Eighty-eight keys, and what they weigh
A digital piano is bought for its sound and lived with for its keys, its pedal socket and its headphone jack. Eighty-eight keys with a hammer action feel like an instrument; sixty-one springy keys feel like a controller with speakers, and no amount of onboard voices closes that gap. We compare key count and action type, stated polyphony, whether the pedal input takes a single footswitch or a three-pedal unit, and whether the headphone output is a 3.5 mm (0.14 in) socket or a full 6.35 mm (0.25 in) jack — the detail that decides which cable you also need to buy.
88 touch-sensitive keys · 480 sounds · full accessory bundle
Not a weighted piano and not sold as one: 88 full-size touch-sensitive keys, 480 sounds, and a bundle that includes the stand, pedal, headphones, bag and adapter. The most complete box in this group.
Best for: A first instrument for someone who is not yet sure they will keep playing.
≈ $190
88 weighted keys · 10 sounds · pedal and stand included
A slim 88-key board with Casio’s Scaled Hammer Action II and, unusually at this price, the SP-3 pedal, music rest and power adapter already in the box. Ten sounds rather than hundreds — the money went into the keys.
Best for: A first weighted piano where the pedal and adapter should not be a second order.
≈ $820
88 keys · SuperNATURAL · headphone output
Roland’s entry into the FP series: 88 keys with an ivory-feel surface, the SuperNATURAL engine, and a keyboard mechanism Roland describes as quiet in itself — the detail that decides whether a flat-dweller can practice at night.
Best for: Someone who will practice mostly in headphones and wants the action to be the strong part.
≈ $500
88 keys with touch response · 13 hours on batteries · 23.1 lb · stand and bench in the bundle
A bundle rather than an instrument alone: the CDP-S160 with a stand, a bench, a pedal, a music stand, an adapter and headphones — and the only piano here to publish a battery life and a weight.
Best for: A first piano that has to arrive complete, stand and bench included, and be carried occasionally.
88 semi-weighted keys · wireless MIDI and audio · 800 tones · 600 rhythms
The least expensive 88-key instrument on this shelf, and the only one with wireless MIDI — but with 800 tones and 600 rhythms it is an arranger in a piano aisle, and this page says so first.
Best for: A beginner who wants 88 keys, a backing band and a pedal in one order, and has not yet decided whether they want a piano.
88 GHS keys · three pedals · console cabinet
A console piano rather than a portable one: 88 Graded Hammer Standard keys, three pedals and a cabinet that stays where you put it. Yamaha also fits a volume limiter, which sets a ceiling on output.
Best for: A permanent practice piano in a room where it can stay assembled.
PHA-4 Standard action · Progressive Damper Action pedal · 3D headphone ambience · Bluetooth
The most expensive instrument on this shelf and the only one with a pedal that follows the travel of a foot: a cabinet piano with the PHA-4 Standard keyboard, SuperNATURAL sound, 3D headphone ambience and a bench included.
Best for: A piano with a permanent place in a room, where the pedal and the headphone practice matter as much as the keys.
A full keyboard lets you tackle music written for piano without transposing or running out of range. That is what separates a piano from a stopgap keyboard.
A short keyboard fits a flat and moves on its own. The trade-off is a limited range that makes itself felt quickly as you progress.
A great many attempts stop in the first year. An affordable instrument lets you find that out without having paid the price of a piano.
A full keyboard covers all the written repertoire. A short format suits the first months and becomes limiting as soon as the two hands spread apart.
A mechanism where each key offers graded resistance, heavier in the bass. It is what builds strength and dynamic control.
It is the most important criterion for anyone aiming at the piano. A light action trains the hand differently and is paid for later.
It comes close and does not reproduce the resonance of the wood or the behavior of the strings. For practice it does the job; to the ear the difference is there.
Never: one of its major advantages over the acoustic, which needs an annual visit.
The sustain pedal is enough to begin with. Three-pedal units become useful after several years of practice.
Most have a MIDI or USB output, which lets you play virtual instruments and record. A very common use today.
Seat height changes the position of the forearms and therefore the playing. An adjustable bench is a modest outlay for its effect.
Weighted action counts for more than the number of sounds: it is what prepares the hand. A full keyboard opens the whole repertoire, headphones make practice possible in a flat, and a bench at the right height changes the playing more than you would expect.
A column is opened only if four devices in five publish the figure. Below that, it would set blanks against blanks.
| Model | Price | Keys |
|---|---|---|
| Alesis Recital Play | $190 | 88 full-size, touch-sensitive (not weighted) |
| Roland FP-10 | $500 | 88, ivory-feel key surface (Roland states) |
| Casio CDP-S110 | $820 | 88 weighted, Scaled Hammer Action II |
| Casio CDP-S160 | — | 88 with touch response, which Casio states simulates the feel of an acoustic piano. Not published as a hammer action — two pianos on this shelf publish one |
| Roland RP701-DR | — | PHA-4 Standard keyboard, which Roland states gives all the feel and touch of an acoustic piano |
| Vediya VE203 | — | 88, semi-weighted and touch-sensitive. Not a hammer action — one piano on this shelf publishes one and another publishes a graded one |
| Yamaha ARIUS YDP-105 | — | 88, Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) |
Specifications: manufacturer sheets for musical instruments and gear and the matching Amazon product pages. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure in this table names its source.
Most recent revision in this category: October 7, 2026.
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
