Kinesis Freestyle
Ranked 8 of 13 split keyboards by recommenders
Split keyboard that people recommend for easing wrist and thumb pain, and it is affordable at around $100 and long-lasting.
Split keyboard that people recommend for easing wrist and thumb pain, and it is affordable at around $100 and long-lasting.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 91%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 10 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Eases wrist and thumb pain
“So I ended up getting a split keyboard (Kinesis Freestyle) so I could spread my hands farther apart so I didn't get the ulnar deviation.”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards” “quickly became my daily driver & basically solved my wrist and thumb pain”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “My Favorite Keyboards” Long-lasting and affordable
“I have a pair of Freestyle2 keyboards, both are over a decade old.”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards” “100 bucks, it's been around for a long time.”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”
Other split keyboards people recommend
The four most recommended other split keyboards, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MoErgo Glove80 | 29 | 3 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Kinesis Advantage | 29 | 6 | 83% | 8 | 18 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| ZSA Moonlander | 27 | 12 | 69% | 6 | 5 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| ZSA Voyager | 17 | 1 | 94% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Kinesis FreestyleThis page | 10 | 1 | 91% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 11 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The switch to the freestyle 2 was basically seamless.”
“quickly became my daily driver & basically solved my wrist and thumb pain”
“I'm very happy with the Freestyle Gaming in general.”
“The "traditional" Freestye has a wrist pad that's made out of a material so horrible I returned the keyboard immediately.”
“The flexibility is perfect for me, so I keep one at home, and one in the office.”
“I have a pair of Freestyle2 keyboards, both are over a decade old.”
“So I ended up getting a split keyboard (Kinesis Freestyle) so I could spread my hands farther apart so I didn't get the ulnar deviation.”
“It lets me keep my shoulders square while I am typing.”
“which was an improvement over Microsoft, but not a so great improvement”
“100 bucks, it's been around for a long time.”
“Kinesis freestyle is basically this”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.