Generally noisy, flashy and like someone bred a standard keyboard with an olde world typewriter, mechanical keyboards are not to everyone’s typing taste. However, there is an undeniable ever-growing hardcore fan following that not only swear by them, but actually almost obsess over them. You’ll find them lurking mostly in the online gaming arena, where the mech’s incredible flexibility and, yes, fancy RGB lighting is much prized in gaining the gaming advantage.So, what do you need to know? Basically, they come in various sizes, the most common being 100 per cent, 80 per cent (TKL – tenkeyless), 75 per cent, 65 per cent and 60 per cent. They also come with ultra-durable key-switches that can be either linear (smooth action), tactile (bit of a bump on pressing), or clicky (bump and noise), dependent on preference.Boasting lower latency and accuracy than non-mechs, most also feature changeable switches (hot-swappable) and can be customised to adjust backlighting, key task assignments and even actuation point pressure, so you can see why the gamers love them.But all that “feel”, sound and solid-build makes them good for business, too, and if you take to typing on one for any real length of time, you’ll soon see the benefits.So, on that, to the testing…Read more: Apple MacBook Neo review: It beats every laptop in its price categoryI tested keyboards for gamers, workers and beyond (Stuart Pritchard/The Independent)The best mechanical keyboards for 2026 are:Best overall – Razer huntsman V3 pro tenkeyless 8KHz: £159.99, Argos.co.ukBest budget buy – Acer predator 303: £59.99, Currys.co.uk Best full sized – SteelSeries apex pro gen 3: £219.99, Amazon.co.ukBest for FPS – Razer BlackWidow V4 tenkeyless hyperspeed: £100.79, Amazon.co.ukBest budget membrane keyboard alternative – SteelSeries apex 3 TKL: £49.99, Amazon.co.ukBest for PC esports – Logitech G pro X TKL rapid: £169.99, Amazon.co.ukRead more: Best laptop stands and risers to improve posture and reduce strain