Keycap Profiles and Sculpts

After you’ve figured out what kind of keycaps you need for your keyboard, you should start thinking about what shape you want these keycaps to be. The shape of your keycaps will have the largest impact on how typing feels, and on how comfortable typing is. The most basic aspects of this are the height of the keycap, the shape it is sculpted in, and the presence of different sculpted rows.

But first, it’s worth noting that there is no standardized naming convention for keycap profiles—the names themselves are arbitrary and are determined entirely by the keycap manufacturer. Some have logical names (like how OSA keycaps are a fusion of OEM—original equipment manufacturer—and SA—spherical all—sculpts), while others are a bit silly (PBS stands for Penguin Belly Slide).

A keycap’s height is the most immediately obvious aspect of its profile. Typically, keycaps are sorted into high-profile, medium-profile, and low-profile categories, which are all determined based on the height they extend past the top of the switch. The most standard height is the Cherry profile, which most people have likely typed on before. These sit a bit above the outer bezel of the keyboard, with the highest point sitting at 9.8 mm and the lowest point at 7.3 mm, and can be easily used without a wrist rest.

On the other side of the spectrum, SA keycaps (which you may have seen on the computers in Severance) have a high point of almost 17 mm and a low point of 12.6 mm. The difference between the tallest and shortest keycaps is more drastic, and the average height is typically higher, resulting in a deeper typing sound and a greater need for a wrist rest.

Some keycap profiles, like Cherry and SA, will have different keys depending on the row they are in. These rows are typically denoted as R1 (row 1), R2, and R3. R4 (or sometimes R5) sits at the very top of the keyboard, and R1 is at the bottom. These separate rows will typically have different heights and angles, which can make reaching the top rows easier and make typing more comfortable. However, some people prefer a uniform layout where every row of keys has an identical height and shape. There aren’t many uniform profiles available, but the most prominent—SA and PBS—are still fairly popular and easy to find in multiple colors.

The sculpt of the keycap also indicates the shape of the keycap’s face. The two most popular sculpts are cylindrical and spherical. Cylindrical keycaps will have a U-shaped indentation with peaks on either side and a dip in the center, while spherical keycaps are going to be more bowl-like, with peaks on all four corners and a divot in the center. Popular keyboard maker Keychron typically ships its keycaps with OSA-profile spherical keycaps, while most keyboards from Razer, Corsair, and other big names use Cherry or OEM profile keycaps with a cylindrical sculpt.

Some keycap profiles are perfectly flat, although these are uncommon and typically only used on keyboards with low-profile switches and/or ortho-linear layouts.