Best digital pianos: Get that premium digital piano sound

Digital pianos have never sounded better. No matter your budget, you can find one that sounds and feels great while meeting all of your needs.

We reviewed the best digital pianos under $1,000, but if you happen to be working with a healthy spend you can find a model that comes with best-in-class sounds and features as well as being easily mobile to move from sessions to shows.

Best digital piano overall – Nord Grand 2

Nord has been at the top of the heap for quite a while. Their products are extremely well-built, packed with amazing sounds and features, and are easily portable.

The Grand 2 features a number of improvements over the original. It’s still got the triple-sensor hammer movement system and next-generation sound engine, including the effects suite.

Everything players loved about the original is back, with expanded sounds and sonics. But multiple aspects have been revamped, including the keybed, increased piano layers and synth capabilities.

The Sample Synth section offers deep control over dynamic velocity responses, ADR values, and Bright tones. Unison Mode blends different voices to create larger-than-life sounds. Mono and Legato modes have adjustable Glide that takes sounds to new spaces.

There’s so much packed into the Grand 2 it’s best to get a hands-on experience to understand what it’s fully capable of. It’s expensive, but considering the quality and variety of sounds, feel, controls options, and build quality there are few other options that can stand up to what it can do.

Best digital piano for the stage: Kurzweil SP7 Grand

Different players look for different things in a digital piano for the stage, and the SP7 offers some of the best features in a model that’s meant to be played live. It has 88 keys with fully-weighted Fatar hammer action that gives it authentic feel and articulation.

It sports 256-voice polyphony over 2GB of onboard sounds that includes a German “D” Concert Grand piano taken directly from the K2700. The 7″ color touchscreen lets dial in sounds and settings through an easy visual reference.

And you can use is as an 8-zone MIDI controller to trigger virtual instrument plugins and audio interface with dual inputs and outputs. This makes it just as useful in the studio as it is for the stage.

It’s a little pricey, but if you’re looking for a digital piano that’s easily portable with all the additional features you could ask for this is a fine option from one of the best names in the business.

Best full-size digital piano: Williams Symphony Grand

When people think of digital pianos, images of keyboards usually come to mind. And most of the products on the market are just that. But there are full-size digital pianos that offer the aesthetics of an acoustic piano with the benefits of keyboards.

Williams’ Symphony Grand is one of the best. Its micro-grand style is elegant, and an 88-key, hammer-action keybed provides a realistic acoustic piano feel. The sound library includes a grand piano as well as multiple types of vintage electric pianos and organs.

Players have 174 voices, 128 General MIDI sounds, and 46 high-definition sounds from the Williams Custom Sound Library. It even models piano effects like pedal and key noise and sympathetic resonance!

There’s even a keyboard arranger feature that’s great for songwriting or beefing up a live performance.

Best digital piano sound library: Roland RD-2000

The RD-2000 is powered by dual sound engines. Thanks to Roland’s V-Piano technology the provided piano sound libraries are robust, realistic, and pretty much unparalleled in the digital piano world.

The company’s SUPERnatural sound library serves up 1,100 highly evolved patches across many different instruments. It has integration with external and 3^rd party sound modules, libraries, and virtual instruments for an almost unlimited amount of sounds.

Along with the standard stereo TRS outputs there are USB and MIDI I/O, so no matter what scenario you need it for it’s simple to use and connect it however you need.

Best digital piano with weighted keys: KORG Grandstage X

Another company at the forefront of digital piano innovation is Korg. Their Grandstage X is an upgrade to the previous model with a sleeker design, better sound quality, and enhanced UI.

Through the SGX-2 acoustic piano engine the sounds are natural, even more responsive to playing dynamics, and incredibly detailed. There are over 500 sounds in the library, and the EP-1 electric piano engine provides seemingly infinite customization options.

But it’s not just electric piano sounds where it shines. There are organs, vintage analog synths, and classic keyboards.

Like its predecessor it runs on seven different sound engines that equip you with an armada of fantastic acoustic and electric pianos, organs, vox, clavinet, even Mellotron! The digital models are next-generation, and the analog models are some of the most authentic thanks to the AL-1 modeling engine.

The RH3 fully-weighted hammer action provides the feel and response of an authentic high end piano to capture the distinct nuances of your playing. It on-board effects include a 3-band EQ, delay, and reverb. A Dynamics knob lets you adjust the feel to whatever suits you. Smooth Sound Transition technology aids in making sure that all sounds blend together perfectly.

It can be used as a sophisticated MIDI controller for triggering plugins or you can use it to control parameters in your DAW – if it’s compatible.

Best digital piano with MIDI: Korg SP-280

This 88-key digital piano comes with a Natural Weighted Hammer Action keybed and cascading action. This means the keys are heavier in the low end and get lighter as you play toward the high register for a realistic acoustic piano feel.

It includes 30 onboard sounds that cover acoustic and electric pianos, organs, strings, to more esoteric instruments like harpsichord and more. Players will appreciate the versatile range of options in the quality of the sound library.

The keyboard can be split, which is useful for MIDI integration. Overall the I/O is useful for a variety of situations. It includes 1/4″ TS outputs, 1/8″ auxiliary input, and output for headphones.

Best digital piano for grand piano sounds: Kawai MP11SE

Kawai is another big player in the digital piano space. There are a number of genuine sounds across 40 distinct presets via proprietary Harmonic Imaging XL software.

It houses some of Kawai’s best acoustic concert grand piano sounds like those from the EX, SK-5, and SK-EX models. The easy-to-use Virtual Technician interface lets you customize every facet of the sound so you can dial in exactly what you’re looking for.

Realistic feel comes through Grand Feel weighted action keys. Atmosphere can be added through six different reverbs and over 129 effects that all have parameter controls.

As for I/O, it has balanced and unbalanced XLR outputs with ¼” inputs with an input gain fader, and MIDI in/out/thru. It has an on-board recording function that can output to WAV, MP3, and MIDI.

Best 88-key digital piano: Nord Stage 4

This iteration of Nord’s Stage series is as good as an 88-key digital piano gets. It features all of their latest tech, like the Wave 2 Synth Engine that covers ground from classic FM to Virtual Analog synthesis.

Through these engines it recreates electric and acoustic pianos and organs with stunning realism. A triple-sensor keybed brings a feel like no other. Effects are assignable by layer and includes new physical drawbars, LED indicators, and advanced MIDI control.

Whether you need pianos, synths, organs, or a full orchestra this thing can do it all. It’s incredibly expensive, but the sound and engineering quality can’t be challenged. Nord is at the top of the heap for a reason.

Best budget digital piano: Roland GO:PIANO88PX

Professional-level features and a lightweight, portable design find the perfect middle ground with this Roland model. It combines the tone of the FP-30X with 40 onboard sounds with expression controls and an easy-to-use interface for dialing them in.

Ivory-textured keys offer the feel of an acoustic piano keybed. Support with the Roland Piano App and free one-year subscription to Cloud Core come together for a well-rounded and immersive creative learning experience.

The sound library includes acoustic piano, electric piano, and organ sounds. High-quality stereo speakers deliver rich sound when outputting the signal isn’t possible, and through battery power players get up to seven hours of playtime.

Split keyboard functionality opens up more tonal options. And even though the I/O doesn’t include the typical 1/4″ line outputs for some reason, it connects through USB-C or Bluetooth MIDI.

What to look for in a digital piano

Sound quality

The most important thing about any digital piano is how it sounds. Look for models with high-quality sound sampling, ideally captured from real acoustic pianos.

A lot of manufacturers use multi-layered samples that respond dynamically to playing, which captures nuances in tone and volume. Check for polyphony count too. At least 128-note polyphony ensures sustained notes and complex passages don’t get cut off.

Key action and feel

A great digital piano should have the feel of an acoustic piano. Weighted or graded hammer-action keys replicate the resistance of real hammers, which lends a more authentic playing experience. If you’re transitioning to digital from acoustic, prioritize models with fully weighted keys and touch sensitivity.

Sounds and features

Piano tones should come first, but extra voices like strings, organs, or electric pianos expand your creative options. Consider additional features like split and layer functions, onboard recording capability, MIDI, and educational tools – which are great for beginners.

FAQ

Which digital piano is most like a real piano?

Any model over $1,000 should have great sound libraries for digital piano sounds. They don’t all offer them, but they’re in demand so you shouldn’t have trouble finding one that does.

In terms of the feel of a real piano you want something with weighted keys, preferably fully-weighted.

Which digital piano do professionals use?

It depends on what they need in their digital pianos, but Nord, Yamaha, and Korg make some of the best. There are plenty of professionals using even midrange models and making best-selling songs. Always remember, it’s what you do with the tools that matter.

Which digital piano is most like a real piano?

In our selections it’s either the Kawai MP11SE or the Korg Grandstage. You shouldn’t have any issues finding one with good acoustic piano patches, but not all models even in this price range offer fully-weighted keys.

What’s the difference between digital pianos and keyboards?

Digital pianos mostly focus on providing an acoustic piano feel and sound. Keyboards usually have more sound variety and portability. You can find models in both categories that offer overlapping features like sound libraries, different types of I/O, and onboard speakers.