PianoGlow versus other piano apps
PianoGlow is a buy-once Steam game with rooms, letter charts, and MIDI. The apps people put next to it are mostly lesson subscriptions or, in Synthesia’s case, another buy-once falling-note program. Prices below were read on 9 Nov 2026. Where a site did not print a number, the cell is blank.
The grid
PianoVision’s numbers come from its own site and describe a Meta Quest app, so the platform column matters more than the dollar. flowkey and Simply Piano are subscriptions. I am not inventing their monthly fee. Artie’s public page described a subscription and did not show the price either.
| App | Price model | Platforms | MIDI | Rooms | Library | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PianoGlow | $17.49 that day, list $24.99, buy once | Win, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android | Yes | Yes | 51,613 QWERTY charts plus MIDI | Vendor listing · 1 source per product |
| Synthesia | $39 once, 20+ songs free | Win 7+, macOS 10.9+, Android, iPad | Yes | No | 150+ built in, plus your MIDI | Vendor listing · 1 source per product |
| PianoVision | $9.99 once; Plus $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr | Meta Quest | Yes | Yes, their claim | 1,000+ public-domain songs in paid Basic; 10,000+ on Plus | Vendor listing · 1 source per product |
| flowkey | Subscription, 7-day trial | iOS, Android, web | Yes | No | 1,500+ songs; fee not printed | Vendor listing · 1 source per product |
| Simply Piano | Subscription, 2 free courses | iOS, Android | Mic or MIDI | No | Fee not printed | Vendor listing · 1 source per product |
| Artie | Subscription | iOS, Android | Yes | No | Fee not printed | Vendor listing · 1 source per product |
How to choose without a ranked list
If you want other people in the room, PianoGlow and PianoVision are the two that say they have multiplayer, and they are not the same device. Quest is a headset. Steam is a desktop. If you want a course with a teacher-shaped path, flowkey and Simply Piano are built as courses and PianoGlow is not. If you want falling notes on a computer and you do not care about rooms, Synthesia at $39 and PianoGlow at $17.49 that day are the direct pair. That pair has its own page.
Related guides
Questions
What is a PianoGlow alternative?
Synthesia is the closest desktop falling-note app. flowkey and Simply Piano are subscription courses. PianoVision is a Quest app.
Which is the best piano app?
There is no single best. Use the grid: rooms, a course, or a headset are different jobs.
Sources
- Synthesia unlock — checked 2026-11-09
- PianoVision — checked 2026-11-09
- flowkey — checked 2026-11-09
- Simply Piano — checked 2026-11-09
- Artie — checked 2026-11-09
- Steam store page — checked 2026-11-09