If you have any hopes of being a streamer you are going to need to get a few things right, right off the bat. Firstly, you need to have a professional setup.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t be goofy and mess around, you can wear costumes and talk in a funny accent, you can do pretty much whatever you want. But, you can’t have a poor quality stream with a poor transition between screens, you can’t have a poor sound quality and a broken camera.
You need to have the right equipment for the job. That means everything from the right mic to the right mouse. From the right camera to the right keyboard.
This article is going to look at the keyboard aspect of streaming specifically, what your keyboard needs to be able to do for you, why, and which keyboards are best.
There are far too many viable keyboards for us to cover so we are going to focus on which 5 I think are the best.
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Table of Contents
How Important is the Keyboard for a Streamer?
The keyboard is so darn important for the streamer yet it’s something that hardly gets the recognition or appreciation that it deserves. We see streamers typing away at their keyboard but it’s an afterthought, for the most part, we don’t stop to consider that most of what they do is only possible because of their keyboard.
Now that alone doesn’t mean an awful lot, for example, you could buy a cheap keyboard from Walmart and it would still allow you to get the job done. It just wouldn’t get done very well.
Your keyboard can do so much for you if you only knew how to get the very most out of it. The difference between a good keyboard and a bad one will be explained later on in the article, for now, all you need to know is that your keyboard will matter.
The whole concept of streaming yourself on platforms such as Twitch is that you are appealing to as many people as possible. This doesn’t mean that you can’t lock yourself into a niche and stick with that, really pushing your particular area of interest to the limits. What it actually means is that you need to make the stream as universally enjoyable as possible separate from the content.
When you think about popular streamers you will notice they all have a few things in common:
- They all (more or less) have high-quality cameras aimed at themselves.
- They all use good microphones with very little feedback and background noise.
- They all have good overlays that make their stream look nice and clean, clear to understand, and enjoyable to look at.
- When they are actually streaming they all make the process smooth and easy to digest.
A good keyboard plays a big part in that, ensuring that they can run macros and programs quickly and easily so as not to distract from their content. They all navigate from page to page quickly so there is very little dead air.
Learning to use your keyboard to improve the production quality of your stream is one of the most important aspects of becoming a streamer.
What Makes a Good Keyboard for Streaming?
So we have firmly established that the keyboard is indeed important for streaming but what makes a keyboard good for streaming specifically? There are quite a few things that you will want to consider.
Looks Nice, Not too Flashy
First of all, your keyboard is going to be on-screen somewhat a lot of the time, so you need a keyboard that looks nice. This doesn’t necessarily mean a flashy expensive keyboard. Rather, a keyboard that fits with your aesthetic and doesn’t disrupt the video quality by being glaringly bright.
Custom Macros & Media Keys
A good keyboard will have as many programmable functions and custom macros as possible. The reason being that you will want to have quick access to everything that you are doing. No one wants to see you flipping through files trying to find the right folder, they just want you to open whatever it is you were going to open whether it’s a meme or a game or a video, etc.
Similarly, you will also probably want media keys to make things easier for yourself. You don’t need these keys particularly but it will almost certainly make your life easier.
Quiet or Silent Switches
One of the most important aspects of a good streaming keyboard is that it has silent switches. I really, truly, cannot emphasize enough just how important it is that you are using silent switches. No one wants to hear your loud typing or keyboard mashing while you are gaming.
It’s distracting and can drown out what you are trying to say. It lowers the whole production quality of the stream and will almost certainly turn viewers away from you.
You don’t HAVE to go for silent switches, you could go for ones that are just generally quieter but getting something that is especially loud whether that’s by design for tactile feedback or simply because your keyboard doesn’t care about volume is not a good idea.
Other Ways to Quiet your Keyboard
You can experiment with keyboard covers that drown out the noise, switch films to reduce the noise from key wobble, or O rings to suppress the plastic on plastic clacking. But nothing does quite as much as simply switching to some nice Silent Cherry Mx reds.
Other Things to Consider
Another thing you must consider is what you are streaming and how your keyboard effects that in general. For example, someone who streams themselves playing chess could probably get away with more or less any keyboard so long as it’s reasonably quiet.
Someone who streams themself playing CSGO would probably get more out of a great mouse than they would from a great keyboard but the benefits are still apparent.
If you’re playing something like League Of Legends which is far more keyboard intensive you will understand the need for a good gaming keyboard. Which is what you must also consider when deciding whether a keyboard would be good for streaming.
You need to remember, you are gaming, if you are trying to do so on a silly Microsoft Sculpt keyboard chances are you will find the production side of streaming fine but the gaming itself will be terrible. The gaming is a large part of the product, it’s the bulk of it in most cases.
The 5 best keyboards for streaming
Price comparison chart for all 5 keyboards:
| Keyboard | Price Comparison |
|---|---|
| Steel Series Apex Pro | $$$$$ |
| Razer Huntsman Elite | $$$ |
| Corsair K95 RGB Platinum | $$$$ |
| Corsair Strafe RGB MX | $$ |
| Steel Series Apex M750 | $ |
Per Amazon rules, I can’t disclose exact prices. This is a visual representation of the price compared to each other. The more “$” means a higher price comparatively.
There are ample options for gaming keyboards and ample options for streaming keyboards. The crossover isn’t always great but there are certainly some wonderful options for you.
All 5 of these keyboards are great choices and are perfect for streaming, or simply just gaming, they are in no particular order despite one or two of them arguably standing out above the rest.
Steel Series Apex Pro
First, we have the Steel Series Apex Pro. If you are familiar with Steel Series you already know a few of the core aspects of the keyboard you’ll be getting. High quality, sturdy, a little heavy but the weight feels good and reliable.
The Apex Pro is no different. You are getting a very good keyboard. It’s especially good for streaming because of its quality as a gaming keyboard but also it’s customizability.
Custom actuation points, quiet magnetic switches, and programmable macros all contribute to an excellent product for streaming.
Features
The Steel Series Apex Pro has so many great features, here are just the most notable:
- Aluminum frame.
- Custom Actuation points.
- Quiet Magnetic Switches.
- RGB backlight.
- OLED display.
- Comfortable to use – wrist rest.
- Good feedback.
- Programmable functions.
Final Thoughts
I think this is a great keyboard. Streaming aside it’s perfect for gaming, but when you consider the specifics of streaming you can actually see even more great benefits from using this keyboard.
Its backlight is adaptable meaning you can dim it while streaming, it’s function keys allow you to quickly navigate your computer without endless clicking and scrolling, it looks good and it’s very quiet meaning you aren’t going to irritate your viewers.
The downside? It’s going to be about $200+. If you are just starting out at streaming then this perhaps isn’t affordable for you.
If you’d like to learn more or read more reviews, check it out on Amazon.
Razer Huntsman Elite
The Razer Huntsman is one of my personal favorites, I think it’s perhaps one of the best gaming keyboards available and will always suggest it to anyone who’s looking for the best of the best.
Once again, you’ll find the Huntsman Elite ticks almost all the boxes. For streaming, you want quiet and you want speed. The Huntsman is both of these things.
It’s highly accurate and adaptable actuation that makes use of very clever sensor switches means you will have far more responsiveness than pretty much any other keyboard on the market.
It gives good feedback when typing, or gaming, and is very comfortable to use.
Features
The Razer Huntsman Elite has lots of great features going for it, here are just a few of the most interesting ones:
- Very fast key actuation.
- Tactile Feedback.
- Optical sensors (switches).
- RGB Backlight.
- Comfortable wrist rest.
- Programmable keys.
Final Thoughts
The Razer Huntsman Elite truly lives up to its name. It is elite. I think as a keyboard on its own it does a lot, it’s very powerful and offers plenty of customizations to you the user.
That being said, it’s not perfect. It’s pretty expensive and not everyone likes the fast actuation. It can make typing feel weird at first, but you will quickly get used to it.
The gaming side of things is taken care of but for streaming, there is a glaring issue, at least in my opinion. That being that the backlight is very bright, it’s very glaring, and you will struggle to dim it enough.
This isn’t a major issue depending on how you position the keyboard, yourself, and the camera.
Lastly, the Huntsman elite requires two USB cables because it simply can’t get enough power otherwise. This isn’t a huge problem, if anything it demonstrates just how powerful this keyboard is, but it is something you should be aware of.
If you’d like to learn more or read more reviews, check it out on Amazon.
Corsair K95 RGB Platinum
Next up we have the Corsair K95 RGB Platinum. Once again we have a keyboard that was designed to be gaming focussed. The K95 comes fitted with an awesome RGB backlight that just screams typical gamer, but I love it.
It’s great, it looks awesome and certainly fits the vibe the keyboard is trying to give off. The reason I think this keyboard deserves to be on this list is that it almost feels as if it was designed to be used for streaming.
It comes with easy to use media keys and programmable functions, you can use this keyboard for production purposes just as well as you can use it for gaming. The seamless transition between the two is precisely what we are looking for.
Features
The Corsair K95 has some awesome features that you should be aware of. They are as follows:
- RGB backlight.
- Wrist rest – ergonomics.
- Media keys.
- Programmable functions.
- Beautiful aluminum frame.
- 8mb of storage for macros.
- 6 Fully customizable macro keys.
Final Thoughts
In case it wasn’t very obvious, I think the Corsair K95 is pretty great. What it does best is allow you to customize your keyboard to suit your needs as a streamer.
What it does worst, is it gives you some tedious to use software. It is programmable but it’s not easy to do. You’ll get used to it but you shouldn’t have to. That’s very nitpicky but it’s important to assess all the downsides when we are spending this much money on something so important.
Many people also claim that the wrist rest gets pretty gross after a while, but I’ve not actually heard a report of that from anyone directly.
If you’d like to learn more or read more reviews, check it out on Amazon.
Corsair Strafe RGB MX
We have another Corsair here, this time we have the Strafe. It’s very similar to the K95 but leans a little more towards the gaming side of streaming rather than the production side.
If you like what Corsair brings to the table but would prefer to focus on the gaming, this might be the keyboard for you. This keyboard is great for gaming because it not only looks and feels great but it runs smoothly.
Everything from its programmable keys to its textures keycaps feels easy to use and is immediately comfortable. It’s highly responsive keys are what sets this keyboard apart from the rest of the pack.
Features
The Korsair Strafe RGB MX has many wonderful features, these are what I think are most important for you as a streamer:
- Responsive keys.
- Comfortable actuation point.
- Pretty quiet Cherry Mx Red switches.
- Textured keycaps.
- Red backlight.
- USB Passthrough for ease of use.
- Programmable keys.
Final Thoughts
I think this keyboard does a lot of what you need and a little of what you might perhaps like. It’s good to use for gaming or the production side of things but strongly leans towards gaming.
What I don’t like is that you can’t actually install Linux on here, which is fine, but if you are planning on running custom scripts you would probably want Linux.
I also don’t like that there is no wrist rest as if you are streaming for long periods you may end up getting very sore.
If you’d like to learn more or read more reviews, check it out on Amazon.
Steel Series Apex M750
The Steel Series Apex M750 is last on our list. But, it’s certainly not least. This keyboard makes use of some very clever linear actuation switches. This means they are highly responsive and pretty darn quiet.
This is a newer Steel Series keyboard meaning you are going to be lucky enough to make use of their anti-ghosting technology as well as their very comfortable keycaps. This ensures high levels of accuracy which are of course important for gaming as well as maintaining a high-quality stream.
A built-in notification system has been designed to alert you to in-game messages, but, it can be repurposed to collaborate clearly with your twitch chat. Something that will allow you to interact personally with your viewers will certainly help grow your stream.
Features
The Steel Series Apex M750 has some pretty cool features that you should be aware of. Here are some of the most important ones:
- Clever linear switches.
- Notification systems.
- Anti Ghosting tech.
- Customizable key lighting.
- More or less silent when typing.
- Programmable keys.
- Aluminum alloy frame.
Final Thoughts
Steel Series don’t miss when they make a keyboard. We aren’t just looking at what’s good for gaming, we are thinking about streaming. So, does the Apex M750 fit the bill? I think it does.
The ability to reduce not only the volume of the keys but the brightness of the backlight means you have a very not intrusive keyboard for your stream.
Its only downside is that I think it can be a little tricky to program. But, there are plenty of guides online and the keyboard community is there to help you out.
If you’d like to learn more or read more reviews, check it out on Amazon.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this has helped you find the right keyboard for not only you but your stream. Becoming a streamer is a dream job for many of us, if you are taking the plunge and giving it a real go you should be commended.
Remember, a good keyboard won’t make a bad stream good. But, it could make a would-be good stream bad.
I would recommend either the Corsair K95 or the Steel Series Apex Pro. It depends on how much you are willing to spend. Whatever you decide, good luck with your new keyboard and good luck with your stream!
If you want to see more of my product reviews, check out my Guides and Reviews category!
