I test mechanical keyboards every day — here are the ones you should buy this Black Friday

If you want a compact, ultra-low-profile and no-frills alternative to something like the Apple Magic Keyboard, the Keychron B1 Pro is ideal, scoring 4.5-stars in our review. This is a scissor switch board, rather than mechanical, but I included it anyway because we loved it so much during testing. It's extremely affordable and holds up well to long term productivity. Our senior writer Erin has been hammering out multiple articles a day on one of these for well over a year, and it still looks as good as new.

The Keychron B2 Pro (95% layout) and Keychron B6 Pro (100% layout) are also on sale.

"Powerful dragon, small price" is how we summed up this board in our Redragon K673 Pro review. If you want a nice-typing and solid gaming keyboard on a tight budget, you can do a hell of a lot worse than this!

In our Redragon K686 Pro review, we awarded this board a 4-star score. Its Outemo switches are lovely and great for gaming, it looks good, has long battery life... and is affordable! Although I didn't review it personally, I ended up taking this board home and keeping it.

The Corsair K55 RGB Pro isn't an elite gaming keyboard, but it isn't priced like one either. If you want a decent budget gaming board for under $50, you can do a lot worse. This is a membrane rather than mechanical board, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway, as it's a respectable budget option.

We awarded this keyboard a 4-star score in our Logitech K650 review, naming as "your office's new best friend." This is a membrane board, but hey, it's very affordable.

We absolutely loved the Royal Kludge S98 in our review, awarding a 4-star score and summing it up as follows: "Beautiful, practical, affordable."

In our Royal Kludge M75 review, we were a little less keen on this board than the S98 discussed above. However, we still awarded our 3.5-star positive score. We liked its design, type feel and gaming performance. Its few flaws can be somewhat forgiven given its deal price.

The Gamakay LK75 is another board that I didn't review personally, but loved so much (and was so jealous of) that once my colleague Nikita had finished reviewing it, I took it home and added it to my personal collection. This keyboard is a regular feature on my desk, and I love its silent switches and super cute keycaps! At $58, it's a bargain.

The Gamakay TK75 Pro earned itself a 4-star score in our review. It offers great looks, boasts fantastic gaming performance, and has very few drawbacks. For $55, it's a steal.

The Epomaker TH99 is just a whole lot of fun for not very much money. We saw it as a steal for $82 and now it's only $58. We awarded it a 4-star score in our review.

In our Epomaker Split65 review, we loved this split keyboard. It offers "premium ergonomics on a budget" and is much cheaper than much of the other split keyboard competition. If you have wrist or hand pain, this is the board to get.

In our Epomaker HE65 Mag review, we awarded a 4.5-star score, because this little board is "a budget gaming powerhouse." The gaming features if offers are incredibly impressive for its price, and that's without this discount!

The latest version of the K2 entry-level mid-range keyboard, the K2 V3 is a no-frills mechanical keyboard that offers a strong blend of type feel, performance and affordability. My first mechanical board was a K2, so this holds a sentimental place in my heart!

"A magnetic masterpiece" is what I called this board in my Keychron K2 HE review. If you need an ultimate all-rounder capable of all-day productivity followed by all-night intensive competitive gaming, this is the best keyboard you can buy.

Ah yes, "the daddy chonk" — the moniker I coined for this board in my Keychron V6 wired review. Full size versatility, mid-range (although bordering on budget with this deal) price tag and Keychron's usual build quality and customizability. What's not to love?

One of my favorite keyboards for typing, the Q1 Pro is still part of my regular rotation. It scored highly in my Keychron Q1 Pro review, primarily because I adore its supremely bouncy double gasket mount and effortless type feel. My personal Q1 Pro is running Kailh linear switches, which make it even more of a dream.

I love this keyboard. In my Keychron Q3 Max review, I called my black and red version "the stealth fighter of keyboards" on account of its styling. It offers a much firmer type feel than the Q Pro line, with a clackier, more metallic sound. A pricey keyboard, for sure, but given the supreme build quality, this thing will last forever. You'll probably be buried with it.

The Keychron Q3 HE scored highly in our review. It offers a full roster of magnetic Hall Effect gaming features like Rapid Trigger, but like the K2 HE, blends its gaming performance with Keychron's usual productivity prowess. It's the all-metal and TKL version of the K2 HE I discussed above.

We haven't reviewed this specific keyboard, but have tested the non-metallic (or at least "not quite as metallic") version, the Keychron V8 Max. Keychron's "_8" boards use an Alice layout, whose dramatic curved key layout encourages an ergonomic and comfortable arm posture, massively reducing wrist fatigue. This is one for anyone with wrist, hand or arm pain.

Lemokey is Keychron's gaming-oriented subdivision, and we absolutely loved the Lemokey P1 HE in our review. It even converted our die-hard mechanical fan Nikita to magnetic switches!

I was a big fan of the Lofree Flow Lite in my review. It fixes many of the issues I commonly have with Lofree boards — namely the lack of customization and high price — while proving lovely to type on. "So is it finally worth buying a Lofree?" I asked. "Yep," was the answer.

This is the keyboard I'm currently testing! It's the successor to the original Lofree Flow, which I summed up as "beautiful but flawed." The Flow2 fixes some of the key flaws, with VIA customization being a biggie, and also offers a beautiful typing experience.

I recently tested the Lofree DOT, albeit in a different colorway (the color is the only difference). This ZERO ARTZ colorway variant is currently on sale for just under $120, and is a beautiful board for the money. It's mainly about styling, and unashamedly so — it's designed to be a desk ornament and to make you happy when you look at it. And it does! It also types great and (like all Lofree boards) boasts excellent build quality.

It's a beauty, isn't it? In my Lofree Block review, I awarded this gorgeous retro board a 4-star score, and it's still one of my favorite decks that I keep on rotation. It's usually a bit pricey and can't be customized, but those are much easier pills to swallow when it's on sale at this price.

The NuPhy Air75 V2 earned a 4-star score in my review, thanks to its lovely type feel and beautiful styling. It sounds a little hollow, though, so if you can stretch the extra $20 or so to the V3 model below, I would.

The NuPhy Air75 V3 fixed many of the issues I had with its predecessor, the Air75 V2 (discussed above). It sounds much better, is built better, and doesn't sacrifice the cutesy NuPhy styling that the brand is notorious for. It's a wonderful keyboard and well worth the sale price.

If you want a powerful low-profile gaming keyboard without spending hundreds, the NuPhy Air60 HE needs to be top of your shortlist. With its incredible low-profile Gateron Jade Pro magnetic switches, this board offers as complete a roster of gaming features as you'll find on any elite gaming keyboard from big name brands. And it's now under $100!

My favorite NuPhy board, the NuPhy Halo75 V2 hasn't left my desk since I reviewed it. It's in front of me right now. It's my perfect keyboard — poppy sound, beautiful looks and exquisite type feel thanks to the gasket mount and NuPhy's mSA profile keycaps.

The NuPhy Kick75 is, as I put it in my review, a "modder's delight." This board is designed to be switchable between low- and standard-profile switches. It's a dream to type on, and just look at it!

We awarded a 4-star score in our GravaStar Mercury K1 Lite review, summing up with "you'll either love it or hate it" due to its divisive design. At least it isn't boring!

The GravaStar Mercury K1 Pro is the elite variant of the K1, and we awarded this board a 4.5-star score in our review. We loved its beautiful clacky sound, excellent type feel and superb gaming performance.

In our Wobkey Rainy 75 Pro review, we awarded a 4.5-star score, recognizing that this was a keyboard aimed at audiophiles. This thing sounds unbelievably good and is well worth the spend, especially at this deal price.

OK, it isn't a mechanical board, but I loved the Logitech MX Keys Mini in my review, and its scissor switches are excellent for serious productivity, so I included it anyway!

This is the full size variant of the MX Keys Mini I discussed above, and also earned a 4-star score in my Logitech MX Keys S review.

The Razer BlackWidow V4 was the brand's first hot-swappable gaming keyboard, and earned itself a 4.5-star score in our review. It's pricey, but a lot more palatable with this deal.

The Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro is the Pro variant of the model above. And we also loved this board, awarding a 4-star score on account of its excellent gaming performance, lovely keycaps and OLED display. Prime members get a further $50 reduction via a coupon.

We awarded the SteelSeries Apex Pro a 4-star score in our review, summing it up by saying that it gives you virtually everything you could ever want from a gaming keyboard.

In our Corsair K65 Plus review, we awarded a 4-star score, praising the sound, smooth switches and RGB. This is a solid 75% gaming keyboard, and is now much more affordable.

It's a little old now, but the Corsair K70 RGB Pro won itself a full 5-star score in our review. It's an elite gaming keyboard that boasts excellent switches, an ergonomic design and a handy tournament mode.