Head to head · both bought and tested

Meridian 96 vs Tessera TKL

Both tested here, side by side: measured sound, latency and typing scores for the Meridian 96 and the Tessera TKL, and which one to buy.

The Tessera TKL scores 0.1 higher overall and is also the cheaper of the two at $84. Someone who cares more about how a board sounds than how precise it feels, and never remaps. Buy the other one if: anyone who works in spreadsheets and has run out of desk.

Scores, criterion by criterion

Criterion	Meridian 96	Tessera TKL	Difference
Build	7.5	7.0	+0.5 to Meridian 96
Typing feel	7.5	8.0	-0.5 to Tessera TKL
Sound	7.0	9.5	-2.5 to Tessera TKL
Stabilisers	6.5	7.0	-0.5 to Tessera TKL
Software	8.5	4.0	+4.5 to Meridian 96
Value	7.5	7.0	+0.5 to Meridian 96
Overall	7.4	7.5	-0.1 to Tessera TKL

Measured

Figure	Meridian 96	Tessera TKL	Difference
Sound	58.9 dB	51.8 dB	7.1 dB quieter to Tessera TKL
Latency, wired	4.6 ms	5.9 ms	1.3 ms faster to Meridian 96
Polling	1,000 Hz	1,000 Hz	level
Actuation	46.3 g	44.9 g	+1.4 g — preference, not better
Case flex	0.9 mm	3.2 mm	-2.3 mm — softer, not better

Specifications

Specification	Meridian 96	Tessera TKL	Difference
Price	$95	$84	$11 cheaper — Tessera TKL
Layout	96%	TKL (87-key)	—
Switches	Linear — Kailh Red	Linear — HMX Cloud	—
Hot-swap	Yes	Yes	—
Mount	Top mount	Gasket mount	—
Plate	Aluminium	POM	—
Connectivity	Wired USB-C, 2.4 GHz dongle	Wired USB-C, 2.4 GHz dongle	—
Remapping	VIA	Vendor software	—
Weight	1,240 g	1,020 g	—

Shape and footprint

Meridian 96

96% — 100 keys, 20u wide. A full numpad with the gaps removed. Roughly TKL width with everything a full-size has. Highlighted keys are what this layout adds over the next size down.

Tessera TKL

TKL (87-key) — 87 keys, 18.25u wide. Standard layout minus the numpad. Spaced clusters, so muscle memory transfers from a full-size.

Where to buy

The full reviews

Everything above is a summary of two longer reviews — including the flaws, the long-term notes and the photographs. Meridian 96 · Tessera TKL