Yamaha and Kawai are the two Japanese piano makers that also build the digital pianos most teachers recommend. At Thomann, on October 31, 2026, Yamaha listed 103 digital pianos and 19 stage pianos, Kawai 66 and 12. We compared where each brand's models land in our AudioFu Index, section by section.
| Yamaha | Kawai | |
|---|---|---|
| Digital pianos in stock | 103 | 66 |
| Median price, digital pianos | $2,000 | $1,853 |
| Stage pianos in stock | 19 | 12 |
| Median price, stage pianos | $803 | $1,547 |
| Top 10 places, home digital pianos | 2 | 6 |
| Top 10 places, stage pianos | 4 | 0 |
Home digital pianos: Kawai's ground
On October 31, in the section for cabinet-style home digital pianos, Kawai took the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 10th places. Yamaha's best, the Clavinova CLP-845 and CLP-835, were 8th and 9th.
Kawai CN-201, $1,384
88 keys with Kawai's Responsive Hammer III action, 192-note polyphony and a small OLED display. #2 of 49 general digital pianos.
The CN-301 at $1,726 and the wooden-key CA-701 at $2,970 sit right behind it. Kawai's slim ES-120 at $669, listed with the home pianos, is 7th: a portable with a proper hammer action.
Yamaha Clavinova CLP-845, $2,434
Yamaha's highest-ranked home piano, from the Clavinova line found in many music schools. #7 of 49 general digital pianos.
Portables and stage pianos: Yamaha's ground
Turn to the lighter instruments and the picture flips. Kawai has no compact digital pianos at Thomann at all, and none of its stage pianos reaches the top 10.
Yamaha P-225, $636
A light 88-key portable with Yamaha's GHC action and CFX piano samples. #5 of 70 stage pianos.
The P-45 at $367 ranks even higher, as the cheapest way into a Yamaha weighted keyboard. Kawai's best stage pianos are the ES-920 at $1,395 and the MP-7 SE at $1,613, 15th and 16th.
Which one?
- A piano for the living room, to learn and practise on for years: Kawai has the stronger home lineup right now, from about $1,400.
- Something you can move, or a first weighted keyboard under $700: Yamaha's P series.
- Gigging: Yamaha's CP88 ranks above Kawai's MP series, but stage pianos are also about Nord, Roland and Korg.
- Both brands, same budget: play both if you can. The key action is personal, and it matters more than any ranking.
For the other big rival, see Yamaha vs Roland digital pianos.
Where the numbers come from. Every Yamaha and Kawai digital and stage piano Thomann had in stock on October 31, 2026, and their places in the AudioFu Index, which ranks model families by demand, Thomann's own data, price and specs. Places count model families, so colours of the same piano count once. Prices are Thomann's US-dollar prices.
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Denis Kataev runs AudioFu. Every night the site records the prices of more than 38,000 instruments and studio tools at Thomann, and he writes about what those numbers show: what got cheaper, what just arrived, and which discounts are real.
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