comfortable clicking when playing games or typing documents.
3. Best Budget: Tecware Phantom 87
The Tecware Phantom 87 is a mechanical keyboard that has a switch underneath each key, which is turned on and off when you press and release it. It has a metal plate at the bottom for making it sturdy. The keys are made of plastic, which is soft and offers fast typing.
It has two legs at the bottom so that it can be raised and let you type smoothly. The RGB backlighting of the keyboard is quite impressive. It allows you to customize the color scheme of the lights for creating rainbow-colored patterns. With this, you can create a spectrum of color shades by using the 18 color modes.
The keys have a quick response time and offer fast feedback as you press the keys. It makes use of the 87 key layout, which is decently compact and does not occupy a lot of space on the desk. This keyboard has the perfect lighting aesthetics to add to your gaming setup.
This wired keyboard has a braided cable for connecting it to your PC or laptop. The double layering of the cable reduces the chances of tears and breakage, which makes it last longer. The Phantom 87 is a lightweight keyboard so you can easily travel with it.
It offers several switch options for providing a comfortable typing experience when playing games, making it worth buying. The Tecware Phantom 87 is a quality mechanical keyboard that is highly affordable, so you should go for it if you are looking for a low priced mechanical keyboard.
4. Best RGB Keyboard: Havit Rainbow
The Havit keyboard is a slim membrane keyboard that provides excellent gaming performance due to its sleek design and construction. The keyboard also comes with a mouse, so you get two things for the price of one. And both offer amazing backlighting to up your gaming experience.
It has a metal plate at the bottom to support the keys making it long-lasting. The keyboard consists of 104 keys to offer you full functionality, so you don’t miss out on anything. Some people prefer long lengthed keyboards so they can quickly use the keys and don’t have to use the double key function. So this is an ideal choice for them.
The keys have a low sound and clicky feeling when you are continuously pressing down the keys. It lets you experience silent typing for gaming or writing up documents so you can use it for both work and entertainment. This makes it a versatile keyboard.
Havit provides software for customizing the colors of the backlighting. It is easily available on their website. The keys offer rainbow backlighting, which you can customize by following certain instructions. The lights offer a soft glow to the entire keyboard, which can make gaming even more fun. Here you can check out the best keyboards under $200, picked by FPSGadgets.
The best thing about this keyboard is that it requires less actuation force when pressing the keys. This is because of the construction of the membrane keys. As a result, it creates less sound. The Havit is a brilliant budget keyboard, which is worth buying.
5. Best FPS: HyperX Alloy
The HyperX Alloy is quite an affordable keyboard that has a stylish and slim design to make your gaming experience more exciting and fun. This is a full-sized keyboard that has the number keypad on the right side to offer you more functionality. It has a light bar at the top separating the keys from the HyperX logo giving it a modern look.
Comfort holds great importance to users when it comes to keyboards. The slim build of the keyboard makes you use less force on the keys. As a result, you will feel less pressure on your elbows and arms. So you won’t have to deal with any uncomfortable pain.
The keyboard has six different color modes for RGB lighting, and you can easily switch between them based on your preference or mood. It also offers brightness control options for controlling the intensity of the lights. This is quite useful when you want to turn down the brightness a bit so that it does not cause you a headache.
Apart from being quite affordable, the keyboard has very little typing sound. The keys have a nice depth to them for offering comfortable typing. The loud sound of clicks can be extremely distracting at times. Therefore, the HyperX Alloy offers noiseless typing when you are playing games.
The caps of the keys are composed of quality plastic, making them highly responsive. The keyboard won’t cause you fatigue when you are playing games for long hours. The HyperX Alloy is a stylish keyboard that offers trouble-free typing, so you should consider checking it out.
6. Best Backlit: Rii RK108 Gaming Keyboard
The Rii RK108 is another inexpensive mechanical keyboard that makes use of blue switches to give you more speed and responsiveness. The bottom plate of the keyboard is composed of solid aluminum, which is lightweight and lasts longer.
The red mechanical switches underneath the keycaps are highly suitable for gaming. These provide fast and smooth typing. The keys respond quickly to the finger touches making it easier to type. It does not require too much actuation force so that the typing isn’t too harsh on your arms.
The keyboard comes with a mouse that has the same design as that of the keyboard. The mouse also offers LED lighting that matches with that of the keyboard. The combination of the mouse and the keyboard looks really cool and adds to its aesthetics.
The caps on the keys can be easily pulled when cleaning up the keyboard. All peripheral devices attract a lot of dust, which must be cleaned up after some time so that it works properly. So, for this reason, the keycaps can be removed for keeping the keyboard in perfect condition.
The keyboard offers red backlighting for people who don’t prefer the multicolor lighting. Single color lighting causes fewer distractions when you are playing games, and you can fully focus on the game. The Rii RK108 offers great value for a small price and provides quick typing as well as is considered one of the best quiet keyboards. So you must give it a try.
7. Best for PC: Razer Cynosa Lite
The Razer Cynosa Lite is a lightweight keyboard that has a sturdy plastic construction for a longer life span. This is a full-sized keyboard that includes the number keypad making it highly suitable for gaming. The keyboard is quite budget-friendly, which is ideal for all the gamers who are on a tight budget.
It has a simple and minimalistic design, which may appeal to a number of users who don’t prefer over the top designs. The keyboard offers soft backlighting for the keys. The backlighting has a decent intensity, which reduces the glare effect. It provides a huge range of colors to choose from.
In terms of gaming performance, the Cynosa Lite is exceptionally good. It offers a quick response to your touches and can execute several keys at the same time without halting the program. This ability of the keyboard makes it one of the best keyboards under 50.
The keys have a softer build, which makes it super comfortable to type. It creates less sound because of the presence of rubber instead of individual switches beneath the keys. It may not have the extra features, but it certainly offers good performance when it comes to gaming.
The software of the keyboard offers several useful features for remapping the keys or changing the backlighting color. The Razer Cynosa Lite is a great option for new gamers looking to add an affordable yet quality keyboard to their gaming PC setup. That is why it is worth considering.
8. Best Small Keyboard: NPET K10
The NPET K10 is a highly affordable keyboard that can be used for both daily computing tasks and gaming. It is 17 inches long and has 104 keys for providing all the functionality you need in a full keyboard. The base of the keyboard is made of stainless steel, which is durable and does not attract dust.
The keycaps of the keyboard are painted with special compounds for giving them a shiny ultraviolet look. Consequently, the letters on the keycaps won’t fade away. The keys have a decent height with a slightly curved top for providing maximum comfort when typing.
The keyboard has legs at the bottom, which, when opened, raises the keyboard to a certain height for smoother typing. It has almost non-existent borders, which makes it compact and light. Despite being a full-sized keyboard, it does not occupy too much space on a desk.
The keyboard offers several modes for RGB backlighting, which can be easily controlled with the help of the function keys. The multi-color backlighting looks stunning when it is turned on. It is difficult to find RGB lighting in such a low priced keyboard.
The keys give amazing tactile feedback and produce less sound as compared to the mechanical keyboards. The keyboard also consists of several media keys for offering quick access to the media controls. This is a waterproof or spill-proof keyboard, which is a true claim made by its manufacturers. The NPET K10 is a great entry-level keyboard that offers amazing backlighting.
9. Best for Programmers: VELOCIFIRE TKL02
The VELOCIFIRE TKL02 is a Tenkeyless keyboard that has 87 keys with no number keypad for people who prefer smaller keyboards. It has a very simple design and is available in two colors. There is a white painted VELOCIFIRE logo at the front-facing edge that tells you about its minimal style.
Since this is a mechanical keyboard, the keys operate on switches. The keyboard keys have brown switches underneath them, which are quite suitable for fast typing action. The brown switches require very little pressure to turn them on. The key is executed with even the smallest touch of the finger.
The keyboard provides light blue backlighting for the keys to help you see them in the dark. This is ideal for people who don’t want the multi-colored LEDs for keyboard backlighting. It is highly suitable for both office and home use or playing games.
As compared to the previous TKL01, the TKL02 has a balanced height, which avoids causing hand fatigue as faced by users on the previous version. The keys of the keyboard are quite stable and don’t jiggle when you press them. Typing on this keyboard is highly enjoyed, as pointed out by its users.
The keyboard is quite sturdy as it is composed of quality plastic materials. It will last longer because of its simple yet strong construction. The VELOCIFIRE TKL02 is a durable and high-performance keyboard, which can make gaming quite fun. So you should definitely check it out when going for a pick.
10. Qisan Mini Keyboard
Qisan Mini is another affordable mechanical keyboard that is quite suitable for people who have less space on their desks. It has 68 keys, and it is available in white color. The smaller size of the keyboard makes it highly portable. And you can use it in your office and also at home for gaming.
The keyboard has OUTEMU brown switches, which are quite popular for providing quick and smooth typing. The base of the keyboard is pretty slim, which raises the keys and gives you easy access. It is hard to find such a quality mechanical keyboard on a low budget.
The keyboard has two legs at the back for propping up the keyboard for comfortable typing. It gives nice clicky feedback and lets you know that the key is pressed. The mini keyboard has a weight of 1.12 pounds, which makes it quite easy to slide and move around.
The keyboard comes with a detachable USB, which saves you from the trouble of dealing with cables on your desk. The keycaps are made of soft plastic, which is easy to press and does not cause fatigue. It is rare to find compact mechanical keyboards for people who value portability.
The rubber corners of the keyboard offer stability to it on the desk surface so that it does not slip. The Qisan mini keyboard is an ideal mechanical keyboard for gamers and home users, which is available at such a reasonable price. Therefore, you must check it out if you want an upgrade from a membrane keyboard.
Conclusion
There are several quality keyboards available on the market for new gamers looking to complete their PC setup who don’t want to spend too much on the peripherals. You can either go for the mechanical ones or the membrane keyboards. Both have their strong and weak points, and you can buy either one based on your budget and preference.
If you want fast speed, then go for a mechanical keyboard, but if you want quiet typing, then a membrane keyboard is best for you. Our top recommendations amongst the keyboards that we have reviewed are given down below.
- Redragon K552 is highly recommended due to its compact build and stylish design
- Cooler Master Devastator 3 is an excellent keyboard that offers fast and quiet typing
- Tecware Phantom 87 is popular for occupying less space and offering smooth gaming
So there you have it, the review of some of the best keyboards under 50. We hope it could be of use to you to pick up your next keyboard.