Teclo vs Keycap
Updated
Keycap and Teclo cost the same and both give Space, Return and Delete their own sounds. Keycap records real switches row by row and adds more from a free library; Teclo synthesizes its packs, adds sounds that are not keyboards and lets you try the whole app first.
1-day free trial · $4.99 once · up to 3 Macs · macOS 13+
Secure checkout, payments byStripe· 14-day refund, no questions asked
Pick a pack, then press any key or tap the keys below. These are the same samples the app plays.
Side by side
| Teclo | Keycap | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 once | USD 4.99 once, no in-app purchases1 |
| Free trial | 1 day, no account | Not listed |
| Macs per licence | Up to 3 | Not listed |
| macOS | 13 or later | 14.0 or later1 |
| Where to get it | Direct, at teclo.app, through Polar | Mac App Store1 |
| Sounds | 16 packs in 5 categories, synthesized | 13 switch recordings; six ship with the app, the rest download free1 |
| Press, release and variation | Separate press and release; 5 variants for ordinary keys plus Space, Return and Delete; small random pitch and level changes | Recorded row by row; separate press and release; own Space, Enter and Backspace1 |
| Stereo by key position | Yes | Not listed |
| Mouse and trackpad | A click pair for every pack; trackpad swipe and pinch sounds | Not listed |
| Scroll sounds | Yes, optional | Not listed |
| Your own sounds | Yes: shape a pack with sliders, record one from the microphone or drop in WAV files; share it as a .teclo file | Not listed |
| Muting | Pause from the menu bar; no per-app or automatic mute | Not listed |
| Typing pet | Yes, a keycap pet with moods and power-ups | Not listed |
| Worth knowing | Rain, marimba, typewriter, arcade and sci-fi packs next to nine keyboards | A built-in typing test1 |
- Keycap on the Mac App Store (US), read October 2026
Teclo's column is ours. Other apps change their prices and features; check their pages before you buy.
The short answer
- Pick Keycap for recordings of 13 named switches, a different pitch on each row of keys, and new packs from its online library at no extra charge.
- Pick Teclo if you are on macOS 13, want to try before paying, want rain, marimba, typewriter, arcade or sci-fi packs, mouse and trackpad sounds, or the keycap pet.
Recorded by row, or synthesized by key
Keycap’s 13 switches are NovelKeys Creams, Holy Pandas, Alpacas, Turquoise Tealios, Gateron Black and Red Inks, Cherry MX Blacks, Browns and Blues, Kailh Box Navies, IBM Buckling Spring, SKCM Blue Alps and Topre. Six ship with the app and the rest download free. Each is recorded row by row, with separate press and release sounds and its own Space, Enter and Backspace.
Teclo varies sound another way. Ordinary keys rotate through 5 synthesized variants, Space, Return and Delete have their own, each press moves by up to 10 cents in pitch and 1.5 dB in level, and each key sits in stereo by its place on the board. Its nine keyboard packs describe what they imitate rather than naming a switch. Buckle imitates a vintage buckling spring at 2,966 Hz, Cricket a clicky switch with a click jacket at 3,148 Hz, and Butter a lubed linear at 2,479 Hz. Play them above and compare with Keycap’s IBM Buckling Spring, Cherry MX Blues and NovelKeys Creams.
Where the names come from
The 13 names match, one for one, the sound folders of kbsim, the open-source browser simulator whose sounds two other Mac apps say they use. Keycap’s listing calls its sounds recordings and does not name their source; we have not compared the files.
Both apps ask for Input Monitoring and only listen. Keycap’s listing explains it well: it “reads a position, not a letter”, and turning the permission off simply makes it go quiet. Teclo’s tap works the same way; the privacy guide shows how to check any app. For another $4.99 app built on recorded switches, see Teclo vs Klack.
Questions
Does Keycap have a free trial?
No. Keycap costs USD 4.99 on the Mac App Store with no in-app purchases; its built-in typing test lets you hear each switch once you own it. Teclo has a 1-day free trial.
Why does the number row sound higher in Keycap?
Keycap's listing says every switch is "recorded row by row, so the number row rings higher than the space bar". Teclo does not change the sound by row; it varies each press by up to 10 cents in pitch and 1.5 dB in level, and places keys left to right in stereo.
Are Keycap's switches the same as kbsim's?
Keycap lists 13 switches with the same names as the 13 sound folders of kbsim, the free browser simulator. We have not compared the audio, so we cannot say whether the recordings are the same.
Sources
Other facts on this page come from these pages, read on or before the date above.