Pick Simply Piano if you are a complete beginner, returning after years away, or buying for a child: it hears every note and corrects you instantly, and it costs less. Pick Pianote if you already read music and play hands together and want human teaching on expression and technique.
- Simply Piano listens through your device's microphone (acoustic or digital piano) or a MIDI cable and stops when you play a wrong note.
- Pianote has no built-in way to hear you; higher-tier plans let you send videos to a teacher, with feedback taking days.
- Simply Piano's library is over 5,000 songs; Pianote's is 950-plus, per the video.
- As of the video: Simply Piano about $169/year individual or $210/year family (five profiles); Pianote about $279/year or $30/month.
- Both offer a 7-day free trial; Pianote also has a 90-day money-back guarantee.
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The wall most adult beginners hit at the piano isn't talent, it's silence. You prop a tutorial on the music stand, play four notes, and have no idea if they were right. Nobody tells you your third finger was on the wrong key the whole time, and after a few weeks you start to wonder whether you're building a skill or rehearsing mistakes.
Simply Piano and Pianote are the two names that come up most as the fix for that, and they solve it in opposite ways. Our channel spent time with both, hands on the keys, and compared how each teaches, what it costs, where it falls apart and which kind of learner should pick which. This is what the video found. Prices are approximate and as of the video, recorded in September 2026.
Quick verdict
For a true beginner, a returning player or a child, Simply Piano is the clear pick: it listens to every note, corrects you on the spot, gives you a set path, and costs less. Pianote earns its higher price for intermediate players who can already read and play hands together and now need polish, expression and technique from a human teacher. Some people will do best with both in sequence: Simply Piano first, Pianote once they plateau.
What they have in common
Both are subscription platforms for learning piano at home without a weekly in-person teacher. Both have a structured beginner course, a song library with backing tracks, and extra instruments bundled in at some tier. Both let you try the full product for 7 days before paying. And both are aimed at the same person: someone with a keyboard in the corner who wants a plan rather than a pile of random YouTube tutorials.
The difference fits in one line from the video: one platform listens to you, the other talks to you. Almost everything else in this comparison follows from that.
Feedback: instant correction vs human review
Simply Piano is a listening app. You put your phone or tablet on the music stand, press play, and it hears what you play through the microphone, or through a MIDI cable if you have a digital keyboard. Hit the right note and the lesson moves on; hit the wrong one and it stops and waits. In your first six months you make hundreds of small errors you can't hear yourself (wrong fingers, rushed rhythm, missed sharps), and the app catches them before they become habits.
A detail people miss: the microphone recognition works with acoustic pianos too, so an old upright in the living room needs no cables or extra gear. The video cites independent testing this year that ranked its mic recognition among the best on the market. It can still stumble in a noisy room, so a MIDI connection is worth setting up if you own a digital keyboard.
Pianote is a video course with a community around it. You watch professional teachers, Lisa Witt among them, explain and demonstrate a concept, then you practice on your own. The production is some of the best in the category: multiple camera angles, clear explanations, warm and encouraging teachers. But the platform has no built-in way to hear you. It doesn't know whether you nailed the passage or butchered it.
Pianote's workaround is genuinely useful: on its higher-tier plans you can submit videos of yourself playing and a real teacher reviews them. A human watching your hand position catches things no algorithm can. The catch is turnaround, measured in days and sometimes longer. For an intermediate player who can self-diagnose, that delay is fine. For a day-one beginner, it is the exact problem you were trying to escape.
Lesson structure and ease of use
Simply Piano runs on a guided path: note reading, basic rhythm and simple melodies first, then dozens of courses covering both hands, chords, sight reading and technique. There are progression gates, so you can't skip ahead before proving the fundamentals. That sounds restrictive, but for a beginner it means you never sit there wondering what to practice. It is also gamified with streaks and levels. Some people roll their eyes at that, but the main problem for adult learners is inconsistency, and anything that gets you to sit down for 15 minutes on a day you didn't feel like it is doing the most important job.
Pianote's core method is also structured, and the video found its first few levels clear, linear and taught with real warmth. The problems showed up afterwards. Past the foundation levels, the platform opens into a large buffet of song tutorials, genre packs, quick-win lessons and workout videos, and a lot of students report feeling lost in it. If you're self-directed, that library is a playground; if you need a clear path, it's a fog.
One practical point: Simply Piano is built mobile first for a phone or tablet, while Pianote lives on the web. If your practice happens in stolen moments, 15 minutes before work or 20 after the kids are down, the app already in your pocket wins by default.
Song libraries
Simply Piano's library is over 5,000 songs: pop, classical, film soundtracks, holiday music and kids' songs, most in several difficulty levels. You can play a simplified version of a song you love in your first month and unlock fuller arrangements as you improve, which does a lot for motivation.
Pianote has 950-plus popular songs and growing, with well-produced backing tracks and some lovely arrangements, including jazz versions of familiar tunes. Quality over quantity is the fair summary. But if there's one specific song you're desperate to learn, your odds are simply better in a library about five times the size. Use either free trial to search for your songs before you pay.
Pricing and trials
| Simply Piano | Pianote | |
|---|---|---|
| How it teaches | App listens and corrects in real time | Video lessons from human teachers |
| Feedback | Instant, every note | Teacher video review on higher tiers, takes days |
| Platform | Mobile first (phone or tablet) | Web |
| Songs | 5,000+ | 950+ |
| Annual price | About $169/year individual (about $14/month); about $210/year family | About $279/year (about $23/month) |
| Monthly option | Yes (annual saves about 43%) | About $30/month |
| Extras | Family plan: five profiles plus Simply Guitar, Sing and Draw | Singing, guitar and drum lessons included |
| Trial / guarantee | 7-day free trial | 7-day trial plus 90-day money-back guarantee |
| Best for | Beginners, returners, kids | Intermediate players chasing polish |
The Simply Piano family plan is quietly one of the better deals in music education: for a few dollars more than the individual plan, five people get piano plus the rest of the Simply apps. Pianote's annual plan costs over $100 a year more than Simply Piano's individual plan and around $70 more than its family plan. Pianote's 90-day money-back guarantee deserves credit, though: that is real confidence in the product. All prices are approximate and as of the video.
Our older Simply Piano review listed lower prices from early 2025, so check the current numbers at sign-up.
Who should skip each
- Skip Simply Piano if you're already an advanced player: it is strongest from beginner to intermediate and you will outgrow it. Skip it too if what you need is someone to look at your posture, wrist tension and fingering choices. It can confirm you played the right note at the right time, but it can't see your hands.
- Skip Pianote if you're a day-one beginner who needs to know right now whether that chord was right. With no real-time feedback you can practice something wrong for a week without knowing. Also skip it if you need a firm path after the basics, or if price matters: it has climbed over the years and long-time users say so loudly.
Which to pick
- Complete beginner, returning after years away, or buying for a child: Simply Piano. The instant feedback loop solves the problem that stops most self-taught learners, the guided path removes the daily "what do I practice?" decision, the song library keeps motivation up, and the lower price leaves money for a decent keyboard.
- Intermediate player who reads music, plays hands together and wants expression, technique and musicality: Pianote. At that stage a human explaining why something sounds better beats an algorithm confirming you played it.
- Long-term plan: build the foundation with Simply Piano for a year or two, then move to Pianote when you plateau and want a human perspective.
If you're choosing one today at the very start, the video's advice is simple: start with the one that listens.
Pros and cons
What works
- Simply Piano: instant note-by-note feedback, works with acoustic pianos by microphone.
- Simply Piano: 5,000+ songs at several difficulty levels, and a strong-value family plan.
- Pianote: excellent teachers and production, with real human feedback on higher tiers.
- Pianote: 90-day money-back guarantee and extra instruments included.
What doesn't
- Simply Piano: can't see posture or fingering, and advanced players outgrow it.
- Simply Piano: mic recognition can stumble in a noisy room.
- Pianote: no real-time feedback; teacher reviews take days.
- Pianote: costs more, and the content gets sprawling after the core levels.
Frequently asked questions
Is Simply Piano or Pianote better for complete beginners?
Simply Piano. It hears every note you play and stops you when you make a mistake, which is the feedback a beginner lacks most. Pianote's lessons are excellent, but it can't hear you play.
Does Simply Piano work with an acoustic piano?
Yes. It listens through your phone or tablet microphone, so an acoustic upright works with no cables. With a digital keyboard, a MIDI connection is more reliable, especially in a noisy room.
How much do Simply Piano and Pianote cost?
As of the video, Simply Piano was about $169 a year for one person or about $210 a year for a five-profile family plan. Pianote was about $279 a year or $30 a month. Prices change, so check at sign-up.
Does Pianote give you feedback on your playing?
Not automatically. On its higher-tier plans you can send videos of yourself playing and a teacher reviews them, but the turnaround is days rather than seconds.
Can I use both?
Yes, and the video suggests it as a long-term path: build fundamentals with Simply Piano for a year or two, then move to Pianote for human teaching once you plateau.
Both platforms give you a 7-day trial, so play through a week on each if you're unsure. Pay attention to whether you knew, in the moment, that you were playing it right. For most beginners that one question decides it.
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