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Typewriter keyboards upgrade your setup and provide you with a fun typing experience. However, there is one thing that holds back some people from getting a typewriter keyboard – its high price tag. The high build quality and the special typewriter design often come at a higher price. Nonetheless, there are also several cheaper retro keyboards that provide a similar typing experience. In this post we prepared a list of the best budget keyboards in the typewriter-style niche, so you could pick a nice retro board without spending too much.
5 Affordable Typewriter Keyboards That Display Great Value For Money
Model | Main Pros | Price On Amazon |
An elegant, durable retro design that doesn’t feel cheap. Perfect colors combination of silver and black. | ||
Beautiful and customized RGB backlighting. | ||
Silent switches are great for office and working near other people. | ||
Beautiful colorful themes and various options to choose from. | ||
A noise reduction tech that alows working at quiet places. Portable and lightweight. |
Check this guide first if you need some pre-info on the typewriter experience and the different tech features. Otherwise, you can start exploring your next keyboard down below:
1. Adesso Retro Keyboard
The Adesso retro keyboard (link to Amazon) displays a decent alternative to the top designs in the niche. Its design is classic and elegant, a bit like that of the Azio retro keyboard. While the build quality and battery life are not at the same level, the overall experience with this board is great. This full-size wired keyboard is durable and looks gorgeous. It has quality clicky blue switches, sturdy ABS round keycaps which give the board a stylish retro feel. At the bottom, there are adjustable back keyboard legs that make your typing more comfortable.
With regards to features, this board offers an N-key rollover that lets you press up to 6 keys at the same time with no conflict between the keys. On the downside, there are no backlit effects in here so if that feature is important for you then check out the next budget keyboard. Overall, the Adesso keyboard doesn’t feel cheap even its a reasonable price. It is durable and looks fantastic, and it is the best budget keyboard for a home or office setup.
Pros
Cons
2. HUO JI E-Yooso Z-88 Full Size, Typewriter Mechanical Keyboard
The Huo Ji E-Yooso Z-88 (Amazon) of the best full-size typewriter keyboards you can get within the range of 50$. The white color and the no-metal ring design give this board a standard feel but in a good sense. The Outemu Blue switches give you clicky sound and tactile feedback as well as a high level of responsiveness. At the same time, the programable full RGB backlit provides you a shiny, customizable setup. There are 10 pre-configured lighting modes as well to ensure a fun gaming experience.
The keyboard is made of metal and ABS and it comes with gold plated USB connector for your PC. The N-key rollover of this board provides an anti-ghosting mechanism for all 104 keys, allowing you to play smoothly at a high pace.
Pros
Cons
3. Zerodate KB202 Steampunk Typewriter Keyboard
This is the cheapest full-size typewriter keyboard I found that displays good functionality. The Zerodate KB202 (Amazon) looks great and feels solid, better than what I expected from a less than 40$ board. The design is sturdy, made by common ABS and it has splash-proof protection, according to the specs. The KB202 is ideal for an office setup as the switches are quieter than those of most typewriter keyboards. The space bar though tends to do more noise than other keys but it’s not that interrupting. Above the switches, you have floating, retro round keycaps which give a gentle typewriter experience.
This cool keyboard has nice backlighting for such a cheap price. The backlit effects are cool thanks to its crystal light transparent design and the balance color range. The lighting effects are restricted but look nice. It is very easy to turn them on and off by pressing the scroll lock button. In addition, you get 12 easy-to-reach function keys to control your multimedia. Overall, this keyboard is the cheapest yet still feels great and looks fabulous. It has the basic features for most users and thus displays a great value for money.
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4. UBOTIE Colorful Typewriter Keyboard And Mouse Combo
If you look for a colorful, cute design you should consider the Ubotie typewriter keyboard (Amazon). The great thing here is that you have plenty of colors to choose from: pink, red, blue, green, or purple boards in which each board has a basic color theme and several other complementary colorful round keycaps. The design here is quite basic but in my view, it’s fine for the reasonable price tag of this board.
Another nice thing here is the mouse that comes with the keyboard. With this deal, you would not be concerned about finding a separate mouse of the same color. Both the keyboard and mouse connect to the PC through a USB wireless stick. It doesn’t have a Bluetooth connection though so phones and IPad are not supported by this keyboard. From what I found the Ubotie is the best full-size typewriter keyboard and mouse combo for a budget price. Note that you will need to bring 2 triple-a batteries by yourself.
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5. Felicon Portable Retro Keyboard
Finally, we have this cutie, colorful compact retro board. The Felicon portable board (Amazon) is very cheap and comes in various colors to choose from. It is lightweight and has round plastic keycaps as well as a Bluetooth connection to mobile devices.
The connection here is really something. It has a long-range 2.4 GHZ wireless connection allowing you to work comfortably around the house. Another great feature in this board is the noise reduction tech that produces quiet and comfortable typing. This way you can enjoy retro typing without interrupting your workmates, roommates, or strangers at the library.
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Summary
Typewriter keyboards are considerably pricy compared to other keyboards. The unique typewriter design and high build quality come with a high price tag. However, it’s a pity to miss out on the retro typing experience just for budget concerns. In this post, we introduced you to the best budget keyboards that display great value for money. You can now pick a retro keyboard from that list and upgrade your setup without spending too much.
If you haven’t found the right keyboard for your needs then check these cool pink retro keyboards which are also affordable, or the 7 top retro keyboards overall, or these special typewriter gaming keyboards.
Shachar is a blogger who enjoys the feel of a typewriter, and he loves tech gadgets with a retro design. Besides blogging Shachar likes to play chess, walk in nature and take view photos.