Keyboard simulator
Mechanical keyboard simulator
Type on your own keyboard, or tap the keys below, and hear 16 switches recorded from real boards. Pick a pack, pick how hard you hit. Sound starts with your first key.
A browser cannot feel force, so here you choose it. On a MacBook, Haptyk reads the motion sensor and picks the level from the real impact, on every keystroke.
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What this is
A keyboard sound test with real switches, not synth clicks.
Every pack on this page was recorded from a real keyboard: Cherry MX Blue and Brown, Holy Panda, NK Cream, Topre, Kailh Box Navy, the IBM Model M and ten more. Each has separate samples for the letters, the space bar, return, delete and the modifiers, sorted into four force levels from a brushed key to a slam.
Pick a pack, choose a force, then type. The drawn keyboard follows your real one key for key, so it doubles as a quick keyboard tester. On a phone, tap the keys.
These are the same recordings Haptyk plays on a Mac. The difference is who picks the force: here you do, with the control above the keyboard. On an Apple Silicon MacBook the app reads the built-in accelerometer and picks it from the real impact of each keystroke, which is what makes typing with it feel like a real board rather than a sound effect.
The 16 packs
Every switch in the simulator, by type.
Press play to hear a pack go from soft to slam in four keystrokes, or use it and type on the keyboard above.
Clicky
A click bar or a click jacket snaps on every press. The loudest switches, and the most divisive in an office.
- Blue AlpsAlps SKCM Blue, the sharp vintage click from the 1980s.
- Cherry MX Blue PBTCherry MX Blue, the click everybody recognises.
- Kailh Box NavyKailh Box Navy: a heavy click bar, the loudest switch in the set.
Tactile
A bump you feel at the actuation point, without the click. The most popular choice for long typing sessions.
- BiscuitThe pack Haptyk opens with. A soft tactile, easy on the ears all day.
- Cherry MX Brown PBTCherry MX Brown: the light bump, the office classic.
- EG Crystal PurpleEverglide Crystal Purple: a crisp, higher-pitched tactile.
- Holy PandaHoly Panda: the big, round tactile bump that started a trend.
Linear
No bump, no click: a smooth press that bottoms out. Quieter, favoured for gaming and fast typists.
- NK CreamNovelKeys Cream: a POM linear with a deep, rounded bottom-out.
- Turquoise TealiosZeal Tealios V2, among the smoothest linears made.
- AlpacaAlpaca linears: a slightly higher, cleaner tone than Creams.
- Cherry MX Black PBTCherry MX Black under PBT keycaps: a heavy linear with a dry bottom-out.
- Cherry MX Red PBTCherry MX Red: light linear, the gaming default.
- Gateron Black InkGateron Black Ink V2: a muted, deep linear.
- Gateron Red Ink V2Gateron Red Ink V2: lighter than the Black Ink, same deep housing.
Topre
Electrocapacitive domes over conical springs. The deep, rounded thock people pay a lot for.
- Topre PBTTopre 45g under PBT caps, the Realforce and HHKB sound.
Buckling spring
A spring that buckles mid-press and strikes the housing: the IBM Model M, 1985. Loud and unmistakable.
- Buckling SpringIBM Model M buckling springs, the keyboard everyone's grandfather typed on.
Four forces
Soft, medium, hard, slam.
A mechanical keyboard does not sound the same when you brush a key and when you hammer it. Each pack carries four recordings per key group for exactly that reason. Switch the force control to hear the spread, then set it back to Mixed to hear what natural typing sounds like.
- Soft a light touch, the key barely bottoms out.
- Medium ordinary typing.
- Hard fast, confident typing, the keycap hits the plate.
- Slam the angry email. The whole keyboard lights up.
On a MacBook, Haptyk measures the impact of every keystroke through the motion sensor and crossfades between these levels, about a thousand readings a second. How it works.
FAQ
About the simulator.
Is this keyboard simulator free?
Yes. The simulator on this page is free, with all 16 sound packs and no sign-up. Haptyk, the Mac app behind it, has a 3-day trial and then costs $8 one time.
Why doesn't the sound change when I type harder?
Because a web browser cannot measure how hard you press a key. Use the force control above the keyboard to hear the soft, medium, hard and slam recordings of each pack. On an Apple Silicon MacBook, Haptyk reads the built-in accelerometer and picks the level by itself, on every keystroke.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. Tap the keys of the drawn keyboard, or type in the text box with your phone's keyboard. Sound starts after your first tap, as phone browsers require. The Haptyk app itself runs only on Apple Silicon MacBooks.
Are these real keyboard recordings?
Yes. Every pack was recorded from a real keyboard with that switch, with separate samples for the space bar, return, delete and the modifier keys, and sorted into four force levels. They are the same recordings Haptyk plays on a Mac. The recordings come from the Mechvibes and ClickClack open-source sound libraries (MIT licence), credited in the app.
Which switch should I pick?
For the click, try Cherry MX Blue, Kailh Box Navy or Blue Alps. For a bump without the noise, Holy Panda, Cherry MX Brown or Biscuit. For something smooth and quiet, NK Cream, Turquoise Tealios or Gateron Black Ink. For the deep thock, Topre. For nostalgia, the IBM Model M buckling spring.
Can I use this as a keyboard tester?
Partly. Every key you press lights up on the drawn keyboard, so a key that never lights up is not reaching the browser. The layout is a MacBook keyboard, so a numpad, Print Screen or a second Windows key have no key to light up here.
Want this on every keystroke, with the force sensed for real?
Haptyk runs in the menu bar of Apple Silicon MacBooks. 3-day trial with all 16 packs, no credit card, then $8 one time. Compare it with Klack and Mechvibes first if you like.