KEYCAP MANUFACTURERS list (Last update: 03 January 2023)

[1pctipaday]

Hello everyone!

I have created the following list with all the keycap (keysets, not artisans) manufacturers I know:


MANUFACTURER  |  MATERIAL(S)  |  MAIN PROD. METHOD(S)  |  MAIN PROFILE(S)  |  PRICING ($-$$$$)  |  QUALITY¹        *NOTES
¹ Basic < Not bad < Good < Very good < Top tier
² Yellow color means "Lack of information / Possible known mistake"

More

AIFEI / GLIGING / SUMGSN / VENIT KEYS / YONG-QIU    ABS / PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry, SA    $    Basic        *Clones

AKKO-EPOMAKER    PBT / PC    Doubleshot / Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub / UV print    ASA, Cherry, OEM, OSA    $$    Not bad

ALL.CAPS    PBT    Dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Good

ANGRY MIAO    PBT / PC    Dye-sub / Laser etched-engraving    Unique-Unknown    $$$    Good

BSP EUROPE (BSP)    PBT    Dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Good

CANNONCAPS    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Very good        *Property of CANNONKEYS

OG CHERRY    ABS / PBT / POM    Doubleshot / Dye-sub / Laser etched-engraving / UV print   Cherry    $$$$    Top tier        *Only found in vintage keyboards sold in second-hand market

CONTRAKEY    PBT    Dye-sub    Cherry    $$    Good

CREATEKEEBS a.k.a. ESC.HIT    ABS-PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$-$$$    Good        *Cooperating with ALOHAKB

DEADLINE STUDIO (DEADLINE)    PC    Laser etched-engraving    Cherry    $$$    Good

DOMIKEY (DMK)    ABS / PBT   Doubleshot & Tripleshot / Dye-sub   Cherry, SA    $$$$    Top tier

DROP (Artifact Bloom Series, DCX & MT3)    ABS / PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry, MT3    $$-$$$    Very good

DUCKY    PBT    Doubleshot    OEM    $$    Not bad

ENJOY PBT (ePBT)    ABS / PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$-$$$$    Very good

GEEKARK    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Very good

GLORIOUS (GPBT)    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$    Good

GLOVE    PBT    Pad print & UV coat    WDA    $$$$    Good

GMK-UNIQEY    ABS    Doubleshot / UV print    Cherry    $$$$    Top tier        *Owner of the original CHERRY molds

HAMMERWORKS CRP    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Top tier

HK GAMING    PBT    Dye-sub    Cherry    $    Basic

IDOBAO    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry, MA, OEM    $-$$    Not bad

INFINIKEY (IFK)    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Very good        *Property of THE KEY COMPANY

IV WORKS    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Very good

JKDK    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$    Good        *AliExpress legit/original manufacturer?

JT KEYCAPS (JTK)    ABS    Doubleshot & Tripleshot    Cherry    $$$$    Top tier

KBDFans    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub / Laser etched-engraving    Cherry, DSA    $-$$    Good

KEEBMONKEY    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$-$$$    Good

KEYBEE (KBM)    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Very good

KEYCHRON    PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry, OEM, OSA    $-$$    Not bad

KEYKOBO (KK)    ABS    Doubleshot    Cherry    $$$    Very good

KEYREATIVE    PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    KAM, KAT    $$$    Very good

KINETIC LABS    PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Good

KONO DESIGNER SERIES (KDS)    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Very good

KPREPUBLIC    PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub    Cherry, CSA    $-$$    Good

LELELAB    ABS    Unknown    Unknown    $$    Good

LEOPOLD    PBT    Doubleshot    OEM    $$    Not bad

MAX KEYBOARDS (MX)    ABS / PC    Laser etched-engraving / UV print    OEM    $$    Basic        *Can produce individual custom keysets

MAXKEY    PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    SA    $$-$$$    Good

MELGEEK (MG)    ABS / PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub    MDA, MG    $$$    Very good

MILKYWAY KEYS (MW)    PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$$    Top tier

MODE DESIGNS (MODE)    ABS    Doubleshot    Cherry    $$$    Good

MONOKEI    PBT    Doubleshot    Cherry    $$$    Very good

MONSTARGEAR    ABS / PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub    Cherry, MG, OEM    $-$$$    Good

"MVKB (MV)"    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Very good        *According to designer, Max Voltar, MV means "Sets produced by a variety of factories that have been approved by him"

NicePBT    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub / Laser etched-engraving    Cherry, DSA    $$$    Very good        *Property of CANNONKEYS

NOVELKEYS (NK)    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry, DSA    $$$    Very good

NUPHY    PC+ABS / PBT    Doubleshot    Cherry-like, Low profile    $    Good

OMNITYPE (OTC)    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Good

OSUMEKEYS (OSUME)    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Good

PBTFans    ABS / PBT    Doubleshot & Tripleshot / UV print    Cherry    $$$    Top tier        *Property of KBDFans

PG    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    NP/PG    $$    Not bad

QUALITY PBT (qPBT)    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$    Not bad

RAMA WORKS (RW)    PC    Doubleshot    Unique    $$$$    Very good

SHENPO    PBT    Dye-sub    Cherry    $    Good

SHURIKEY    ABS    Doubleshot    Cherry    $$    Good

SIGNATURE PLASTICS (SP)-PIMP MY KEYBOARD    ABS / PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    DCS, DSA, DSS, SA    $$$$    Top tier        *Include Comptec keycaps

SwagKeys (SW)    PBT    Doubleshot    Cherry    $$$    Good

TAI-HAO    ABS / PBT    Doubleshot    Bobo (unique), OEM    $$    Not bad

TEACAPS (TeaPBT)    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$-$$$    Good

TECSEE    PBT    Doubleshot    Cherry    $$    Not bad

TEX ELECTRONICS (TEX)    ABS    Laser etched-engraving    TEX ADA    $    Not bad

TOMATOCAPS (TMT)    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Good        *Partnering with zFRONTIER

TOMO CAPS (TOMO)    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Very good

TRAITORS    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$    Not bad

VARMILO    PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    OEM    $$    Not bad

VORTEX KEYBOARD (VTK)    PBT / PBT-POM    Doubleshot / Dye-sub    OEM    $    Not bad        *Also known as VORTEXGEAR or simply VORTEX

WASD    ABS    UV coat    OEM    $$    Basic        *Can produce individual custom keysets

WINMX    PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry, OSA, SA    $-$$    Good

WORK LOUDER (wrk.)    ABS / PC    Laser etched-engraving    Low profile Kaihl choc    $$$    Good

WuquePBT (WS)    PBT    Doubleshot / Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Good

YMDK    ABS / PBT    Dye-sub & Reverse dye-sub / Laser etched-engraving    Cherry, DSA, OEM, XDA    $    Basic

XIAMI (XMI)-21KB    PBT    Dye-sub    Cherry    $$$    Very good

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Last update (03 January 2023): OG CHERRY, DMK and ePBT modified, SW added.
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Data are based on public info, since obviously I have not tested a set from all of them. There can be mistakes; so please, feel free to give me feedback to amend them.

It is an open and editable list. My idea is that people can fulfill gaps, giving their "most objective" opinion, in such a way that The Community can maintain the list updated.


PD: It is not my aim to create a "fandom war" among people. The main goal of this list is giving a quick consulting guide to designers, customers and enthusiasts in general who look for basic information about keycap manufacturers.

[Fraaaan]

Looks like the start of something cool.

Firstly for the price and quality columns I'd go with a more legible rating like x/10. Counting the symbols isn't very intuitive. Also I would suggest locking the document to avoid trolls and make adjustments yourself after collecting feedback.

At a quick glance I noticed some things that need to be fixed. Signature plastics has DCS in the name for some reason, it says they do doubleshot only but their PBT is dyesub, and the profiles are wrong; SP doesn't do Cherry profile, they do DSA, DSS, DCS, SA and G20. AFAIK Xiami doesn't do reverse dyesub, Tai-Hao does ABS as well as PBT, I am not aware of JTK doing dyesub PBT but I know for sure they do doubleshot/tripleshot ABS which is missing, PBT fans does doubleshot ABS as well as PBT, Keykobo does doubleshot ABS and there's reverse dyesub missing from GPBT.

Blacksimon did a keycap tier list stream if you want to check that out for a point of reference.

Good luck with the project!

[1pctipaday]

Thanks for the feedback! I've deleted the original link to an open document and included all the info here to a faster and easier consultation.

Looks like the start of something cool.

Firstly for the price and quality columns I'd go with a more legible rating like x/10. Counting the symbols isn't very intuitive. Also I would suggest locking the document to avoid trolls and make adjustments yourself after collecting feedback.

At a quick glance I noticed some things that need to be fixed. Signature plastics has DCS in the name for some reason, it says they do doubleshot only but their PBT is dyesub, and the profiles are wrong; SP doesn't do Cherry profile, they do DSA, DSS, DCS, SA and G20. AFAIK Xiami doesn't do reverse dyesub, Tai-Hao does ABS as well as PBT, I am not aware of JTK doing dyesub PBT but I know for sure they do doubleshot/tripleshot ABS which is missing, PBT fans does doubleshot ABS as well as PBT, Keykobo does doubleshot ABS and there's reverse dyesub missing from GPBT.

Blacksimon did a keycap tier list stream if you want to check that out for a point of reference.

Good luck with the project!

[TyPo.mk]

A lot of these are keycaps from the same factory just rebranded. It’s actually pretty funny you have the same manufacturer listed twice, once as “top-tier” and once as “not bad”, the only difference being the price and legends

[1pctipaday]

I'm sure of that you read there can be mistakes and the necessity of feedback. I do know there must be mistakes, since I found some "interesting" duplicities when looking for particular keysets.

That's why, as it is an OPEN and EDITABLE list, IMO it would be more constructive sharing your knowledge with everyone and making me able to amend these funny mistakes (even those less funny ones).

TIA

A lot of these are keycaps from the same factory just rebranded. It’s actually pretty funny you have the same manufacturer listed twice, once as “top-tier” and once as “not bad”, the only difference being the price and legends

[TyPo.mk]

I'm sure of that you read there can be mistakes and the necessity of feedback. I do know there must be mistakes, since I found some "interesting" duplicities when looking for particular keysets.

That's why, as it is an OPEN and EDITABLE list, IMO it would be more constructive sharing your knowledge with everyone and making me able to amend these funny mistakes (even those less funny ones).

TIA

A lot of these are keycaps from the same factory just rebranded. It’s actually pretty funny you have the same manufacturer listed twice, once as “top-tier” and once as “not bad”, the only difference being the price and legends

Sorry I didn’t mean funny as I’m laughing at you, more funny as in interesting how the community perceives products

[1pctipaday]

No problem!

I will consider all the extra info you have and modify the current list.

I'm sure of that you read there can be mistakes and the necessity of feedback. I do know there must be mistakes, since I found some "interesting" duplicities when looking for particular keysets.

That's why, as it is an OPEN and EDITABLE list, IMO it would be more constructive sharing your knowledge with everyone and making me able to amend these funny mistakes (even those less funny ones).

TIA

A lot of these are keycaps from the same factory just rebranded. It’s actually pretty funny you have the same manufacturer listed twice, once as “top-tier” and once as “not bad”, the only difference being the price and legends

Sorry I didn’t mean funny as I’m laughing at you, more funny as in interesting how the community perceives products

[vhaarr]

Thank you for starting this list. Great initiative!

[1pctipaday]

You're welcome!

I arrived at a point that I needed to get all this info out of my head, for healthy reasons mainly haha

Thank you for starting this list. Great initiative!

[1pctipaday]

Happy new year to everyone!!

[koe]

Milkyways quality needs to be lowered. Recent sets have QC issues. https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/y00kyw/milkyway_recent_string_of_extremely_poor_qc/

I have MW Demon Girl and can confirm scratching and oil issues.

[Aregs Keyboard]

They are very detailed and comprehensive! Very useful for me, thank you very much, you are my hero haha

[Aquarius]

The list is very useful for me! because i'm a new keycap designer.

[krautcat]

Thank you for your work. I really find it useful.

Do you consider adding Devlin?

[spongebobss]

Introducing Oshid Precision Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Co., Ltd!
Founded in January 2005, as a leading force in precision manufacturing. (Is really a manufacturer!)

OSHID is a prominent supplier for many mainstream peripheral brands. Initially focused on mold manufacturing, it delved into the peripheral molding accessories industry in 2014. The factory’s product range includes keycaps, keyboard upper and lower covers, mouse shells, etc., with a primary emphasis on double-shot injection molding in its manufacturing processes.
The keycap processes include PBT and ABS double-shot injection molding, PBT and ABS single-shot injection molding, pad printing, PBT dye-sublimation, and resin keycaps, available in different profiles.