Quick Answer: The best all-round Kailh switch is the Kailh Speed Silver (around $0.27-0.33 per switch) — a 40g linear with a shortened 3.5mm total travel built for fast in-game actuation. Typists who want a distinct, crunchy click should get Kailh Box White (clicky, roughly $0.30-0.45), buyers who want the loudest, heaviest click available need Kailh Box Navy (60g, about $0.35-0.70), fans of a “thocky” all-POM sound should look at the NK_ Cream collaboration switch (about $0.42, check current stock), and anyone typing somewhere quiet needs the Kailh Midnight Pro Silent (factory-lubed, both linear and tactile variants). Whatever you buy, make sure the listing doesn’t say “Choc” — that’s a physically different, incompatible switch family.
Kailh (Kaihua Electronics) is one of the oldest switch makers in the hobby — alongside Cherry, Gateron and Durock/JWK — and unlike some rivals that mostly clone Cherry’s color-coded lineup, Kailh has built genuinely distinct sub-families of its own: the sealed, water-resistant Box series and the low-profile Choc series among them. That variety is also where the confusion starts. Here’s what to buy and the one naming trap worth knowing before you order.
Kailh switches, by the numbers
- Kailh Speed Silver actuates at 40±10gf with just 1.10±0.4mm of pre-travel and 3.50±0.4mm of total travel, per Kailh’s own published spec as reproduced on mechanicalkeyboards.com’s product listing — a genuinely shorter keystroke than Cherry MX2A Red’s 4.0mm, aimed at faster repeat-actuation in games.
- Kailh Box switches are IP56-rated for dust and water resistance via a sealed housing around the stem, per Kailh’s own Box buying guide — a rating Kailh’s regular, non-Box switches (including Speed and the Cream collaboration line) do not carry.
Best Kailh switches at a glance
| Switch | Best for | Type | Force / Travel | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kailh Speed Silver | Best overall / gaming | Linear | 40g / 3.5mm | ~$0.27-0.33 each |
| Kailh Box White | Best clicky / budget | Clicky (box) | 45g / n/a | ~$0.30-0.45 each |
| Kailh Box Navy | Best heavy clicky | Clicky (box) | 60g / 3.6mm | ~$0.35-0.70 each |
| NK_ Cream | Best thocky / POM | Linear | 55g / 4.0mm | ~$0.42 each |
| Kailh Midnight Pro Silent | Best silent | Silent linear/tactile | 45g / 4.0mm | ~$0.55-0.80 each |
1. Kailh Speed Silver — Best Overall
Kailh Speed Silver Linear
- Shortens total travel to 3.50±0.4mm against Cherry MX2A Red's 4.0mm and Gateron Yellow's similar full-travel range, while keeping a light 40±10gf actuation force.
- PC top-housing over a nylon bottom housing with a POM stem, rated for 70 million actuations per Kailh's spec sheet.
- A genuinely cheaper way into a shorter-travel linear than most rivals, without the added cost of a true hall-effect switch.
Kitting out a desk fleet? A free Amazon Business account unlocks quantity discounts and tax-exempt purchasing, which matters once you’re buying switches in 70- or 110-count trays.
If you already own a set of Cherry MX2A Red or Gateron Yellow (see our best Cherry MX switches and best Gateron switches guides) and want to feel the difference a shorter travel makes, Speed Silver is the cheapest like-for-like comparison in the same 40-45g force range.
2. Kailh Box White — Best Clicky
Kailh Box White Clicky
- Uses Kailh's enclosed "box" stem housing rather than a standard click-jacket, producing a crisper, more contained click than Cherry MX2A Blue.
- IP56-rated for dust and water resistance, per Kailh's own Box buying guide — a genuine practical edge for spill-prone desks, not just a spec-sheet number.
- The click-bar mechanism registers on both the press and the release of the keystroke, which is part of why Box switches sound noticeably different from non-Box clicky switches at the same price point.
For a side-by-side against Cherry’s own clicky switch, see our best Cherry MX switches guide’s MX2A Blue pick — same general use case, noticeably different click character.
3. Kailh Box Navy — Best Heavy Clicky
Kailh Box Navy Clicky
- The heaviest, loudest switch in Kailh's Box lineup — same enclosed click-bar housing as Box White, but at 60g actuation instead of 45g.
- A deliberate, thick-click sound that enthusiast retailers consistently describe as the most "authoritative" clicky switch in the Box family, distinct from White by force rather than mechanism.
- Shares Box White's IP56 water/dust rating, so the extra weight doesn't trade away the sealed housing's practical benefit.
If even Box Navy isn’t loud enough, our best Kailh switches by the numbers section above covers the mechanism behind the click — see our linear vs tactile switches guide for how clicky switches compare to the tactile and linear families.
4. NK_ Cream — Best Thocky / POM
NK_ Cream (Kailh × NovelKeys)
- An all-POM housing and stem — the switch widely credited with popularizing the deep, "thocky" POM-on-POM sound that's now copied across the hobby, including in Durock's own POM lineup.
- A NovelKeys collaboration built on Kailh's manufacturing, so it's a genuinely different product from Kailh's own-branded Speed and Box lines rather than a reskin.
- Stock has run out before at official retail — confirm current availability before ordering in bulk for a full board build.
Durock’s own POM offering (see our best Durock switches guide’s overall pick) is the closest comparison if Cream is out of stock when you’re ready to buy.
5. Kailh Midnight Pro Silent — Best Silent
Kailh Midnight Pro Silent
- Factory-lubed from Kailh with dampening built into the stem, sold in both a 45g linear and a separate tactile variant peaking around 55g under the same Midnight Pro Silent name.
- Rated for 70 million actuations per Kailh's own product page, matching the Speed Silver's durability rating.
- Bulk-pack pricing varies more than usual on this switch across retailers — confirm the per-switch price for your exact pack size before ordering, since set prices for different quantities have occasionally listed inconsistently.
For a broader cross-brand comparison of silent options, including Cherry, Gateron and Durock’s own dampened switches, see our best silent switches roundup.
The Kailh Choc naming trap
Kailh’s biggest source of buyer confusion isn’t between colors or force weights — it’s between switch families. “Kailh Choc” sounds like it could just be another flavor in the lineup alongside Speed, Box and Cream, but it’s actually a completely different low-profile switch, about 8.8mm tall with a flat, non-staggered stem and a 3-pin footprint. It physically will not fit a standard MX hot-swap socket, and it doesn’t accept regular MX-cut keycaps — you need a Choc-specific board, socket and keycap set. There’s a second layer of confusion within Choc itself: Choc V2 requires a larger center-hole PCB than Choc V1, so most Choc-compatible boards only support one version unless the listing explicitly says otherwise. If you’re shopping for switches to drop into a normal mechanical keyboard, make sure “Choc” doesn’t appear anywhere in the listing name.
How to choose a Kailh switch
- Want a shorter, faster keystroke for gaming without paying for hall-effect? Speed Silver’s 3.5mm total travel is the cheapest way to get there.
- Love a distinct, crunchy click? Box White delivers it with genuine IP56 water/dust resistance built in.
- Want the loudest, heaviest click Kailh makes? Box Navy is the same Box housing at 60g instead of 45g.
- Chasing the deepest “thocky” sound? NK_ Cream’s all-POM build popularized the trend — just confirm stock first.
- Typing somewhere quiet matters? Midnight Pro Silent is Kailh’s dampened option — double-check the per-switch price for your pack size before bulk-ordering.
- Buying switches for a low-profile board? Only Kailh Choc fits — and it won’t work in a standard MX hot-swap socket, so don’t mix it up with the rest of this lineup.
The bottom line
The Kailh Speed Silver (around $0.27-0.33 each) is the best all-round Kailh switch — a genuinely shorter, faster linear at a lower price than most hall-effect alternatives. Buyers who want a distinct clicky feel should get Kailh Box White (about $0.30-0.45) or step up to Box Navy (roughly $0.35-0.70) for the heaviest click in the lineup, while fans of a deep, thocky sound should look at the NK_ Cream collaboration (about $0.42, stock-dependent). Anyone typing somewhere quiet needs the Kailh Midnight Pro Silent — just verify the per-switch price for your exact pack size first. Whatever you choose, remember that “Kailh Choc” is a different, incompatible low-profile switch family, not just another color in the standard lineup. See our best Gateron switches and best Durock switches guides for how Kailh’s closest rivals compare, or our best hot swappable keyboard guide for boards built around standard switch swaps.