Quick Answer: The best all-round Gateron switch is the Oil King (about $0.59-0.65 each) — a factory-lubed nylon-top, Ink-bottom linear that Gateron itself treats as its flagship. Budget builders should start with Gateron Yellow (roughly $0.20-0.25 each), one of the cheapest usable linears sold anywhere. Typists who want tactile feedback should look at the Baby Kangaroo (about $0.60 each), and anyone building a Hall-effect board needs the KS-20 magnetic switch (around $0.52-0.76 each), which only works with a compatible analog PCB, not a standard hot-swap socket.
Gateron makes some of the most widely-used switches in the hobby, but its lineup is confusing by design — near-identical color names cover switches with genuinely different housings, lube states and price tiers. Below are the five worth knowing apart, what actually separates them, and the naming trap that catches the most buyers.
Gateron switches, by the numbers
- Gateron sells plain and “Pro” versions of the same color name, and the only difference is factory lube and stem tolerance — per Gateron’s own blog post comparing the G Pro 2.0 to the original G Pro, plain Gateron Yellow (KS-3/KS-9 line) ships unlubed at around $0.20-0.25 per switch, while Yellow Pro ships factory-lubed at around $0.31-0.35 per switch.
- Gateron’s Oil King spec sheet lists 55±5 gf actuation force, 65±5 gf bottom-out force and 4.0mm total travel — confirmed on its authorized retailer listing at KBDfans — making it one of the few Gateron linears with a two-stage force curve baked into the housing rather than the spring alone.
- The KS-20 magnetic switch is rated for 150 million keystrokes, per Gateron’s own product page, and needs a Hall-effect-compatible PCB with an analog sensor per key — it will not register in a standard mechanical hot-swap socket the way every other switch on this list does.
Best Gateron switches at a glance
| Switch | Best for | Type | Force / Travel | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gateron Oil King | Best overall | Linear | 55g / 4.0mm | ~$0.59-0.65 each |
| Gateron Yellow | Best budget | Linear | ~50g / 4.0mm | ~$0.20-0.25 each |
| Gateron Baby Kangaroo 2.0 | Best tactile | Tactile | 59g / 3.4mm | ~$0.60 each |
| Gateron Ink Silent Black V2 | Best silent (enthusiast) | Silent linear | 60g / 4.0mm | ~$0.83 each |
| Gateron KS-20 Magnetic Orange 30g | Best Hall-effect | Magnetic linear | 30cN / 4.1mm | ~$0.52-0.76 each |
1. Gateron Oil King — Best Overall
Gateron Oil King
- Nylon PA66 top housing paired with an Ink-material bottom housing — per independent reviewer ThereminGoat, the first Gateron switch to combine those two materials, giving a deeper, less hollow bottom-out sound than an all-nylon switch.
- Factory pre-lubed and shipped on a 20mm spring, so it's ready to install straight from the pack without a lube kit.
- Treated by Gateron as its flagship linear — the default recommendation for hot-swap builders who want a smooth switch without lubing it themselves.
Where Cherry’s MX2A and Durock’s enthusiast linears each ask you to either accept a lighter factory lube job or lube switches by hand, Oil King ships pre-lubed at a similar price to both and is widely regarded as smoother out of the box. It’s a safe default for a first hot-swap build coming from our best hot swappable keyboard guide, and pairs well with a switch tester first if you’ve never felt a 55g linear before — see our best keyboard switch tester guide.
2. Gateron Yellow — Best Budget
Gateron Yellow
- One of the cheapest usable linear switches sold anywhere, full nylon/milky housing on a 63.5g spring.
- Ships unlubed in its plain form — the "Pro" version costs roughly 10-15 cents more per switch and adds factory lube, per Gateron's own comparison of the two.
- Sold in large packs (70-110 switches) at big-box and enthusiast retailers alike, making it the easiest Gateron switch to find in bulk.
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At this price, Gateron Yellow is less a “budget compromise” than the default starting point most enthusiasts cut their teeth on before trying anything pricier — a full 65% board’s worth runs under $20. Just confirm you’re buying the plain version on purpose; if you want factory lube included, look for “Yellow Pro” specifically, not just “Yellow.” New builders unsure what a lubed switch should feel like can check our how to lube keyboard switches guide before deciding which tier to buy.
3. Gateron Baby Kangaroo 2.0 — Best Tactile
Gateron Baby Kangaroo 2.0
- An "ahead heavy tactile" profile — the bump peaks earlier in the stroke (around 0.5mm pre-travel) than most tactiles, giving sharper, more immediate feedback.
- POM stem with a PC top / nylon bottom housing and a double-stage 22mm gold spring, factory-lubed.
- Sold mainly through enthusiast switch shops (Kinetic Labs, Divinikey, CannonKeys) rather than mass retailers, reflecting its enthusiast-tier positioning versus Gateron's mainstream Brown.
Most typists’ first tactile switch is a Gateron Brown or Cherry MX Brown, both of which have a mushy, low-force bump many enthusiasts outgrow quickly. Baby Kangaroo’s earlier, sharper bump is aimed squarely at that upgrade path. If you’re still deciding between linear and tactile before buying anything, our linear vs tactile switches guide breaks down the tradeoff in more depth.
4. Gateron Ink Silent Black V2 — Best Silent (Enthusiast)
Gateron Ink Silent Black V2
- Proprietary Ink-material housing blend with a coated black spring — a distinct, pricier tier above Gateron's own budget Silent Red Pro.
- Heavier 60g actuation than most silent switches, aimed at builders who want a quiet board without a light, floaty feel.
- Sold through enthusiast switch shops in smaller packs; confirm current stock before buying, as some retailer listings for this switch have shown mispriced backorder placeholders.
This isn’t the same switch as the budget Gateron Silent Red Pro covered in our best silent switches guide — Ink Silent Black V2 is a heavier, pricier, enthusiast-tier silent with a different housing material entirely, worth knowing apart if a listing just says “Gateron silent” without specifying which one. If a per-switch price online looks far higher than the ~$0.83 figure above, treat it as a bad backorder listing rather than the real market rate and check a second retailer.
5. Gateron KS-20 Magnetic Orange 30g — Best Hall-Effect
Gateron KS-20 Dual-Rail Magnetic Orange 30g
- Magnet-in-stem design read by an analog Hall-effect sensor, giving adjustable actuation points rather than a fixed on/off click.
- Gateron's own product page lists a 0.4-3.6mm adjustable actuation range and a 150 million keystroke rating.
- Requires a magnetic/Hall-effect-compatible PCB — it physically will not register in a standard mechanical hot-swap socket, unlike every other switch on this list.
Gateron’s move into magnetic switches puts it in the same underlying category as Wooting and DrunkDeer’s Hall-effect boards, but sold as a bare switch rather than bundled into one board. Before buying, check whether your board’s PCB actually supports magnetic switches at all — see our hall effect vs mechanical keyboard guide, since this is the one switch on this list that isn’t a drop-in upgrade for an existing mechanical hot-swap board.
How to choose a Gateron switch
- Want a smooth linear without lubing it yourself? Oil King ships factory pre-lubed and is Gateron’s flagship for a reason.
- On the tightest possible budget? Gateron Yellow is one of the cheapest usable linears sold anywhere — just confirm plain vs. Pro before you buy.
- Want tactile feedback sharper than a stock Brown? Baby Kangaroo’s earlier bump peak is a genuine step up from Gateron’s entry-level tactile.
- Building a quiet board and want more than the budget tier? Ink Silent Black V2 is a heavier, pricier silent distinct from Gateron’s own Silent Red Pro.
- Building a rapid-trigger or analog-input board? KS-20 only works with a Hall-effect-compatible PCB — check your board’s spec sheet first, not just its hot-swap socket type.
The bottom line
The Gateron Oil King (about $0.59-0.65 each) is the best all-round Gateron switch — factory pre-lubed, Gateron’s own flagship linear, and smoother out of the box than most competitors at a similar price. Budget builders should start with Gateron Yellow (roughly $0.20-0.25 each), just double-checking plain vs. “Pro” before ordering. Typists chasing a sharper tactile bump should look at the Baby Kangaroo 2.0 (about $0.60 each), and quiet-board builders who’ve outgrown the budget tier should consider Ink Silent Black V2 (around $0.83 each) — a genuinely different switch from Gateron’s own Silent Red Pro, not just a repackaging of it. Building a Hall-effect board instead? The KS-20 magnetic switch (around $0.52-0.76 each) is Gateron’s own entry, but only works with a compatible magnetic PCB — confirm that before you buy, and see our best hot swappable keyboard guide for boards built around standard switch swaps.