10 Best MIDI Keyboards 2024 | UK Audio Engineer Reviewed

Akai, in collaboration with American inventor Roger Linn, were the very first company to create pads for their MIDI controllers way back in 1988. This classic design has now become standard, and no one does it better than Akai. 

This gorgeous little retro-styled 25-key machine has a cool modulation thumb-stick, plug and play settings for almost any DAW and a eight backlit touch pads. All features aside, just look at it! Lovely. 

This feature-packed MIDI keyboard might not be the best for beginners, but if you're looking for a home studio or performance centrepiece the KeyLab 49 just might be the one for you. 

Capable of saving up to 16 different projects at once via its onboard sequencer, the KeyLab 49 also runs the whole gamut of features, plugs and connections to ensure all your DAWs, analogue devices and instruments will play nicely alongside it. On top of all that you get 5000 vintage sounds from Arturia's collection, and a free Yamaha foot pedal thrown in. 

This small but chunky design left us wondering how M-Audio packed so many features into so little space? In particular, the eight velocity-sensitive pads and the DAW transports buttons make beat making on your laptop a real joy. 

The recessed set up for the keys themselves give the Oxygen 25 V a nice and sturdy feel, especially for the size. Plus, it comes with popular DAW Pro Tools as standard, as well as a trial edition of Ableton called Ableton Live Lite.

This gorgeous offering from Japan's AKAI is a studio control workhorse, that's not too big. The fantastic backlit screen makes manipulating the inbuilt virtual instruments a breeze, without ever having to grab your mouse. 

It can be externally powered for use as a keyboard during live performances, or USB bus powered through a laptop. We also love the AKAI professional's completely black keys, though the conventional black and white option is available for more traditional players.

This great little keyboard provides a good compromise if you're after a portable keyboard for beat making and studio control. While it's lovely back-lit chord mode is a useful feature for beginners,  it has enough technical specs to satisfy more advanced producers too. 

The Launchkey 37 doesn't come with any software, and it may take some effort to get it to work with your preferred DAW. However, the Sound Collective sample pack is a good one and it is nicely optimised for use with Ableton. 

The Alesis V25 looks absolutely fantastic! If the ranking were based on aesthetics alone, it would certainly take the top spot. It has plenty of beat making potential with its 8 pads and modulation wheels, and comes bundled with Pro Tools - although it's compatible with most DAWs.

However, it lacks transfer control and MIDI inputs, which means it's just not good enough for use as a full studio controller. 

One for the digital nomads, this is the ultimate MIDI keyboard if you're after something on the more portable end of the scale. You could literally balance the NanoKEY2 over your laptop keyboard while on the train or a plane with no problems at all. It even comes with 500 different sounds!

KORG have packed a surprising amount of features into such a tiny space. Although you're sadly going to miss out on things like transfer control, sequencers, multiple connections and an arpeggiator.

This monster MIDI keyboard does exactly what it says it will, giving you complete home studio control. The truly fantastic light guide is great for musical beginners, highlighting chords, scales and octaves in a super-intuitive fashion. With the inclusion of a 10 instrument pack, that can be browsed via the lovely full colour screen. 

It's just a shame that this already expensive piece of kit, requires the full Komplete software package to make the most of it. Costing about £300, it's not one for producers on a budget.

As well as features such as its gorgeous OLED displays and its LED illuminated controls, Arturia's KeyStep Pro is also chock full of creative sequencing tools. In combination with its small size, these benefits make it perfect for beat making on the go. 

We love this keyboard's portability, but its small size also creates problems for the KeyStep - its keys and mod/pitch strips may be on the small side for serious players. It's also rather pricey, but this black model is actually limited edition, so if you want to save yourself £100, a white version is also available.

If all you want is to play a classic piano-style keyboard through your DAW, the Impact GX's 61 nicely-built keys might be a good bet. It integrates well with almost any DAW, and even comes with Nektar's own (simple) option straight out of the box.

On the other hand, beat makers will not get much value here as there's no pads for drums, or loop sequencing. It's also a shame it doesn't have an external power option, especially considering the size  - something that could certainly hinder any live performances.