Digital Piano Price Points and Ranges

Digital pianos have become a far more increasingly viable alternative to acoustic pianos. In the last 10 years, the technology used in digital pianos has progressed by leaps and bounds. More and more musicians, beginners, or hobbyists are sampling the digital side of the industry due to a high level of versatility, overall high performance capabilities, and lower price points in comparison to acoustic pianos. A number of $2000 digital pianos are now giving a similar musical experience to those of acoustic pianos in the $3500 – 5000 range. There are now quite a few companies and brands designing and manufacturing pianos at a variety of price points. All of which are specific to a certain playing level, and needs of the musician.

Digital Piano Prices: The Entry level

$500 – $1000

One of the largest buying segments in the digital piano industry is the entry-level pianist. The pianos in this range are mainly focused on providing low cost alternatives that appeal to the masses wanting to start learning the piano. These pianos all have 88 key weighted actions and have at least 3 levels of sensitivity, but do range up to 16 volume levels per key. Some models are more focused on enticing features, voices, and effects that attract casual players, while others have very few features and tend to focus on having the most authentic tone and realistic key action.

Pianos in this range:

  • Casio
  • Korg
  • Adagio
  • Viscount
  • Kawai

Digital Piano Prices: The Mid Range

$1000 – $2500

This category of digital pianos is geared mainly towards players that have a couple years under their belt in learning the piano, or are beginners looking for a more long term option. In this price point you can expect to find pianos that are performing at an equal to or higher level than most entry level acoustic pianos. Some digitals at this level will start to include very well engineered actions using higher quality keytops, and let-off technologies. Some pianos will start to combine highly customizable tones and accompaniment features and will overall be much more versatile than entry level pianos. Pianos in this category will be able to take you from 6 to 10 years in progressing through lessons. For most, this category hits the sweet spot between price and performance.

Pianos in this range:

  • Casio
  • Kawai
  • Roland
  • Yamaha
  • Kurzweil

Digital Piano Prices: The High End

$2500 – $5000

The pianos in this price point play at extremely high performance levels. These pianos attract professional musicians that are wanting the most authentic playing piano that is volume conscious, or musicians that need to have high levels of customization and top of the line features. Pianos at this level often start to use extremely similar, and sometimes identical materials and designs to that of an upright or grand piano. In this quality level you can expect to start to see fully wooden key actions, and spruce soundboard amplification systems. The attention to detail and overall sound quality in these pianos is comparable to 7k – 10k acoustic pianos, but with all the conveniences of modern digital design. There are very few compromises taken in the design and manufacturing of these instruments. 

Pianos in this price range:

  • Kawai
  • Korg
  • Nord
  • Roland
  • Yamaha

Whether you have yet to locate middle C, or have just finished writing your first symphony, there is a digital piano out there for you. Understanding digital piano prices are an important stage of research, and once you understand what types of instruments you should be looking at, it can help to quickly narrow the field of options. Digital pianos are becoming increasingly popular in music schools, universities and recording studios for a long list of reasons. Don’t be afraid of starting off with something in a lower price point if you have the intention of continuing on and upgrading in a few years. Most piano dealers will offer a set trade in value within a certain timeframe. Take a look at what your needs and wants are, and start doing some research into the price point of your choice. Do keep in mind that you will be spending a fair bit of time with the instrument you settle down on, so keep an open mind and have fun piano hunting!