Customers ask me some version of this almost every week. Our own ad comments show why:
"why are there no corne mx builds? The closest is the sandwich style to build it myself? Correct?"
There are Corne MX builds. We sell six different Cornes. The naming is the problem, and that part is on me. I keep meaning to sit down and rename the listings properly, because "sandwich style" has confused more people than it has helped.
What follows is the family, what each one is for, and the decision that matters across all of them: MX or Choc.
What a Corne is
Two halves, 42 keys, three rows of six columns plus three keys under each thumb. There is no number row. Numbers sit on a layer under your home row fingers, which is either the whole point of the thing or a dealbreaker, depending on how you work. It's the most popular split keyboard in this hobby.
Everything below keeps that layout. What changes is the switch type, the case material, and whether we solder it for you.
MX or Choc
| Cherry MX | Kailh Choc low profile | |
|---|---|---|
| Key travel | about 4 mm | about 3 mm |
| Height | taller, the plate sits above the switches | much thinner: our GLP build measures 12 mm from the bottom of the case to the top |
| Keycaps | almost any set fits | fewer options, mostly low-profile caps like MBK or DSA low-profile, $25 to $55 a set here |
| Where it makes sense | a Corne that lives on a desk | travelling, thin setups, less finger travel |
If it's your first Corne and it stays on a desk, buy MX. Keycap choice decides it: almost any set fits, including sets you already own. Choc is for when thin, or portable is the actual requirement, which is why our low-profile boards mostly go to people who carry them around.
One thing to check before buying switches from anywhere else: nearly every Choc board we sell takes both Choc V1 and Choc V2. The exception is the wired Corne Choc, which is V1 only. Ask us if you're not sure. It takes a minute to confirm and saves a return.
The six Cornes we sell
| Board | Case | Plates | From | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corne Cherry, sandwich style | sandwich, open sides | acrylic, aluminium +$40 | $99 | first Corne, MX switches, cheapest way in |
| Corne Choc, sandwich style | sandwich, open side | aluminium or acrylic | $99 | thin and light, goes in a bag |
| Corne Cherry, aluminium version | enclosed machined aluminium | aluminium case, acrylic bottom | $216 | the desk Corne: MX, hot-swap, OLED |
| Corne Choc , Aluminum version | enclosed machined aluminium | aluminium | $207 | same board, low profile |
| Corne V4, aluminium case | aluminium, CNC anodised black | aluminium | $180 | For those that want a premium Corne v4 |
| ACorne and ACorne mini | CNC anodised case (or 3d printed), mini is 5 columns | aluminium or acrylic | $207 / $130.50 | when you don't want the board everyone else has |
All six are hot-swap, which means switches press into sockets and nothing needs a soldering iron.
The V4 is the odd one out. Its PCB is 3×6+3 with two extra keys where an OLED would normally sit, and the listing includes no OLED or encoder, which buyers miss until they're comparing their cart to a photo.
What's in the box
Take the Corne Cherry aluminium at $216:
- two PCBs, soldered and tested, controller, hot-swap sockets, diodes and display connector included
- two aluminium case halves, black or silver
- two acrylic bottom plates
- one TRRS cable for the wired build
- firmware already flashed: QMK with VIAL on wired boards, ZMK with ZMK Studio on wireless
Switches and keycaps are not included, and a Corne needs 42 of each. We stock switch packs from $8 and keycap sets from $25. Bring your own if you already have favourites, plenty of people do.
Five things buyers ask about Cornes
- Does it come with switches and keycaps? No, and neither does any other board here. It's the most common question in our ad comments, which is why it's now the first line of every product description.
- Can I buy just the aluminium case? Yes. The ACorne, Corne Enclose and TOTEM cases are all sold as case-only listings, priced $150 to $170. Check the USB cutout orientation first. Send us a photo of your PCB and we'll tell you whether it fits.
- Wired or wireless? Wired uses an RP2040, or an ARM Cortex-M with 4 MB of memory on the aluminium Corne, running QMK and VIAL. It needs a TRRS cable between the halves. Wireless uses a nice!nano-class nRF52840 running ZMK, no cable between halves, battery included, $30 more. If the board travels, take wireless. Otherwise wired leaves you one less thing to debug in your first week.
- Can I flash it myself? Yes, and you probably want to. VIAL in a browser on wired boards, ZMK Studio on wireless. Our repositories are at github.com/ergomechstore. Not being able to find the firmware for a $300 board is a fair complaint, and we've had it, so the exact repo link is going on every product page.
- Is 42 keys enough? For prose and code, yes, once the layers are in your fingers. It's where most enthusiasts land. If the number row isn't negotiable, take a Lily58 from $90 or a Sofle v2 from $99 instead: same ideas with 58 keys.
In one line each
- Never soldered anything and want the cheapest Corne that works: Corne Cherry sandwich, $99, MX, acrylic plates.
- Desk board, MX, aluminium: Corne Cherry aluminium, $216.
- Thin and portable: Corne Choc sandwich at $99, or the enclosed Choc version at $207.
- Want two boards or a set of spare PCBs: Corne V4, $180.
- Want the one nobody else shows up with: ACorne at $207, or the 5-column ACorne mini at $130.50. That one is the smallest thing we make, and it's the board I'd take on a trip.