10 Best Electric Pianos in 2022 (Yamaha, Roland, and More)
Playing the piano can improve hand-eye coordination and sharpen your mind. However, sometimes acoustic pianos can be too large or inconvenient with their maintenance needs. That's where electric pianos can help! Electric pianos, also known as digital pianos, are a type of electronic keyboard instrument that serves as an alternative to traditional acoustic pianos. They tend to be more compact and need no maintenance.
We've done our research and found 10 electric pianos that reviewers love. Our favorite is the P-45 Digital Piano from Yamaha since it's lightweight and portable and great for educational purposes. For more of our top picks, please read on! Also, don't forget to check out our buying guide for some suggestions on how to choose the right electric piano for you.
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Is an Electric Piano Right for Me?
Acoustic pianos are built with strings, hammers, and keys to produce their sounds. However, electric pianos use audio recordings called samples to produce their sounds. Their sounds can be from pianos, other musical instruments, or any sound you can imagine.
Electric pianos require a power source to function. They cannot beat the authentic sound and touch of an acoustic piano, but they have much more variety in sounds and tones. Unlike acoustic pianos, electric pianos have no maintenance costs, do not need tuning, are more portable, and can connect to other devices like headphones.
Electric pianos are more compact in size and allow strict volume control. This makes them especially valuable for places where you need to be careful of noise levels, such as apartments or other living situations where people don't want to disturb each other.
How to Choose Electric Pianos
Electric pianos are complicated instruments, but they can be great musical tools. Before you go shop, here are some tips on how to choose the right electric piano for you.
Look for Electric Pianos With 88 Piano Keys
Most pianos, electric or acoustic, will have 88 keys. Most musicians will need 88 keys, especially if they wish to learn any classical songs. Some pianos may have 76, 61, or 54 keys. Even if you are a beginner, you should have a minimum of at least 61 piano keys. Otherwise, your song choices might be limited.
Electric pianos may also have an amount of polyphony, which is the maximum number of keys that can be pressed and played simultaneously. The higher the polyphony, the better. This is especially important if you wish to play with multiple people on the same piano at the same time.
Choose Between Different Types of Weighted Keys
Electric piano keys can have various levels of weighted keys. This can affect how much force is needed to press the keys and how much they feel like acoustic pianos. They can be non-weighted, semi-weighted, or fully weighted.
The more weighted the keys are, the closer they are to acoustic pianos. Fully weighted electric pianos are best for experienced piano players or people who wish to learn the piano in-depth.
Non-weighted keys are lightweight and best for portability and playing non-piano sounds. Semi-weighted keys have a balance of portability and some acoustic feel.
Check if the Electric Piano Can Connect to Other Devices
One of the biggest advantages of electric pianos over acoustic ones is the ability to connect to other devices such as headphones or even computers. Some electric pianos may have USB ports to connect to recording devices or even built-in mics and recording functions.
Some pianos may also allow you to load Musical Instrument Digital Interface files (MIDI), which are files that record notes and sounds in a standardized format that can be loaded onto other devices. MIDI files are great for learning and recording music.
Consider Extra Features for Your Electric Piano
If you wish to learn the piano in-depth, you may like features like a metronome to learn rhythm, transpose to shift the piano’s pitch, or a sustain pedal to sustain your piano notes. Sustain pedals can also be bought separately and connected to many electric pianos.
Split mode, dual mode, and duo mode can allow more than one person to play multiple sounds at once, such as playing piano and violin sounds at the same time. Some pianos also allow accompaniment, which is when another instrument can accompany your song while you play piano notes.
10 Best Electric Pianos Ranking
| Products | Image | Click to purchase | Popularity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | P-45 Digital Piano｜J19265 Yamaha |  | No.1 | |
2 | F140R Digital Piano｜F-140R-CB Roland |  | No.2 | |
3 | Rhapsody 2 Williams |  | No.3 | |
4 | PX-870 Privia Digital Piano Casio |  | No.4 | |
5 | KDP110 Digital Piano Kawai |  | No.5 | |
6 | B2SP 88-Key Digital Piano Korg |  | No.6 | |
7 | Arius YDP-103 Yamaha |  | No.7 | |
8 | RP-102 Digital Piano Roland |  | No.8 | |
9 | DDP-100 Digital Piano Donner |  | No.9 | |
10 | 88-Key Digital Piano Alesis Virtue |  | No.10 |
Yamaha P-45 Digital Piano ｜ J19265
Yamaha's P-45 has all the necessary features for most beginner and intermediate piano players. It has 88 weighted keys, built-in speakers, and hundreds of piano programs to choose from, such as harpsichord and strings. It also has duo mode and transpose, which is a function that alters the pitch.
This electric piano has weighted keys, and most reviewers say that the feel is pretty close to an acoustic piano, but a few disagree and add the keys are somewhat noisy. Some reviewers also say the speakers aren't the best, but headphones sound great.
Regardless, most reviewers praise this piano for its wide variety of piano programs and its portability, as it can be easily taken off the stand. They find that this electric piano is one of the best for students and teachers to play at the same time together.
Roland F140R Digital Piano ｜ F-140R-CB
If you're looking for an electric piano that's as close to an acoustic piano as you can get, this one from Roland might be it. In addition to having great sound, it can connect to your phone or tablet through Bluetooth and work with Roland's Piano Partner 2 app. There are 305 sounds, including strings, organs, guitars, and much more.
A few reviewers complained that Roland's Piano Partner app had compatibility and usability issues. Besides that, the majority of reviewers are overwhelmingly impressed with the quality and sound of this piano. They like the overall design and the huge variety of sounds and rhythms.
The Williams Rhapsody 2 digital piano has a wood-like finish and 12 custom sounds. It has two pedals, 64-voice polyphony, and an intuitive LCD control panel. This piano also comes with a three-month trial of Skoove Premium, an interactive music education software with live instructors.
Several reviewers said that their pianos had no headphone jacks, but those were older reviews, so hopefully, that issue has been fixed. The main complaints were that it sounds more electric than a real piano.
Other than that, most reviewers praise this piano for its well-weighted keys and customizable sounds. They say that the assembly process was pretty easy. They recommend this product for beginners and intermediate piano players of all ages.
The PX-870 from Casio is the updated version of their best-selling PX-770 with a more immersive four-speaker sound system. The speakers have volume sync EQ for balanced sound and an AiR engine for sound accuracy. It also has 19 instrument tones and 256 notes of polyphony.
A couple of reviewers complain that the cabinet and stand structure lacks quality compared to the rest of the piano, but it still looks good aesthetically. They also warn that this piano doesn't save custom settings, so you will have to reset them each time.
Overall, the majority of reviewers are impressed with this piano's sound and feel. They say the pedals and sound samples are high quality and faithful to acoustic pianos. They also like that this piano is compact and easy to assemble.
Kawai's KDP110 was made to mimic the smooth feel of their professional concert pianos. It has a springless key mechanism with a triple-sensor system. It also has an integrated metronome and pairs well with other devices through Bluetooth.
Reviewers warn that this piano does not remember custom settings, so you must manually adjust them each restart. A few reviewers state that the speaker sound quality is not the best, but you can use headphones to make up for it.
Other than that, most reviewers are pleased with this piano's sound and the amazing feel of the keys. They like that this piano is not overly complicated with too many sounds and features, but feels and looks pretty close to Kawai's acoustic pianos.
Korg B2SP 88-Key Digital Piano
This piano was made for all types of piano players. It has three pedals, a variety of sounds, a metronome, and a removable music rest. Five different piano tones are included: German, Italian, electric, organ, and keyboard. It also comes with a three-month trial of Skoove Premium software.
There are a couple of complaints about the assembly instructions, but otherwise, reviewers found this piano fairly easy to set up and play. Most reviewers praise this piano for its quality structure, crisp sounds, and 12 self-playing songs.
This piano has a similar feel to an acoustic piano and a matte finish on the black keys to make them less slippery. It has Advanced Wave Memory synthesis, which claims to offer a big grand piano sound in a small package. It also has a Digital Piano Controller mobile app to choose voices, record performances, and more.
Many reviewers praise this piano for its compact size, authentic feel, and rosewood finish. They say the feel and appearance are very close to Yamaha's acoustic pianos and the sound quality is amazing. They highly recommend this piano for beginner and intermediate players.
Roland's RP102 combines an authentic piano experience with a variety of features. It uses SuperNatural technology for immersive sounds, has 200 ready-to-play songs at hand, and a metronome. It also works well with Roland's Piano Partner 2 mobile app.
A few reviewers state that the particleboard frame is susceptible to breaking if it's moved often. Otherwise, the majority of reviewers highly praise this piano for its sound, ease of use and educational tools. They really like the options on the Piano Partner 2 app as well.
Donner's DDP-100 has a sliding key cover and 128 notes of polyphony. It uses AWM sampling for a more realistic piano sound and has three built-in pedals. It also has a pedal input if you would rather plug in your own pedal.
Reviewers point out that this piano is very basic and has no other sounds besides the original piano sound. A few had quality-control issues like odd-sounding keys or broken jacks. They say that this piano is great for rehearsing and educating behind the scenes, but would not be ideal for actual performances.
Still, the vast majority of reviews are positive. Most are impressed with the simplicity and functionality of this piano. They like that it's not overly complicated, is easy to assemble, and has a good high volume. They also say that the keys are more weighted than most electric pianos.
Alesis Virtue88-Key Digital Piano
This piano has velocity-sensitive keys, 360 built-in sounds, multiple modes, and 128 note polyphony. It has a recording function that allows you to create songs from 160 accompaniment styles and 80 demo songs. It also includes a three-month premium subscription for Skoove's interactive piano lessons.
A couple of reviewers say that the keys can be stiff at first, but may feel better over time. Besides that, the majority of reviewers praise this piano for having such a large variety of sounds, songs, and educational tools. They highly recommend it for beginners.
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