Best Intermediate Digital Pianos with Weighted Keys (Jan. 2024) (2024)

Note: Due to rising inflation, the prices of digital pianos have increased by 10-20%. As a result, some of the models discussed in this article may slightly exceed the budget we’ve set.

There are plenty of good options in the sub-700$ price range that, if chosen correctly, can meet the needs of intermediate piano players and provide enough room to grow.

In the past few years, several major manufacturers (Yamaha, Casio, Roland) introduced updated versions of their mid-range digital pianos with 88 fully weighted keys.

The bad news is that as the market grows and becomes more saturated, it becomes more difficult to decide what instrument is right for YOU.

All those fancy marketing terms that manufacturers use when promoting their instruments make things even more confusing.

Some brands equip their instruments with one of those cheap plasticity keybeds and proudly call it “a digital piano suited for beginners and advanced piano players alike” NONSENSE!

In this article, we are going to get to the bottom of it and find out what are the best digital pianos with fully weighted keys that are suited for intermediate players as well as progressing beginners.

How Did We Choose?

When making this list, we were using the following criteria:

• 1) Relatively portable, gig-friendly, no integrated stand
• 1) 88 fully weighted keys (hammer action)
• 2) Realistic multi-sampled piano sound (at least 3 different piano tones)
• 3) A wide range of dynamics: ability to play very soft (pianissimo) up to very loud (fortissimo)
• 4) Polyphony: at least 128 notes
• 6) Built-in MIDI recorder
• 7) USB MIDI or Bluetooth MIDI connectivity (or both).
• 8) Standard functions like metronome, transpose, layer mode, etc.
• 9) Price ∼ $700
• 10) Only well-established reputable manufacturers (Kawai, Yamaha, Casio, Roland, etc.)

Note that even though most of these keyboards are relatively compact and gig-friendly, there are also perfectly suitable for home use. Most of them can be easily mounted on a table or a desk.

Moreover, there are home bundles available on Amazon that include a matching furniture-style stand and a 3-pedal board designed specifically for each model.

Best Digital Pianos With Fully Weighted Keys (sub-$700 range)

1) Roland FP-30X – Arguably the best key action, impressive dynamic range

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At the beginning of 2021, Roland came out with some exciting news. The new update for their hugely popular FP line of portable digital pianos was on the way. And man was everyone excited!

The new models now have an ‘X‘ added to their name showing off their updated nature.

One of the most anticipated models was (no surprise!) the new FP-30X, which replaced the legendary FP-30 that so many people came to love.

Before the introduction of the FP-10, the FP-30 (FP-30X) was the least expensive model in Roland’s FP series and their most affordable digital piano in general.

The old FP-30 model still hasn’t lost its appeal in 2023, but of course, we want the ‘newest‘ and the ‘latest‘ (and I don’t blame you), so today we’ll be focusing on the new Roland FP-30X – the FP-30 on steroids!

For a fairly affordable price, you get a fairly realistic fully-weighted key action and Roland’s famous SuperNATURAL sound engine, which together provide an enjoyable playing experience.

The FP-30X comes with the well-received PHA-4 Standard keyboard with escapement and ivory feel.

The keys on the PHA-4 Standard offer a good amount of weight when you play them and are a little on the heavier side compared to the competition.

Due to the use of individually weighted hammers, the keyboard reproduces the mechanical movements of the piano action quite accurately.

Overall, this is one of the best key actions you can currently get in a digital piano under $1500.

When it comes to sound, the FP-30X is nothing to scoff at either.

At the heart of the instrument is Roland’s sophisticated SuperNATURAL tone generator, which combines grand piano samples with physical modeling algorithms to produce a natural, detailed piano sound with long beautiful decays and resonances.

Take a listen!

Thanks to the powerful 2 x 11W speaker system and multi-layered piano samples the FP-30X can boast a very good dynamic range from the soft pianissimo to the thunderous fortissimo.

Out of all digital pianos on this list, the FP-30X offers the most built-in tones (56) and has the most powerful speakers.

While there are a number of useful features available on the FP-30X, including a MIDI recorder, a metronome with preset rhythms, a layer mode, you can further expand the capabilities of the instrument thanks to its great connectivity.

The Roland FP-30X comes with Bluetooth MIDI connectivity.This means you can wirelessly connect them to your computer or smart device to exchange MIDI data with apps like GarageBand, FlowKey, Playground Sessions, etc.

On top of that, the FP-30X supports Bluetooth Audio, which is something that the FP-30 lacked.

If the FP-30X’s user interface seems too clunky (which it kind of is), you can use Roland’s own Piano Every Day app designed specifically for Roland digital pianos.

The app allows you to navigate all the sounds, settings, and functions of the FP-30X using an intuitive graphical interface, which makes navigation a breeze.

The FP-30X is equipped with two USB ports, type B (for exchanging MIDI) and type A (for connecting a flash drive)

The most prominent upgrade though is the addition of dedicated line outputs, which means you can now easily connect the FP-30X to external speakers and amplifiers without relying on the headphone jack.

Unfortunately, the FP-30X doesn’t have a Lesson function, which means you won’t be able to practice the right- and left-hand parts of the built-in/external songs separately.

The good news is that third-party apps will easily solve that problem, allowing you to use and practice hundreds of songs (each hand part independently).

2) Casio PX-S1100 – The slimmest digital piano packed with innovations

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Casio shaken up the market quite a bit when they first introduced their PX-S series at the beginning of 2019. You wouldn’t find more unique and innovative keyboards than the new Casio PX-S1100, and its bigger brother, the PX-S3100.

The good news is that despite the expensive looks and a few of advanced features, the price point remains very attractive, so kudos to Casio for that.

Let’s take a closer look at what makes this keyboard so special.

First of all, its design! While this might be not the most important aspect of a digital piano, you can’t help but notice how different the PX-S1100 looks from everything else on the market.

Black glossy finish (rather than matte), touch-based illuminated controls and minimalist design make the PX-S1100 really stand out.

As of the time of writing, the PX-S1100 is also the slimmest digital piano in the world. It’s 43% smaller than the PX-160 model, and is incredibly compact and portable.

Nevertheless, Casio managed to fit some good quality speakers into its body as well as a fully weighted keyboard action.

Speaking of action, the newly designed Smart Scaled Hammer Action has also decreased in size compared to the previous Privia keyboards, which negatively affected the key pivot length (shorter than Roland’s and Kawai’s, comparable to Yamaha GHS’s action).

This means it’s more difficult to play towards the back of the keys. At the same time, the new key action brings a number of important upgrades.

It has become much quieter, less bouncy, and has individually scaled keys that are covered with textured material that simulates ivory and ebony coating found in some older acoustic pianos.

The sound section of the PX-S1100 was redone from scratch.

The piano samples are taken from a 9-foot concert grand and further enhanced by resonance modeling algorithms taken from Casio’s premium Celviano Hybrid series, which gives the sounds that liveliness and sparkle that some digital musical instruments miss.

The focus of the PX-S1100 is on piano, so don’t expect too many bells and whistles from this keyboard.

There are 18 built-in tones including some nice electric pianos, organs, and strings. You also get 60 preset songs that you can each learn and practice (each hand independently).

Here’s a nice demo of the PX-S1100’s sound library:

The PX-S1100 is the only keyboard on this list that can run on battery power, which makes it extremely versatile and mobile. You can take it out to the park or a backyard, turn it on and play without worrying about extension cords and wall sockets.

Another unique feature of the PX-S1100 is an Audio in port, which allows you to stream your favorite songs and backing tracks from your phone or tablet to the keyboard’s internal speakers.

Alternatively, you can use Bluetooth Audio (and MIDI), which this keyboard also supports (via the included WU-BT10 Bluetooth adapter).

Also, thanks to the variety of connectivity options, the PX-S1100 would make a great gigging keyboard.

If you’re looking for something more advanced, check out the PX-S1100’s older brother, the PX-S3100.

They share the same key action and piano sound, but the PX-S3100 offers more tones (18 vs 700) and features including an audio recorder, built-in accompaniment styles, arpeggiator, pitch bend wheel, assignable knobs, editable DSP effects, and more.

3) Yamaha P-125 – A solid intermediate piano with a big fan base

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The P-125 is the new mid-range model in Yamaha’s Portable (P) series.

Just like its very successful predecessor (P-115), this keyboard is going to be one of the most popular intermediate fully weighted keyboards on the market considering all the new features and improvements it brings over the previous release.

Yamaha has keyboards in pretty much every price range and product category there is, so it would be a shame not to include one of their most prominent portable digital pianos on this list.

Let’s start with the keyboard itself.

The P-125 features the tried and true Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) keyboard action, which Yamaha have been using for years in their entry-level and mid-range digital pianos.

It’s Yamaha’s most basic fully weighted action, which can also be found in the P-45 (next model down). But it’s still a decent action for a keyboard designed with portability in mind.

The GHS utilizes 2-sensor detection system and has smooth plastic keys (no simulated ivory); the black keys have a matte finish which gives them a nice non-slippery feel.

The sound is the area where the P-125 shines the most, in my opinion, and there are three components responsible for that:

The P-125 has a standard set of features, nothing groundbreaking here. Everything from a metronome and transpose function to Split/Dual/Duo modes and a MIDI recorder is available on this piano.

It’s worth mentioning that unlike its main competitors that have a 1-track MIDI recorder, the P-125 allows you to record 2 tracks for each song, which means you can record each part (either hand part or musical instrument part) to a separate track, and play both tracks together as a single song.

Unfortunately, the P-125 doesn’t offer many options for sound customization. It doesn’t offer any temperament options (except for the default Equal), and it doesn’t allow you to adjust the elements of piano sound like damper noise, resonance, etc.

An interesting thing that the P-125 has is the USB Audio Interface function, which quite rare overall and is not found on any other instruments in this price range.

This function allows to use the USB port to not only transfer MIDI data but also audio, which makes it possible to record the sound of the P-125 directly into your DAW without the need of any external audio interfaces and unnecessary digital > analog > digital conversions as a result.

Despite the fact that some other pianos on the list have more advanced features such as Bluetooth connectivity, more options for sound customization, and a more sophisticated keybed, the Yamaha P-125 is still a solid intermediate piano for anyone seeking reliable action and authentic piano sound in a compact, gig-friendly instrument.

If you’d like to have more tone options, more learning and arranger features and extra connectivity options, you might want to consider the Yamaha DGX-670, which is similar to the P-125 as far as piano-playing is concerned, but gives you more freedom in how you learn, play, and perform music.

4) Kawai ES120 – Natural uncolored piano sound, built-in lesson books

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The Kawai ES120 is the most affordable digital piano in the company’s arsenal, but without a doubt, it’s one of the most realistic digital pianos in its class.

Kawai instruments have always been known for their realistic keyboards and authentic piano sounds.

The ES120 is no exception. This model features the Responsive Hammer Compact (RHC) action with 88 full-size keys with a matte finish for a better grip.

Even though the keyboard uses 2-sensor technology and doesn’t have simulated ivory/ebony keytops, it feels very responsive and nice to the touch.

By no means this keyboard is stiff or hard to play, in fact, it’s quite the opposite.

The keyboard on the ES-120 is very quick (quite bouncy as well) and has a medium-light weight, which makes it more versatile, especially for those how like to play some organ or synth sounds.

Beginners who haven’t yet developed proper finger strength would also appreciate this action, as it’s not as fatiguing to play compared as some of the heavier key actions out there.

Sound is another area where the ES120 excels at.

The ES-120 uses Harmonic Imaging™ (HI) sound processor, which delivers a very natural, uncolored piano sound sampled from the Kawai 9-foot SK-EX concert grand piano.

There are 8 different piano tones recorded using different methods and equipment in order to recreate various nuances and characters of sound (studio, mellow, modern, etc.).

Moreover, the ES120 allows you to adjust 17 different piano sound characteristics such as damper resonance, fall-back noise, damper noise, temperament.

Apart from the realistic playing experience, the ES120 offers some nice extra features.

The piano comes with 9 built-in music books with over 377built-in songs and exercises for beginners, which you can practice separately for right and left hand.

Apart from the standard metronome, you get 100 drum patterns to play along with, which makes it much more enjoyable to practice your timing compared to the basic metronome clicking sound.

Unlike its predecessor, the ES120 now includes a USB to Host port instead of the legacy MIDI In/Out ports.

The piano has Bluetooth MIDI + audio connectivity, which means you can connect to any smart device that supports Bluetooth and exchange MIDI data wirelessly without using any cables.

So for example, you can connect the ES120 to the iPad and create music with GarageBand or learn new songs with flowkey, etc.

[BONUS] Korg D1 – A hidden gem…and a very affordable stage piano

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Didn’t expect this, did you? Yes, Korg instruments are often overlooked when it comes to their entry-level and mid-range offerings, and that’s a shame because they have been consistently releasing some great affordable digital pianos over the last couple of years, and the D1 is one of them.

The reason why this keyboard wasn’t included on the main list is because technically it’s not a digital piano. What is it then? you may ask. Well, this is what we’d call a stage piano.

Depending on how you plan to use the instrument, this can be a deal-breaker or just a minor inconvenience. Personally, I always prefer to use a pair of high-quality headphones over onboard speakers, especially when playing lower-end instruments that don’t have sophisticated multi-speaker setups.So if the absence of speakers doesn’t bother you, the Korg D1 should definitely be on your list.

The highlight of this instrument is Korg’s Japanese-made RH3 key action, which Korg usually puts only on their premium workstation and higher-end digital pianos. The key action might seem basic on the surface (no ivory simulation, 2 sensors rather than 3, etc.), but don’t get discouraged yet, this is one of the best feeling key actions you’ll find in this price range.

I also like the weight of the keys. They are somewhere between ‘too light’ and ‘too heavy’, which makes RH3 more versatile and suitable for playing different styles of music.

The 30 built-in sounds don’t disappoint either. There are two variations of grand piano tones (sampled from two different grand pianos) as well as some nice electric piano sounds, organs, strings, and other instruments.

The piano sounds include damper resonance and key off simulation, which adds a nice touch of realism to the sound.

Being a stage piano, the D1 is designed to be very compact and portable. With that said, it’s not the most lightweight portable instrument you’ll find out there…quite the opposite, in fact. It’s heavier than all the other keyboards featured on this list.

Even though the D1 doesn’t have any built-in speakers (which should in theory reduce some weight) the more advanced key action with longer key sticks means that you can only reduce the weight so much.

In terms of connectivity, the D1 covers all the basics, except instead of the usual USB port, you get 5-pin I MIDIn/Out connectors. This means that if you have any legacy gear (synths, sound modules, etc.) that you want to connect to the D1, you can do that using these ports.

Overall, the Korg D1 is one of the most (if not the most) affordable stage pianos out there, so it doesn’t really have a lot of competitors at the moment. In the meantime, despite the relatively low price tag, the D1 manages to tick all the right boxes, so if you’re looking for a simple yet capable stage piano or MIDI controller, the D1 is definitely worth considering!

Why Are Fully Weighted Keys So Important?

What’s the big deal about fully-weighted keys (aka hammer action)?

The answer is simple. This is the only type of action that tries to recreate the feel of a real acoustic piano.

If you’re serious about learning the piano, or you play a lot of piano repertoire, fully-weighted keyboards are the only thing you should look for, provided of course that realistic playing experience is important to you.

Even if you’ve never played an acoustic piano before, you’ll be able to tell the difference between a weighted and unweighted keyboard right away. Yes, the difference is that big.

There are $500 instruments that have weighted keys and then there are $5,000 instruments that also have weighted keys. As you can guess, the difference between those key actions is pretty significant, starting from the design of the action mechanism, length of the keys (the part behind the fallboard) and ending with the material of the keyboard.

Less experienced players may not notice it, but if you’ve ever sat at a good grand or even upright piano, you’ll notice how closer high-end digital pianos come to that feel.

Of course, not everyone is willing to invest $5000 in something that’s just a hobby, especially considering that you can buy a good upright for about the same price.

But even if it’s a relatively affordable digital piano (such as the ones we covered in this article), it’s still important to have a fully-weighted key action.

Not only this will allow you to develop the necessary finger strength and proper technique, but it will also make playing piano pieces that much easier and more enjoyable with more precise dynamic control and greater expression.

This, in turn, will make it easier to transition to an actual acoustic piano further down the line if you decide to do so.

Choosing an Intermediate Digital Piano – Buying Guide

There you have, folks! Note that this list is based on what we believe are the best intermediate digital pianos with fully weighted keysyou can currently get.

In case you haven’t found the instrument that suits your needs in this article, I’d like to provide some extra information that will hopefully help you find the right instrument.

Here are some of the main terms and aspects of the digital piano world that you’ll inevitably run into when doing your research.

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If after reading this review you still have doubts about what instrument to choose, take a look at our Digital Piano Buying Guide and other popular articles listed below:

Best Digital Pianos for Beginners (Under $500)

Best Digital Pianos Under $1000 for Home Use

Best Home Digital Pianos Under $1500 (In-depth Comparison)

The Ultimate Guide to Buying a Digital Piano