REVIEW & REPORT – April 15, 2026 | What are the 8 Best Digital Pianos for Children/Kids 5-18 years old? Parents of children who are shopping for new digital pianos ask us quite often what are the best digital pianos for children under 18 years old. Or they may ask us “what are the best digital pianos for kids?” The words children and kids are somewhat synonymous and interchangeable, so however you want to say it, we can help you and give you expert advice.
It is also important to know that a digital piano is not necessarily a keyboard and a keyboard is not necessarily a digital piano. A keyboard is the generic name of any any keyboard instrument, whether that instrument has spring key action movement or weighted key action movement. Also, a “weighted key” digital piano normally has 88 keys, like a regular acoustic piano. A generic keyboard can have 49 keys, 61 keys, 76 keys, and even a full 88 keys.
But cheap price generic keyboards, especially under $300 for kids, usually have spring loaded keys with springs under the keys which creates a key movement that is either much too light or much too stiff and can create bad playing habits. A spring loaded key action is also known as having unweighted or semi-weighted keys. However, a digital piano typically has actual small weights that are either attached to the keys, are a part of the key such as embedded weights, or are a part of the mechanism inside the key action. With these specific weights then each key is able to provide a more realistic piano touch and key movement.
Beyond that, a “graded weighted” key mechanism is even more realistic because it has slightly different size weights for each key, from slightly heavier on the left side of the keyboard, and going up to slightly lighter weights on the right side of the keyboard, which is similar to an acoustic piano with regard to weight distribution. So the better and more realistic the key touch is, the better the child will do in learning the skills to play the piano and play music in general, without getting into bad playing habits. We always recommend that children play on a portable or furniture cabinet style “digital piano” as opposed to generic “spring key action” keyboards.
Here at AZ Piano Reviews, I been playing, reviewing, and helping people throughout the US with digital pianos for over 40 years have also been on-line for over 15 years along with my talented son Erik. I have also been teaching piano lessons locally to a variety of children for over 40 years. When it comes to kids of all ages and the best pianos for them, we definitely know what we are talking about.
No matter what age your child happens to be, there really are better digital pianos out there that will help them do well in their piano lessons and their piano playing. Of course they can eventually learn to play on a regular acoustic piano, but the newer digital pianos give kids such a huge advantage in learning how to play that we normally recommend good digital pianos over acoustic pianos. There are a few exceptions to that rule, but digital pianos are overwhelmingly the best choice.
However, there are some digital piano brands and models that we do not recommend for piano students and piano players, and there are other brands and models that we do recommend in various price ranges. Some digital pianos are relatively inexpensive and others are in higher price ranges. But it is important to get a digital piano that will help your child improve and progress in their piano playing skills and not be hindered in their piano playing or form bad playing habits.
To that end we have put together what we consider to be a very helpful “Buying Guide” of the 8 Best Digital Pianos for children so that you can make a good informed decision when you are considering purchasing a new digital piano for your family. We love when kids get an opportunity to learn to play piano. It’s a rewarding and amazing experience for the children and for the parents. Playing music is a very special thing because it has been proven to improve brain function in children, intelligence, emotional stability, social interactions with other people, and playing piano just makes you feel good. By the way, you can start piano lessons for kids younger than 5 years old and some of them do well at those younger ages.
But generally speaking, 5 years old is the average starting age for kids taking piano lessons.
Playing piano is a skill and personal outlet that you can take with you and do for the rest of your life. Maybe your child loves playing sports, or riding a bike, or driving a car (if they are old enough). But one day doing all those things may not be possible because our bodies can slow down or not be able to function in those areas. But I know people in their ’90’s who can still play piano well and enjoy it. Playing piano is a positive personal experience like no other and is good for the entire family in so many ways. It can really bring people together. Playing piano is for life!
Playing piano is great for children and their parents from any culture or ethnicity including black, white, Latino, Indian or whatever culture or ethnicity come from. It does not matter your social status, your job, your background, your age, where you live, or even if you cannot talk or see. Learning to play piano and doing it well can overcome nearly every personal obstacle. The bottom line for us as long time piano teachers and experts is to see as many children as possible learn to play piano and enjoy it and play the music that makes them feel good.
We want to see parents of their children encourage their kids to practice and to play piano and learn to do it well. Playing piano is not “Rocket Science” and it really is not difficult if taught and learned in the right way. Of course a child could go on to be a very advanced piano player and getting to that level could take some work and lots of practice. But if you love music as much as we do, then the time and effort it takes to really become an amazing piano player will be worth it. We love to see parents of the children appreciate and enjoy what their kids are doing musically.
Pianos are obviously not the only instruments out there. There are violins, guitars, trumpets, french horns, keyboards, drums, and various cultural instruments originating from other countries. We think that people should play as many instruments as they can (within reason) and do what they enjoy. But at the end of the day, playing piano enables you to play melody, harmony, and even sing, all at the same time. It is one of the very few instruments in the world in which you can do that. Playing piano is a very musical thing to do and it can bring the entire family together in significant, positive ways.
So when it comes to digital pianos and picking out the best one for your children’s musical needs and your budget, we can definitely help you with that and it would include all the major brands including Kawai, Yamaha, Roland, Casio, and Korg, and a few of the lesser known but good brands such as Orla and Dexibell. There are also some other brands out there that we classify as “Piano Shaped Objects,” and we generally don’t recommend them because they can create bad playing habits for students due to poor key actions, noticeably unrealistic piano sounds, bad pedaling, and a variety of other things. If at all possible we advise you to stick with the major brands if you want your children to have piano playing success and enjoyment.
We prioritize key action, piano sound, and pedaling realism as the 3 main components that you should definitely consider when purchasing a new digital piano for your children. The internal speaker system in these pianos are also important because those internal speaker systems need to amplify and project the piano sound so that it comes out in a full natural way as opposed to being synthetic or artificial. The other additional features for educational purposes such as recording & playback, rhythm training, built-in lesson songs, and additional instrument sounds can be very useful and we do like and use them in our lesson program.
But the primary reasons for purchasing a new digital piano for your children is to get the most piano playing realism possible and in your price range. That’s what this “8 best digital piano list” is all about. It is to help guide you to the digital pianos which does the best job in those significant ways and also include useful built-in educational features as well.
Below is the list of the 8 best digital pianos for children. We classify best as meaning the piano must offer the best piano playing experience that gets closest to a real good acoustic upright and/or grand piano in the way that it plays. We do like digital piano educational technology and there are a few of the top brands that offer some usable and impressive features which can help students is significant ways when it comes to learning how to play piano and become better “musicians.” Also, just because this piano list is for children, adults can also easily enjoy learning and playing on these models.
KAWAI CA401 DIGITAL PIANO
1. Kawai CA401 – $3199 – There is one home digital piano that stands out in its price range above the others as being the #1 best digital piano for children based on the noticeably more authentic piano playing experience it offers. This one is called the Kawai CA401 and we have played it many times. This model normally sells online at a discount price of $3199, so it is definitely not “cheap” in price. But what really makes this model special is its noticeably more realistic key action and key action movement. All the other brands and models of digital pianos in this price range or less have either all plastic keys or mostly plastic keys, which is certainly not a bad thing, and the white keys on those pianos are physically shorter and measure approx 8 1/2″ long in total key length.
The Kawai CA401 has 100% wooden keys which are individually installed and the white keys in the CA401 are 12″ in total length which offer a more balanced and even playing experience. The CA401 key action movement and key content come a lot closer to a real acoustic “baby grand” piano as compared to what Yamaha, Roland, Casio, and Korg are currently offering in this same price range which are more like a modified upright piano. That is not a bad thing but is nowhere close to the Kawai CA401 key action authenticity. The stereo piano sounds in the CA401 are taken directly from Kawai acoustic grand pianos and are individually sampled for all of the 88 keys and sound really good, which is not necessarily the case for some of the other brands.
The Kawai CA401 also has very impressive piano pedal realism and the internal speaker system projects the piano sound in a realistic way with enough power and volume to fill up a large room with no problem. The CA401 also has Bluetooth wireless audio streaming along with Bluetooth wireless MIDI connectivity to external devices such as iPads, tablets, phones, etc. which can be very useful. The CA401 furniture cabinet is attractive and comes in some impressive cabinet colors.
If you can be in this price range for a new digital piano, then this specific model by Kawai is our #1 overall pick in what we consider to be a reasonable price range for what you get. You can certainly spend a lot more money and also less money on digital pianos as we will talk about below. But the Kawai CA401 is definitely one you should consider as something your children can really grow into and deveope their piano playing skills in some very positive ways. For more detailed info on this model, then please go to the following link to read our detailed Review of the Kawai CA401 digital piano.
KORG G1 AIR DIGITAL PIANO
2. Korg G1 Air – $2499 – The Korg digital piano and keyboard company from Japan has been around for over 60 years and their digital pianos and keyboards are very popular with professional keyboard & piano players. The Korg company is not as well known as the piano focused manufacturers such as Kawai and Yamaha which also produce real acoustic pianos, or Roland which produces more variety of digital pianos than Korg. Nevertheless, this specific Korg G1 Air home digital piano is their top model and is very popular with piano teachers, students, and more advanced piano players, and a lot of families throughout the US own this piano.
The Korg G1 Air model (officially called G1B Air) is in a compact contemporary furniture cabinet and uses Korg’s top-of-the-line pro quality key action that pro keyboard players also enjoy. It has the 3 most popular stereo grand piano sounds in it that come from a Steinway acoustic Grand, a Bosendorfer Grand from Austria, and a Yamaha Grand piano from Japan which gives this model a big variety of impressive grand piano sounds. This particular model focuses on the piano playing experience and although it does offer some other useful features including other instrument sounds, the ability to record and playback music, and also has Bluetooth wireless audio streaming, its main focus is on a more advanced piano playing experience.
On this model by Korg it’s really all about piano playing and getting the most realistic experience possible in this price range. This piano also looks good when the lid is closed over the keys. It’s very compact design and has a attractive design to the cabinet. The Korg G1 Air is available in matte black, rosewood, or white…bench is optional. We like the G1 Air very much and you should certainly consider this model if it meets your criteria for your children, for you, and for your budget. For more detailed info on the Korg G1 Air, go to the following link to read our detailed Review of the Korg G1 Air.
Alternative model: *It’s also important to note that if you prefer a more traditional cabinet design in this price range but still want a great piano playing experience, then our other recommendation is the Kawai CN201 home digital piano which also sells at $2499 online. You can read about the Kawai CN201 from our review at the following link: Kawai CN201 Review
YAMAHA CLP825 DIGITAL PIANO
3. Yamaha CLP-825 – $2099 – The Yamaha CLP-825 is the entry level for the Yamaha Clavinova line of digital pianos. This does not mean it’s a just beginner piano. The Yamaha Clavinova series is a very well known brand and model category and they make a variety of musical instruments as well as other consumer products from tennis rackets, to motorcycles, to snowmobiles. They do it all and they make very nice products. I have played and owned Yamaha musical instruments in the past and have enjoyed the experience.
The CLP-825 is a more basic but yet very capable upgraded digital piano for the home as compared to Yamaha pianos under this price range. The CLP-825 produces pleasing piano sounds and the plastic style key action is responsive and comfortable to play. The CLP-825 comes in an attractive traditional cabinet design and is available in a variety of cabinet colors and finishes. We would definitely recommend this model in its price range if you need to be closer to $2000. The next Yamaha model up from the CLP-825 is the CLP-835 which sells online for $3199 and is $1100 more than the CLP-825. The CLP-835 at an additional $1100 offers the basics from the CLP-825 and the same key action movement, plus a whole lot more.
But for most children the Yamaha CLP-825 is more than enough when it comes to learning and playing the piano. The CLP-825 has 40 watts of power, it can record & playback songs, it has Bluetooth wireless connectivity for MIDI & audio, and comes with a 5-year factory warranty. The more upgraded Kawai CN201 and Korg G1 Air at $2499 offer a more realistic piano playing experience, but they are both $400 more than the Yamaha. So it just depends what price range you need to be in. But the Yamaha CLP-825 is a good instrument in many ways and we do recommend it. We will have our review of this Yamaha model up soon.
CASIO AP-S450 DIGITAL PIANO
4. Casio AP-S450 – $1999 – The Casio AP-S450 is known as the “teaching digital piano” because piano teachers & students like to play on it and use it to help students understand more about piano playing, rhythm, timing, and having fun while doing it. This model has a responsive hybrid style key action along with good piano sound going through 4 speakers and 40 watts of power. It has a very contemporary appearance and is available in 4 cabinet colors including a modern gray beige matte finish.
The AP-S450 has a lot of proprietary digital features that are useful in learning to play piano and it also offers Bluetooth wireless MIDI and audio streaming. We like this model because it looks good, functions good, is intuitive to use, especially when controlling the piano through a proprietary interactive Casio app for iPad and Android called “Casio Music Space.” Even the well known piano teacher Kevin Keys recommends the Casio AP-S450 as a good piano option for his students.
The Casio AP-S450 is certainly not the only digital piano we recommend, but it is definitely one you should consider when searching for a good digital piano for your children within this price range. For more info on this model please go to the following link to read our detailed review on the Casio AP-S450: Casio AP-S450 Review
KORG LP-380U DIGITAL PIANO
5. Korg LP-380U – $1299 – The Korg LP-380U is a unique digital piano in its lower price range under $1500. This is because it’s not only compact in size & design, but it offers the best most realistic key action movement and internal speaker system in its price range under $1500. That means if you want a furniture style cabinet with built-in triple pedal system, built-in “slow-close” fold down key cover, and full piano sound through a special proprietary internal speaker sysetm, then this is the one to get if you want to keep the price closer to $1000 instead of $2000. This model does not come with a bench. It is optional.
In addition to all that, the Korg LP-380U has new technology built into it that allows the use of an iPad or Android tablet plugged into the LP-380U for interfacing with piano educational apps, digital sheet music, lesson songs, and additional new grand piano sounds. You are able to instantly hear all the music and sounds coming through the piano speaker system due to the Korg LP-380U having USB digital streaming technology. That means you can instantly hear the music from the iPad or other tablet coming directly through the piano speaker system or into stereo headphones plugged in, and then play along “live” with the lesson music or any other type of music. This feature is a big benefit to piano students and hobbyists and we like it very much.
Also, the Korg LP-380U digital piano is an excellent model for piano lesson group programs for children as taught by well known piano teachers “Kevin & Katie Keys. A group piano lesson program for children, if done the right way, can not only be a great place for children’s piano lessons in a fun atmosphere, but a great way for children to musically socialize with each other children. These types of class lesson programs are usually limited time programs for approximately 6-8 weeks per program and will also cost less money per student than traditional private piano lessons do.
If you have access to a group beginner piano lesson program for kids then you should look into that opportunity for your children, especially if it is taught in the way that professional piano teachers do it such as Kevin & Katie Keys group lesson program using Korg LP-380U digital pianos with iPads. At $1299 we recommend the Korg LP-380U digital piano as a very good choice. For more info on this Korg model please go to the following link to read our detailed review: Korg LP-380U Review
KAWAI ES120 DIGITAL PIANO
6. Kawai ES-120 – $1077 (with optional furniture stand and triple pedal unit) – The Kawai ES120 is a special digital piano in our opinion because it is not only relatively small, lightweight, and also portable, but it delivers a very impressive piano playing experience. The piano quickly and easily attaches to its optional stand and triple pedal unit and then becomes a traditional piano with regard to the piano playing experience.
But this Kawai ES120 piano can also be purchased separately online for just $899 without the optional furniture stand and triple pedal unit. A bench is also optional. The piano comes in 3 colors including black, white, and light gray-beige as pictured above. This model has arguably the most realistic key action movement of all digital pianos under $1100 and the key action is the #1 most important aspect of any piano.
The keys need to be balanced, comfortable to play, and responsive, and the Kawai ES120 is all of that. The piano sounds in the ES120 are sampled from Kawai acoustic grand pianos and they are heard through a 20 watt internal amplifier 2-speaker stereo system. So there is a good amount of power and sound projection for most rooms in a home. This model is easy and intuitive to operate and it has a number of useful functions including Bluetooth wireless audio and MIDI streaming, built-in lessons songs, transpose, layering, instrument split, and a large number of instrument sounds. The ES120 is also considered by most piano players and piano teachers as the best compact portable digital piano out there under $1000 with regard to the piano playing experience.
This model is an excellent choice for children and beginner level all the way through higher intermediate skill level, so your child can grow into it instead of growing out of it, and we recommend it. For more info on the Kawai ES120 please read out detailed review at the following link: Kawai ES120 Review
YAMAHA P-225 DIGITAL PIANO
7. Yamaha P225 – $649 (furniture stand and triple pedal unit optional & extra cost) – The Yamaha P-225 is a newer portable model from Yamaha that has very good piano sound and a good new key action that Yamaha has not had in the past on their lower priced digital pianos. Although this new key action overall is a good one, it has “compact keys” which means especially the white keys are shorter and have a more condensed fulcrum point with regard to how the keys move and how the key feel when playing them. It’s not as good as the higher priced Yamaha GHS key action found in other models. but for $649 it is good enough for entry level piano students.
This model does a number of other things including having a key transpose feature, layering, recording & playback, lesson song library, drum rhythm patterns an interactive bass player for rhythm training, special reverb effects, a number of different instrument sounds. It also Bluetooth wireless audio streaming which can be very useful depending on the music you play or the piano lessons you are doing. and also a mixer to control volume levels, among other things. So there is plenty to do on this model. However, in this price range most students and piano teachers mainly care about the piano playing experience and not as much about many of the other things.
As much as we like this model and all the features on it, we would recommend spending less money in this “entry level” category of portable digital pianos and getting the Kawai ES60 portable model instead, which we talk about below. If you want more info on the Yamaha P-225 then please read our detailed review at the following link: Yamaha P-225 Review
KAWAI ES60 DIGITAL PIANO
8. Kawai ES-60 – $499 – (furniture stand extra cost – comes with single pedal) – The Kawai ES60 is the entry level portable digital piano from the Kawai piano company. Kawai is a well known worldwide manufacturer of acoustic & digital pianos and many pro pianists and piano teachers own and play Kawai acoustic and digital pianos. In fact Kawai designs and produces concert style grand pianos that sell for well over $100,000. Kawai recently came out with this newer portable digital piano with fully weighted piano style key action movement and impressive grand piano sound reproduction.
In fact, we think the ES60 is actually under-priced for what it is. It could easily sell for around $700 and compete well with the other brands at or near that price given the quality key action and sound the ES60 has as an “entry level” digital piano. Up til now Kawai’s lowest priced digital piano was $900, so for almost 1/2 the price the ES60 does a very good job for piano playing realism if you need to be just under a $500 budget. The furniture style stand for the ES60 is about $90 so the total price for the piano, furniture stand, and basic plastic sustain pedal is just $589. Bench and upgraded metal sustain pedal is optional and extra cost.
The ES60 can also be controlled by a proprietary app from Kawai which is call “Piano Remote.” This app works with an iPad or Android tablet or phone and can more easily help you with interfacing with and accessing the features and functions of the ES60 The graphics on the app are impressive and fun to use, especially for children. There’s also a few things the app can do for the piano that the piano cannot do on its own. So the app actually will allow you to do a few new things on the piano that you cannot do without it.
This Kawai Piano Remote app also works with the higher price Kawai digital pianos such as the ES120 on up. Overall for under $500 for just the piano, it’s a good deal and we recommend it, even over the Yamaha P-225 which is more money, especially since the ES60 offers such a good playing experience for less money. For more detailed info on the Kawai ES60, please go to the following link to read our detailed review of this model. Kawai ES60 Review
Any of the digital pianos on this list will be good choices for you and your children. Typically as you move up in price the piano playing experience becomes more authentic and realistic…that’s just normally how it works. Price does not always equate “best piano” because once in a while a lower priced digital piano can be a better piano than one in a higher price range.
To know for sure which piano would be best for your family within your budget and how much you want to invest in your children’s musical future, please contact us and we would be happy to talk with you. We will give you free advice and also we’ll be able to help you get even lower prices on new digital piano than the internet or Amazon. Finally, occasionally one or more of these digital piano manufacturers will offer an “instant factory rebate” on their models. It may apply to one model or more than one model. If a rebate is available then will will definitely get it for you along with an additional discount on top of that.
