When you think of a piano, your first thought is probably its beautiful sound, followed by how expensive they are.
While pianos can certainly be among the most expensive instruments, they can also be more affordable than many people might think.
The type of piano, quality, and even the company name can affect how much a piano costs. Let us take a look at the different types of pianos, and what you can typically expect to pay for each.
Table of Contents
Digital Pianos
Digital pianos can be considered entry-level or budget pianos. You can easily pick up a Casio digital piano for as little as $140.
But digital pianos can easily go as high as $18,000 for the highest quality ones. Digital pianos like the Yamaha Clavinova are some of the most expensive digital pianos and resemble grand pianos.
A good average for a digital piano is around $500 to $2000. Digital pianos like the Korg B2 are great affordable beginner digital pianos. There are also digital pianos that resemble upright pianos, like the Roland RP-701.
Upright Pianos
Upright pianos are a step up from digital pianos in terms of price, but also the most affordable acoustic pianos.
These are the pianos you are likely to be the most familiar with. These are the pianos often found in the music classes in schools. And if you knew someone growing up who owned a piano, chances are it was an upright.
Upright pianos can be bought for a few thousand dollars, a Yamaha for example can be around $4,500. They can also easily go for tens of thousands, a Steinway can easily set you back around $33,000.
But on average you should expect to pay around $10,000 to $20,000. This should give you a fairly good quality upright piano.
Baby Grand Pianos
These pianos sit somewhere between upright pianos and grand pianos. They resemble grand pianos, but aren’t quite as large. This makes them perfect for anyone with a bit of extra space, but don’t want to pay much more.
Baby grand pianos aren’t much more expensive than upright pianos. Yes, they can easily cost over $100,000. A Fazioli baby grand, for example, is around $128,000.
But there are plenty of baby grand pianos that are very affordable. You can easily find baby grand pianos for around $10,000 to $20,000, same as upright pianos.
There are even baby grand pianos for under $10,000. Of course, you are paying for quality, a more expensive piano is going to be better, but a $9,000 baby grand isn’t going to play and sound much worse than a $10,000 upright.
Grand Pianos
Grand pianos are the ones most associated with orchestras and professional pianists. They vary in size, and as they become larger, they also increase in price.
Living Room Grands
Living room grands are the smallest of what could be considered “true grands”. They are fairly similar in price with baby grand pianos.
They can cost anywhere between $25,000 and $99,000. There are a few Steinways, Kawais, and Bosendorfers that are over the $100,000 mark. You can also find living room grands under $20,000 but be prepared to $25,000 or more.
Professional Grands
Moving up we have professional grands. This is where grand pianos take a big leap in price and quality.
A professional grand piano can set you back around $60,000. Professional grand pianos are also where you will more frequently see prices over $100,000.
There are a few brands that sell professional grands under $20,000, like Everett. But a good professional, like a Baldwin, starts at around $40,000.
Semi Concert Grands
Semi-concert grands are where you should expect to spend at least around $100,000 for a piano. These pianos frequently sell for between $90,000 to $130,000.
There are less expensive semi-concert grands from companies like Pramberger and Yamaha that are between $25,000 and $60,000.
Concert Grands
These pianos are the best of the best. They are made from the best materials, by the best piano makers.
As a result, these are also the most expensive pianos. A “cheap” concert grand Steinway & Sons can cost around $150,000, and a Yamaha around $180,000. One-of-a-kind concert grands made by companies like Fazioli will easily set you back $234,000.
What Affects the Price of a Piano?
Like with any other instrument, there are a few factors that determine how much a piano costs.
Materials
The most obvious factor in the price are the materials used. A higher quality piano will be made with higher quality woods, keys, etc.
But higher quality materials are usually either difficult to obtain, difficult to work with, or very scarce. These factors drive up the value of these materials, making it more costly to build using these materials, in turn, driving up the price.
Size
A factor that might not immediately come to mind, but is rather obvious, is the size of the piano. This is most evident with acoustic pianos like uprights and especially grands.
The larger the piano, the more wood, for example, will be needed to build it. And if you have to use more of those expensive materials to make a piano, you will obviously have to spend more money, and consequently, increase the price.
Larger pianos also take longer to build. This means that more man-hours will be spent, which costs more.
Name
Brands like Steinway & Sons and Fazioli are among the most highly regarded pianos. Because of the high-quality instruments that they make, they have built up a reputation.
This reputation allows these companies to be able to increase the price of their instruments, simply because of their brand’s name. People are also willing to pay these higher prices because of the prestige associated with the name.
Conclusion
While pianos can be very expensive, they aren’t limited to the wealthiest of people. Digital pianos have made the instrument much more affordable for the not-so-rich pianists like me.
Even upright pianos and baby grand pianos are far more affordable and practical for the average pianist than the classic concert grand pianos we often associate with the instrument.
