Best Workstation Keyboards 2025: Production Powerhouses In One Device

Something budding musicians, producers, performers and keyboardists can stumble over is the variety of options for combining sounds, performance and production. Should you stick with your DAW and a MIDI keyboard? Or get a synthesizer? Or an acoustic or stage piano? A drum machine? Well, a very interesting option to consider is an instrument that puts all of these worlds under one roof, the workstation keyboard.

Yes, these highly advanced (although not difficult to use) keyboards give you the power to complete full tracks, some even offering studio-level production, and you can even take them out into the world and perform live on them.

It's wonderful that there are plenty to choose from, the downside being that with all the different brands, models, and big prices ranging from a few hundred to thousands, it can be a head scratcher to choose the right one for you. And that is precisely why Headliner is here to take you on the best keyboard workstation journey and make that decision fun and painless for you. Onwards!

Casio WK6600

Admittedly, the gulf between this workstation keyboard and some that will come later is pretty vast, but if you are looking for an entry-level workstation that only costs a few hundred pounds/dollars, then Casio is a worthy entry to this list. It’s a great way to try one out without making a huge financial investment, which you can always do later down the line. The WK6600 comes in 61, 76 and 88 key varieties, and the quality of sounds show how far Casio have come over the years.

VIEW PRODUCT

Akai Professional MPC Key 37 Standalone

The emphasis is on the letters ‘MPC’ with this one — what makes this little number from Akai one of the best workstation keyboards is that it is a DAW-level all in one for producing full tracks, rather than being an 88 weighted-keys instrument for the serious keyboardists out there (as the name suggests, it’s a portable keyboard with 37 unweighted keys).

That aside, the level of music-making that can be achieved is what’s to be expected from Akai: over 10GB of sound content, drum kits, samples, presets, and studio quality plugins and effects. It allows you to effortlessly craft beats and songs, once you get going with its intuitive workflow. A real gamechanger in a world where most associate this level of songcraft with being sat at a computer.

VIEW PRODUCT

Korg Kross 2

The weight of Korg’s legacy in the world of music undoubtedly comes from their legendary synthesizers and overall contribution to the world of synthesis. So how do they fare in the best keyboard workstation conversation? Very well indeed, in this first entry from the Japanese company. Again, the lack of weighted keys may be a deal breaker for pianists, but otherwise get excited about over 1,000 presets and a very powerful sound engine that allows you to cross genres with ease. There are a generous 16 sample pads, and an option for microphone connection. The Kross 2 ensures Korg are worthy competition to the likes of Yamaha.

VIEW PRODUCT

Akai MPC Standalone 61

Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is merely the previous Akai MPC with more keys, as this larger instrument packs in even more power. An MPC meets full 61-key keyboard, and a staggering 6,000 preset sounds. We still haven’t quite reached the weighted key workstations yet, but it’s safe to say Akai aren’t really marketing themselves to concert pianists; the marketing is all producers having the time of their lives dropping beats on this workstation keyboard without breaking a sweat. Hence the 16 pads for sampling and crafting those kicks and hi-hats, in one of the best drum programming software experiences you could hope for. The MPC software makes the crafting of professional standard tracks a total joy. Absolutely brilliant for producing on at home or in the studio, or for going out and performing live on.

VIEW PRODUCT

Roland Juno-DS88

It certainly doesn’t hurt for your workstation to bear the name of one of the greatest synthesizers in the history of music. Indeed, the Juno-DS88 is one of several contemporary instruments for Roland to hark back to their beloved ‘80s synthesizer. In keyboard workstation form, it’s a wonderful package with weighted keys of expressive piano playing, and as you’d expect from Roland, some of the best presets and sounds you could hope to hear coming out of a workstation. Whether its pianos, synths, organ sounds or drums, the Juno-DS88 serves it all up brilliantly. You will have so much fun looping and stacking tracks on top of each other for hours on end with this chap.

VIEW PRODUCT

Kurzweil PC4

While the Kurzweil name might not carry the fame that Yamaha does, they are a very serious brand when it comes to workstations. And the PC4 is one of their best loved keyboard workstations. It’s worth mentioning that not every instrument on this list has exceptional piano sound, however the PC4 offers a stage piano worthy sound that puts Kurzweil toe to toe with the likes of Yamaha and Nord. As do the electric piano presets, for example the Rhodes piano. The strings sound good too when played in a sustained manner, not the kind of tinny MIDI strings you so often hear. The PC4’s sound engine puts some more expensive workstation keyboard to shame — the synthesizer sounds are great also. Throw the fully weighted keys in there also, and you have a proper instrument on your hands.

VIEW PRODUCT

Korg Nautilus

The Korg Nautilus signals this best workstation keyboard compendium reaching the £/$1,500 territory, but you’d have a very difficult time presenting the argument that this is an overpriced instrument. As mentioned earlier, Korg are here for you if you’re after brilliant-sounding synth, electric piano and drum sounds. The piano sounds are good also, which is worth saying considering the heights that Yamaha and Kurzweil reach in this department. The Nautilus is, however, an absolute beast for building huge-sounding songs and tracks from scratch, especially of an electronic nature, as Korg’s synths sounds here are predictably excellent.

VIEW PRODUCT

Kurzweil K2700

The Kurzweil K2700 doesn’t merely aim to be one of the best workstation keyboards, but also to rival the DAW music production experience itself. 88 fully-weighted keys ensure an authentic piano-playing experience, particularly as Kurzweil offers some of the best digital piano sounds in the business. That’s only scratching the surface, as you have 1,500 preset sounds to scroll through: orchestras, electric pianos, synths and more. The synths are of a sufficient quality to let you know you needn’t only consider Roland and Korg in this field. There’s also plenty of connectivity options, including MIDI, USB and witch pedals.

VIEW PRODUCT

Yamaha PSR SX900

We now get into the proper substance that is Yamaha workstation keyboards, with the PSR SX900 that breaks us past the £/$2000 barrier. As you’d hope from these renowned piano specialists (as well as orchestral instruments, synths, motorbikes, that sort of thing), the piano sounds are very good, bearing that hallmark digital Yamaha piano sound you may be familiar with. This is among a fairly outrageous 1,337 instrument voices that should keep you busy. You’ll have a fabulous time jamming along to drum loops, and the included speakers are a great thing to have. This workstation also boasts one of the largest screens, in full colour which really helps you unleash the full creative potential of the SX900.

VIEW PRODUCT

Roland Fantom 8 88-Key Synthesizer Workstation

And now, supernatural phantom powers enter the list. As per Korg, the Roland name means you can expect sounds of immense quality when you buy one of their instruments. You’d certainly hope so, costing almost three grand, but this is easily one of the best workstation keyboards without a shadow of a doubt. The touchscreen interface is fantastic and makes navigating the Fantom a breeze. The recording and sequencing capabilities are almost incomprehensibly huge, with a vast array of knobs and buttons to customise everything — this workstation will meet the needs of almost all music professionals.

And the synth sounds, oh my. It’s Roland, so of course the synth sounds are at the very top of the game — there aren’t too many workstations available where you can recreate the Blade Runner soundtrack with ease. The pianos sound stunning, and a generous amount of RGB pads give you full drum machine powers also.

VIEW PRODUCT

Yamaha Genos2 Digital Workstation Keyboard

“Why on Earth would I drop five grand on a keyboard?”, I hear you cry. The Yamaha Genos2 is why. Yes, it’s a crazy amount of money, but the Genos2 is an absolute monster in terms of size and the ridiculous range of things it can offer. 800 styles, 2,000 songs and 1,900 voices means you should be kept very well occupied with this keyboard workstation. It’s Yamaha, so of course the keys offer pianist-level expression and response and are weighted. You can make music in almost every conceivable genre, and every aspect of this workstation looks, feels and sounds so premium, as you’d hope. The inclusion of Steinberg’s REVelation reverb is a wonderful thing to have also. An absolute gamechanger of a keyboard workstation.

VIEW PRODUCT

Do I need a workstation, synthesizer or MIDI keyboard?

The raison d’etre of workstation keyboards is that you can create songs and tracks with varying levels of production covered, depending on which of the above you go for. The joy is that you can make music away from a computer screen, for a change! They are also brilliant for live performance, so in a sense, the more advanced workstations are like little music studios which you can take out and perform on.

That said, if music production is your main thing and priority, your most limitless experience will be with a DAW like Logic or Ableton, as there are always more and more plugins, VSTs, samples and the rest that you can use. Even the Genos2 above doesn’t quite put that at your fingertips, although it’s impressively close.

The synthesizer question is more subjective — some of the synth purists will baulk at the workstations, not seeing them as proper synthesizers. If electronic synths are your thing, you may wish to opt for a more dedicated synthesizer that specialises in tweaking the vast world of electronic synthesis. That said, many of the above do this job incredibly well, and some listeners would be hard pressed to tell the difference.

So, it’s time to get to work! We hope you are now a good few steps closer to choosing the workstation that you will love and cherish.

Further reading:

Best synthesizers guide

Best stage pianos guide