If you are confused which digital piano under 500 to buy, you are in the right place because this article will guide you to choose the ideal one. A good chunk of kids grew up playing those toy pianos, synthesizers, and I was one of them. The expression of pure bliss on your parent’s face and annoyance on your brother’s caused by the non-sensical tune you played (hey, music is subjective).
Good old days! Anyway, nostalgia aside, if you did or did not play those, you know those are not suited for any serious music development. If you wish to be the next Chopin or nothing as intense, rather just wish to find out if you are interested in music and best digital piano under 500, those toy “pianos” won’t do much in helping you gain that clarity.
The keys on a toy Dkeyboard, the sound it creates, will always make it sound like a toy. However, a digital piano splits the difference between a toy keyboard and a professional one, making it a perfect entry-level choice.
Whether you are a beginner that already knows about their love for music or just someone that wishes to give keyboards a shot but don’t want to break the bank trying to explore this new possible hobby/passion, I got you covered. But If your want instrument for your for kids try smaller keyboard with less octave.
Note: Many people prefer digital piano over acoustic ones. It is all about preference and the style of your playing and the genre of music you prefer. Every instrument has its perks and its flaws. It would help if you decided for yourself what is best suited for you.
Now, with that said, here is the list of the best digital piano under 500 bucks.
8 best digital piano under 500 review
1) RockJam RJ561 - best DIGITAL PIANO with recording features
PRODUCT DETAILS
The first keyboard on my list is literally the best digital piano under 500 “split between real and toy.” The RockJam 61-key electronic piano is a well suited instrument-like synth for kids and “simply curious” people out there. This thing features 61 keys, like a proper keyboard, of the standard size.
There are about 100 keyboard sounds and rhythms available at your disposal, along with 50 demo songs. The keyboards also feature an LCD screen, which is displays vital information. Upon purchase, this thing comes with some handy stuff!
A pair of headphones are offered, so you can play this piano without bothering anyone, a nice, durable and padded stool, an adjustable power supply for your electronic keyboard, and a sturdy stand for your synth and is comfortable for musicians of all sizes.
The company also offers something extra, which I appreciate very much. They offer you a one-month free-membership of Simply Piano app. This apps offers you 30 songs. Overall, this is an excellent choice for kids to get a taste of an actual instrument without breaking their parents’ wallets.
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2) Yamaha P71 - best 88-Key Action Digital Piano
PRODUCT DETAILS
The Yamaha P71 is an Amazon Exclusive product, meaning you can only get it here. Yamaha has been in the piano/keyboard game for a long time and they have had much success. Their products are well built and reliable.
The P71 has an essential feature: it has fully weighted keys (graded hammer standard), which are also touch-sensitive, offering three levels of sensitivity, namely hard/medium/soft.
Why this best digital piano under 500? Well, because one of the most critical aspects of an instrument is that it should feel pleasant and high quality while playing,
What the “graded keys” means is that the keys on the low ends are heavier to press than the ones at the higher level. The 88 weighted keys on the P71 simulate the feel you would get if you were playing an actual, acoustic piano.
Coming to the voice (sound), this keyboard has 10 different voices, including those that simulate a Yamaha grand piano. It also offers you a feature called Dual Mode, which lets you mix to voices, for example, Piano and Strings voices can be mixed so that it can be fun. Included with the keyboard is a power adapter, which is not surprising, what is surprising is that you get a sustain pedal with it.
Now, that’s not something you often get with a keyboard. Mostly, pedals are something you have to shop for separately so that is a much-appreciated addition. Overall, this thing is a fantastic choice for everyone, kids, beginners or casual players. It sounds good for the price, is fairly affordable and has a simple and sleek design.
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3) Alesis Recital - best digital PIANO for pro
PRODUCT DETAILS
If you are looking for digital piano that has rich features, then take a look at the Alesis Recital Pro which is jam-packed with features at an affordable price. This keyboard comes with 88 weighted-keys with adjustable touch-sensitivity. As we stated above, weighted keys are amazing as they simulate the feel of an actual acoustic piano and makes playing feel much more “real”.
The touch sensitivity is adjustable, offering 3 levels of sensitivity namely: Soft, Medium, Hard. You can also turn the feature off. A major selling feature of this digital piano is the inbuilt massive 20w speakers. These speakers sound great and do not distort even at max volume.
However, if you wish to not wake up the entire house whilst trying to play the seventh symphony, you can always use the 6.35 mm headphone output which mutes the internal speakers, making it convenient for you and those around you.
Coming to the sound, this thing has 12 voices, there is a nice screen that indicates which voice you are currently using, and offers a 128-note polyphony which is very impressive at this price point. Polyphony, if you don’t know, means how many keys you can play simultaneously.
The Recital Pro offers some extra features for best digital piano under 500 like Layer mode, split, record and lesson mode. Layer mode allows you to play two sounds at the same time while split mode divides your piano into 2 halves, each half having a different present.
For example, one side being Bass the other being Strings. The lesson mode is a hit or miss feature that splits the piano into two halves of equal octave ranges, making it easier for teachers to teach. So, as we say, this thing is jammed packed with features and is an ideal choice for beginners.
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4) Casio WK-245 PPK - best digital piano for beginners
PRODUCT DETAILS
Casio, perhaps the most famous band ever to make keyboards. They are at that legendary level as Harley Davidson, where all cruisers are called Harleys while all keyboards are called Casios. So, you know when you buy their product, you won’t be disappointed.
The Casio WK-245 PPK is filled with features. It has 76 touch-sensitive keys which, unfortunately, are not weighted. However, that is where the complaints end. The keyboard offers you 600 built-in tones, allowing you to create and play music of any style along with 180 kinds of rhymes to jam along to and a massive library of 152 built-in songs.
The keyboard has the ability to create layers, so performing solo is made easier and also, houses the split mode in which the keyboard divides into 2 halves, each half creating a different sound.
When you come up with an idea, this thing can record it thanks to its onboard 5-song/6-track recorder. The WK-245 also has an LCD screen right in the middle displaying all the necessary information like the music notations.
Another fantastic feature of this best digital piano under 500 is that it has MIDI and USB connectivity. The onboard sampling lets create your own sound patches and onboard mic and audio let you record other instruments, making the process of creating music easily.
This is what one would also call a workstation. WK-245 is a brilliant choice for those wanting to create their own music and record at a budget.
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5) RockJam 88-Key Digital Piano (RJ88DP)
PRODUCT DETAILS
This bad boy is big! With 88 full-sized keys that are semi-weighted and velocity-sensitive (touch), playing this feels like almost, as good as playing an actual acoustic piano.
The RockJam 88 key is more suited for adults and musicians, unlike the RockJam 61. This best digital piano under 500 houses a ton of features. Starting with the sounds, it offers you 8 different tones, 20 sounds (voices), layer mode, split mode (divides the keyboard into 2 halves with different presets), lesson mode and more.
All these features can be found and are accessible from the futuristic, sleek touch screen panel. Seriously, it looks like it’s from the future almost (well, not really but yes, somewhat).
The sound is delivered through 2 powerful 12w inbuilt speakers making it loud and well suited for playing at certain venues. It also comes with a 6.35 mm stereo headphone output, which you can use to practice quietly at night.
The RJ88DP also offers you many inputs for pedals like the 6.35 mm sustain pedal input, 6.35 mm microphone connector, soft-pedal input and a 7 pin sostenuto pedal input and auxiliary outputs for amplifiers and recording devices.
There is absolutely no lack in this keyboard when it comes to connectivity, Midi, Microphone, USB and Aux connections and more make this a great digital piano and especially, the ability to use this as a Midi offers many areas for serious composers to like this keyboard.
The companion app that it comes is decent as it helps fasten the learning process. Overall, this is a decent product that offers a lot for the price.
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6) RIF6 Electric 61 Key - best multi-effects digital paino
PRODUCT DETAILS
This digital piano focused on beginners comes as advertised. The keyboard has 61 full-sized keys with 8-note polyphony, the keys are not weighted which is rather disappointing that as that adds a lot of feel and sort of a premium feel to the keyboard, nevertheless, if this will be your first keyboard, it shouldn’t be a problem or something you would miss if you haven’t experienced it.
There is a lot of legroom this keyboard offers in terms of creativity with the 300 tones, 300 rhythms and 50 demo songs this thing offers, along with percussions and drum beats you can use additionally. Being a beginner keyboard, with its 61 keys, this thing is fairly lightweight and portable.
You can insert it with 8 alkaline or rechargeable D size batteries to add to that portability aspect and play it anywhere with those batteries in. In terms of connectivity, it has a headphone and a microphone jack.
With those many different tones, you will spend your nights trying all of them out, a headphone jack is needed to make sure no one calls the cops on you.
There are 2 different teaching modes integrated into the keyboard that helps you in learning chords and some popular songs. Overall, this best digital piano under 500 is great for beginners and kids however not for intermediates or above.
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7) The ONE Smart Keyboard - BEST DIGITAL PAINO FOR KIDS
PRODUCT DETAILS
Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to the future. I call this the piano for introverts and anti-socials. Why? Well, the ONE Smart keyboard comes with an integrated, interactive app that does the job of an instructor, so no more needed to depend upon another human to touch you the art of playing the piano.
So, what makes this keyboard as best digital piano under 500? As I mentioned earlier, the integrated app (ONE Smart Piano) is offered with the keyboard which acts as a teacher. It teaches you how to play via some fun, interactive games, thousands of sheet music available for all the genres from jazz to classical.
Over 100 free video lessons integrated with lights to learn more complicated things. Pause, rewind or slow-down sections you find difficult. That “with lights” part might have confused you, let me expand on it. This keyboard, another aspect that makes it smart, comes with synced LED lights.
Now, that is some futuristic technology and an extremely neat party trick. Okay, now gimmicks aside, this thing is indeed targetted towards beginners and collectors however it does have some decent specs. It has 61 keys and 128 Polyphony.
You can access 128+ instrument sounds available via the mobile app which will be delivered through the inbuilt speakers. It is portable thanks to the lightweight and in-built stand.
The ONE keyboard also has a MIDI output and recording available, so it can indeed be used for serious music-making. This keyboard should your go-to choice if you want something different yet useful.
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8) LAGRIMA 61 Key - best Portable Electric Piano
PRODUCT DETAILS
Here is a best digital piano under 500 that is suited for both intermediate players and beginners at a fairly reasonable price. This LAGRIMA electric keyboard has 61 standard-sized keys, which aren’t actually standard, they seem a bit smaller than standard-sized keys and are touch-sensitive.
Unfortunately, these aren’t weighted, but some things are expected to be missing from a budget keyboard. The LAGRIMA 61 keyboard offers you 12 Demo Songs, 128 Tones and 128 Rhythms all of which blast out through its inbuilt speakers.
Having the record and playback function is convenient as now you do not have to rely on your phone or some other device to record your music through and hear what it sounds like. This is a time saving, ease of life feature.
This thing also supports a MIC Jack, so you can practice your vocals along with your playing. The functions are easy to understand and there is an LED display to provide you with some vital information that you may need.
A fantastic feature which is quite surprising at this price point is that this keyboard offers USB MIDI compatibility which allows you to connect your keyboard to your pc or mobile, allowing you to download songs onto it to learn or creating samples of music into a midi format so you can share them,
At purchase, you get an adjustable stand, foldable stool, microphone, adapter and of course the manual so that’s much appreciated. Overall, this keyboard has all the features you might need and expect, the main selling point of this is the price at which it is being offered with those features. This is a fantastic choice for beginners and intermediate players.
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CONCLUSION
And that’s the end of my list for best digital piano under 500. Hope it helped you out and nugged you in the rigt direction to find the keyboard that converts your or your child’s mere interest in Pianos into a passion.
Share your views about this article in the comment section 🙂
Gibson is a blogger and reviewer, whose passion is helping people with all the aspects of music through the blog he provides. Also, he is an artist and loves to create his own tunes by purchasing good quality musical tools. With his own experience, he has provided a great list of tools for you in this blog. Seeking the best quality musical tools? Read this blog and end your music thirst!