Chart: Keycap Profile Heights in mm, Cherry to SA

This keycap profile height chart records published millimeter values and the limits of those values. It is a lookup reference. For profile shapes, typing preferences, and the differences between individual families, use keycap profiles explained.

A profile name is not a complete dimensional drawing. The source must identify the measured row and reference points before a height can be used to predict clearance on a particular keyboard.

Published keycap heights in millimeters

The Das Keyboard figures below are values from its profile overview. That article does not supply a measurement protocol identifying the exact edge and row for each number. They are therefore labeled overview values, not certified maximums or interchangeable manufacturing dimensions.

Profile	Published height	Source	Measurement qualification
SA	16.5 mm	Das Keyboard profile overview	Row and measurement endpoints not specified in prose
KAT	13.5 mm	Das Keyboard profile overview	Row and measurement endpoints not specified in prose
OEM	11.9 mm	Das Keyboard profile overview	Row and measurement endpoints not specified in prose
MOA	9.8 mm	Akko MOA guide	Akko describes the same height for each row
Cherry	9.4 mm	Das Keyboard profile overview	Row and measurement endpoints not specified in prose
XDA	9.1 mm	Das Keyboard profile overview	Uniform-family overview value
DSA	7.6 mm	Das Keyboard profile overview	Uniform-family overview value
G20	7.6 mm	Das Keyboard profile overview	Uniform-family overview value

The source names in the table correspond to the frontmatter references. No interpolation or measurements by this desk have been added. Akko’s MOA figure describes its own profile; it should not be extended to another maker’s similarly named product without checking that product’s documentation.

Entries without a comparable single figure

Leaving a cell unfilled is preferable to inventing a number from a picture. These families appeared in the broader comparison, but the cited references do not provide one directly comparable numerical value in prose.

Profile	What the cited reference provides	Why no single mm value appears here
DCS	Signature Plastics family description and linked dimensional drawing	A sculpted family needs a specified row and endpoints
MT3	Das Keyboard gives a qualitative comparison with SA	Similarity is not a numerical specification
KAM	Das Keyboard identifies its uniform arrangement	No numerical height is supplied there

For DCS and the other Signature Plastics families, follow the drawings linked from its family-specification page when a specific part dimension is needed. Keep the drawing’s row and part identification alongside the number you copy.

Measurement reference checklist

Before comparing a figure from this chart with a vendor drawing, record the following fields. A missing field means the values may still be useful for broad orientation, but they are not a matched dimensional comparison.

Field	Record this	Reason
Manufacturer and set	Exact product or drawing identifier	A shared profile name need not identify a shared mold
Physical row	Number row, home row, or another named position	Sculpted rows can differ
Vertical endpoints	The lower reference plane and the upper contact point	Edge height and dish height are different measurements
Part state	Loose keycap or mounted assembly	Installed height also depends on the switch and board
Units	Millimeters or the drawing’s stated units	Unit conversion cannot fix mismatched endpoints

Do not silently turn a loose keycap height into a height above the keyboard plate. That calculation would require the mounting geometry as well. Likewise, a profile overview cannot supply the clearance between a cap’s internal wall and a particular switch housing.

Comparing two chart entries

Using only the published overview values, OEM minus Cherry is 11.9 minus 9.4, or 2.5 mm. This is arithmetic on those listed values. It does not establish a 2.5 mm difference between every pair of OEM and Cherry home-row keys.

Apply the same discipline when creating a personal spreadsheet: retain the source and qualification columns rather than copying only the numbers. Mark an unknown value as unknown. A blank field is easier to correct later than a guessed dimension that has become a purchasing assumption.

If two vendors disagree, inspect their drawings before averaging. Averaging a front-edge measurement and a rear-edge measurement produces a number neither manufacturer specified.

Row and kit references

Row labels belong to a manufacturer’s diagram. A label such as R1 does not, by itself, prove which physical row another vendor means. The row explanation now lives in the profile guide, alongside the sculpted-versus-uniform distinction.

Height also does not establish width or quantity. Use keycap kitting and coverage to match the keys supplied in a set, and the compatibility guide to check the mount and layout. Keep those checks separate from this dimensional lookup.