ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)
Pros
•Most common keycap material for keyboards
•Sharp & Easy to read legends via laser-etched or doubleshot (uncommon)
•Bright shine-through for lighting
•Smooth surface texture
•Can produce a “softer sound” due to its thinness
•Easier to produce color variations, with vivid/bright colors
Cons
•Surface becomes shiny, slick, and reflective with usage over time
•Text Legends may fade away or completely disappear over time
•Can be brittle and break easily from the stem, causing the keycap to fall off from the switch
HyperX PBT (Polybutylene Terephthalate)
Pros
•Becoming more common in gaming and higher budget keyboards
•Laser etched, dye sublimated, or doubleshot molding for text legends.
•Doubleshot molding lasts much longer than laser etched, which is often found on ABS keycaps
•PBT is inherently harder and more wear resistant. Even if its texture surface smooths out over time, its surface wouldn’t shine nearly as quickly as ABS.
•PBT is also inherently solvent/chemically resistant and a good electrical insulator, commonly used in automotive applications.
•Can produce a “crisp, tactile sound” due to its thickness
Cons
•Slightly “dull” surface look, subjective
•Text legends are not as sharp as ABS
•Lighting doesn’t shine-through as easily compared to ABS
•Some may think PBT keycap noise is “loud”, compared to ABS
•More difficult to make color variations and not as vivid/bright colors
•Generally more expensive