The Best Digital Piano Keyboards for Beginners in 2024

In this review, I’ll help you choose an 88-key digital piano keyboard that has the greatest bang for your buck. A digital piano that has a great key action, studio quality sound, robust build, with versatile connectivity options and a quality musical instrument you can easily use up to grade 8 and beyond if you are taking music certification from examining boards such as the Royal Schools of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Trinity College London. A $2,000 digital piano isn’t twice as good as one that costs just $1,000. Yet piano students will quickly outgrow and feel dissatisfied with “cheap” keyboards making you penny wise but pound foolish. Here are the biggest value for money 88-key digital piano keyboards I personally recommend to my music students and they cost just hundreds and not thousands.

Kawai ES-120 - $949

The first piano on my list is the ES-120 from Kawai. Just like a traditional acoustic grand piano, it has 88 weighted graded hammer action keys with 4 levels of configurable touch sensitivity. 192 note polyphony ensures you won’t encounter note dropouts even if you play ridiculously complex classical pieces. Half damper & triple pedal support let advanced pianists be truly expressive. It has 25 studio quality sounds, including Shigeru Kawai’s renowned flagship SK-EX concert grand piano used in music conservatories and performance halls worldwide. With various acoustic and electric pianos, organ, pads and bass instruments, this digital piano has got you covered for classical, pop, jazz and even world music.

These sounds can be layered or split across the keyboard and you can transpose your playing to match any singer’s key. For those with ambition to be a piano tech, Kawai has a Virtual Technician feature that lets you configure 17 characteristics of the piano such as the touch curve, damper & string resonance, damper noise, topboard simulation, fall-back noise and key-off effect. A powerful 20W dual-speaker amplification system is perfect for playing at home or in a small group. A pair of ¼” stereo outputs let you connect to external mixers and amplifiers if you need to perform for large audiences. For quiet practice or lessons, there are 2 headphone jacks - a ¼” and a mini-jack. To record your performances, there’s an onboard song recorder. For use with piano learning apps and music production software, this keyboard comes with both wired USB and wireless MIDI. To jam along with backing tracks on your iPad or smartphone, you can stream audio wirelessly to the onboard speakers via Bluetooth. The ES-120 comes in 3 colours - black, white and light grey with matching wooden furniture stands to match your home decor. The keyboard unit is portable at just 12kg if you need to bring it out. You can find out the full specifications and the best price for this together with my recommended digital pianos, keyboards, and music-learning app right here.

Roland FP-30X - $699

The 2nd digital piano keyboard on my list is the FP-30X from Roland. It has 88 weighted and graded hammer action keys with 6 configurable touch sensitivity settings. At 256 notes, this piano has the highest note polyphony on my list ensuring there will be no note drop offs even when you play lush sustained passages. There are 56 onboard sounds including the legendary Hamburg Steinway concert grand piano, electric pianos, organs, synths & pads. Using a combination of advanced sampling and mathematical modelling, Roland is able to replicate the intricate nuance of a traditional acoustic grand piano.

This keyboard offers the most onboard sounds compared to the competitors on my list and you can access more sounds via Roland’s companion mobile app. For advanced players, there is half-damper and triple pedal support and the voices can be layered or split across the keyboard. When accompanying singers, the key transpose feature is invaluable. If you want to tweak your piano tone, Roland’s Piano Designer app allows you to tweak string, damper and key-off resonance. An easy to use single track song recorder lets you record your performance for review and 2 headphone jacks - a ¼” and a mini jack lets you practise silently without disturbing those around you.

At 22 watts, the FP-30X has the most powerful amplifiers on this list and it powers a pair of speakers that easily fills a large living room in a home. If you need to connect to external amplifiers for a large concert, a pair of stereo ¼” outputs is available. The USB port is great for use with music learning apps and music production software as it transmits and receives both MIDI and digital audio. I personally prefer a less cluttered wireless MIDI & audio connection to my music apps and software using Bluetooth which this keyboard has. The FP-30X is available in black or white as well as a matching wooden furniture stand. Due to its more powerful amplifiers, speakers and greater feature set, the Roland weighs the heaviest in this list at 14.8kg, making it less portable. You can find out the full specifications and the best price for this together with my recommended digital pianos, keyboards, and music-learning app right here.

Yamaha P-225 - $649

The 3rd keyboard on my list is the newest kid on the block. The Yamaha P-225 has a weighted and graded hammer key action with 4 configurable touch sensitivity settings. 192 note polyphony ensures that the default world renowned Yamaha CFX concert grand piano sample is rich, detailed and resonant. You  get 24 onboard voices including acoustic and electric pianos, organ, harpsichord, strings and pads. These voices can be layered for a richer tone and split across the keyboard for greater versatility. Triple pedal and half-damper is supported, essential for advanced pianists playing complex jazz & classical music. The P-225 gets the lite version of Yamaha’s time-tested Virtual Resonance Modelling which simulates damper and sympathetic string resonance in addition to key-off samples giving the piano tones an extremely realistic sound. Various reverbs let you simulate the resonance of a concert hall, a cathedral or an intimate small room and a transpose feature allows you to match the key of a singer.

Yamaha included a 2 track song recorder to capture your performance for review and there are 20 onboard rhythms which makes playing in time more interesting than just using a metronome. Yamaha’s Smart Pianist app is one of the most polished in this list with its well-thought out user interface. Don’t let the less powerful 14 watts onboard amplified speakers fool you. It was more than sufficient when I performed with this keyboard in a small cafe. For larger audiences, a pair of ¼” stereo outputs allow you to connect to external professional mixing decks and speakers. For the times you would like to practise quietly, this keyboard has two robust ¼” headphone jacks - which is what I prefer over mini-jacks.

The built-in Bluetooth connection lets you stream music from your mobile devices to play along with and the USB port transmits both MIDI and digital audio which is perfect for use with music learning apps and music production software. The P-225 is available in black or white with an optional wooden furniture stand. The keyboard itself is lightweight at just 11.5kg - perfect for chucking it into the car or carrying it on public transport. You can find out the full specifications and the best price for this together with my recommended digital pianos, keyboards, and music-learning app right here.

Casio PX-S1100 - $579

The Casio PX-S1100 may be the most affordable digital piano on this list but it is no slouch. It has 88 weighted and graded hammer action keys with 6 configurable levels of touch sensitivity. The 192 note polyphony coupled with Casio’s latest AIR sound chip ensures the 18 studio quality onboard sounds are rich and detailed. These sounds can be layered or split across the keyboard and to further tweak the piano tones, you can configure string & damper resonance, key noise and damper noise. Half-damper and triple pedals for soft and sostenuto are available for advanced pianists. The transpose feature is essential for playing along with a singer while a 2 track song recorder lets you record and review your playing.

2 mini headphone jacks lets you practise without waking up your neighbours but when you want to fill your home with the serenade of tinkling ivories, a pair of 16 watt amplified speakers will not disappoint. At just 11.2kg, the Casio is the lightest and most portable in this list. It can be powered with AA batteries, making it perfect to bring it everywhere with you. If you are performing to large crowds, a pair of stereo ¼” outputs lets you connect to professional speakers and Casio’s Music Space app allows you to configure the piano with the bigger visual real estate of your smartphone or iPad. A wired USB port gives you a MIDI connection to music learning apps and music production software. With an optional Bluetooth adaptor, you get cable-free wireless MIDI connection and audio streaming from your smart devices to the onboard speakers. The PX-S1100 comes in red, black and white as well as matching wooden furniture stands to match your home decor as needed.

You can find out the full specifications and the best price for the keyboards mentioned above together with my recommended digital pianos, keyboards, and music-learning app right here.

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