When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Dive deep into Yamaha’s digital piano range with our recommendations for every budget digital piano kids
1. Quick list 2. Best overall 3. Best for beginners 4. Best on a budget 5. Best for stage 6. Best grand piano 7. Best digital hybrid 8. Buying advice 9. How we choose
Ask anyone on the street to name three piano manufacturers and you can almost guarantee that Yamaha will be the first one that most people think of. The Japanese company have been at the top of the piano tree for decades, building a reputation as producers of some of the finest acoustic pianos in the world since their debut in 1900 - the flagship Yamaha CFX concert grand retails for £140,000 and is revered by professional concert pianists the world over. With a pedigree like that, you'd expect them also to know a thing or two about making great digital pianos, and you'd not be wrong, with a number of distinct model ranges, including the Clavinova, Arius, Portable Grand and P-Series pianos on their roster.
Having decided on one of the best Yamaha digital pianos means you’ve already made a great decision, but once you’ve arrived at that point, where next? Such a wide range of products can be a bit bewildering when you're looking for the perfect instrument, so we've put together this buyer's guide to help you navigate Yamaha’s densely-populated digital piano line-up.
We've got some handy buying advice further down the page, too, to help you understand the nuances of each series.
Dave has been making music with computers since 1988 and his engineering, programming and keyboard-playing has featured on recordings by artists including George Michael, Kylie and Gary Barlow. A music technology writer since 2007, he’s Computer Music’s long-serving songwriting and music theory columnist, iCreate magazine’s resident Logic Pro expert and a regular contributor to MusicRadar and Attack Magazine.
Occupying an upper-mid slot in the current CLP-700 range, the CLP-775 is a compact digital model that looks every inch the classic home piano, resembling a cut-down upright piano but sounding like a concert grand. The grand experience is perpetuated by the inclusion of Yamaha’s GrandTouch keyboard action with individually calibrated wooden keys.
Simple enough to appeal to beginners, yet versatile enough to deliver a rewarding experience for more advanced players, the YDP-145 is popular with piano teachers and students alike because of its fabulous CFX grand piano sound, dual headphone jacks and wonderfully playable GHS keyboard.
The P-45 portable digital piano has been around almost as long as the wheel, and finally, Yamaha is here with a new version, the P-145. Offering newbie players excellent sound, thanks to the AWM sound engine, portability, and the excellent GHC keyboard at an affordable price, this is one of the best Yamaha digital pianos available right now.
Strictly speaking, the CP-88 is a stage piano, meaning that it's designed to be used on stage at a gig, and thus has no speakers. It does offer plenty of connectivity however, and is portable enough to be chucked into the back of a Transit van without slipping a disc. We've included it because, despite its lack of speakers, it is technically a digital piano and provides a brilliant solution for pro and semi-pro gigging musos.
Looking to all intents and purposes like an acoustic baby grand piano, the CLP-795GP sits at the top of the Clavinova CLP range. The difference is that this grand has literally no strings attached - in place of an acoustic grand piano's soundboard and strings there is a beautifully finished polished wooden housing containing a number of shiny round speakers, laid out in what Yamaha call a Grand Acoustic Imaging array.
Imagine taking one of the world’s finest acoustic upright pianos, removing the strings and soundboard and replacing them with a digital sound generator, leaving only the keyboard mechanism and hammers intact. What you’d be left with is essentially the N-1X AvantGuard hybrid digital piano. In a slightly unusual design that resembles the cut-off front end of a grand piano, the N-1X promises grand piano performance in the body of an upright.
05/06/24: We've reviewed our product choices to ensure we are recommending the latest and greatest from Yamaha. 13/09/23: We replaced the much-loved Yamaha P-45 with the brand-new version, P-145. We recently reviewed the P-145, putting it through its paces to see if it could live up to its predecessor - and we must say, we were mighty impressed with this modern update of a classic beginner digital piano.
Occupying an upper-mid slot in the current CLP-700 range, the CLP-775 is a compact console model that looks every inch the classic home piano, resembling a cut-down upright piano but sounding like a concert grand.
The grand experience is perpetuated by the inclusion of Yamaha’s GrandTouch keyboard action with individually calibrated wooden keys which, together with the Grand Piano Response damper pedal, makes the 775 a joy to play whatever your level of ability.
If you're in the market for a high-quality, great-sounding digital piano for the home that's as close as you can get to the feel of an acoustic grand, we'd recommend the CLP-775 in a heartbeat.
Read the full Yamaha Clavinova CLP-775 review
Bridging the gap between Yamaha's P-series portable digital pianos and their costlier Clavinova range, the best-selling YDP-145 hits the sweet spot between affordability and advanced features.
Simple enough to appeal to beginners, yet versatile enough to deliver a rewarding experience for more advanced players, the YDP-145 is popular with piano teachers and students alike because of its fabulous CFX grand piano sound, dual headphone jacks and wonderfully playable GHS keyboard.
Available in a choice of White, Rosewood and Black finishes, the YDP-145 delivers an authentic piano-playing experience in a stylish and compact package that won't dominate your living room.
Read our full Yamaha Arius YDP-145 review
The P-45 portable digital piano has been around almost as long as the wheel, and finally, Yamaha is here with a new version, the P-145.
Offering newbie players excellent sound, thanks to the AWM sound engine, portability, and the excellent GHC keyboard at an affordable price, this is one of the best Yamaha digital pianos available right now.
To sum up, it's a great basic piano for not a lot of money - it doesn't have fancy features like Bluetooth audio, but if all you want is a decent-sounding portable piano with a great-feeling keyboard and that signature Yamaha sound, then this is the piano for you.
Read our full Yamaha P-145 review
Strictly speaking, the CP-88 is a stage piano, meaning that it's designed to be used on stage at a gig, and thus has no speakers. It does offer plenty of connectivity however, and is portable enough to be chucked into the back of a Transit van without slipping a disc.
We've decided to include it in this list because, despite its lack of speakers, it is technically a digital piano and provides a brilliant solution for pro and semi-pro gigging musos. The only downside is that you'll need to connect it to a PA speaker system or a set of headphones to hear anything.
Sound wise, the CP-88 more than has you covered, featuring three premium concert grand pianos: the Yamaha CFX, Yamaha S700 and the Bösendorfer Imperial 290, as well as two Yamaha uprights, the U1 and the SU7, together with a wide variety of incredibly usable electric piano, organ, clavinet, synth and string sounds.
Read our full Yamaha CP-88 review
Looking to all intents and purposes like an acoustic baby grand piano, the CLP-795GP sits at the top of the Clavinova CLP range. The difference is that this grand has literally no strings attached - in place of an acoustic grand piano's soundboard and strings there is a beautifully finished polished wooden housing containing a number of shiny round speakers, laid out in what Yamaha call a Grand Acoustic Imaging array.
The CLP-795GP receives all the grand piano accoutrements from the CLP features list, namely the GrandTouch keyboard with wooden white keys and an increased length from the tip of the key to the fulcrum, to the GP response damper pedal that closely tracks the continuous pedal depression behaviour of an acoustic grand.
The signature 700-series touch sensor control panel effectively maintains the traditional look, and there's full Bluetooth functionality, with Bluetooth audio built in and wireless compatibility with the Smart Pianist app via Bluetooth MIDI. This all adds up to a beautiful-sounding instrument that's not only rewarding to play but will add elegance to any home that has the space for it.
Imagine taking one of the world’s finest acoustic upright pianos, removing the strings and soundboard and replacing them with a digital sound generator, leaving only the keyboard mechanism and hammers intact. What you’d be left with is essentially the N-1X AvantGuard hybrid digital piano.
In a slightly unusual design that resembles the cut-off front end of a grand piano, the N-1X promises grand piano performance in the body of an upright, with a high-performance speaker system designed to ensure that the sound is projected in a manner virtually identical to that of an acoustic instrument.
custom piano keyboard The ace up its sleeve though, is that authentic grand piano action, identical to that of an actual Yamaha grand, which when coupled with the fantastic CFX and Bosendorfer sample sets and advanced features like dual headphone outputs, Bluetooth audio streaming capability and compatibility with Smart Pianist, makes the N-1X an absolute joy to play.