zmk VS kmk_firmware

Compare zmk vs kmk_firmware and see what are their differences.

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zmk kmk_firmware
161 67
4,088 1,738
1.8% 0.7%
9.1 6.7
8 days ago 2 months ago
C Python
MIT License GNU General Public License v3.0 or later
The number of mentions indicates the total number of mentions that we've tracked plus the number of user suggested alternatives.
Stars - the number of stars that a project has on GitHub. Growth - month over month growth in stars.
Activity is a relative number indicating how actively a project is being developed. Recent commits have higher weight than older ones.
For example, an activity of 9.0 indicates that a project is amongst the top 10% of the most actively developed projects that we are tracking.

zmk

Posts with mentions or reviews of zmk. We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives and similar projects. The last one was on 2025-11-10.
  • Toucan Wireless Split Keyboard with Touchpad
    2 projects | news.ycombinator.com | 10 Nov 2025
    Wireless keyboards (like the one linked) typically use ZMK instead to my knowledge. It's similar to QMK—so much of the knowledge still applies—but it isn't 1:1.

    https://zmk.dev/

  • ZMK Firmware: Modern, open source keyboard firmware
    1 project | news.ycombinator.com | 14 Aug 2024
  • ZMK: Open-Source Firmware for Customizable Wireless Keyboards
    1 project | news.ycombinator.com | 13 Aug 2024
  • Not an iPad Pro Review: Why iPadOS Still Doesn't Get the Basics Right
    3 projects | news.ycombinator.com | 13 May 2024
    I definitely think you should be able to add keyboard layouts at a software level on iPadOS and iOS, but one possible solution to the problem right now is using a programmable keyboard using QMK [1], ZMK [2], or some other open-source firmware. There's even a usb-usb converter [3] that will convert keystrokes from any keyboard into ones that you map using TMK or QMK, so you can use your own.

    [1] https://qmk.fm/

    [2] https://zmk.dev/

    [3] https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69169.0

  • ZMK + Cirque trackpad?
    1 project | /r/ErgoMechKeyboards | 29 Oct 2023
    I saw this same question was posted half a year ago and was wondering if anyone knew of any updates. Looks like this development branch of ZMK is stalled.
  • Nice!view not working when leds are turned on?
    2 projects | /r/crkbd | 27 Jun 2023
    Not sure which information you mean, but here goes. Nice!Nano v2 Pinout (shows Arduino pin mapping). Nice!View Getting Started (explains how to remap the CS pin for a non-native shield like Corne). The overlay file where "cs-gpios" is set for the nice_view_adapter in ZMK. If you look at the Corne Schematic, you'll see as shown in the labels in this image that the bottom two pins (B2, B4, B5, B6) don't appear to be used for a column, row, or the OLED header. But the only way to really verify is to pull the KiCAD file for your Corne version and check yourself. I think D0 ("Data") should work. It appears to go to an optional I2C connection.
  • Steps for troubleshooting a new build Corne? (First timer)
    1 project | /r/olkb | 22 Jun 2023
    if you built the firmware using the corne shield that might be the issue. the splitkb aurora corne has a different pinout.
  • Options for Chocofi keyboard
    2 projects | /r/keyboards | 15 Jun 2023
    Depending on a controller you will be programming features of your keyboard using QMK or ZMK (there are alternatives but these two are the most popular). You can check documentation of these tools regarding display but some nice sum up is in the related article on splitkb: https://docs.splitkb.com/hc/en-us/articles/360010533820-What-can-you-use-an-OLED-display-for-
  • Addicted to moonlander but in need of something more portable
    1 project | /r/ergodox | 11 Jun 2023
    corne-ish zen, the group buy is long over but there is an extras round coming up. I suggest going on the discord if you're interested in knowing when they'll be available for sale. it is a prebuilt so you can just buy it whole and have it ready to use out of the box and runs on ZMK.
  • Any new Ploopies? :-)
    1 project | /r/ploopy | 7 Jun 2023
    I would be pretty interested in a wireless Ploopy. Especially if it runs ZMK since that is what I currently use for a split keyboard. It would be pretty awesome to link the macros and layers between my keyboard and mouse if the mouse could be a second peripheral "half" of the keyboard. Admittedly, ZMK's mouse support is still kinda beta, but the wireless support is amazing.

kmk_firmware

Posts with mentions or reviews of kmk_firmware. We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives and similar projects. The last one was on 2023-05-04.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing zmk and kmk_firmware you can also consider the following projects:

qmk_firmware - Open-source keyboard firmware for Atmel AVR and Arm USB families

qmk - My fork of QMK firmware with nrf5x support (see project wiki)

MK32 - Keyboard firmware for ESP32 microcontrollers

vial-gui - Vial is an open-source cross-platform (Windows, Linux and Mac) GUI and a QMK fork for configuring your keyboard in real time.

dactyl-keyboard - Parameterized ergonomic keyboard

SaaSHub - Software Alternatives and Reviews
SaaSHub helps you find the best software and product alternatives
www.saashub.com
featured