Laptop Keyboard Vs. External Keyboard (Differences)

If you use a computer a lot, you’ve probably experienced the strain and finger fatigue that comes with long hours of typing away on a keyboard.

Many say your laptop’s keyboard is the cause and that +an external keyboard can eliminate most of that pain.

So, what are the differences between laptop and external keyboards?

And do you really need an external keyboard?

In this piece, we’ll cover those differences and help you decide whether an external keyboard is right for you.

Laptop Keyboard Vs. External Keyboard

An external keyboard promotes muscle and joint health by improving posture and gives you a better typing experience than your laptop keyboard.

You’ll experience less pain in your wrists, hands, forearms, and neck.

Plus, the laptop’s heat won’t make your hands uncomfortable.

Typing on a well-designed external keyboard is faster as the layout is more optimal, and the dedicated shortcut keys improve your productivity.

However, an external keyboard requires an additional upfront investment and may be harder to carry around.

With that brief explanation, let’s discuss the most popular keyboard types and compare external keyboards to the ones built into your laptop.

Mechanical Vs. Membrane Keyboards

Before we get into the difference between laptop and external keyboards, we should briefly discuss the two most common switch types: mechanical and membrane.

When we talk about switch types, we are discussing the mechanism used to register a key press.

Membrane Keyboards

A keystroke on a membrane keyboard pushes a small rubber dome downward.

This downward movement triggers an electrical signal that travels to your computer.

The rubber dome is why membrane keyboards have a squishy feel and make much less noise.

Mechanical Keyboards

In contrast, pressing a key on a mechanical keyboard pushes down a spring and triggers contact with a gold-plated pin.

This connection registers as a key press.

Their unique design gives mechanical keyboards a tactile, clicky feel.

Keyboards In Laptops

Laptop keyboards are almost exclusively membrane ones.

Membrane switches are cheaper to produce and take up much less space, making them ideal for a laptop’s space constraints.

They also feel softer to type on.

It’s hard to find a laptop with a decent mechanical keyboard.

Laptop manufacturers are also notorious for including subpar mechanical keyboards in their gaming or business laptops.

External Keyboards

You can find both mechanical and membrane switches on external keyboards.

Membrane ones are usually cheaper and smaller.

However, they tend to be much less durable.

Mechanical keyboards are bulkier and are known for their durability.

Mechanical switches also come in a dizzying assortment with variations in their loudness, tactile feel, and how hard you need to press each key.

Comparing External Keyboards And Laptop Keyboards

Here’s a list of criteria to consider when deciding between these two types of keyboards:

1. Health Issues

A. Posture

Many computer users, especially those who use a laptop, complain about pain in their hands, necks, and eyes.

These problems are often the result of poor workstation setup.

Laptops are designed for maximum portability.

However, their attached screens and keyboards force you into an awkward position.

You can’t maintain a neutral position when using a laptop since you must bend your neck to see the screen.

As a result, you’ll lose your neck-spine alignment.

Plus, your shoulders and back won’t feel relaxed.

An external keyboard can remedy much of this problem.

Your neck and back will be significantly straighter, and you won’t have to extend your arms as much.

Note that the laptop screen should be at eye level for optimal posture.

You can achieve that by investing in an external monitor, a docking station, or a laptop stand.

Alternatively, you can place a few books under your laptop.

Winner: External keyboard

B. Muscle And Joint Health

If you use your laptop for more than two hours a day, you risk repetitive strain injury (RSI).

It’s a condition caused by repetitive manual actions such as typing, clicking, or playing an instrument.

It gradually damages the muscles, tendons, and nerves in your hands and extends to your neck after a while.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common type of RSI among office workers and those whose job requires constant computer use.

Laptops keyboards are more likely to cause RSI for three reasons:

They don’t offer adequate palm and wrist rest.
You can’t keep your wrists straight to reduce the pressure on your tendons and joints.
Their smaller surface area forces you to bend your fingers into uncomfortable positions.

In contrast, a well-designed external keyboard can eliminate all these problems via the following features:

Split design: Some external keyboards consist of two sections. This “ergonomic” design lets you keep your wrist straight and prevents RSI.
Height adjustment: Many external keyboards feature adjustable legs that give a slight tilt to your keyboard to improve wrist and finger positioning.
Wrist rest: A wrist rest gives your wrists some cushioning, so they don’t have to rest on the desk. As a result, you’ll be more comfortable when typing.
Larger surface: External keyboards tend to be larger than their laptop counterparts. Therefore, you don’t have to bend your fingers as awkwardly to reach combination keys.

Winner: External keyboard

C. Eye Strain

Complaints about visual discomfort are also common among laptop users.

These include itching eyes, blurred vision, and headaches.

To avoid these problems, you need to keep your display 20 to 26 inches away from your eyes to avoid these problems.

However, the traditional laptop design reduces that distance to around 10 inches, putting more strain on your eyes.

An external keyboard and mouse let you adjust the distance for maximum comfort and health.

Winner: External keyboard

2. Productivity

A. Layout

Laptop keyboards often have very little space between the keys.

As a result, keys with different functionalities are placed next to each other.

For example, there’s no separation between the letters and the arrow keys.

Plus, navigation keys are either combined with other keys or placed in awkward places due to lack of space.

These limitations make it harder to find your way around a laptop keyboard, especially if you frequently use keyboard shortcuts.

Winner: External keyboard

B. Key Design

Both laptop and external keyboards can have poorly designed keys.

However, laptops tend to have short keys with suboptimal spacing that slow down your typing speed.

Additionally, the keys must have a slight curve to reduce the impact on your fingers.

This small design feature greatly impacts your typing experience in the long run.

Winner: Tie

C. Typing Speed

External keyboards, especially mechanical keyboards, are slower to type on because your fingers will move more.

Plus, you’ll have to press the keys with more force, which puts more strain on your fingers.

So, as you work, your fingers will get tired more quickly.

The membrane keyboards on laptops tend to be faster and more comfortable for the same reason.

Winner: Laptop keyboard

D. Media And Programmable Keys

Wouldn’t it be great if you could press a single button on your keyboard to play your favorite playlist or open your favorite news outlet?

Many mid-range and high-end external keyboards feature multiple shortcuts for media playback, games, and web browsing.

They may also have programmable keys whose functionality you can define using the keyboard’s software.

These keys boost your productivity because they save many keystrokes and clicks.

Unfortunately, only a few laptop keyboards have this type of functionality.

Winner: External keyboard

E. Keystroke Registering

Have you ever experienced that situation where you press a key once, but the character gets typed multiple times?

You won’t have this problem if you get a mechanical keyboard.

There’s a one-to-one connection from each key to your computer (aka n-key rollover).

Membrane keyboards aren’t like this.

All your keystrokes travel through the same channel to your computer.

In addition to the previous problem, some of the strokes won’t register if you type fast on a membrane keyboard.

A side effect of this design is that if one of the keys on your laptop keyboard stops functioning, you have to replace the entire keyboard.

Winner: External keyboard

F. Trackpad Mishaps

Another annoying situation with laptops is when your palm accidentally hits the touchpad while typing.

Suddenly, the cursor jumps to another location, and it takes a few seconds for you to realize what just happened.

You’ll probably waste tens of keystrokes before noticing the problem and having to start over.

This will never be a problem if you have an external keyboard.

Winner: External keyboard

3. Typing Experience

A. Size

The standard external keyboard is about 18 inches in width, whereas the width of a modern laptop typically doesn’t exceed 14 inches.

That means external keyboard designers have more real estate to work with.

As a result, they can include larger keys with better separation to prevent frequent typos.

Furthermore, unlike a laptop keyboard, your auxiliary keys, such as the arrow and function keys, are larger and easier to access.

So, external keyboards, especially mechanical ones, can provide a more satisfying experience.

Winner: External keyboard

B. Key Switches

As explained earlier, when you get an external keyboard, you can opt for mechanical switches.

These switches are much more durable, and many users are satisfied with their typing experience.

Plus, with the wide variety of switches, you’ll have an easy time finding switches you enjoy.

You can even choose an external membrane keyboard with more durable keys than your laptop.

Since we’ve already covered the differences between the membrane and mechanical keyboards, we won’t bore you here.

But we recommend watching the YouTube video below.

You’ll learn about the switch types and see how different people prefer different ones.

Winner: External keyboard

C. Heat

Laptops generate heat.

Depending on the laptop’s design, that heat may cause some discomfort.

You may even feel a burning sensation that prevents you from typing for long hours.

Since an external keyboard is separate from your laptop, it won’t be affected by the laptop’s internal heat.

You can type comfortably for hours.

Winner: External keyboard

D. Loudness

Laptop keyboards are extremely quiet.

You can type when you’re on video calls without worrying about sound.

And if you’re an early bird, you don’t have to worry about waking up the people in your house when you wake up to work in the morning.

However, if you value silent operation, you can also find plenty of quiet external keyboards.

So, typing sound isn’t an issue that should dissuade you from buying an external keyboard.

Winner: Tie

E. Customizability

Mechanical keyboards are endlessly customizable.

You can choose from 30+ switch types and pick any color for individual keycaps.

Some keyboards feature backlit keys with adjustable lighting.

But the true customizability comes when you get RGB keyboards with 16 million colors.

There are even external keyboards with detachable parts, allowing you to adjust their size.

You don’t get any of these perks with built-in laptop keyboards.

In almost all cases, you can’t make any changes to the keyboard that comes with your laptop.

Winner: External keyboard

F. Portability

An extra keyboard adds weight and bulk, making it harder to carry your stuff around.

This issue is more problematic with mechanical keyboards as they tend to have larger, taller keys.

On the other hand, the laptop’s keyboard is attached, so you won’t have to carry any extra items with you.

That said, there are ways to reduce the extra burden of an external keyboard.

Firstly, you can buy a lighter keyboard.

Choose a keyboard with a plastic body instead of aluminum to make it less heavy.

Secondly, you don’t need a full-sized keyboard.

External keyboards come in various shapes.

Tenkeyless ones don’t have a dedicated Numpad.

And if you’re willing to sacrifice optimal layout or the function keys row, you can go for 75%, 65%, or 60% percent keyboards.

They’re more compact but tend to be slightly harder to use.

Wireless keyboards are more comfortable and easier to carry around.

You can also get a roll-up keyboard, which is a lightweight foldable keyboard that offers extreme portability.

Winner: Laptop keyboard

4. Economics

A. Initial investment

Buying an external keyboard is clearly an extra cost.

On top of that, you’ll have to buy an external mouse since your trackpad will be hard to reach.

However, there are many affordable options on the market.

And you can opt for keyboard-mouse combos to get better deals and maximum compatibility.

Winner: Laptop keyboard

B. Durability

Laptop keys are often designed to withstand two to three million keystrokes.

Although that sounds like a large number, it’s highly limited for constant use.

If you’re a writer or someone who types a lot, you can expect your laptop keys to get damaged faster and key presses to not register after two to three years.

In contrast, high-quality external keyboards, especially mechanical ones, are good for around 50 million keystrokes.

That translates to 10 to 15 years of heavy use.

What’s more, if one of the keys on a mechanical keyboard reaches its end of life, replacing it will only cost you a few dollars and a bit of soldering.

In contrast, the membrane keyboard on a laptop must be entirely replaced, which can cost you more than $100.

Winner: External keyboard