Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions

Free Standard Shipping in the US on orders over $99

Drop CSTM80 Barebones Mechanical Keyboard

$79

~~$99~~

overview

specs

story4

reviews56

photos36

q&a30

discussions12

01 / 33

... / KEYBOARDS / TENKEYLESS (TKL) KEYBOARDS / DROP

Drop CSTM80 Barebones Mechanical Keyboard

Name: Drop CSTM80 Barebones Mechanical Keyboard
Brand: Drop
SKU: drop-cstm80-barebones-mechanical-keyboard
Price: 79 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.660714 (56 reviews)

$79

~~$99~~

Color:

Ready to Ship

Free Returns in USA

●

Members who purchase earn

237
Drop Rewards

overview

specs

story4

reviews56

photos36

q&a30

discussions12

Customer Reviews

4.7

(56 reviews)

(37)

(19)

(0)

96% would recommend to a friend

By Feature

Sound

SilentLoud

Feel

StiffFlexible

Build Quality

4.6

(47)

ActivitiesPopular among reviewers

Paired SwitchPopular among reviewers

JCeeCee

Nov 29, 2025

Activities:Work & Gaming

Paired Switch:Tactile

Keyboards Owned:4

Verified Buyer

Great for those new to custom keyboards

I really liked the experience that I had with the fully assembled Black CSTM80 I had just purchased the week before that, when I saw that the White CSTM barebones kit was on sale, I just had to buy another one. Unlike apparent previous releases, this one comes fully unassembled; I presume that previous offerings came with the base unit built and ready to accept the switches, keycaps, and top decorative plate of your choice. This package comes neatly organized with the case pieces, plate, and case foams in a bag, the PCBA in static free bag inside of one cardboard envelope, and the foams to sandwich between the plate and PCBa in another cardboard envelope. Of course, underneath the main cardboard tray, you also get your standard fare of gaskets, case screws, cable , switch puller and keycap puller, all in the lower foam tray. Note that this kit DOES NOT include stabilizers (requires the PCB mounted type) and there is no decorative top case included in this package, so you may as well get the one most suited to how you want to build it up. I like this approach, because it serves as a good entry for anyone interested in progressing their hobby to the growing array of keyboard kits coming on to the market, especially at the Holiday sales pricing I got it at (currently $79 during the BF week-long sales event). If you ever wanted to build a totally custom keyboard to match your deskscape, chances are that with your choice of two aluminum , and at least a dozen other decorative plastic top cases, not to mention an endless array of keycaps at your disposal on the open market, you'll be able find a combination that matches pretty close to what you envisioned. Is this keyboard perfect? Of course not! but IMHO, it's a pretty solid entry for the price. You get a myriad of options in terms of how you want to build it up (with or without foams, additional plate choices apart from the included PC plate) and at the end of the day, aside from the fact that the pre-builts sometimes require a little more lube for the stabs (something that you will be doing anyway since you have to buy them separately), it really is a good keyboard for the price. At least my prebuilt sounds pretty nice out of the box with the Gateron Yellows, even if they aren't my ideal switch. I should also add that the gasket performance on these felt surprisingly nice. Some might knock it for not being an Aluminum case, but at least it feels like a fairly decent quality plastic. It's also nice to see that the case has brass inserts for the screws. If there were any additional features I would ask Drop to consider, it would be a) a wireless option down the road, and b) an HE option? Although with magnets currently being used to hold the decorative top plates, it might be off the table due to possible interference for any of the keys around them.

Recommends this product? Yes

Was this helpful?

Vote

Neekolas714

Keyboard Club Member

Oct 27, 2025

Activities:Work & Gaming

Paired Switch:Linear

Keyboards Owned:17

Verified Buyer

Solid Build, Perfect Flex

This is my 3rd CSTM80, and it never fails to impress. Dollars to donuts one of the most solid entry-level boards I have bought. Drop continues to impress over much more expensive alternatives. If this is your first build, give this a shot. Everything in the box, just a little know how to put it all together. Don't forget your screw-in stabs when ordering!

Recommends this product? Yes

Was this helpful?

Vote

firestorm

Keyboard Club Member

Jul 1, 2025

Activities:Work & Gaming

Paired Switch:Tactile

Keyboards Owned:15

Verified Buyer

Decent basic kit

Barebones is right. This is whatever you make of it. For a starter keyboard, this is fantastic, and it's pretty customizable. Better build quality than you would expect for a sub-$100 board.

Recommends this product? Yes

Was this helpful?

Vote

M.Garcia

Keyboard Club Member

May 12, 2025

Activities:Work

Paired Switch:Linear

Keyboards Owned:18

Verified Buyer

Perfect for the case swap

Bought the barebones kit to use with the Keysterine Grape case. I really like the look, and it doesn't feel half bad typing either. GMK Dualshot looks great on there, and Gateron Smoothies give a nice loud. One gripe I do have, is that I wish the barebones kit came with stabilizers

Recommends this product? Yes

Was this helpful?

xXC3RealXx

Keyboard Club Member

Apr 27, 2025

Activities:Gaming

Paired Switch:Tactile

Keyboards Owned:6

Verified Buyer

Great base to build on

Very easy to build, OK value. I love that this kit really forces you to choose your own everything, even the stabs.

Recommends this product? Yes

Was this helpful?

I_am_cas

Keyboard Club Member

Apr 5, 2025

Activities:Work & Gaming

Paired Switch:Tactile

Keyboards Owned:7

Verified Buyer

I bought this board to play around with (not as my daily driver)

My daily driver, a QK80 Mk.2, is set up perfectly. I wanted a keyboard I could take apart, and experiment around with, something that I can customize the look and sound by modifying on the fly (adding and removing foams, changing plates), and the CSTM80 definitely fulfils that role. I love the way the top cases can switch out. The PCB is easily accessible. It's a little bit on the lighter side and I will be purchasing a weight, probably the brass one. I am also going to purchase the aluminum cases at a later date. But I am definitely impressed with this board.

Recommends this product? Yes

Was this helpful?

Vote

Jaq35

Keyboard Club Member

Mar 22, 2025

Activities:Work & Gaming

Paired Switch:Linear

Keyboards Owned:10

Verified Buyer

Very happy

Perfect size, love the little extra F13 key, strong backlight, and really appreciate the VIA support.

Recommends this product? Yes

Was this helpful?

Vote

DerekJC

Keyboard Club Member

Mar 2, 2025

Verified Buyer

Really good keyboard even for a beginner

I’m relatively new to this hobby and the keyboard I built around the CSTM80 barebones was the first I built from scratch. I’m not an absolute novice, owning a Keychron and other mechanical keyboards, having repaired keyboards of vintage computers, and at least played about with hop-swapping switches, and I was ready for something tailor-made and quite frankly better. And the CSTM80 keyboard with its ability to swap decorative cases, together with the keycap sets and cases available at Drop, caught my eye. And if I was going to be serious about this hobby, getting the barebones version was the only option. If you you’re going to dive in, choose the deep end, right? So I did. And what a wonderful experience. Ok, full disclosure: the first keyboard I received had a broken diode so halfway through the build I stopped and went into troubleshooting/diagnosing mode to find out what was wrong. (There was also a missing LED but this turned out to be a cut out in the foam pad above the PCB that was still present blocking the light.) But Drop were brilliant: once I reported the broken diode, they sent out a replacement keyboard without quibbles, cost or delay (other than processing and postage) and the replacement worked fine. So, with this second keyboard I go through the construction process again, fitting the stabilisers (lubed during the first construction process), the switches, the keycaps, and decorative case. And everything was relatively easy to do (no troubleshooting this time). 8 screws for the outer case, 6 small black screws to remove the PCB from the key plate, and just be careful to look after those 6 gaskets (Drop supplies spares for a reason). It’s a fairly simple and painless process, just don’t lose the screws (or stabiliser washers), make sure the stabilisers are correctly in the holes, keep the foam pads aligned with the hardware, and that all the parts of the keyboard are the correct orientation when putting back together. So now for some suggestions. The black PCB screws against the black solder mask of the PCB are difficult to see, so use some good lighting such as a desk lamp or similar. Personally some screws are close to the small fragile diodes so I would move them further away if possible. The gaskets have a habit of moving around while reconstructing the keyboard and can easily fall out, so if they were slightly wider or the holes slightly narrow, that would provide a bit more friction to prevent this. And finally, I would feel more comfortable with an on/off power switch rather than just pulling out the USB cable. Finally, the finished keyboard is wonderful! Much better than my Keychron. Despite having a plastic case I don’t notice: it is well constructed, doesn’t feel cheap and the weight at the bottom gives it the weight it needs. In reality it is cheap at the price, definitely value for money in this potentially expensive hobby, even including the extra import duty getting it into the UK (for my American friends: these are what you call tariffs). Build: Gateron PCB-Mounted Screw-In Stabiliser Set KeebMonkey Switch and Stabilizer Keyboard Lubricant, Option: KBM GPL 205 #0 IDOBAO X KAILH Elf Ultra-Silent Mechanical Green Switches IDOBAO MA Blue Cat PBT Dye-Subbed Keycap Set Laser Purple decorative case Custom cable from Cablelab UK

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

Was this helpful?

Vote

vertex

Keyboard Club Member

Mar 1, 2025

Activities:Work & Gaming

Paired Switch:Tactile

Keyboards Owned:29

Verified Buyer

My 2nd CSTM80

Bought a second one to use at work.

Recommends this product? Yes

Was this helpful?

Vote

ChefNate

Feb 26, 2025

Activities:Work & Gaming

Paired Switch:Tactile

Keyboards Owned:8

Verified Buyer

Great at the price

Solid for the price. Great selection of case tops to fine tune the look. Careful with the optional weight upgrade, it puts a strain on the magnetic top plate.

Recommends this product? Yes

Was this helpful?

Vote

Showing 10 of 74

Newest

74 OF 74 POSTS

Oldest

Recent Activity