Digital Piano Under $1,000: Piano Made Affordable

If you want to buy a digital piano for under $1,000 (£900/€1,000), there is a diverse selection of portable pianos and home pianos. The closer your budget gets to the $1,000 mark, the higher the quality of the keyboard and playback system.

Digital Piano Under $1,000 – For Home or Mobile Use?

If you’re planning to spend up to $1,000 on a new instrument, there are several models to choose from. If the digital piano is intended to have a permanent place in your home, we recommend a console-style model. With few low-budget exceptions, these instruments typically include a matching stand with a triple pedal unit and a built-in key cover.

If you need an instrument that’s easy to take to rehearsals, lessons, or gigs, a portable piano is the better choice. A universal stand will complete the setup, and in many cases, the included standard sustain pedal will be sufficient for the time being.

Although inexpensive digital pianos often resemble upright pianos, every additional feature increases the cost. Therefore, to manufacture a digital piano for under $1,000, savings have to start somewhere—and they typically begin with the cabinet. For example, the back panel of the stand is often lower than the top of the instrument, creating a visible gap between the stand and the body.

You can generally expect decent digital piano quality starting at around $650. Instruments in this price range typically offer:

• Convincing sampled grand piano sounds
• Weighted keys with hammer action and a textured surface for better grip (“Ebony/Ivory Feel”)
• Triple pedal unit (soft, sostenuto, and sustain)
• Key cover, which is now standard on most entry-level home pianos
• At least 10 sounds
• Polyphony ranging from a respectable 120 voices (e.g., Korg) to a generous 256 voices (e.g., Casio)
• MIDI recorder with two tracks and built-in practice songs
• Availability in two or three color finishes

If you’re shopping at an even lower price point, there are still a few good options available. Learn more in the PIANOO Buyer’s Guide: Digital Pianos Under $500.

Ebony and Ivory, Playing in Perfect Harmony…

Even with a digital piano for under $1,000, you are getting features such as a key top coating. This makes the keys feel almost like a real piano. Not all models that we recommend here have this Ebony/Ivory feature, nor it is the only decisive factor for a good playing feel on a digital piano. Without a doubt, the hammer action mechanism deserves more attention in this regard. Here, all recommended models feature an 88-key graded hammer action keyboard.

Good Sound and Playability

The quality of keyboards in this price range is generally good. We can say the same about the sounds, of which the offer is improved compared to the class below $500. A digital piano for under $1,000 not only comes with more sounds but also with more depth and expressiveness.

Basically, a digital piano between $500 and $1,000 has a split or dual mode that lets you play two sounds simultaneously. The polyphony performance is correspondingly higher here, with at least 120 voices, often 192 or even more.

In addition, digital pianos of this price range usually offer a duet or duo function. This divides the keyboard into two identical areas, which makes it ideal for playing with four hands in piano lessons.

Learning and Practicing with a Digital Piano

Speaking of piano lessons: A digital piano for under $1,000 frequently comes with helpful functions such as a metronome or a recorder. Furthermore, you’ll find rhythms and stored music pieces for learning and practicing.

Digital Piano Design – Traditional or Modern?

In the case of digital pianos, the cabinets are relatively small but fully equipped with three pedals and a key cover. You can usually pull this out of the upper part of the case, at least of those in traditional digital piano design. Here, examples include the Yamaha Arius YDP-145 or the Casio AP-270. Opposing that, the Yamaha Arius S-35/55 or the Korg C1 Air are somewhat more compact and more modern in design: The key cover serves as a music stand when opened. This practical solution also looks a bit smarter overall. Matter of taste.

Made for Home Use: Digital Piano Under $1,000

Manufacturers such as Casio and Yamaha offer different home piano models in this price range. You can choose between spending either around $700 or around $1,000. If you go for the more expensive model, you will almost always get a more powerful built-in playback system. On the other hand, differences in keyboard or grand piano sound are less decisive. Further, some of the more expensive models have additional sounds such as strings and pads, B3 organ, or basses.

A weakness of almost every digital piano under $1,000 is the control panel, which is reduced to a few functions. Due to the few control elements, you almost always have to adjust settings using the keys of the instrument’s keyboard. An example would be switching sounds (with the “Function” button pressed simultaneously). Only a few recommendable digital pianos, which are usually priced around $1,000, offer more comfort.

A good solution if you already have a smartphone or tablet: Almost every manufacturer is offering piano apps for their digital pianos. These make operation much more convenient. Further, the apps often add interesting features. For example, the Casio Music Space app focuses on learning functions, and Kawai’s Virtual Technician on adjusting the sounds. Yamaha offers the apps Digital Piano Controller and Smart Pianist for the Arius series.

Recommended Products – Home Pianos between $500 and $1,000

With their Privia and Arius home piano series, Casio and Yamaha in particular are targeting the price range up to $1,000. However, Kawai, Korg, and Roland also offer models that fit into the budget.

Digital piano bundles for beginners at Thomann*

Yamaha Arius YDP-145

While almost identical to its predecessor YDP-144, the YDP-145 offers improvements in piano sound.

Kawai KDP-120 – A Proper Piano

Solid piano qualities and well-thought-out lesson functions characterize the Kawai KDP-120. Besides a MIDI and Bluetooth interface, it offers voicing and tuning functions for the grand piano sound.

Casio Celviano AP-270 – Solid Low-Cost Piano

Casio’s classic Celviano home piano line is just above the Privia series in terms of performance. For around $800, the AP-270 is thus an in-house price sensation.

Casio Celviano AP-470 – All About Design

The Casio AP-470 offers the best price-to-performance ratio just below the $1,000 mark. It’s an excellent choice if you value case design as well as playing feel and sound.

Yamaha Arius YDP-S35 – Sleek Design, Full Sound

For just under $1,000, you can get the Yamaha Arius YDP-S35, which features a sliding key cover.

Thomann DP-51 – Best Price/Performance Ratio

The Thomann DP-51 offers a lot of digital piano for little money: Classic home piano design with a high-gloss finish, hammer action keyboard with an Ivory Feel surface.

Thomann DP-140B U – Upright Digital Piano

With the Thomann DP-140B U, you get a lot of piano for a small price. At first glance, the upright digital piano looks confusingly similar to an acoustic piano.

Korg C1 Air – Classy Look, Powerful Sound

A more elaborately designed case with additional front legs. Two grand piano sounds and a wide selection of additional sounds, MIDI as well as Bluetooth interface. The playback system is among the most powerful in this class.

Portable Pianos between $500 and $1,000

If you want to buy a digital piano for under $1,000, you should take a look at portable pianos: While their compact design makes portable pianos suitable for mobile use, they also excel when used at home. In most cases, manufacturers offer a stand and pedal unit as optional accessories.

With this equipment, a portable piano looks just like a home piano. After all, portable pianos are more similar to digital pianos in terms of sound selection and functions such as metronome and recorder. However, due to their construction, music stores list them as “stage pianos.” Accordingly, we summarized them in a separate guide, “Best Stage Piano Under $1,000.“

Related Links

Portable Piano vs. Stage Piano: Pianoo.com Buyer’s Guide: Stage Piano Under $1000
Reddit thread: A digital piano that looks like a real piano?

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