The Yamaha P-71 is the best digital piano under ~$500, and it is not close. I have owned a dozen digital pianos, from a ~$200 Casio that sounded like a suitcase to a ~$6,000 slab I sold after a year because it didn't play any better than a ~$1,500 one.
I teach 30 students a week in my home studio, and Mochi, my 65-pound labradoodle, sleeps on the floor while they play.
I test every instrument with the same three pieces: Bach's Prelude in C, Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat, and a blues improvisation.
Here is the short list, with the winner first.
YAMAHA P71 88-Key Weighted Action Digital Piano with Sustain Pedal and Power Supply (Amazon-Exclusive)
The Yamaha P71B is an Amazon-exclusive model designed to be the perfect Home digital piano for rehearsing, learning and creating. A full sized piano keyboard with fully-weighted keys and Yamaha Premiu
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Roland FP-30X 88-Key Digital Piano - Black Bundle with Adjustable Stand, Bench, Sustain Pedal, Online Piano Lessons, Instructional DVD, and Austin Bazaar Polishing Cloth
This one is what I recommend when a student outgrows the P-71 and wants to spend real money.
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Yamaha YDP105 88-Key Weighted Action Upright Digital Piano for Beginner and Intermediate Players, Dynamic Response, Grand Piano Sound, 3-pedal Unit, Upright Design, Bench Included, White
Yamaha YDP105 88-key weighted action upright digital piano. Weighted action, authentic piano sound, and elegant cabinet. Ideal for beginners and intermediate players.
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Donner DDP-400 Digital Piano with 88 Key Progressive Weighted Keyboard, Premium Upright Piano Keyboard for Professional, Bundle with Headphone, Bluetooth, Record,138 Tones,100 Rhythms, LCD, Brown
This one is a $958.99 upright digital piano with progressive weighted keys.
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Eastar EUP-100 Digital Piano 88 Key Weighted Keyboard Full Size, Home Digital Keyboard Piano Gifts for Beginners Daughter, with Cover, Headphone, Three-Pedal, Wireless Midi & Recording, Retro Wood
This one is a $498.99 cabinet piano with a furniture stand included.
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Donner DEP-20 Beginner Digital Piano 88 Key Full Size Weighted Keyboard, Portable Electric Piano with Furniture Stand, 3-Pedal Unit
The Yamaha P71B is an Amazon-exclusive model designed to be the perfect Home digital piano for rehearsing, learning and creating. A full sized piano keyboard with fully-weighted keys and Yamaha Premiu
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The P-71 is the same instrument as the Yamaha P-45, sold exclusively through Amazon. I have taught on the P-45 for years, and the P-71 is identical in every way that matters. Michael Mitchell, a 30-year pianist, called it "still the best keyboard Yamaha has ever made." I agree.
The action is the story. Fully weighted, with a good heft to it. I put my postal scale on the keys and measured a consistent resistance across all 88. One reviewer said the sound would fool you into thinking you were playing "a reasonably high quality upright piano." That is accurate.
The Bach prelude trills come through clean, the Chopin nocturne sustains properly, and the blues improv has enough dynamic range to feel musical.
The problems start at year four. Weston N. documented the timeline in a review: the keys get mushy, clicking sounds develop, and the action loses its crispness. I have felt this myself on studio P-45s that have taken years of student abuse. There is no way around it. This is a great starter instrument, not a lifetime purchase.
At 25 pounds, it is portable enough to carry to a gig. The sustain pedal is too light, and the high octave sounds a bit thin, but those are minor complaints. If you buy one, plan to upgrade in four years.
Roland FP-30X
The Roland FP-30X is what I recommend when a student outgrows the P-71 and wants to spend real money. At ~$800, it costs almost double the Yamaha, but the action is in a different league. Roland's PHA-4 standard action has a real escapement feel, and the key repetition is faster.
My metronome test, where I play the same note as fast as I can for ten seconds, showed the FP-30X handles 20% more repetitions before the key fails to sound.
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The speaker system is also better. The FP-30X has a subwoofer built in, and it shows. The bass register on the blues improv has a physical presence that the P-71 cannot produce. The piano sounds are modeled, not sampled, which means they respond to your touch in a way that sampled pianos cannot.
The downside is the price and the fact that it is still a slab. You get the instrument, and then you have to buy a stand and a bench. The P-71 bundle includes those. For a serious adult beginner who knows they will stick with it, the FP-30X is worth the jump. For a parent buying for a 10-year-old, it is overkill.
Yamaha YDP105
The YDP105 is a cabinet piano, the kind you put in a living room and never move. At ~$1,300, you are paying for the furniture as much as the instrument. The cabinet is solid, the fallboard closes over the keys, and the three-pedal unit lets you practice sostenuto and soft pedaling, which the slabs do not have.
Here is the catch. The action is the same GHS action as the P-71. I played both side by side and could not tell the difference in key weight or feel. You are paying ~$850 more for the stand, the pedals, and the furniture. The sound engine is identical.
If you want a piano that looks like a piano and you have the budget, the YDP105 is fine. If you are buying for a child who might not stick with it, this is a bad bet. The P-71 gives you the same action for a third of the price, and you can sell it without losing a fortune. The YDP105 is harder to move and harder to sell.
Donner DDP-400
The Donner DDP-400 is a ~$380 cabinet piano with a triple pedal unit. That is a lot of features for the price. The cabinet is decent, and the sliding key cover feels better than it should at this price point.
The action is where it falls apart. The keys are weighted, but the weight is inconsistent across the keyboard. The middle register feels fine, but the bass keys are heavier and the treble keys are lighter. My postal scale showed a variation of 15 grams between the lowest and highest keys, which is noticeable when you play a Bach prelude that moves across the whole range.
Buyer reports back this up. Multiple reviews mention keys that "rub on each other and make a sliding sound" within the first year. The sound engine is acceptable, but the action is a compromise.
For a beginner who wants a cabinet piano and cannot afford a Yamaha, the DDP-400 is a reasonable choice. Just know that the action will not hold up the way a Yamaha action does.
Eastar EUP-100
The Eastar EUP-100 is a ~$320 cabinet piano with a furniture stand included. The price is the story. You get an 88-key weighted keyboard, a stand, a bench, and a pedal unit for less than the P-71 costs as a bare slab.
The action is spongy. There is no other way to say it. The keys return slowly, which makes fast passages feel sluggish. My repetition test showed the Eastar fails at about half the speed of the P-71. The sound is thin, especially in the upper registers, and the built-in speakers are weak.
The reliability data is mixed. Some buyers report the piano works fine for years. Others report it dying completely within months. The manufacturer's support is hard to reach, which is a red flag.
This is the piano I would buy for a 6-year-old who might not stick with it. It is cheap, it looks like a real piano, and if it dies in two years, you are not out much. But if you want to actually learn to play, the P-71 is worth the extra ~$130.
Donner DEP-20
The Donner DEP-20 is the cheapest weighted keyboard on this list at ~$280. It is a slab, so you need to buy a stand separately. The action is light, noticeably lighter than the P-71, which makes it harder to develop proper finger strength.
The sound engine has 128-note polyphony, which is marketing noise. Nobody needs 128 notes at once. What matters is that the piano sounds are thin and synthetic, especially in the mid-range. The Chopin nocturne loses its legato quality, and the sustain is short.
There is a real problem with the power supply. Several buyers report a hum or buzzing from the adapter, and one reviewer noted the piano "turned off permanently" after six months. The manufacturer's support was unhelpful.
This is a toy for a child under 8, not a practice instrument. Spend the extra ~$170 and get the P-71. You will thank me in year three.
Should you buy the Yamaha P-71?
Yes, if you are a beginner or a parent buying for a child who is serious about lessons. The P-71 is the best value in digital pianos because the action is right. The four-year degradation is real, but by then you will know if you are still playing.
No, if you are an intermediate player looking for a long-term instrument. The Roland FP-30X is worth the jump. The P-71 will frustrate you by year three.
What I am testing next
I am currently comparing the P-71 against the P-45 to confirm they are truly identical, and I am evaluating the used Yamaha U1 market for a guide to buying a first acoustic without getting fleeced. The U1 is the gold standard, but humidity is a beast. I will update this guide when I have more data.