Best keyboards for arthritis on a Mac (2026)

If arthritis makes typing on a flat keyboard uncomfortable, the best first step for most Mac users is a gently curved board with a palm rest, like Logitech Wave Keys for Mac at $69.99. If you need your hands further apart, a split keyboard such as the Kinesis Freestyle2 Blue for Mac comes next. And whatever keyboard you pick, the biggest change you can make is to press fewer keys in the first place.

This guide is about equipment and setup, not treatment. If your joints are painful, swollen or stiff, a doctor or an occupational therapist can look at how you work and suggest changes for your hands specifically.

#What arthritis means for typing

The CDC describes arthritis as a general term for conditions that affect the joints and the tissues around them, with joint pain and stiffness as the usual symptoms. It estimates that about 54 million U.S. adults have it. The NHS notes that it can affect the wrists, hands and fingers, and that movement in affected joints can become difficult.

For typing, that usually shows up in a few ways: reaching for keys far from the home row, holding modifier keys down for shortcuts, and keeping your wrists bent for long stretches. A keyboard can help with the last one. Mac settings help with the second. Dictation helps with all of them, because it removes most of the keystrokes.

#What to look for

• Your wrists stay straight. OSHA's computer workstation guidance recommends keeping the keyboard directly in front of you, elbows about level with it, and wrists straight and in line with your forearms. It also says split and tented designs can support that posture, while noting that research hasn't proven they prevent discomfort or injury.
• A Mac layout. Command, Option and the media keys where macOS expects them. One less thing to remap.
• A shape you can adjust. A fixed curve is easy to adopt. An adjustable split lets you move each half to where your arms fall.
• Support for your palms. A cushioned rest takes the weight off your wrists between bursts of typing.
• Easy charging or long battery life. Small fiddly cables and coin cells are their own hand problem.

#The keyboards

Prices are from each maker's site, checked October 31, 2026.

Logitech Wave Keys for Mac: the easy first step

A compact keyboard with a gentle wave shape and a memory-foam palm rest, with Mac-specific keys and layout. It connects over Bluetooth and switches between a Mac, iPad and iPhone with Easy-Switch keys. It looks and feels like a normal keyboard, so there's almost nothing to relearn. At $69.99 it's the cheapest way to find out whether a curved board suits your hands.

Logitech MX Keys S for Mac: if you like a flat keyboard

Not an ergonomic shape. It's on this list because its keys are dished and low profile, it has a Mac layout, and Smart Actions in Logi Options+ let one key run several steps. Fewer chorded shortcuts can matter more than shape when finger joints are stiff. Pair it with a separate palm rest.

Kinesis Freestyle2 Blue for Mac: an adjustable split

Two halves joined by a pivot tether, which you can disconnect for up to 9 inches of separation. It has a Mac layout, a zero-degree slope, and optional tenting kits (V3, or VIP3 with palm supports) that raise the inner edges to 5, 10 or 15 degrees. Kinesis lists a 60-day trial, which helps when you're not sure a split will suit you. Bluetooth only; the site sells online to U.S. customers.

ZSA Moonlander: fully split and programmable

Two fully separate halves you can place at shoulder width, with tenting, an adjustable thumb module and up to 32 layers of remappable keys. It works with macOS without drivers. The appeal for sore hands is that you can move frequent keys (Backspace, Return, Command) under your thumbs. The cost is a learning curve: expect slower typing for a while.

Kinesis Advantage360: the deep end

A contoured keyboard with curved key wells, split modules with three-way tenting, and thumb clusters for Space, Backspace and Enter. Mac keycaps are included and the SmartSet app runs on macOS. It's the most expensive option here and the biggest change from a normal keyboard. Worth it for some people; try a cheaper split first.

#Mac settings that save your joints

Before or alongside a new keyboard, open System Settings › Accessibility › Keyboard. Apple's keyboard accessibility settings include:

• Sticky Keys: press Shift, Option or Command one at a time instead of holding them together. Command-Shift-4 becomes three single taps.
• Slow Keys: adds a delay before a key press counts, which cuts accidental presses if your fingers rest heavily.
• Accessibility Keyboard: an onscreen keyboard with typing suggestions, useful on bad days when pressing keys at all is the problem.

#Bonus pick: type less with Sayburst

We make Sayburst, so read this section with that in mind. It isn't a keyboard. It's the thing that makes the keyboard matter less.

Sayburst is a Mac app for dictation. Put your cursor anywhere you can type, hold fn, say what you want to write, and let go. The text appears with punctuation and capitals, and without the "um"s. If holding a key is uncomfortable, tap fn once to start and once to finish, or move the trigger to a mouse's middle or side button.

A reply to a group chat, said out loud:

"Can't make Thursday, um, my physio moved to the afternoon, but I can do Saturday morning, no, Saturday after ten. Does that work for everyone?"

What lands in Messages:

Can't make Thursday, my physio moved to the afternoon, but I can do Saturday after ten. Does that work for everyone?

That's 120 or so keystrokes you didn't make. Over a day of email, messages and documents, the keyboard becomes the tool for shortcuts and short fixes, and your voice does the writing. Speech recognition runs on your Mac, and Sayburst is $29 once after a 7-day free trial. It needs an Apple silicon Mac and macOS 14 or later. For the full setup, see how to dictate on a Mac.

#A setup that works with your hands

1. Pick one keyboard and give it two weeks. Your hands need time to settle into a new shape before you judge it.
2. Turn on Sticky Keys if shortcuts are where it hurts.
3. Move long writing to dictation. Email, documents and messages are the bulk of most people's typing. Our guide to dictation for RSI and carpal tunnel covers a hands-light setup that applies here too.
4. Teach the dictation app your words. Names and jargon you add once come out spelled right, so you aren't correcting them by hand. See custom vocabulary.
5. Rest the mouse too. Apple's Voice Control lets you click and scroll by voice. Voice Control vs Dictation explains how the two fit together.

#Limits

No keyboard on this list is a medical device, and OSHA is clear that the evidence for ergonomic keyboards preventing injury is not conclusive. Split and contoured boards take practice, and some people go back to a flat keyboard. Dictation has limits too: it's a poor fit for a shared open office, and you'll still edit by keyboard sometimes. The aim is fewer keystrokes and a setup you can keep using, not a perfect one.

Questions people ask

What is the best keyboard for arthritic hands on a Mac?

Start with an affordable curved board like Logitech Wave Keys for Mac ($69.99) and see how your hands feel. If you want your hands further apart, try the Kinesis Freestyle2 Blue for Mac ($119). The best one is the one that suits the joints that hurt, so try before you commit if you can.

Is an ergonomic keyboard good for wrist pain?

OSHA says split and tented keyboards can help keep your wrists in a neutral position, but also that research hasn't shown they prevent discomfort or injury. Treat a keyboard as part of a comfortable setup, and see a doctor or occupational therapist about pain that lasts.

Which keyboard is best for tennis elbow?

No keyboard treats tennis elbow. OSHA's workstation advice is to keep the keyboard directly in front of you with your elbows close to your body, and a split board lets you place each half where your arms rest naturally. A clinician can tell you what matters for your elbow.

Do I need a Mac-specific keyboard?

It saves effort. A Mac layout puts Command and Option where macOS expects them, so shortcuts don't need remapping. Wave Keys for Mac, MX Keys S for Mac and Freestyle2 Blue for Mac all ship with Mac keys.

Can I type less instead of buying a new keyboard?

Yes. Dictation moves most of the writing to your voice, which leaves the keyboard for shortcuts and short edits. Sayburst does this in any Mac app: hold or tap one key, talk, and clean text lands at your cursor.