5 Best Keyboard Pianos for Beginners and Kids (Cost-Effective)

Starting to learn piano? This article lists and describes the Best Keyboard Piano for Beginners and provides quick links to purchase online.

If you are just starting, you may not want to invest in a piano that is too expensive. The following is a list of the best keyboard pianos for Beginners.  Each option is affordable (starting at just over $100 US) and helps you understand the advantages of each keyboard for the price. As a piano teacher at the Royal Vale Elementary School in Montreal, I’ve recommended these pianos to many students.
Benefits of a piano keyboard:

• Easy to transport
• Can move around the house easily (especially if battery-powered)
• Quiet (you can lower the volume or practise with headphones)
• Plug into a computer and take advantage of music apps to record yourself and learn (like Garage Band or Main Stage)
• No tuning required

Aspects to understand the quality/price of a keyboard

• Weighted keys (mimics the action of an acoustic piano)
• Number of keys (an acoustic piano has 88 keys.  Keyboards are usually between 61 and 88 keys)
• Stand and seat (keyboards do not automatically come with a stand or a seat.)
• Pedals (keyboards do not all include sustain pedals)
• Escapement (mimics the hammer action of an acoustic piano. Only present on high-end keyboards)
• Polyphony (the number of tones a keyboard can produce at once. Higher-end keyboards mimic the resonance qualities of acoustic pianos) Learn more about Polyphony

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Casio Casiotone, 61-Key Portable Keyboard

Includes power supply and music rest.

Buy Online in the US (USD 139.00)
Buy Online in Canada: ($179.00 CA)
This portable keyboard has 61 keys and comes with a sound bank of 400 different sounds. Kids love trying out new sounds when they play their favourite songs. Includes a horn sound, a synth bass sound, a classical guitar sound and hundreds more.

Practise with a Drum Beat

Instead of practising to a metronome, this keyboard includes 77 different drum beats that students can groove along to (which is much more fun than a metronome). This helps them understand the great importance of rhythm in music.

Does the number of keys matter for beginners?

A piano has 88 keys, whereas this keyboard has only 61.  This shouldn’t be a problem because most piano songs for beginners use much less than 61 keys.

Weighted keys

This keyboard does not have weighted keys. When students learn to play with a keyboard that doesn’t have weighted keys, they may have some difficulty pressing the notes of a real piano. These students generally overcome this issue over a month or two of practice.
*weighted keys on a keyboard simulate the touch of a real piano, giving the keys a weight that resembles a piano.

Do I need a stand or a sustain pedal?

This keyboard doesn’t come with a stand or a sustain pedal (It does come with a music rest to hold your sheet music.) To get started playing this keyboard, you can simply place it on a small table or desk. Use a chair to sit.
Alternatively, because it has the option of being battery-powered, you can move this keyboard around the house and play it on a bed or a couch.
Purchase this keyboard with an Adjustable Stand, Bench, Sustain Pedal, and Instructional Book. 

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YAMAHA Piaggerro NP12 61-Key

Buy Online in the US (USD 309.00)
Buy Online in Canada ($429.99 CA)
The Yamaha Piaggerro is a no-frills 61-key piano keyboard without weighted keys. It was designed with a simple and serious look and does not feature all the bells and whistles of the Casio or other beginner keyboards.

How it works

It is equipped with nothing but a volume knob, a metronome, a record function and 12 high-quality built-in sounds. It includes sounds such as the electronic piano, the organ, harpsichord, strings and more.  The default sound features a very pleasant sample of a Yamaha concert grand piano.

About this keyboard

• One of the best piano sounds in the small-size keyboard category.
• Features an elegant design and lightweight portability.
• Battery powered so it can be played anywhere, even around a campfire. *The power adapter is sold separately.

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Donner DEP-10 Beginner Digital Piano 88 Key Full Size

Semi-Weighted Keyboard, Portable Electric Piano with Sustain Pedal, Power Supply

Buy Online in the US (Approx. $444.75USD)
Buy Online in Canada ($599.99 CA)

About this keyboard

• Full-size 88 key piano keyboard.
• Lightweight and easy to transport.
• The volume is good and can get quite loud in a small room.
• Includes a headphone jack which is ideal for quiet practice.
• This keyboard has semi-weighted keys, and the feel is really good. It feels much better than the keyboards that do not have weighted keys, and almost feels like you are playing at a real piano.

“I’m surprised at how much I like this for the price. This is a lightweight, simple keyboard but with a lot of nice features.” – B. Drew

How to take advantage of this keyboard

This keyboard includes a USB connection that allows you to connect this piano to different computer software.  One way to improve the sound quality of this keyboard is to plug it into software like Mainstage and take advantage of the superior sounds available there.  This way, you can take advantage of the weighted keys of this keyboard while including the superior sound quality of mainstage.

With stand and pedals

Purchase this keyboard with an elegant furniture stand and 3-pedal unit.
or purchase the keyboard only and include Donner sustain pedal.

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Yamaha P45, 88-Key Weighted Action Digital Piano

with Power Supply, Sustain Pedal and Music rest

Buy Online in the US (approx. $499.99 US)
Buy P125 Online in Canada ($899.99 CA)
This is one of the best keyboard pianos for beginners and one of the most cost-effective options for a quality full-size keyboard.  Yamaha is a household name, and you can’t go wrong with this one.

• Full-size, 88-key piano keyboard with weighted keys.
• Just like an acoustic piano, weighted action makes this keyboard heavier in the low end and lighter in the high end.
• Very easy to set up. Simply plug and play. Includes 10 different voices including a Yamaha acoustic piano sample.
• Good quality built-in speakers
• Elegant, no-frills piano keyboard.

The advantage of this keyboard

If you are looking for a full-size keyboard with weighted keys that resembles a real piano, then this is one of the best options in terms of quality/price.

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Roland FP-30 88-key Portable Digital Keyboard 

with Power Amplifier and Stereo Speakers

Buy online in the US: $1,199 USD

What makes this piano keyboard stand out is the ivory feel piano-touch feature (PHA-4). This gives it a very realistic key response (just like a real piano.)  The quality of this piano-touch feature is unique for a keyboard in this price range.

The main advantages of this keyboard

• Textured key surface (which resembles ivory keys).
• Bluetooth connectivity.
• Includes a sustain pedal.
• USB connector allows you to plug this keyboard into a computer.
• Stereo speakers allow for the sound output to resemble an acoustic piano (left and right panning)
• Roland is a highly reputable brand that is renowned for producing high-quality keyboards.
• Excellent customer service at Roland with a 2-year warranty.

This keyboard does not come with a stand.  This bundle provides all the necessary equipment to get setup.

With Stand and Sustain Pedal

• Roland FP-30 88-Key Digital Piano (Black) Bundle with Bench, Stand, Sustain Pedal and H&A Studio Headphones

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About Musiprof

Thank you for reading our blog article the 5 Best Keyboard Piano for Beginners and Kids.
Musiprof is a Canadian Music organization that connects piano teachers to students in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.