The best cheap PBT keycaps to upgrade your keyboard for under $50 this Black Friday

Upgrading a keyboard can get expensive fast. If you look into the worlds of artisan keycaps, new switch plates, custom mods, and high-end switches, a $20 keyboard can quickly turn into a $200 job. That's why I've spent the last three months of my life road testing the cheapest PBT keycap sets I could find.

You're still getting quality here; PBT is a thicker, more durable plastic than the ABS sets you'll find on budget decks. However, even the best gaming keyboards sometimes skimp out on the caps - and grabbing a fresh set can completely change the way your deck looks and feels.

There are five brands on the test bench today; Epomaker, Keychron, Glorious, Ghost Judge, and Ducky. All have keycap sets readily available for less than $50 from major retailers, all offering sturdy PBT build qualities. I'll cut to the chase, Epomaker is your best bet overall.

However, the others still have their benefits - you'll find all my notes from my journey into the world of the best PBT keycap sets just below.

The quick list

1. Epomaker | Available at Amazon
2. Keychron | Available at Amazon
3. Glorious | Available at Amazon
4. Ghost Judge | Available at Amazon
5. Ducky | Available at Amazon

1. Epomaker

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I took the Epomaker Glintrix PBT set out for a spin and was immediately smitten. This is the deepest feel to all the keycaps in my testing pool, with the most resistance and richest snap to each keypress. That makes for a super precise and satisfying typing experience, and everything still looks fantastic up top.

Shinethrough caps let your RGBs do their thing, but switching those LEDs off also leaves a nicely elegant effect with these bordered legends and light gray accents. The white of this set isn't quite as crisp as others, but its creamier aesthetic works particularly well instead. I also tested a darker blue set and was impressed with the uniformity and boldness of color.

Epomaker has a range of keycap sets available, and easily picked up from a range of different retailers, with Cherry profile keys, doubleshot legends, and enough caps to suit both ISO and ANSI layouts all the way up to a full sized deck. It's also one of the cheaper options in my list, despite offering the best typing experience overall.

2. Keychron

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Keychron generally runs in an OSA profile, as well as OEM, XDA and low profile. ISO layouts are also accounted for.

This set offered me one of the easiest installation processes of the bunch, with a neatly organized blister pack and all the keys I needed for a full-sized ANSI deck (and more). Once everything's on the deck, Keychron's caps feel a little more slippery than the more textured offerings by Razer and X, and I can see why some are reporting shine after extended use here. They're not exactly the most tactile caps, but they're very well made.

A generous thickness makes for a sturdy feel with a soft sound profile. There's a relatively high-pitched clack when returning to full height here, but still a deeper key sound underneath.

I didn't pick up a shine-through set, very few of Keychron's PBT offerings use these legends. Instead, everything is printed in jet black on top of clean, white toppers.

Keychron's uneven legend weight still persists here, though, with some letters in longer caps looking more bold than others. Other legends are also specific to Keychron's own keyboard layouts, so you might need to get creative if adding them to another brand's buttons.

3. Glorious

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Glorious has a massive range of Cherry profile PBT keycaps that ship with keys for both ANSI and ISO layouts. This collection is ever-growing across a series of different block colors and gradient designs as well, with a wealth of options to choose from. I got my hands on a simple set of white caps, as well as the brand's Celestial Ice design.

These aren't doubleshot, instead opting for a Dye Sublimated legend process. That means they'll be a little less durable in the longer term and won't shine your LEDs through. However, the actual lettering is particularly crisp, with uniform printing and a clean design overall.

The caps themselves are Cherry profile, so you're in for a medium height with a nice deep curve to the center of the cap. That makes for great positioning and accuracy, though the plastic here feels a little thinner compared to Keychron and Razer. RGB lighting shows through the lighter caps easily, creating a slightly messier effect than I would have liked.

Overall, the feel is much smoother and softer than Keychron's, though. While you do lose that snap I loved so much on thicker caps, each key slides down its stem like butter and there's a satisfying amount of texture to the topper as well. It may feel like a slightly weaker experience if you're going all-in on that snap sound, especially if you're pairing it with a low-resistance switch.

Some newer and more limited edition releases can climb the price ladder up to $70, but more standard sets will keep you closer to $30. All kits are sold to cater all the way up to full-size keyboards.

4. Ghost Judge

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The first thing I noticed about my Ghost Judge keycap set was that these are no white caps. Rather than the stark white pictured above, the Apollo colorway I ordered arrives with a dusky blue highlight on the alphas. They actually photograph a little whiter above, but you can see what I mean better in the packaging image. There's some discrepancy in what you actually get from this slightly more expensive PBT keycap brand then.

Legends feel a little more slapdash than other brands as well. The main keys are chunky, the number and function row are skinny, and there's a little blurriness around longer text.

Looks aside, though, these caps feel great. They're strong, sturdy, and have a nice click to each push. The texture is a little rougher than Ducky and Keychron, sitting more inline with Glorious's caps, but with a slightly denser feel overall. That makes for a crisp, satisfying snap with plenty of depth to the sound. It's second on

Application is also easy, with a TKL layout all inline in the packaging, and additional color accents and ISO layout options included as well.

5. Ducky

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Ducky mostly trades in Cherry profile keycap sets, but only has a few on sale at any one time. I had the Fallout set in for testing, and was surprised by the vibrancy of the printing on here. From the images everything looks a little faded, but as I've learned with this brand's keyboards it doesn't go easy on color.

Expect vibrant caps and bold coloring whichever set you choose, with a slightly softer-than-usual material. I'm not a massive fan of the slippery toppers here, preferring a slight grain found in other sets. I found myself sliding around a little more than usual here. The range is a little more limited than its competitors, so you'll need to grab them on a good day.

Caps come in packs of 132, with provisions for both ANSI and ISO layouts. On my deck, though, that meant sacrificing a yellow right side, with no pipe key included in the set's yellow accent. Still, they're sturdy, thick, and a little deeper in feel and sound compared to Glorious.

Just a note for RGB fans, the legends I'm testing aren't shinethrough.

How I tested PBT keycaps

I used each PBT keycap set on the same Glorious GMMK 3 full-sized keyboard for a period of two weeks. That means each set was put to work over the same daily work and play, while seated on the same switches, in the same chassis. I'm typing all day every day so they took a beating, all under my watchful eye hunting down any signs of glossing or shine.

How to choose PBT keycaps

There are a few things you might need to know before you head to checkout. Some keycap sets (though only a few) will only cater to either ANSI or ISO layouts, and some may even only offer enough keys for a particular layout (60%, 65%, 75%, TKL). Your best bet is to grab a keycap set that includes caps for both regions to be on the safe side, while also including enough toppers for a full sized deck.

There are also a number of different profiles (the shape of the cap itself) floating around. While most cheaper PBT keycaps sets stick to Cherry for its wide compatibility, some - like Keychron - stick to a more curved OEM profile. The main thing you need to look out for from a shape perspective is the stem.

If you have switches with a Cherry MX stem (a cross at the top), you'll be sorted for the widest range of compatible keycaps. Things get a little more complicated if your switches have a box stem (a literal box at the top of the switch).

Once the housekeeping is done, it's all down to personal choice. There's a massive number of caps out there all catering to different aesthetic tastes and textural preferences. Just note that not all of them support RGB shinethrough on their legends, so if you're using your keyboard in a darker environment you may want to prioritize this feature.

• See all PBT keycaps at Amazon
• See all ABS keycaps at Amazon

I'm also rounding up all the best hot-swappable keyboards for more customization inspiration. Or, take a look at the best wireless gaming keyboards and best membrane keyboards for a whole new deck.