AZ PIANO REVIEWS – The #1 Most Trusted Digital Piano Review & News Blog in the world! LOWER PRICES than Amazon and internet music stores! Free ship, no tax on most items. Don’t order anywhere until you check with Tim & Erik Praskins 1st! Email us at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call 602-571-1864
AZ PIANO REVIEWS – The #1 Most Trusted Digital Piano Review & News Blog in the world! LOWER PRICES than Amazon and internet music stores! Free ship, no tax on most items. Don’t order anywhere until you check with Tim & Erik Praskins 1st! Email us at tim@azpianowholesale.comor call 602-571-1864
Top Digital Pianos Under $1000 – REVIEW | 2024 Update
UPDATED REVIEW – Oct 1, 2024| Best New Digital Pianos Under $1000 | Casio, Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Korg, and more | LOWER PRICES HERE
Digital Pianos Under $1000 is one of the most popular price ranges for piano shoppers.There are a number of great brands that offer very good digital pianos in this price range for beginners through advanced players which include furniture cabinet and portable digital pianos. If you want to keep up on all the latest digital pianos under $1000 then this is where you need to be. Also please be aware I am only talking about the “name brands” here. I don’t talk about “off brands” as I call them because they are not anywhere close to the name brands in piano playing realism and for some of them, I would not recommend them at all. So we always recommend you stick to the 5 main brands below which include Casio, Yamaha, Korg, Kawai, and Roland.
My name is Tim Praskins and I am a recognized top expert throughout the US on new digital pianos, electric pianos, and digital keyboards for under $1000 and over $1000.With over 40 years experience teaching, playing, and consulting on digital pianos, I have seen it all and done it all. My son Erik (lower left pic playing piano) and I love to help people who are looking for good advice on new digital pianos. I have played on stage with some great players, taught thousands of students in both group and private piano, keyboard, guitar, and organ lessons, and I do consulting on digital pianos for churches, schools, universities, studios, and other big venues.
I know what makes for a great piano playing experience and what does not. I have also had years of experience playing name brand acoustic grand and upright pianos including Steinway, Bosendorfer, Kawai, Yamaha, Bechstein, Young Chang, Samick, and other name brands over the years. I teach piano using the latest technology because I believe it is helpful and stimulating for students of every age and the piano music curriculum out there for iPad, laptop, and other devices can help students in ways that regular traditional curriculum cannot always do.
When you combine music educational technology with the current line-up of quality digital pianos that are available on the market today for under $1000, you have a win-win-win situation for the teacher, the student, and the audience, including Mom & Dad. (click on pics for larger view)
My definition of a digital piano is any 88-key instrument with fully weighted piano type keys that is either portable or in a furniture type cabinet. A digital home piano would almost always have a built in internal sound system whereas a pro digital stage piano would normally not have a built-in audio speaker system but instead you would need to connect it to an external system or powered monitors. Digital pianos can be big, small, tall, short, on a portable keyboard stand or have their own stand, and have 3 pedals or one pedal. But the common thread is that they are all 88 weighted keys (with a few exceptions) as opposed to semi-weighted or unweighted keys.
When it comes to figuring out which digital piano will meet your needs and your budget, that is where things can get difficult and confusing because there are about 30 digital pianos out there in all available brands in the US with 88 weighted keys in a number of configurations and prices under $1000….that’s a lot of models to choose from and we’re not even taking about new digital pianos over $1000!
Definition of a Digital Piano Under $1000 in this report:
88 piano weighted keys
portable without a cabinet
furniture style in a cabinet
single pedal or triple pedal
built-in speakers
permanent tuning
has at least one or more internal piano sounds
may have other internal sounds or functions
has USB connectivity to computer or other external device
stereo headphone jack input for private practice
So where should you start and how do you know what to spend your hard earned money on when it comes to new digital or electric pianos under $1000? Certainly there are some well known brands such as Yamaha, Casio, Roland, Korg, and Kawai that are noticeably better to consider over brands that are not well known industry leaders such as Korg, Kurzweil, Artesia, Suzuki, etc. For the most part, going with the well known brands is a safer bet and generally you will get more for your money, although not in all cases. The best way to find out what new digital piano may be best for you is to contact us directly by email or by phone if you are in the USA. We will give you free advice and help you make the best buying decision for your musical goals and budget.
One more thing that I want to share with my readers before you read more about the digital pianos under $1000 below. I have a review of the TOP 3 new digital pianos for 2024 in all price ranges & categories. Check that review out at the following link because it will help you narrow down all the options out there and focus on what is the 3 best and most popular digital pianos out there in every price range $500 to $1000, $1000 to $1500, $1500 to $2000, $2000 to $2500, and so on. TOP 3 Best Digital Pianos in all price ranges for 2024
CASIO – Casio is definitely in the top 5 digital piano manufacturers worldwide. Their pianos are high quality and offer a big bang for the buck…and that’s what makes Casio a big contender for your dollars….a lot of piano for not a lot of money.
Their current models include the CDP-S100, CDP-S160, CDP-S360, PX-S1100, PX-S3100, PX-360, PX-770, PX-870, and PX5S. The newer Casio PX-S1100 at $699 which replaces the previous PX-S1000 is a popular model. There are some new upgrades on this model and you can read my recent review at the following link: PX-S1100 Review. Casio also has their PX-S3100 portable digital piano at $849 which has many more interactive features than the PX-S1100. The PX-S3100 replaced the previous and popular PX-S3000 and the PX-S1100 is a newer model and replaces the previous PX-S1000 with some impressive upgrades all at the same price. Casio now has quite a few models under $1000 with many using new technology not seen before in this price range.
Casio now has a total of 10 models under or near $1000, which is a huge variety. Eight of them are portable digital pianos and 2 of them are furniture cabinet type digital pianos. The newer PX-S1100 also comes in a bright RED limited edition color which is very attractive, and no other manufacturer offers a color like this in any portable digital piano. If you want something that looks a bit more traditional, then you would need to consider the PX770 or PX-870.
With regard to the latest impressive digital piano technology and best sounding digital piano in a furniture cabinet for near $1000, then it would be the Casio PX870 ($1199 internet discount price) which is more than $1000 but worth the extra cost. It rises above any other furniture style digital piano brands or models near or under $1000 in my opinion. Please read my review of the PX-870 at the following link: Casio PX-870 Review
YAMAHA –Yamaha is a great manufacturer of both digital and acoustic pianos and many top pro musicians and piano teachers own Yamaha digital pianos. Yamaha makes some very good digital pianos under or near $1000 and has 3 digital pianos currently
available in that price range including the P-143, P-225, and DGX-670.
All 4 of these models are portable digital pianos with optional stands and pedals.The most popular Yamaha digital piano under $1000 for Yamaha seems to be the low priced P-225 portable model right now because of its low price and impressive features all at $749 discount price, but you would still need a stand and a better sustain pedal for it. Yamaha does not make any “furniture cabinet” with sliding key cover digital pianos under $1000. That is surprising that they don’t do make a piano like that in this price range. So if you want more of a “furniture cabinet” then you’ll need to spend a bit more money and go up to about $1200 minimum for Yamaha or instead look at Casio or Kawai for a furniture cabinet digital piano under $1000.
ROLAND – Roland is a well known music products company and they have made pro stage music products for many years along with an array of 88-piano weighted key digital pianos. However just like Yamaha, Roland is much more competitive with their digital pianos over $2000 as opposed to under $2000 or under $1000 based on my experience with them. They have just 2 weighted-key digital pianos under $1000 in the mainstream consumer market and they are called the FP-10 ($599), FP-30X ($699 internet price) which is also a portable model. Roland is known for offering a lot of interactive music technology in their digital pianos which is nice to have, but overall most people are looking for the best piano playing experience they can get for their price range rather than extra “bells & whistles,” but that is not always the case.
In that way when it comes to Roland digital pianos, they do offer an enjoyable piano playing experience although their key actions are a bit more firm (heavier) than the others and their piano sound is a bit more brassy or metallic than the others, but still good and expressive. In my opinion they are better overall than the Yamaha models for the money in this price range but not as realistic or impressive as the newer Casio models when it comes to a more natural playing experience with upgraded speaker systems.
KAWAI –Kawai is the only piano company out of the top 4 manufacturers who makes only pianos, both digital and acoustic. The other guys make produce many other types of products including drums, guitars, audio equipment, computer related product, motorcycles, watches, calculators, etc. So when it comes to the Kawai company, although they are quite famous in the piano biz worldwide, they are not known outside of that business and they really are a rather small company in comparison the other digital piano manufacturers. However with that being said, the piano product they do make are outstanding instruments and thousands of professional pianists, universities, piano teachers, churches, recording studios, musicians, and piano students own Kawai acoustic upright, grand, and/or digital pianos.
Kawai has just new 2 digital pianos under $1000 and they are a new portable model which I have already played many times called the ES120 at $949 internet discount price which replaced the discontinued ES110, and a furniture cabinet model called KDP75 at $999 internet price.
Both models offer what I consider to be an impressive piano playing experience in this price range under $1000. There is an optional furniture type stand and triple pedal-board unit (as pictured above left) for the ES120 so that it can look and behave bit more like a piano. The ES120 offers even more versatility and features than the KDP75 cabinet model, and it even sounds better, so it just depends on what is more important to you.
KORG –There is one more digital piano brand that I would recommend for purchase consideration, although it is not as well known by average buyers/families as the other brands. This brand is called Korg (from Japan) and they have been in music products business for over 50 years. Korg is a well known keyboard and digital piano brand among pro and studio musicians and they make other high quality music equipment.
This would include stage digital pianos, drum machines, synthesizers, digital organs, recording and pro audio gear, computer music products, tuners, and metronomes. They have a home digital piano division that takes the piano playing technology from their pro quality stage pianos and puts it into attractive home furniture cabinets, and these pianos are very impressive.
Currently Korg has 4 digital pianos under $1000 including the newer portable B2 ($499 incl $100 instant rebate), SP-180, SP280, and the newer XE20SP at $879 which is very impressive. Korg also has some great digital pianos above $1000 that I like called the LP380U, C1 Air and G1 Air. The LP-380U is $999 discount price (after $350 factory instant rebate) is just at the $1000 price and is worth consideration when looking for a lower priced digital piano because it has some new and impressive things to offer to make your piano playing experience even better.
The Korg G1 Air at $1999 is awesome but way out of the $1000 price range. Read my detailed reviews of these models on this blog site if you can go up in your budget. For info on the new Korg LP-380U go to the following link to read my review: LP-380U Review
There are certain off-brand or “house brands” that are sold by Guitar Center, Sam Ash, or Amazon and others are sometimes offered by Costco which generally are low price but I overall do not recommend them as a good choice for playing piano. Also there are other brands available in Europe and Asia that are not available in the US but many of those brands are “private label” meaning they are lower realism in technology made in China and using more “American type names” for consumers. I sometimes refer to some of these brands and models as “Piano Shaped Objects” because some of them don’t come close to playing like a real piano.
Although all of these pianos can “look good” on the outside, they are clearly inferior in my opinion on the inside when it comes to offering a good, natural piano playing experience. Extra “bells & whistles” such as drum rhythm patterns, 100’s of instrument sounds, LCD color display screens, etc, are sometimes fun to have, you should not let that and the way the piano looks dictate your dollars spent.
Besides, generally speaking you do get what you pay for so if the price is cheap then there is likely a good reason for that and it’s usually not getting you better quality, regardless of what the manufacturer says in their advertising. Just remember, when at all possible, stay away from PSO’s (aka: Piano Shaped Objects) that look like pianos, may be attractive, might have a lot of buttons or functions, but in terms of actually playing like a real piano or even coming close to it, some of them just don’t do that while others come closer.
My recommendation is that you think carefully before you buy any digital piano under $1000 and also consider possibly spending a bit more money so that you won’t need to trade out of your piano for a long time (if ever), especially if you (or your child) progress in your piano playing skills and then find that your current digital piano cannot keep up with you. In reality, you could probably be happy on any of my recommended brands and their models but depending on what your musical goals are, some of them do offer more for the money. A piano can last many, many years and your can look at it as an investment in your (or your child’s) musical future. So when you finally decide to purchase one, make sure you do it right so you won’t regret your decision.
You can also contact me (and my son, Erik) by phone (if you live in the US) or email and we can help you with free personal piano advice without obligation because we enjoy helping people & talking about pianos. I have been doing this for people throughout the US and the world for many decades and am the foremost authority on the subject of new (and used) digital pianos under $1000 and over $1000.
Speaking of “used” digital pianos, some people think they might get a better deal if they buy a used digital piano at a lower price but in reality that rarely happens. As digital piano technology changes, many of the new ones play and sound more authentically than ever while the older ones are more artificial and noticeably less realistic. Also the new ones are really not that much more money than used digital pianos plus used digital pianos are almost always sold “as is” so you take a big risk that they will actually work correctly or for a long period of time. If a repair should be needed then it could be very expensive if you can even get replacement parts at all of find a service tech in your are to repair it.
A used digital piano can also have “intermittent” electronic or keyboard issues that may not show up all the time so if you buy a used digital piano this may happen to you and you would not know it. Then one day you go to play it and it doesn’t play right or doesn’t play at all. My suggestion is…buy a new digital piano unless the price of a good used digital piano is so low that you are practically getting it for free:).
Check out my blog for individual digital piano reviews, info on piano lessons, shopping tips, and other info that I believe you will find useful. Go to my “Search Reviews” on this website to find my reviews of the various digital pianos and if you don’t see what you want, I am always working on and publishing new reviews so it may be up there soon. You can always contact me directly as I likely have played the digital piano you are asking about even though you may not see it yet on my blog.
Playing piano is one of the most fulfilling and relaxing things that anyone can do and I can personally attest to that fact along with my entire family. I have seen it literally change the lives of thousands of students for the better such as the students that I have personally been involved with in the pictures.
Although some people, especially young people, may not like all kinds of music, particularly classical music, playing piano gives them the opportunity to play music they would not naturally be attracted to. Did you know one of the reasons piano teachers like using classical music in their lessons is because classical music is more mathematical and complex than ordinary pop or kids music?
Yes it’s true…learning to play classical music allows the brain to develop in ways that other music just cannot do and scientific studies have shown that kids who are exposed to playing and hearing classical music will likely have a higher IQ and do better in their school subjects than other kids will. I admit that not all classical music is enjoyable to play just like all jazz, rock, and all music is not enjoyable to play. But the point is…please be sure that you give yourself and/or your kids the chance to express themselves musically, especially with a digital piano…you won’t regret it!
BEWARE! There are MANY so-called digital piano review sites that are either fake or have only one thing on their minds…to get you to buy almost any digital piano available on Amazon so they can make Amazon affiliate commissions off the sale!This kind of thing is definitely not helpful and in fact some of these so-called review sites show older discontinued digital pianos as current new models and also have no idea what they are talking about most of the time.It’s easy to put up a fake “review site” but it’s difficult to actually have played these digital pianos in person let alone know what you’re talking about when it comes to what these things can and cannot do. Don’t get fooled…if you see that a review site links their reviews to Amazon, then that is the RED FLAG you should avoid in what those sites have to say.
Look for someone who knows what they are talking about and is willing to personally help you make the right piano purchase decision. As an example, on one fake review site that I found on-line, the fake reviewer said the following: “This is a grand piano which can be used by any world class professionals for any grand concerts.” What they were referring to is a $700 portable digital piano that may be fun to play but is as far away from a real grand piano as a bicycle is from a Mercedes Benz SUV…there is no comparison. These people also have bad grammar (another Red Flag) because there is no such thing as “grand concerts.”
What in the world is that supposed to mean? No one writes like that unless they are making it all up. It’s these kinds of comments that tell me the “review” is fake as is the name of the reviewer is fake and likely they are fake review writers hired in the Middle East or Asia by fake review sites to write fake reviews to (hopefully) make money from Amazon and in fact this is what you’ll find with other product reviews (cars, appliances, sporting equipment, guitars, etc)…fake content from fake review sites using fake names written by fake people. It’s too bad this is going on but unfortunately you need to be very careful what and who you believe. When the writer is making crazy comments like the one I just quoted and they cannot speak correctly…run away from that site as fast as you can!
Finally, I do not have a “ratings chart” or do “ratings stars” or “numbers from 1-100” to indicate which piano is better than another because that is a fake way of doing it. Each piano has it’s own functions and features as well as appearance and what may be the perfect piano for you may not be the perfect piano for someone else. So a ratings method is not useful and cannot be fair to any digital piano. STAY AWAY from those web sites and if you want real info then look on YouTube as there are a few pretty good video digital piano demos and comparisons out there and then you can contact me for more info and I will help you get the piano you want brand new with free shipping, no sales tax, full factory warranty, for even less money than internet, Amazon, and store discount prices.
If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet & Amazon discounts,please email us at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.
I randomly found your site tonight as i was researching digital pianos. i found your advice extremely helpful in sorting through my options as an adult beginner. I followed your advice and got the kawai es110. thank you for being a valuable resource to the the music community.
I was searching about the digital pianos and found this site and I was amazed when I read the content. It's so detailed and understandable. Thank you for such a wonderful piece of content.
Hi amazing site, i was lucky to find it and thank you for all the information provided. If possible could you advise between CasioPX870 and Korg C1 Air? Which model would you recommend fro a beginner piano student, in terms of quality of piano sound, and overall longer term investment? People mostly compare C1 with higher price categories, so one would assume its is better instrument , or is it? Thank you for advice
That's a good question. My preference is for the Korg C1 Air over the Casio PX870 as far as the piano playing experience goes. As for the other features and sounds, the Casio is the stronger instrument in that way. They both should last a long time but the Korg will likely do a better job in that area including key action.
I am a big fan of your clear and detailed (and independent!) reviews. Looking for a new stage piano I am considering the Korg D1, mainly because of the good reviews of the RH3 keybed. I would be very interested your opinion! (by the way: in your latest ‘ best under 1000$‘ review, you describe Korg as both ‘well known’ and ‘not so well known’…. 🙂
I am glad a had found your site before purchasing a digital piano. I was looking for some brands like Williams and Donner digital pianos. After reading your reviews on those instruments I changed my mind. I looked up your reviews on the top 5 digital pianos. I was impressed by the Casio Privia PX-870 review. The manufacturer's name, reputation and the quality of the instrument offered for the price were a decisive factors for me to choose it. I purchased the piano after reading your review. The sound is really clear and it sounds like a piano. Thank you for your reviews. With so many brands and models on the market, it is difficult to choose a good instrument to start and that will last for many year.
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I randomly found your site tonight as i was researching digital pianos. i found your advice extremely helpful in sorting through my options as an adult beginner. I followed your advice and got the kawai es110. thank you for being a valuable resource to the the music community.
I was searching about the digital pianos and found this site and I was amazed when I read the content. It's so detailed and understandable. Thank you for such a wonderful piece of content.
Hi amazing site, i was lucky to find it and thank you for all the information provided. If possible could you advise between CasioPX870 and Korg C1 Air? Which model would you recommend fro a beginner piano student, in terms of quality of piano sound, and overall longer term investment? People mostly compare C1 with higher price categories, so one would assume its is better instrument , or is it?
Thank you for advice
That's a good question. My preference is for the Korg C1 Air over the Casio PX870 as far as the piano playing experience goes. As for the other features and sounds, the Casio is the stronger instrument in that way. They both should last a long time but the Korg will likely do a better job in that area including key action.
I am a big fan of your clear and detailed (and independent!) reviews. Looking for a new stage piano I am considering the Korg D1, mainly because of the good reviews of the RH3 keybed. I would be very interested your opinion!
(by the way: in your latest ‘ best under 1000$‘ review, you describe Korg as both ‘well known’ and ‘not so well known’…. 🙂
I am glad a had found your site before purchasing a digital piano. I was looking for some brands like Williams and Donner digital pianos. After reading your reviews on those instruments I changed my mind. I looked up your reviews on the top 5 digital pianos. I was impressed by the Casio Privia PX-870 review. The manufacturer's name, reputation and the quality of the instrument offered for the price were a decisive factors for me to choose it.
I purchased the piano after reading your review. The sound is really clear and it sounds like a piano.
Thank you for your reviews. With so many brands and models on the market, it is difficult to choose a good instrument to start and that will last for many year.
Carlos