Runner-up Leopold FC750R The next best thing The FC750R has similarly excellent build quality and design, but it doesn’t offer as much switch or keycap variety as the VA87M, and its media keys aren’t labeled. Buying Options $120 from MechanicalKeyboards.com

If the Varmilo VA87M isn’t available, we recommend the tenkeyless Leopold FC750R instead. It has equally excellent build quality and a similarly compact, minimalist design, and it comes with all the most popular switch types. It’s available with a few different tasteful keycap sets too, though it doesn’t provide as much variety in that regard as the VA87M, and it comes with a removable Mini-USB cable and works on both Windows and Mac. But the FC750R’s media keys aren’t conveniently labeled on the keycaps (or explained in the manual), so you’ll have to memorize them. The FC750R typically costs around $120, though some switch options cost an additional $5.

The FC750R doesn’t offer quite as many switch options as the Varmilo VA87M, but it is available with all the most popular ones: Cherry MX Brown, MX Clear, MX Blue, MX Black, MX Red, MX Silent Red, and MX Silver. This Leopold keyboard also doesn’t have as wide a variety of keycap designs as the Varmilo, but it still offers more keycap options than much of the competition. We tested the restrained navy/blue style, and we also like many of the other options, including the plain black model, the loud (but fun) yellow/blue option, and the classic two-tone white model. (There is no Mac-specific keycap set; all these sets come with Windows OS keys.) At this writing, none of these FC705R models come with backlighting.

The FC750R also has some of the best build quality of all the mechanical keyboards we tested. Like the Varmilo’s case, the Leopold’s case didn’t flex under pressure or make any annoying ping while we were typing, and its larger modifier keys and spacebar felt stable and sounded melodious thanks to its Cherry-style stabilizers. It’s almost as compact as the Varmilo, at 14.25 by 5.51 by 1.3 inches; its larger bezels make it just barely wider and deeper, but it’s still smaller than most of the keyboards we tested. The FC750R’s closed layout means the keys are set deeper in the case rather than appearing to float on top as in the Varmilo’s open layout. While the Varmilo is a little easier to clean as a result, the difference is mostly aesthetic. As with the VA87M, the FC750R’s low-profile, mostly flat case is ideal for your wrists, but it does have feet in the back to raise that portion of the keyboard if you prefer.

Just like the Varmilo, the Leopold comes with PBT keycaps, which are higher quality and more durable than those of most mechanical keyboards. It also comes with a removable Mini-USB cable and cable-management channels set into the underside of the case.

The FC750R is not fully programmable, but it is more customizable than the VA87M. DIP switches on the underside let you swap the locations of Caps Lock and left Ctrl, the OS key and left Alt, and the OS key and the Fn key; you can also lock the OS key. Although the FC750R does have media keys, they’re not labeled on the keycaps or explained in the included manual. We found them in this Korean manual (JPG); F12 is volume up, F11 is volume down, F10 is mute, F9 is stop, F8 is next track, F7 is play/pause, and F6 is previous track. We prefer the Varmilo VA87M’s helpful labels for these frequently used media keys to the Leopold model’s scavenger hunt and guessing game.

The manual says the FC750R is not compatible with macOS, but in our testing it worked just as well on both Windows and Mac; all the media keys worked properly on both operating systems. The second DIP switch allows you to swap the location of the OS and Alt keys to match the Mac keyboard layout, if you prefer to do so on the keyboard rather than in the operating system settings.

The Leopold FC750R comes with two extra keycaps to swap Ctrl and Caps Lock, a PS/2 adapter (which most people don’t need nowadays), and a cheap plastic keycap puller. Since this plastic tool can damage the edges of keycaps, we recommend getting a wire keycap puller if you plan to swap keycaps, but the included one will do in a pinch. The FC750R’s one-year warranty is serviced by MechanicalKeyboards.com if you purchase from that site. We don’t recommend buying this keyboard from Amazon, since it is not clear whether you will be able to get support if you order from there.

Availability is an issue with the Leopold FC750R—it may not be immediately available with the keycaps or switches you prefer. The same advice for the VA87M applies here: If you don’t mind waiting, you can preorder from MechanicalKeyboards.com or check that seller’s incoming-shipments page; if you can’t wait, consider our other picks.