ZSA Moonlander review: The most customizable keyboard I've ever used

The ZSA Moonlander ($365) is a split ergonomic keyboard that's more helpful and useful than any I've tried to date.

I know because after ZSA sent me one for review I spent nearly a year using it, often as my daily driver (typer?), and despite some initial hurdles in getting to grips with this elegant 'board it's become one of my favorite keyboards to date.

While it's not cheap, I think you get what you pay for with the Moonlander because it's a hot-swappable mechanical split keyboard with an ergonomic design, useful features and a helpful training app. I wish the keyboard was a little sturdier and the white model didn't pick up dirt quite so easily, but those are minor complaints about one of the best mechanical keyboards I've ever used.

I'll walk you through all of the key details and show you what I mean in this ZSA Moonlander review.

ZSA Moonlander review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A modular ergonomic split mechanical keyboard with hot-swappable switches and a useful set of training/configuration software.
• Who is it for? Anyone who wants a split mechanical keyboard that's highly customizable, with multiple tenting positions built in, as well as a good configuration/training app.
• What does it cost? The ZSA Moonlander is available for purchase via the ZSA website and starts at $365 (including shipping), though you can pay more for extra switches and other accessories.
• What’s good about it? The modular design is easy to configure in a few different ways to accommodate your needs, the typing experience is great and the training/flashing app is super useful.
• What’s not so good? The Moonlander is lightweight and easy to carry, which also means it's easy to move around on the desk under your hands, especially if you have it tented and are resting your hands on it. It's a minor problem and the company sells a $112 Platform attachment that supports the tented position and might help the 'board feel more secure.

ZSA Moonlander review: Specs

ZSA Moonlander review: The ups

I've grown quite fond of the ZSA Moonlander during my time with it, and there are some particular strengths I want to shout out in this review.

Great design

The Moonlander is only the second or third split keyboard I've tried, and it might be my favorite yet because of its sheer flexibility and customizability. 

Right off the bat, I love that it has two adjustable points of articulation: a set of adjustable inner legs on the top inside edge of the two boards that let you tent them off the desk, and then an adjustable threaded screw in the thumb clusters that lets you angle each downward to further tent the keyboard. There are also removable wrist rests which ZSA calls "Wings" that can fold underneath the keyboard when not in use.

Since it plugs in via the left side, you don't even need to use the full 'board if you don't want to: you can just plug the left half in and use it solo with a mouse if you want to do some serious gaming.

As you can see from the photos, when used in full this keyboard has something approaching a 60% columnnar layout. But some keys have been relocated and others are entirely unique to the Moonlander, so be ready for an adjustment period as you get up to speed. 

The entire 'board is reconfigurable and reprogrammable, too, so getting comfortable typing on it is just the start of your journey to mastering this device.

I think it's worth taking time to climb the learning curve because the reward is a more customizable and adaptable keyboard than any I've used before. Part of that has to do with the software, which I'll explain in more detail shortly. But a lot of it has to do with the design of the 'board itself, which is thinner and lighter than any I've ever used.

Of course, the Moonlander's most eye-catching feature (when the LEDs are off) is probably the keys clustered on the flap near where your thumb would rest on each side. Each half gets one big orange thumb button (the "Launch/Any" keys) and three smaller keys that resemble longer versions of standard keys, which ZSA refers to as piano keys. 

Our review unit arrived with these keys unmarked and bound to ZSA defaults like Backspace and Return, but what makes them special is that you can rebind them in a flash using just ZSA's lightweight downloadable Keymapp app or its web-based Oryx keyboard configuration/training tool. 

Both options are quick and easy, and you can use ZSA's software to not just rebind key but build in advanced functionality, like binding multiple functions to one key and either tapping, holding, or tapping then holding it to launch them.

There's also two keys unique to ZSA built into the Moonlander's design: Hyper and Meh. Each is basically the equivalent of holding three or four keys down at once (Hyper is Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Win/Cmd, Meh is Ctrl+Shift+Alt) that would be very hard to hold down otherwise, so you can generally count on being able to use these keys to set up your own specific keybinds without worrying you're going to accidentally trigger something else with Ctrl+Shift+Alt+K or whatever.

I really like this feature because it helped this keyboard unlock new levels of productivity for me in my day-to-day work and cut down on the number of times I had to take my hands off the keyboard to reach for a trackball.

One important caveat to this: I found during testing that on Microsoft machines the default Hyper key bind (Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Win) now has a tendency to launch Microsoft applications like Office, PowerPoint, Yammer (ugh) and even LinkedIn. So be aware that if this happens to you, it's not the Moonlander's fault—blame Microsoft for thinking we need keyboard shortcuts to LinkedIn.

Comfy hot-swappable keys

ZSA sent us a Moonlander outfitted with a set of Kailh Box Brown switches, and right out of the box I love how it feels to type on this keyboard. The company also sent me Kailh Bronze switches to try out, and I found the process of swapping them out on the board using the included key puller.

The keycaps themselves are precision-injected doubleshot PBT plastic, and while the white Moonlander plastic does have a tendency to show dust and dirt very clearly, I don't really mind since I work from home and nobody's around to see the dirt and grime building up in the crevices. 

There are lots of little design touches to appreciate, too, like the fact that the Moonlander comes with two sets of F and J keys, one set with and one without "homing bumps" that help your fingers find them on the home row without you having to look down. ZSA's website makes it clear that this company spends a lot of time listening to customers and thinking about how to sell keyboards that serve them better, so little touches like this make the high price of entry feel worthwhile.

You can also see this commitment in the company's keyswitch comparison page, which helpfully lets you see all the switches you can get with your Moonlander (~12 at time of publication) in one chart that lists key travel, required force and more. 

I still have a lot to learn about what switches I like, because the last time I got heavy into mechanical keyboards the chatter was still all about Cherry MX Blues vs. Browns. Nowadays you've got a lot more options to choose from, and ZSA makes it not just approachable but inviting to learn about the different switches and keyboard layouts you can try on the Moonlander.

Useful app

As much as I like the Moonlander, it would be much harder to use or recommend if it didn't come with excellent software.

In fact, I think the Moonlander's unique layout is really only feasible because ZSA makes it so easy to customize your keyboard's firmware and flash it quickly. When you receive your keyboard you can pretty much plug it in and use it right out of the box (though you may need to take some additional steps on macOS) , but when the time comes to start reconfiguring it you need to use ZSA's software.

You can either download the company's Keymapp app to your PC or use its web-based Oryx configuration tool right from ZSA's website. I tried both over the last year and they're both equally functional, though I like the Keymapp app more because it has added functionality like a heatmap function (for seeing which keys you use most) and a training app to practice typing on your new layout.

Frankly, the typing assistance provided by Keymapp is the only reason I can use the Moonlander effectively right now. It took me months to adapt and learn to use this split ergo keyboard after growing up learning to type on traditional rectangular 'boards, and I failed several times before I gave in and started doing typing lessons using ZSA's software.

But once I admitted defeat and started doing regular typing practice with the Moonlander I quickly became much more comfortable using it, in part because the training app is so good. You can choose to work on multiple different types of text (prose, poetry, code, etc), paste your own text in to practice on or have ZSA's software test you using the Whack-a-Key training mode, which prompts you to hit specific individual keys on the keyboard from memory.

The app shows you live feedback of what key you're hitting as you hit it (so you never have to look down at your hands) and gives you performance metrics over time, so you can see how you're performing and whether you're actually getting better with a given layout or not. 

That may sound like homework for your fancy new gadget, but trust me: it's worth it. I needed to spend a significant amount of time (months!) practicing with the Moonlander to really appreciate and enjoy using it, not to mention type my best on it. 

But since I type for a living that investment is worthwhile, because (once I got the hang of it using the software) the Moonlander offers a more comfortable typing experience than any rectangular keyboard I've ever used.

ZSA Moonlander review: The downs

As much as I like the ZSA Moonlander, there's one thing that bugs me after using it for so long. It's not a deal-breaker by any stretch, but I do think it's something you should know about before you buy.

Flimsy feeling

The ZSA Moonlander is light and thin, which makes it easy to carry around in the included carrying case. And that's great!

What I found less great, over time, is the tendency of our review unit to shift and move beneath my hands as I'm typing. It doesn't happen all the time or right away, but when I really get going and am banging away on the keys I can sometimes feel the keyboard moving around on my standing desk as I'm really getting into the groove. It's especially common when I have the board tented up off the desk.

This isn't a huge problem, but I did find it a little frustrating at times. Part of the issue may be that I'm a big guy (6'4") with big hands, so smaller folks may not need to stress about this at all.

But I think another contributing factor is that the board is small, light and doesn't have much in the way of "grippy" feet on the bottom, just some meager nubs at the edges. 

Again, I found this issue to not be a deal-breaker and really only a hassle when I had the keyboard tented up off the desk. But it did make me seriously consider investing in the Platform, an all-metal attachment that makes it easier to quickly lock your Moonlander into your preferred tenting arrangement. I haven't tried the $112 accessory from ZSA but it appears as though it would add some extra weight and stability to the keyboard, which is exactly what I sometimes feel it lacks.

ZSA Moonlander review: Verdict

I really love the ZSA Moonlander because it shows a clear interest in making your typing life better. 

From the ergonomic, highly adjustable design to the easy-to-swap keys, remarkably capable configuration software and robust typing trainer, everything about this keyboard seems laser-focused on making your time on it better.

The price you pay—on top of the $365 starting price—is a steep learning curve. I think this 'board takes some time to master for even veteran typists who have strong feelings about using Colemak vs. Dvorak layouts, and novices like me can take months to get comfortable with it.

But I think it's worth the effort because the payoff is a keyboard that's more adaptable and customizable to my needs than any I've used to date. 

I didn't get much into it in this review because it's only of interest to a fraction of our readers, but the Moonlander uses open-source firmware and is designed for modding, so the sky's the limit on how you integrate this keyboard into your life. Heck, ZSA even curates a Community Creations corner of its website to showcase how Moonlander owners have modded the keyboard for their own needs, and it's legitimately inspirational to keyboard neophytes like me.