The Logitech K845 ($59.99) is a simple, standard, full-size backlit mechanical keyboard, crossing Logitech’s gaming-focused mechanical line with its familiar workplace keyboards. The top plate and key caps are gray on gray. The gentle backlighting is white. There really is very little to see here. And yet the K845’s one signature feature—mechanical keys—makes it something of a rarity among office keyboards. If you want a demure work-appropriate keyboard with a better everyday typing experience than laptop-style chiclet keys, the K845 is ideal, with an affordable price and a pleasant feel. Compared with Logitech’s flagship MX productivity peripherals, such as the MX Keys ($99.99), the K845 is just a little short on features, but the cost is well suited to what you get.
What You Key Is What You Get
The K845 is as simple as simple can be. It’s a standard full-size keyboard with 104 keys in all the usual places. Measuring 1.38 by 17.09 by 5.00 inches (HWD), it looks long and thin, but that’s mostly because it isn’t as deep as most recent keyboards. The top and bottom edges barely extend past the keys.
Its dark graphite keys over a silver aluminum top plate thread the needle for office (or home office) design, plain but tidy and made with good materials that highlight its construction. The white backlighting shines through the legends (lettering) on the keys and around the sides of the caps, just as RGBs do on gaming keyboards, but there are no color variations. Amid the silver and graphite, the white light seems almost subdued, another point on the grayscale. You can adjust the brightness and set the lighting to activate in a couple of preset patterns if you want to get a little fancy.
Given that there are no special features or customization, the K845’s quality comes down to keys. Logitech’s house-brand keys have switches from TTC, a well-known budget brand in enthusiast circles that’s not frequently used by peripheral makers. My test unit had Logitech’s clicky-style Blue switches, and the keys felt stable and required a fair amount of force to press, which makes sense in a keyboard made for typing and nothing but. I wouldn’t call the typing experience enthusiast-grade, but it has a solid feel, particularly for a budget keyboard. Logitech also sells versions of the K845 with Cherry MX Red or Blue switches for an additional $20. Personally, I think the Logitech keys will do the job just fine.
Though the core typing experience feels luxurious compared to the average office keyboard, there are things you might miss if you’re used to a more conventional productivity keyboard like an Apple Magic Keyboard ($99) or Logitech’s MX Keys. The K845 is a wired keyboard, and the cable doesn’t detach. The K845 also doesn’t support Logitech Options, the company’s configuration app for productivity peripherals, which means you can’t easily remap the keys.
Realistically, though, without wireless functionality, the K845 couldn’t take advantage of the features that Options and Logitech’s MX suite are known for, such as easy swapping among multiple computers. A little more software-based versatility would have benefited a niche group of workers who want app-specific presets, but if you’re interested in this keyboard, it’s because you don’t want to think about your keyboard, much less spend time setting up macros or a screenshot key.
A Budget-Conscious Upgrade
The K845 is exactly what it aims to be: a keyboard with an office aesthetic and a satisfying mechanical feel. The best option combining those qualities remains the Editors’ Choice–winning Razer Pro Type ($139.99), but it costs nearly three times as much as the K845. At $59.99 for models with Logitech switches, the K845 is among the least expensive mechanical keyboards we’ve reviewed, and it’s well worth that low price.
If gaming has taught you to love mechanical keys or you simply don’t want to use a bargain-barrel keyboard anymore, the K845 will make typing more comfortable at a price you can justify expensing. And if you’re bulk-buying for an office, your IT team will appreciate the simplicity of setup and support, your finance department will appreciate the price, and your employees will enjoy click-clacking away.
