Choose flowkey if
- You want a guided course rather than pieces of your own choosing.
- You want it on iPhone, iPad, or Android.
- You like the hands-on-video view above the sheet music.
- You are happy with a subscription.
LumaKeys vs flowkey
flowkey teaches you songs. LumaKeys lets you learn any piece, and keep it.
flowkey is a subscription learning app: a library of songs and courses, a video of hands above the sheet music, and a wait mode that listens to your playing and pauses until you hit the right note. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, and in the browser. LumaKeys is a one-time Mac app that learns any piece from falling notes, including pieces flowkey does not have, and adds recording, editing, audio-to-MIDI transcription, and video export.
Short version: if you want a guided course with a curated library on your phone or tablet, flowkey is a good place to start. If you want to learn any piece you choose, keep your own versions, and pay once, pick LumaKeys.
Which one fits you?
Choose LumaKeys if
- You want to learn any piece, from any MIDI or any piano recording.
- You want to record and edit your own playing, and keep it.
- You want to export a video of your playing for social.
- You prefer falling notes to sheet music.
- You want to pay once.
Side by side.
| Feature | flowkey | LumaKeys |
|---|---|---|
| The basics | ||
| Price | Subscription, monthly or yearly | $69 for a limited time, then $99 |
| Subscription | Yes | None, pay once |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, web | macOS, Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Learn | ||
| Falling notes, no sheet music | — | |
| Song library | Curated, licensed | Curated set, any MIDI or audio |
| Wait mode | Listens through the microphone | MIDI keyboard |
| Loop and slow down | ||
| Hands separate | ||
| Structured courses | — | |
| Create and share | ||
| Record your playing | — | MIDI or computer keys, per hand |
| Piano-roll editing | — | |
| Audio to MIDI transcription | — | 5 on Free, unlimited on Pro |
| Video export | — | 4K, 60 fps, 16:9, 9:16, 4:5 |
| Repertoire library | — | |
Checked 2 September 2026: flowkey LumaKeys pricing
Where LumaKeys goes further.
Learn any piece
Any piece, not only the ones in a library. Loop, slow down, split the hands.
Audio to MIDI, on your Mac
Heard a piece on YouTube? Drop in the audio and it becomes editable notes, on your Mac.
Export a video worth posting
Your playing, in your colours, exported up to 4K for YouTube, TikTok, or Reels.
The long version.
What flowkey does well
flowkey is polished and guided. The courses take a beginner through technique step by step, the library is licensed and well produced, and the wait mode listens through the microphone so you can practise on an acoustic piano.
For someone who wants to be told what to do next, that structure is the point.
Where it stops
flowkey teaches its library. If the piece you want is not in it, you are on your own. It is built around sheet music with a video above it, not falling notes, and it does not record your playing, keep your versions, or export anything.
It is a subscription, and the library stays with the subscription.
What LumaKeys is built for
LumaKeys learns any piece. Bring in a MIDI file, transcribe a piano recording on your Mac, or play it in yourself. Learn it from falling notes with loop, slow-down, and hands split. Record your version, fix it in the piano roll, keep it in your repertoire, and export a video in your colours.
It is Mac only, and it is not a course. Free covers the full app with caps.
Why I built it
I learned piano the self-taught way: falling-note videos on YouTube, no sheet music, no teacher. Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, one bar at a time.
Courses never stuck with me. What stuck was the piece I actually wanted to play, learned one bar at a time, until I could record it and share it.
LumaKeys is the app I wished for back then: learn a piece, record it, fix it, keep it, and turn it into a video, all in one place, paid for once.
Questions & answers.
Weighing more options? See every alternative or talk to me.
Is LumaKeys a flowkey alternative?
For self-taught pianists who want to learn any piece and keep their own versions, yes. For a guided beginner course on a phone or tablet, flowkey is the better fit.
Does LumaKeys have lessons?
No. LumaKeys is a tool for learning pieces you choose, not a course. Loop, slow down, split the hands, and record.
Does LumaKeys listen through the microphone?
LumaKeys works with a MIDI keyboard or your computer keys for playing in. Transcription listens to recordings, not to live playing.
Is LumaKeys cheaper than flowkey?
flowkey is a subscription. LumaKeys Pro is $69 for a limited time, then $99, once, and Free never expires.
Your whole piano life in one app.
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