A fantastic mechanical option for the price.

8BitDo makes some fantastic retro-inspired kit and controllers, and their lovely Retro Mechanical Keyboard is a long-term favourite of Will and I, taking pride of place on our list of the best mechanical keyboards list for being a quality product with very thoughtful design touches. This C64 variant is down to £81 on Amazon, and providing you with a quality mechanical keyboard for less with some eye-catching looks to boot.

I was a big fan of this C64 variant when I tested it back in April 2025 and was very impressed with it with its design that pays proper homage to the Commodore 64 with the right colours, patterns, and more besides. Its TKL layout is sensible and ideal for space savers who don't want to sacrifice too much functionality in the name of more desk space, and it's in a proper UK ISO layout, unlike previous versions that have only been available in ANSI US. This 'board is also wonderfully finished with handy extras including dials for volume and connectivity, although the move from ANSI to ISO has forced the hand to go backwards in keycap quality - gone are the dye-sub PBT ones, and replaced with cheaper ABS plastic ones, which is a biyt of a shame. Around the back, there is a USB-C port for charging or wired connectivity, and four jacks for plugging in the keyboard's 'super programmable buttons' which look identical to the A & B buttons on old NES and Famicom controllers.

Inside, 8BitDo's keyboard comes with the wonderfully clicky Kailh Box White V2 switches, which are lubricated for smoother actuation, and come with a lighter 45g actuation force for snappier inputs. If you don't want to use these switches though, then this keyboard is also hot-swappable, so you can swap them out for any other compatible MX-style 3 and 5 pin switches that you like. You get full NKRO for as many simultaneous inputs as you wish, and an aluminium plate inside for extra structural rigidity. Connectivity is handled by either the bundled 2.4GHz USB receiver, Bluetooth, or over a wired connection. The only thing missing here is RGB lighting, which is a small sacrifice for such a lovely keyboard.

If you want to grab a lovely, retro-inspired mechanical keyboard for a brilliant price, this Amazon reduction on the lovely C64-inspired 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard is well worth your time.