The Best Digital Pianos

Every maker names its actions, and the names are mostly marketing. What they describe is the same idea: a weighted hammer inside each key, heavier in the bass and lighter in the treble, the way an acoustic piano is built.

• Yamaha GHC (Graded Hammer Compact), on the P-145 and P-225, is light and compact. Piano Dreamers notes its shortened pivot length makes the weight less even along the key.
• Roland PHA-4 Standard, on the FP-10 and FP-30X, adds escapement, the faint notch an acoustic grand has partway down the key.
• Kawai Responsive Hammer Compact, on the ES120, is the action several r/piano commenters favor at this price.
• Casio Smart Scaled Hammer Action, on the PX-S1100 and AP-S200, sits in a very slim chassis, so its keys are short.

No one of these is correct. MusicRadar's advice in its digital piano guide is to pick the action that feels right to you, because comfort decides how much you play.

Polyphony is the number of notes a piano can sound at once. It matters more than 88 keys suggests, because the sustain pedal, layered sounds and resonance effects all hold notes that use it up. When the limit is reached, the oldest notes drop out.

Pianoers advises aiming for at least 128 notes and ideally 256. Every pick here offers 192 or more, except the Roland FP-10 at 96. MusicRadar's guide notes it is very unlikely you will ever reach a 192-note limit, so for home playing 192 is ample.

A portable piano has to fit its speakers into a shallow case, and most of them sound it. As Pianoers puts it, console pianos have bigger, better-positioned speakers. That is the trade: portables save floor space and money, consoles give better sound in the room.

Headphones change the math. Much piano practice happens in the evening, in a shared home, on headphones, and through good headphones even a modest portable reveals detail its speakers cannot. MusicRadar's review of the Casio AP-S200 makes exactly this point, finding the speakers boxy and the headphone sound far richer. If you already listen closely at home, the same ears will tell you a lot about a piano through headphones.

Look for two headphone jacks if a teacher or a second player will join you. The FP-30X, ES120, P-225, PX-S1100 and AP-S200 all have them; the FP-10 has one.

Portables such as the FP-30X, ES120, P-225 and PX-S1100 are a keyboard on a stand. They fit a desk or a small room, can move house easily, and cost less up front. The catch is what they leave out: a matching stand, a three-pedal unit and a bench are usually extra.

Consoles such as the AP-S200 come as furniture, with stand, three pedals and a key cover in the price. They look like a piano in the living room and are harder to move once built. AZ Piano Reviews' guide to pianos under $1,500 is a useful survey of the console options near the top of this budget.

For a child who will take lessons for years, a console's permanent place in the house can be its own encouragement.

Digital pianos turn over every few years, and older models linger in listings. Two recent changes matter here. Casio's Privia PX-870 console has been discontinued and replaced by the Celviano AP-S200. Yamaha announced new Arius consoles in June 2026, with the YDP-146 and YDP-166 replacing the YDP-145 and YDP-165, so those older Arius models are best bought only at a clear discount.

Piano Dreamers' buying guide across price points is a good place to confirm a model is current before you buy. Be wary of unfamiliar brands with very long feature lists: MusicRadar steers readers toward established makers above about $500 for build quality.

Best all-rounder: the Roland FP-30X. Best feel: the Kawai ES120, if you can spend near $1,000. Best sound for the money: the Yamaha P-225. Smallest: the Casio PX-S1100. Cheapest good action: the Roland FP-10. A piano as furniture: the Casio AP-S200.

If you can visit a store, play the FP-30X, ES120 and P-225 side by side; that comparison settles most decisions in a few minutes.