Simply Piano is a beginner course on your phone, on a subscription. LumaKeys is a one-time Mac app for the pieces you pick yourself, and the videos you make of them.
Simply Piano is a beginner app with structured courses, a song library, and a microphone that listens and moves you on when you get it right. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Android and Apple Vision Pro. LumaKeys is a one-time Mac app for learning from falling notes: any piece, loop and slow-down, hands split, recording, piano-roll editing, audio to MIDI, and video export.
| Feature | Simply Piano | LumaKeys |
|---|---|---|
| The basics | ||
| Price | Subscription, monthly or yearly, price varies by country | $69 for a limited time, then $99 |
| Subscription | Yes, Individual, Duo or Family | None, pay once |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Vision Pro, Chromebook (not fully supported) | macOS, Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Learn | ||
| Falling notes, no sheet music | Sheet music with guidance | |
| Structured courses | — | |
| Listens to acoustic piano | — | |
| Song library | Curated, licensed | Curated set, any MIDI or audio |
| Loop and slow down | ||
| Hands separate | ||
| Wait mode, metronome, finger numbers | Wait mode and metronome | |
| 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 | — | 16:9 and 9:16, 60 fps, 4K on Pro |
| Library of your own pieces and recordings | — | |
Sources: Simply Piano Simply Piano plans and billing Simply Piano supported devices LumaKeys pricing
Any piece you choose. Loop, slow down, split the hands.
Drop in a piano recording, or record your piano through the microphone, and it becomes editable notes, on your Mac.
Your playing, in your colors, exported up to 4K for YouTube, TikTok, or Reels.
It makes the first weeks easy. The courses are clear, the app listens and reacts, and it runs on the phone that's already on the music stand. It also has a large licensed library.
Simply Piano is a course with a song library you can also play from freely, with sheet music at the center. It doesn't record your playing as something you keep, doesn't edit or transcribe, and doesn't export a video.
It's a subscription, and the songs stay inside it.
Comparing more apps? See all Synthesia alternatives, or ask me.
Yes, once you want to learn any piece you choose. For a first course on a phone, Simply Piano is the better fit.
Not while you practice. LumaKeys follows a MIDI keyboard or your computer keys. In Transcribe you can record your acoustic piano through the microphone and turn the take into editable notes, on your Mac.
Not yet. LumaKeys is a Mac app, on Apple Silicon and Intel. Windows is in progress, iPhone and iPad come after that.
Simply Piano is a subscription. LumaKeys Pro is $69 for a limited time, then $99, once, and Free never expires.
macOS 12 or later · On an Intel version?
Pro is $69 for a limited time, then $99. See all Pro features.