# Dvorak keyboard layout

11 Hacker News commenters recommended Dvorak keyboard layout and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 25 years (3 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend Dvorak for comfort, less wrist strain and a more balanced hand load compared with QWERTY, and many have used it for decades. Some note that learning it takes time and that keys like ls -l fall to the right pinky.

## Why people recommend it

- More comfortable, less wrist strain (4 comments): "have no regrets at all. It's so much more comfortable!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47085496)) "More comfortable typing, less wrist strain, etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47713809)) "which I find much more comfortable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48757927))
- Balanced load between hands (2 comments): "Dvorak feels more balanced between my hands" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47102880)) "it is such a joy to use in comparison to Qwerty" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47117121))
- Long-term use with no regrets (3 comments): "It went away and has stayed gone for 25-ish years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49986115)) "I feel pretty great about the returns I got from that." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47083485)) "Dvorak works really well for me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47083964))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Colemak keyboard layout](https://hackerapproved.com/p/colemak-keyboard-layout.md): 7 recommend
- [EurKEY keyboard layout](https://hackerapproved.com/p/eurkey-keyboard-layout.md): 7 recommend
- [Clearflow keyboard layout](https://hackerapproved.com/p/clearflow-keyboard-layout.md): 6 recommend
- [Engram keyboard layout](https://hackerapproved.com/p/engram-keyboard-layout.md): 5 recommend
- [US International keyboard layout](https://hackerapproved.com/p/us-international-keyboard-layout.md): 5 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Dvorak keyboard layout", https://hackerapproved.com/p/dvorak-keyboard-layout/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).