Comparison

Here you can find my thoughts on other thumb layouts and hopefully, a charitable description of them.

Aptmak

aptmak (Eve)
  v w f p b  j l u y '
  r s t h k  x n a i o
  ; c g d q  z m , . /
               e                   

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 24.36%
  Rol: 47.84%   (In/Out: 30.52% | 17.31%)
  One:  3.26%   (In/Out:  2.38% |  0.88%)
  Rtl: 51.10%   (In/Out: 32.91% | 18.19%)
  Red:  5.75%   (Bad:     1.75%)

  SFB: 1.10%
  SFS: 5.56%    (Red/Alt: 2.48% | 3.08%)

  LH/RH: 42.79% | 57.21%

Made by Apsu, one of the main creators of the beloved Canary (2nd most loved layout).

Aptmak has been the go-to option for thumb layout recommendation in AKL discord server. It is the most established thumb layout and has had many users using it full time. It's design goal, as I understand it, is to make a thumb layout based on Colemak and usable for 23332 keyboards.

While its stats on SFS and SFB are not as impressive as Dusk, it's a good choice for people who dislike LSB and don't want to be bothered with relearning to press space with another thumb.

Bunya

bunya (GalileoBlues)
  b l m c z  j f o u ,
  n r t d p  y h a e i
  x q v g w  ; k ' / .
        s                   

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 33.87%
  Rol: 45.23%   (In/Out: 19.87% | 25.36%)
  One:  2.61%   (In/Out:  0.45% |  2.16%)
  Rtl: 47.84%   (In/Out: 20.32% | 27.52%)
  Red:  2.00%   (Bad:     0.34%)

  SFB: 0.55%
  SFS: 4.15%    (Red/Alt: 0.61% | 3.54%)

  LH/RH: 48.13% | 51.87%

Made by the creator of the beloved Gallium (3rd most loved layout).

Bunya is based on Gallium and is currently the best thumb S layout that GalileoBlues has as of April 2024.

Stats wise, it's got SFS and SFB that rival Dusk with a higher focus on alternation. It has lower redirection and likely more annoying scissors such as LV (involve) and BR (break). From a quick glance, it should have a similar 2u SFS as Dusk.

Some obvious cons are that RL SFB is unfortuately a true SFB that can't be alt-fingered and that double thumb ss is quite common (less, miss, across, pass, guess).

Overall, Bunya is a very solid thumb layout and likely one of the best thumb S layouts to date.

Pine-y

pine-y (infiniteplayer)
  q l c m k  ' f o u ;  
  n r s t w  p h a e i ,
  j x z g v  b d . - /  
               y                     

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 32.43%
  Rol: 43.56%   (In/Out: 19.38% | 24.19%)
  One:  2.90%   (In/Out:  0.63% |  2.27%)
  Rtl: 46.46%   (In/Out: 20.01% | 26.45%)
  Red:  3.57%   (Bad:     0.28%)

  SFB: 0.78%
  SFS: 5.36%    (Red/Alt: 1.30% | 4.06%)

  LH/RH: 42.51% | 57.49%

This layout is based on Pine-v4 from ClemenPine. It boasts the highest speed rating and 3rd most comfort rating on the layout battle website.

RST homerow is familiar to many as it is the same homerow found on Colemak as well, and I personally believe that having T on index feels quite good as there are many words that end with T, promoting inroll that ends on the strongest finger.

Aside from BO scissor (about), there really aren't many scissors in this layout, achieved by having 3 dead letters on left hand pinky, ring, and middle fingers. 2u SFS may be a bit higher than Dusk due to k__g (looking, thinking) and m_g (might) if that's something you care about.

All the while having competitive SFS and SFB stats. Overall, this is the layout that I like the most out of the 3 that we've discussed thus far.

If you want to use Pine-y, I would recommend that you do

q l c m k  ' f o u .  
n r s t w  p h a e i
j x z g v  b d ; / ,  
           y

Sturdy-thumbn

sturdy_thumbn (Oxey)
  v b l f q  / g o u ,
  s t r h k  y c a e i
  z j x d m  p w ' ; .
        n                   

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 34.45%
  Rol: 43.03%   (In/Out: 22.23% | 20.80%)
  One:  2.92%   (In/Out:  0.40% |  2.52%)
  Rtl: 45.95%   (In/Out: 22.63% | 23.32%)
  Red:  2.91%   (Bad:     0.30%)

  SFB: 0.54%
  SFS: 4.57%    (Red/Alt: 0.91% | 3.65%)

  LH/RH: 48.25% | 51.75%

Made by the creator of Sturdy, the 4th most loved layout on AKL discord, and Oxey recommends sturdy_thumbn for those who seek a thumb layout variant based on Sturdy.

By having N on thumb, it addresses the K scissor-related issues that people have with Sturdy. Additionally, it now has one dead key Q on the left index, which drastically lowers the finger with the highest finger speed on Sturdy.

Sturdy-thumbn is an overall improvement on Sturdy and with SFS and SFB stats comparable to Dusk as well. I, however, do not like the fact that ML (almost) and PO (people, open, stop, hope, top) as I found these stretches are not really comfortable on colstag (Piantor Pro).

SturdE

sturdE (Oxey)
  v m l c p  ; x o , /
  s t r d y  f n a i u
  q k j w g  b h ' . z
               e                   

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 28.12%
  Rol: 49.23%   (In/Out: 23.53% | 25.70%)
  One:  2.49%   (In/Out:  1.51% |  0.98%)
  Rtl: 51.72%   (In/Out: 25.04% | 26.68%)
  Red:  2.83%   (Bad:     0.33%)

  SFB: 0.57%
  SFS: 5.15%    (Red/Alt: 2.16% | 2.99%)

  LH/RH: 43.36% | 56.64%

Oxey doesn't recommend this over sturdy-thumbn and I can see why: it doesn't really address most issues that people have with Sturdy. I agree with Oxey here.

SNTH

SNTH
  x p d m q  = y o u ,
  s n t h v  g c a e i
  f b k l j  z w ' / .
        r                   

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 34.23%
  Rol: 43.69%   (In/Out: 26.41% | 17.28%)
  One:  3.01%   (In/Out:  0.53% |  2.49%)
  Rtl: 46.70%   (In/Out: 26.94% | 19.77%)
  Red:  2.48%   (Bad:     0.39%)

  SFB: 0.40%
  SFS: 4.65%    (Red/Alt: 0.70% | 3.95%)

  LH/RH: 49.77% | 50.23%

Made by Hands Down creator, a common presence on AKL subreddit.

It is similar to Dusk, and so it makes more sense to compare them.

Pros:

Much lower LSB than Dusk.
No corner key like W in Dusk.

Subjective:

More alternation and less roll than Dusk

Cons:

Similar SFB, but higher SFS.
MB full scissor (number).
Some may be bothered by the PL (simple) and LD (should) motions.
More 2u SFS (fix, public, small).
More half scissors (nk, m_k as in make).

I wouldn't recommend SNTH largely for the same reason that I wouldn't recommend Dusk_optimized.

Snth-wuv

snth-wuv (ddn)
  b r d l q  ' p o , w
  s n t h /  y c a i u
  z x k m j  g f ; . v
               e                   

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 31.30%
  Rol: 44.92%   (In/Out: 26.12% | 18.80%)
  One:  3.75%   (In/Out:  1.10% |  2.64%)
  Rtl: 48.66%   (In/Out: 27.22% | 21.44%)
  Red:  4.35%   (Bad:     2.04%)

  SFB: 0.48%
  SFS: 3.69%    (Red/Alt: 0.87% | 2.82%)

  LH/RH: 45.18% | 54.82%

Made by ddn, a really helpful person in AKL discord.

Snth-wuv is impressive in a way that it has similar SFB but with noticeably lower SFS than Dusk.

Some cons may be:

RK full scissors and GO stretch as they are quite common (work and go)
Heavy ring RNX stack.

Strand

strand (CN)
  v m l f q  / y o u .
  s t r h b  g c a e i
  z j x d k  p w ' ; ,
        n                   

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 34.84%
  Rol: 43.08%   (In/Out: 21.62% | 21.46%)
  One:  2.93%   (In/Out:  0.40% |  2.53%)
  Rtl: 46.01%   (In/Out: 22.02% | 23.99%)
  Red:  2.90%   (Bad:     0.30%)

  SFB: 0.52%
  SFS: 4.17%    (Red/Alt: 0.91% | 3.26%)

  LH/RH: 48.25% | 51.75%

Made by val0rance, a frequenter on AKL discord.

Having 3 dead keys just like Pine-y and sturdy-thumbn ensures that there isn't going to be awkward scissors, but it still has LK (talk) and PO (top and people) full index-middle stretch on the index.

Overall, it is a decent layout and in many ways reminds me of sturdy-thumbn by Oxey.

Zanycat

zanycat (ClemenPine)
  v y l g q  ' f o u p
  t s r c m  b h a i n
  j z x w /  k d . , ;
               e                   

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 26.43%
  Rol: 45.37%   (In/Out: 15.88% | 29.50%)
  One:  4.49%   (In/Out:  1.22% |  3.27%)
  Rtl: 49.86%   (In/Out: 17.09% | 32.77%)
  Red:  7.74%   (Bad:     2.51%)

  SFB: 0.65%
  SFS: 3.63%    (Red/Alt: 1.63% | 2.00%)

  LH/RH: 37.45% | 62.55%

Made by ClemenPine with a goal to minimize SFS and SFB. It has slightly higher SFB than Dusk, but does achieve lower SFS.

ClemenPine themselves does not seem to recommend this layout. I agree with them here because of the common PI scissor (piece and stupid) and SY on ring is probably suboptimal (system).

Racket

racket (GalileoBlues)
  f l d w x  / b o u ,
  s h t c y  q n a e i
  j m k g v  z p ' ; .
        r                   

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 30.46%
  Rol: 47.72%   (In/Out: 23.12% | 24.60%)
  One:  2.02%   (In/Out:  1.00% |  1.02%)
  Rtl: 49.74%   (In/Out: 24.12% | 25.61%)
  Red:  3.63%   (Bad:     0.42%)

  SFB: 0.40%
  SFS: 4.34%    (Red/Alt: 1.24% | 3.10%)

  LH/RH: 49.06% | 50.94%

Made by the creator of Gallium (2nd most loved layout on AKL discord).

This layout is solid all around, but LHM ring certainly isn't for everyone due to its high movement and 2u SFS, in addition to the LK scissor (talk).

Outrroll

outrroll (yappi_)
  x l d f q  ' y o u ,
  s h t n b  g c a e i
  v m k p z  j w ; / .
        r                   

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 34.91%
  Rol: 43.71%   (In/Out: 17.25% | 26.46%)
  One:  2.96%   (In/Out:  0.33% |  2.63%)
  Rtl: 46.67%   (In/Out: 17.58% | 29.09%)
  Red:  2.52%   (Bad:     0.41%)

  SFB: 0.45%
  SFS: 3.96%    (Red/Alt: 0.64% | 3.33%)

  LH/RH: 49.67% | 50.33%

Made by yappi, a frequenter on AKL discord.

This layout has similar SFS and SFB as Dusk, and it doesn't have the W index corner key nor the LSB that Dusk has.

What's the catch? The catch to achieve all that is the heavy and high movement LHM ring, in addition to the LK and SM scissors (talk and small).

Is the trade worth it? for me it is not worth it, but maybe it is for you!

Snert

snert (CN)
  v p l g q  j f o u ,
  s n h t k  y c a e i
  x b m d z  / w ' ; .
        r                   

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 32.64%
  Rol: 45.30%   (In/Out: 22.18% | 23.12%)
  One:  2.71%   (In/Out:  0.37% |  2.34%)
  Rtl: 48.01%   (In/Out: 22.55% | 25.46%)
  Red:  2.59%   (Bad:     0.11%)

  SFB: 0.39%
  SFS: 4.95%    (Red/Alt: 1.16% | 3.79%)

  LH/RH: 49.73% | 50.27%

Made by val0rance, a frequenter on AKL discord.

Some people like having T on index, and Snert doesn't have the high index movement that some other index T layouts have.

I think we should swap BP to address bl (able) and mp (important) though, but then SP scissor gets created (space).

RSTHD

RSTHD
  j c y f k  z l , u q =
  r s t h d  m n a i o '
  / v g p b  x w . ; -  
               e                     

MONKEYRACER:
  Alt: 24.64%
  Rol: 49.17%   (In/Out: 31.72% | 17.45%)
  One:  3.37%   (In/Out:  2.66% |  0.71%)
  Rtl: 52.54%   (In/Out: 34.38% | 18.16%)
  Red:  4.36%   (Bad:     0.27%)

  SFB: 0.96%
  SFS: 5.91%    (Red/Alt: 3.48% | 2.43%)

  LH/RH: 43.00% | 57.00%

RSTHD, created by Simon in 2016, is the oldest thumb layout on the list before any of the modern analyzers and metrics come into existence.

Its SFS is on the higher end due to GT (-ght) and MN (-ment) stacks. v_r (very) skipgram pinky-ring half scissor and by full index-middle stretch can be too much for some. All in all, I think it is a decent layout especially given that it was made in 2016.

Dusk Keyboard Layout