QK100 Mark II Review

keyboard by: Qwertykeys 
Photos taken in House by alex

QK100 Mark II Review

There was a point recently where I started wondering what QK’s next move would look like. After years of releasing some of the most popular enthusiast keyboards, there were rumors that they might slow down or shift focus away from the projects that made them so successful. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Instead, QK is now reworking how their lineup works. Their current plan is for QK to focus only on prebuilt keyboards, while Neo and Owlab will continue making barebone kits. They have already released a few prebuilts boards, but their newest release is their latest example of this new direction.

The QK100 Mark II is a fully assembled keyboard aimed at people who want something that works immediately out of the box.  Normally, that approach makes me a little skeptical. A lot of prebuilt keyboards sacrifice serviceability or make design decisions that prioritize easy assembly over long-term ownership. It’s always a bummer to open something up and the “custom” part of the keyboard is an after thought. Thankfully, that isn’t the case here.

I’ll go through some of my thoughts in detail in this article, because there is actually a lot to talk about here, even outside of the keyboard case.

Full Disclosure and Affiliations

This keyboard was given to me to review and they are letting me keep it. There also are some affiliate links. These links give me kickbacks and allow me to continue making content! All thoughts are my own and QK had no hand in editing this or seeing this before it was published. As always transparency matters.

TL;DR
If you don’t care to read everything in detail, here is the sum of my thoughts. The QK100 Mark II is one of the better prebuilt keyboards I've used around the $200 USD price point.

The stock typing experience is enjoyable, the new ABS/PBT keycaps sound surprisingly good, and perhaps most importantly, the keyboard is actually designed to be opened, repaired, and customized later.

The keycaps aren't perfect, and I would still prefer a more traditional enthusiast PCB, but those are minor complaints.

If you're looking for a keyboard that works immediately while still giving you room to customize later, the QK100 Mark II is an easy recommendation.
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The Aesthetics

This is my first topic here and I think a good way to introduce the QK100 Mark II. One thing QK continues to do well is pricing.

The QK100 Mark II launches at $197.10 USD during the initial launch window before increasing to around $220 USD afterwards. Considering everything included, I think that’s a very fair price.

For that price, you’re getting:

  • Fully assembled keyboard
  • Tri-mode connectivity
  • 8,000mAh battery
  • Dual displays
  • Touch volume slider
  • New ABS/PBT doubleshot keycaps
  • Neo Oat linear switches

 

That’s a competitive package, especially compared to other prebuilts in the same price range. It’s competition really is its own Ticktype DP104 at $199 USD and the ND104 from Chillkey at $199 to start. I’ll talk about my thoughts comparing these boards later in the article.

First Impressions & Design

I joke around about this a lot but QK definitely reminds me of a more affordable Matrix keyboard. You can see it in the overall silhouette and some of the case details, but it doesn’t feel like QK is simply copying another keyboard. They took those influences and toned them back enough that the board still has its own identity.

The front edge is clean, the side profile adds some character without becoming distracting, and most of the more aggressive styling has been pushed to the bottom of the keyboard and small parts on the top of the board that look cohesive in its design. In my opinion, it strikes a nice balance between enthusiast and office friendly.

The rear of the keyboard is another highlight.

QK added dedicated switches for wireless functionality and RGB without hiding them underneath keycaps or requiring you to hunt around for them. Again, I talk about this a lot but it’s such a small detail, but it’s something I wish more manufacturers would consider.

The same applies to the construction. The bottom case uses exposed hex screws, making it immediately obvious how to open the keyboard. There are no rubber feet hiding screws, no adhesive to peel off, and no worrying about snapping plastic clips.

It sounds like a small thing, but those decisions show that QK thought about what ownership looks like beyond the first day you unbox the keyboard. On a side note, I am glad they didn’t go for the catch ball system here. I personally have been having my gripes with those systems for the long term use.

Features

Normally when a keyboard advertises a long list of features, I expect at least a few of them to feel like gimmicks. Here, most of them actually make sense.

The keyboard includes dual displays, an 8,000mAh battery, tri-mode connectivity, RGB lighting, a capacitive touch volume bar, and audio reactive lighting.

I’ll be honest, I’ve never really understood audio reactive lighting. It’s technically impressive, but it’s never been something I would actually choose a keyboard for. I’ve enabled it on plenty of products before turning it off almost immediately or just forget it’s there.

The displays are fun though. I’ve always liked small displays on keyboards. There’s something satisfying about being able to customize animations, display information, or simply add some personality to your desk.

The implementation here feels polished. The interface is responsive, animations look sharp, and the touch bar works nicely with the display by showing your volume level in real time.

Is it something everyone needs?

Probably not and honestly these can be chalked up to just a gimmick, but let’s be real here for a second. Just have fun with your hobbies and purchases.

The New Keycaps

One of the things I was most curious about going into this review wasn’t actually the keyboard. It was the keycaps.

From my understanding, QK has essentially acquired JTK (a keycap manufacturer). Now, on the included keycaps for the QK100 Mark II these are still produced by JTK, but they use new molds developed by QK and feature a doubleshot ABS blend with a small amount of PBT mixed into the material.

It’s their first attempt at a new keycap and mold and I think they had a solid first go.

I’ve always liked JTK keycaps. The thickness has been good, the sound has been solid, and their overall quality has consistently impressed me. Seeing QK invest in their own molds is interesting because it shows they’re thinking beyond just this keyboard. If these eventually become standalone keycap sets, I think that’s something enthusiasts should be excited about.

As for the actual quality, the texture feels great under your fingers, and most importantly, they sound fantastic. A small note is the sprue marks are on the underside of the keycap so they are not visible unlike GMK.

There’s a slightly chalky character to them that I found myself really enjoying. It’s difficult to separate exactly how much of that comes from the keycaps versus the keyboard itself, but together they create a deeper and fuller sound profile than I expected from a stock prebuilt.

There is room for improvement though. A few legends are slightly heavier than others, with the Backspace legend being the one that stood out most to me. There are also a handful of smaller inconsistencies where certain letter intersections appear a little thicker than I’d ideally like.

These aren’t issues you’ll notice during normal use, but if you’re someone who spends way too much time inspecting keycaps under a camera (like me), they’re there. That said, I think it’s important to keep those criticisms in perspective.

These are brand new molds. We’ve seen other manufacturers go through similar growing pains with first-generation tooling before refining things over time.

I’d much rather see QK continue investing in their own molds and improving them rather than simply sticking with existing options forever.

As a first effort, these are genuinely impressive.

Typing Experience

The review unit came with Neo Oat linear switches, which I’ve used before. I liked them then, and I still like them now. They’re smooth, consistent, and fit the overall character of the keyboard nicely.

Combined with the new ABS/PBT keycaps, the board produces a sound profile that I honestly wasn’t expecting.

In it’s stock form, there’s a nice underlying bass to every keypress, but what stood out most was the slightly chalky character from the keycaps. It’s difficult to describe until you hear it, but it creates a sound profile that feels different from a traditional ABS build while still keeping some of that familiar character.

The stabilizers also deserve some credit. They’re plate mounted, and if you’ve watched my content for a while, you already know I don’t have anything against good plate-mounted stabilizers. There’s a common idea that plate-mounted stabilizers are automatically bad, but that’s simply not true. These were great, however I do wish the spacebar stabilizers just had a smidge more lubricant.

The typing feel is also on the softer side using it’s silicone gasket mounts. QK has included quite a bit of foam throughout the build, and while that isn’t always my personal preference, I think it works well here. The board has a cushioned feel that fits the audience they’re targeting.

Taking It Apart

Getting inside the QK100 Mark II is refreshingly straightforward. Remove the exposed screws from the bottom, separate the case, disconnect a few ribbon cables, and you’re in.

The ribbon cables are long enough to work with comfortably, although in a perfect world I would still prefer pogo pin connectors. For a prebuilt keyboard though, the implementation is very user friendly.

Once inside, it’s clear QK considered long-term ownership. The battery isn’t glued into the case and instead uses a standard JST connector, making future replacement possible. That shouldn’t feel like a standout feature in 2026, but unfortunately, many prebuilts still make battery repairs unnecessarily difficult.

The rest of the internals follow the same philosophy. Everything is accessible, easy to understand, and designed with customization in mind. Whether you want to swap stabilizers, experiment with foam, or simply maintain the keyboard over time, the QK100 Mark II doesn’t fight you.

The PCB does include flex cuts, which still isn’t something I personally prefer, especially when paired with multiple layers of foam. That said, the implementation works better than expected, and the board never felt overly soft or mushy.

Another nice touch is support for screw-in stabilizers if you decide to upgrade later. It’s another small detail that reinforces that this keyboard was designed to be enjoyed long after the initial setup.

Software

One area where QK has quietly continued to improve is software. I’m usually pretty skeptical whenever a keyboard requires proprietary software/webware. 

The QK100 Mark II uses QK’s web-based configurator, and overall, I came away satisfied. Everything loaded quickly, navigation was straightforward, and it included just about everything I’d expect from a modern custom keyboard. It didn’t blow my mind, but it was very nice to see.

Since the keyboard includes two displays, QK has also built an interface specifically for managing them.

You can upload your own images, choose from built-in animations, customize lighting effects, synchronize the clock, and adjust how everything behaves directly from the browser. There are already a handful of preset animations included, and QK says they’ll be adding more over time. It’s a fun feature that adds a little personality without feeling overly complicated.

Another feature worth mentioning is Snap Tap support. Whether you’ll actually use it depends on the games you play, but it’s nice to see QK including features that many people now expect from modern enthusiast keyboards.

Overall, I really don’t have much to complain about here. The software does what it needs to do, it isn’t bloated, and it never got in my way during my setup of it.

Some Thoughts & A Verdict

At around $200 USD, you’re getting a keyboard that sounds good out of the box, feels good to type on, includes more than decent stock keycaps, offers wireless connectivity, dual displays, solid software, and most importantly, is designed with the expectation that people may want to customize it later.

The included ABS / PBT keycaps also exceeded my expectations and it was nice seeing decent keycaps on a stock board. It’s a trend we are seeing a lot of lately, think CLASSIC TKL and Keykobo’s latest project and I am happy to see it.

And as promised, compared to the ND104 and the DP104, it’s a toughie since they are all around the same price. The advantage on the QK unit is the keycaps, but the other boards just have a more standard full size layout with almost all the same feature sets. Now, I did prefer the QK for the overall type feel and design, but it’s hard to deny the experience is great across the board. I do feel like the support is better for QK, so there is a leg up there too.

Where It Could Be Better

As much as I enjoyed the QK100 Mark II, there are still a few things I’d like to see improved. For me the biggest thing is just cleaning up those keycap molds and continuing to refine them.

I also personally would still prefer a more traditional enthusiast PCB without flex cuts. That’s entirely a preference on my end. 

Finally, while the ribbon cables are perfectly manageable, I’d still love to see pogo pin connections in future revisions but I know pogo pins are not everyone’s cup of tea either.

They’re simply nicer to work with when opening a keyboard repeatedly. That said, the current implementation never became frustrating, so this is a pretty minor complaint.

Final Verdict

QK has built a lot of keyboards over the last few years, and one thing they’ve consistently done well is deliver strong value. The QK100 Mark II continues that trend.

The thing that stands out most is how much QK respected the ownership experience. This is a prebuilt keyboard that doesn’t feel disposable and to me that is huge. You can open it, modify it, repair it, and continue enjoying it years later. That sounds like a simple thing, but it’s something a lot of keyboards still get wrong.

At its launch price of around $200 USD, the QK100 Mark II is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a full-size or 1800-style keyboard that still captures the fun of the custom mechanical keyboard hobby.

More companies should be building prebuilts like this.


Until next time. 👋