Digital Pianos Under $2500 - REVIEW | Oct 2021 | Top Picks

The ES920 is fairly easy to operate and has enough cool features for making music in ways that will enhance your overall playing and music enjoyment experience. So if you want a more compact digital piano with good looks, excellent key action, piano sound, and pedaling along with some useful digital technology to help your playing and make it more fun, no matter what type of music you prefer to play, the Kawai ES920 would be my personal favorite under $2500 for a portable digital piano. 

If you decide you want to purchase a new piano, reserved orders are being taken and this model will be very hard to get for the next few months so you would need to act now if you want one because they may be all sold out if you wait. If you have more questions on this model please let me know as I can help you get one and for even less money! Click on this link to read my review of this new model: Kawai ES920 Review

Kawai also makes a pro stage piano called the MP7SE which can also play back General MIDI song arrangements. This feature also allow the player to mute out specific instruments so that you can play those parts along with the song for full accompaniment enjoyment. The MP7SE is mainly built for superior grand piano tone and a quick realistic key action touch along with some very impressive instrument sounds including vintage electric pianos, symphonic strings, B3 jazz organs with digital drawbars, guitars, brass, flutes, synths, and more realistic instrument tones. And I am very particular when it comes to some of these sounds and the Kawai MP7SE certainly passes my test with flying colors. If you are an experienced piano player, advanced student, very particular in wanting an impressive piano tone & key action touch, or are a beginner and just want what the MP7SE has to offer (and don't care about cabinet and built-in speakers), in my opinion this would be the perfect digital piano in that "under $2500US price range" if you don't mind an instrument with no internal speakers and would need to connect to external monitors which makes it sound great. 

Below is a link to my review on the MP7SE with more details on this fine piano. Obviously this instrument is not in a cabinet so that can be a downside for some people and then you would need to look at something else like the new Kawai ES.


The Casio Privia AP-470 digital cabinet piano (left pic) is also a great choice in a lower price range and is pretty amazing for its low internet price of $1499 because the piano has most of the features of the more expensive pianos have like 40 watts of stereo audio power, ivory feel keys, USB direct output, realistic hammer weight & graduated key action touch, and more. It also has features that many of the higher priced pianos do not have such as 256-note polyphony piano sound chip, four internal speakers instead of two, USB flash drive audio wav file recording and playback, a lift top lid for sound expansion, and other cool features. Considering all of the possibilities out there right now for a great digital piano buy in a compact furniture cabinet, I would highly recommend this new Casio AP-470. Go to my review to read more about this impressive piano: Casio AP-470 Review *Casio also has a model called the PX-870 in the lower price range of $999 internet discount price. It's definitely worth looking at and has some very cool features and I would recommend you read my review of that model at the following link: Casio PX-870 Review

Korg G1 Air - brown-rosewood

Korg of Japan which is famous for making top quality professional digital pianos & keyboards for many years has 2 new models of impressive home digital pianos called the C Air and G1 Air. Both piano are designed in  slim, contemporary cabinets that can fit into smaller spaces and yet still look attractive, Available in 3 attractive colors, both the Korg C1 Air and G1 Air offer a noticeably natural piano key action, stereo piano sound, responsive pedaling, and a list of digital features that are useful and also fun. But both models focus especially on the "piano playing experience" offering some of the most authentic reproduction of an acoustic piano in their price ranges. The C1 Air sells at discount price on the internet at $1599 and the G1 Air sell at $1999 discount price. The most impressive thing about both of these Korg pianos is how big and full the piano sound is coming out of their respective speaker systems. 

I have heard these in person and compared to Roland, Yamaha, and other brands in this price range, in my opinion the C1 Air and G1 Air could easily take 1st place when it comes to what you are hearing, whether you are playing it yourself or listening to them from a distance...pretty amazing actually. Please read my detailed reviews of these models at the following links to learn more: Korg G1 Air Review    Korg C1 Air Review

The Kawai piano company has a new and impressive furniture cabinet digital piano under $2500 called the CA49 which is part of their Concert Artist series of home pianos. It comes in 3 matte finishes including matte brown-rosewood, matte black and matte white all at $2299 internet price. The CA49 has actual grand-piano style wooden piano keys (no one else has this feature in this price range) and a very realistic sounding acoustic piano tone using 192-notes of polyphony along with having many useful educational features in an attractive cabinet. This piano far surpasses anything that Yamaha has under $2500 at this point in piano playing authenticity and digital features. The CA49 also has very intuitive user controls for the main functions of the piano when using a proprietary iOS (iPad/iPhone) app through wireless Bluetooth connectivity. When not using the app then the piano itself has a OLED display screen to see what's going on when you press a button. 

With 4-speakers, 40 watts of power, and a beautiful cabinet design with front support legs and sliding key-cover, it's hard to beat the CA49 for what it does and how it plays in its price range.

Kawai CN39 satin white

Kawai also makes another model called the CN39 (left pic in white) which has an internet/store discount price of $2699. Even though this discount pricing is over that $2500 price range, it's close enough. It's a great piano for someone who wants a good looking cabinet design, lots of digital features, helpful built-in educational software & functions, and a very smooth and dynamic piano hammer style (plastic, not wood) key action with realistic acoustic piano sound using a 256-note polyphony chip. This model also has 16-track GM MIDI playback from a menu of 324 instrument sounds along with audio wav & MP3 recording & playback. So the CN39 has lots of things you can do with it and it sounds and plays good too. For a price very close to $2500, in my opinion the CN39 offers a very good bang for the buck in this price range for a traditional furniture cabinet model digital piano even as compared to what Yamaha or Casio has to offer in that same price range.

CN39 control panel

The Kawai CN39 is plenty loud enough with its 40 watt full range speaker system. But when it comes to the Kawai brand, the lower priced CA49 with wooden grand-piano style weighted & balanced keys is in a slightly more affordable price range and offers enough upgraded features to satisfy many families who are looking for best possible key action feel and response in this price range. But the CA39 does have some distinct advantages with many more instrument sounds, drum rhythms, interactive piano lessons on-board, a more intuitive control panel and LCD display, and it is a piano that has a wider range of internal functions and features. So it just depends on what you want and how you want to play it.

Yamaha YDP-164

The newer Yamaha Arius YDP-164 at $1599 internet discount price is Yamaha's most popular digital piano between $1500 and $2500. It's a very good piano overall with an improved and more expressive piano sound and has many features including 192 note polyphony, ivory feel keys, 40 watts of power going through 2 internal speakers, layer & duo, a smooth key action although it's somewhat heavy to the touch, and a more traditional cabinet. The YDP-164 does have a few "bells & whistles" including a controller app for iPad. But overall it is for people who want to mainly play piano. Yamaha makes a complete series of the Arius models up to the YDP-184 at $2399 which should also be a consideration because it has an upgraded piano sound chip as compared to the YDP-164 and a better internal speaker system. Click on the following link to read my review of the top-of-the-line YDP-184. Yamaha YDP-184 Review. 

Yamaha also has the Clavinova series digital pianos and its 2021 entry model in this category is called the CLP-725 which sells for $1999 discount price which is $400 less than the YDP-184. If you can stretch your budget a bit over the YDP-184 then the next Clavinova up called the CLP-735 is definitely worth consideration. Go to the following link for my review on the CLP735: Yamaha CLP-735 Review 

The Roland company is well known for making some impressive home & professional digital pianos over the years and they have a few new models called theF170 ($1449 internet price, RP701 ($1599 internet price), DP603 (starting at $2599 internet price) and the HP702 furniture cabinet model (approx piano store discount selling price $2200 left pic) that has a nice 3-part key key sensing system and smooth acoustic piano style key action along with continuous detection pedaling sustain and some very useful technology features. I think these models are good in many ways for their compact size. I would recommend you consider these pianos although they do not rival the Kawai CN39, Yamaha CLP-735, Casio AP-710 or Korg G1B Air.

A person can spend a somewhat more than $2500 and have some other great piano choices such as the newest Roland HP704, Yamaha CLP-745, Casio-Bechstein GP-310, Kawai CA59, and others. So there are plenty of very nice digital pianos for even more money, up to $22,000 for a few Digital Grand Pianos. But most families I speak with want to be under $3000, and any of these pianos mentioned here would be enjoyable to own. Based on my experience both past & present, I recommend that people stay away from the off-brand names like the Williams brand which is a Guitar Center house brand and is only sold by the Guitar Center company and it's subsidiaries. Also I would be careful with pianos from Suzuki& Artesia sold primarily in the US by Guitar Center & Costco. 

Most of these off-brands just don't qualify to called real "pianos" in my opinion. It's all about having realistic key touch action, proper dynamics, smooth key volume response, realistic piano tone up and down the entire 88-keys, no unreasonable key noise, and proper pedal response. There are basic minimum standards that pianos need to have and these off-brand pianos usually fall short.

Also, the off-brands or house brands (in many cases) are not actual piano manufacturers but simply created names produced by relatively unknown Asian factories with (what I consider to be) low quality technology and parts for a low price. Their names sound American to give you the impression that they are somehow as good or better than the Japanese brands, but they are not. They are all made in China and although generally speaking product being made in China is not an issue as far as I'm concerned because many of the top brands now have factories in China. It's what the product actually is, how it's made, the parts and construction that is used, and the quality control provided that counts. I have played all of the off brand pianos offered in the US that I have mentioned here and would not recommend them to anyone if they are looking for a good piano playing experience and long term investment (no matter what the price is). 

The piano cabinets themselves, extra sounds, and other features offered in these digital pianos are only important if the primary functions & features of the piano passes the test. Low price and an attractive furniture style cabinet alone is definitely not a good way to judge piano quality, although unfortunately many people do. You will likely purchase a piano that you'll want to keep for a while so be sure you do your homework and get something that is a good instrument from one of the name piano brands, you'll be glad you did.

One of the more surprising digital piano options to me under $2500 is the Casio Celviano AP-710 digital piano which sells for $2499 discount price on the internet. Not only does this piano look great in its upgraded furniture cabinet, but I was impressed by how good it plays & sounds as a piano along with having many useful digital features. The AP-710 has a powerful built in stereo sound system which does a very good job projecting its piano sound in a way that makes you feel like you are playing a larger acoustic piano. The user interface is fairly easy to use and is located directly in front of you above the keys. So when it comes to a full furniture cabinet style digital piano for less than $2500, I would recommend the Casio A-710 as offering the "best bang for the buck in a traditional furniture cabinet" under $2500US. Go to the following link to read my review on the newer Casio AP-710: Casio AP-710 Review

I know it's difficult for most people to judge these various brands and models on their own when they don't have the experience & expertise. It can also get even more confusing when different piano and music instrument stores tell you different things depending on the brands they're selling. That's why I am happy to help people who wish to contact me and I will answer your questions about what might be best for you based on the actual facts about what these pianos can actually do and what you budget and musical goals are. Even though the choices I have talked about here for my top digital piano picks are good ones, there may be other options for YOU depending on your particular price range and specific needs & wants. I am committed to helping people get good digital pianos, playing good music, having good piano instruction, and enjoying the entire experience. 

I don't work for piano manufacturers nor do I have a favorite brand or model not do I link you to Amazon to purchase a piano just so I can make an affiliate commission off of your sale. I do it because this is my passion and I care about your (and your family's) musical well being. Go to the link below to see what music involvement should be like in the lives of children and why you should should get your children and/or yourself involved in music.
Why Kids Should Play Piano!

If you want more info on these and other pianos and lower prices than internet, Amazon, Bundles, or store discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.comor call direct at 602-571-1864