AULA F87 Pro Review: A $64 Mechanical Keyboard Worth Taking Seriously

The problem with budget mechanical keyboards

Most people shopping for a mechanical keyboard under $70 have already done the mental math: you're going to give something up. Either the build feels hollow, the wireless is unreliable, or the keycaps start shining within three months. The market is full of products that check boxes on paper and disappoint in practice.

The AULA F87 Pro landed on my radar with a 53% discount bringing it to around $64. At that price, with the specs it lists, I was skeptical. So I dug into it properly before writing anything.

What you actually get

The F87 Pro is a tenkeyless (87-key) mechanical keyboard with tri-mode connectivity: wired USB, 2.4 GHz wireless, and Bluetooth. That last combination matters more than it sounds - it means you can keep it connected to your desktop and switch to your laptop over Bluetooth without touching a cable.

The standout feature for this price is the gasket mount construction with five layers of dampening. Gasket mount is the kind of build quality you usually find in $120-$150 keyboards. The mounting plate floats within the case rather than being screwed directly to it, which produces a softer, deeper keystroke sound and a noticeably different typing feel. Add PBT double-shot keycaps - more durable and better-textured than the ABS plastic on most budget boards - and hot-swap switch sockets so you can change switches without soldering, and this starts to look like a serious spec sheet.

The battery is 4000 mAh. For a TKL board that is on the larger side, and buyers report it does not add uncomfortable weight.

Honest review: the good and the catch

What surprised me going through actual buyer feedback is the consistency. Reviewers from Belgium, Poland, and South Korea all point to the same things: the sound of the larger keys (spacebar, Enter, Shift) is better than expected, the wireless holds up in daily use without the dropout issues that plague cheap wireless peripherals, and the PBT keycaps feel genuinely premium for the price. One buyer described the sound as "creemy" - which in mechanical keyboard communities is a specific and meaningful compliment about depth and smoothness.

The hot-swap support is real and mentioned by multiple buyers as something they actively used.

Now the honest part worth noting: there is no detailed information about the companion software for macro and lighting customization. Budget keyboards in this range often ship with software that is unstable, Windows-only, or simply not worth using. If your workflow depends on complex macros or per-application profiles, that gap in documentation is a real concern and you should investigate it before buying. The keyboard appears to work plug-and-play for standard use - one Korean buyer confirmed it handled Korean character input without any special setup - but power users who customize everything may hit a wall.

What does $64 normally buy you?

At this price without a discount, you are typically choosing between established budget names like Redragon, Royal Kludge, or Keychron's entry tier. Those are not bad keyboards. But gasket mount at this price point is rare. Hot-swap is not guaranteed. And PBT keycaps are often an upgrade you pay extra for.

The AULA F87 Pro combines all three - gasket mount, hot-swap, PBT - with tri-mode wireless and a large battery. That package normally costs $120 to $150 from a name-brand manufacturer. The 53% discount makes the comparison uncomfortable for the competition.

I want to be clear: AULA is not a household name in Western markets the way Keychron or Logitech is. If brand recognition matters to you, that is a legitimate consideration.

Buy it if / Skip it if

Buy it if you type for long hours and want a meaningful upgrade from a membrane or basic mechanical board without spending over $100. Buy it if you need a keyboard that works across multiple devices and the cable-free flexibility genuinely fits your setup. Buy it if build quality and sound matter more to you than the logo.

Skip it if you depend on well-documented customization software and complex macro programming. Skip it if you need a full-size layout with a numpad. Skip it if you strongly prefer buying from a brand with established international customer support.

My honest take: the AULA F87 Pro at $64 is harder to dismiss than I expected going in. It is not a perfect keyboard and the software question is a real unknown. But gasket mount, PBT keycaps, hot-swap, and solid tri-mode wireless at this price - during an active discount - is a combination that earns a serious look.

Price: $64 (was $136) - check current price and availability here: https://www.ali-ex.com/hxeQSE