I’ve used both Pianoforall and Flowkey extensively. They are genuinely different products built around different philosophies, and the “better” one depends almost entirely on how you learn. This comparison breaks down every meaningful difference so you can make the right call without wasting money on the wrong one.
Who Made These Courses?
Pianoforall was created by Robin Hall, a UK-based piano teacher and professional musician who has been teaching for over two decades. He built the course as a way to package his proven teaching methodology — chord-first, rhythm-first learning — into a self-paced format accessible to anyone worldwide. The course has been available since 2006 and has been continuously updated. Robin has personally trained hundreds of students and the curriculum reflects real classroom experience, not content marketing.
Flowkey is a Berlin-based tech company founded in 2013. Their product is a subscription app built around a library of songs with real-time note detection. You play along on your keyboard, and the app listens via MIDI or microphone and tells you when you play wrong notes. The team is primarily engineers and product designers. The focus is on the user experience of the app, not on deep music pedagogy.
This difference in origin matters. Pianoforall feels like a curriculum that was taught in person first, then digitized. Flowkey feels like a software product that was designed to be engaging and retain subscribers. Neither approach is wrong — they just serve different goals.
How Each Course Actually Teaches You
Pianoforall uses a chord-first, rhythm-first methodology. From the very first session, you learn chord patterns used in real pop, blues, and jazz music. You build musical intuition before you tackle notation. By the end of Book 1 you’re playing recognizable chord progressions; by the end of Book 3 you can figure out chords to songs by ear. Sheet music reading is introduced in Book 6, after you already have a musical foundation.
Flowkey teaches primarily through song-based learning with real-time feedback. You choose a song from their library of over 6,000 pieces, and the app displays the sheet music (or simplified notation) while listening to your keyboard via MIDI or microphone. If you play a wrong note, the song pauses and waits. This is an excellent way to learn specific songs, but it doesn’t necessarily build the underlying musical understanding that lets you play things you haven’t been taught step by step.
The practical consequence: a Pianoforall student who works through Books 1–3 can sit at any piano and improvise a passable chord-based song in a key they’ve never practiced. A Flowkey student of equivalent “time invested” can likely play several specific songs more accurately — but may struggle to do anything without the app in front of them.
Comparison Table
| Feature | Pianoforall | Flowkey |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $79 one-time | $20/mo or $120/yr |
| Format | PDF ebooks + embedded video | App (iOS, Android, desktop) |
| Real-time feedback | ❌ None | ✅ MIDI & microphone |
| Song library | Limited (course songs only) | 6,000+ songs |
| Music theory depth | ✅ Comprehensive (10 books) | ⚠️ Light |
| Offline access | ✅ Full (downloadable PDFs) | ⚠️ Limited |
| Keyboard required | Any keyboard works | MIDI keyboard recommended |
| Refund policy | 60-day money-back (ClickBank) | Cancel anytime |
| Jazz & blues content | ✅ Dedicated books | ⚠️ Limited |
| Best for | Self-directed adults, chord learning | Song-focused learners, MIDI users |
Pricing Compared Over Time
This is where the comparison becomes stark. Pianoforall is $79 once. Flowkey is $20/month or $120/year with no end date — you keep paying as long as you want to use it.
If you use Flowkey for one year, you’ve spent $120–$240 depending on whether you pay monthly or annually. Two years: $240–$480. Over the time it takes to genuinely work through a complete piano curriculum (12–18 months), most Flowkey users spend $240–$360 total. Pianoforall users spend $79, full stop.
The value calculation only tips toward Flowkey if you specifically need the song library and real-time feedback features that Pianoforall doesn’t offer — which some learners genuinely do. But for most adult beginners, Pianoforall’s lifetime access is an extraordinary. For a full comparison with other apps, see our guide on learning piano as an adult deal.
Refund Policies Compared
Pianoforall: 60-day money-back guarantee, processed through ClickBank. No questions asked, no need to return materials, refund processed automatically. This is one of the more generous refund windows in digital education.
Flowkey: Subscription with free trial (7 days). After the trial, you pay monthly and can cancel at any time — but there are no refunds for the current billing period. You won’t get a refund on a month you’ve already paid for.
For a risk-conscious buyer, Pianoforall’s 60-day guarantee is significantly stronger protection than Flowkey’s 7-day trial.
My Experience Using Both
I started with Flowkey for about six weeks before switching to Pianoforall. The Flowkey experience was genuinely enjoyable — I was playing recognizable songs within a few days, and the real-time feedback kept me honest about note accuracy. But I noticed something after a month: I could play specific songs in the app, but I had no idea what I was actually doing musically. If I covered the screen, I was lost. The app had become a crutch rather than a teacher.
Pianoforall felt slower at the start. The first week of Book 1 is spent on basic chord patterns, not specific songs. But by week three I understood why those chord patterns work — and I could use them in any key, in any song, without needing an app to tell me what to play next. That felt like actually learning music rather than learning to follow instructions.
I still use Flowkey occasionally for learning specific songs I want to add to my repertoire. The two tools are not mutually exclusive. But if I had to pick one as the foundation for learning piano from scratch, Pianoforall is the one I’d choose.
Who Should Choose Pianoforall
- Adult beginners who want to understand music, not just follow along
- Self-directed learners comfortable with PDFs and video
- Anyone on a budget — $79 once beats any subscription
- Learners interested in blues, jazz, or improvisation
- People without a MIDI-connected keyboard
- Anyone who wants offline access without an internet connection
Who Should Choose Flowkey
- Learners who are strongly motivated by playing specific songs
- Anyone who benefits from real-time note correction
- People with a MIDI keyboard who want to use it fully
- Learners who enjoy app-based, gamified experiences
- Classical learners who want a large sheet music library
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Pianoforall and Flowkey together?
Yes, and many students do. A common approach: use Pianoforall as your primary curriculum for building musical understanding, and use Flowkey to learn specific songs you want in your repertoire. They complement each other well — Pianoforall teaches you the “why,” Flowkey gives you accurate song practice.
Is Flowkey good for absolute beginners?
Yes, Flowkey has a beginner path. It works well for absolute beginners who are primarily motivated by learning specific songs. If you want to understand music theory or learn to improvise, Flowkey’s curriculum is shallower than Pianoforall’s.
Does Pianoforall have a free trial?
No free trial, but it has a 60-day money-back guarantee through ClickBank. That’s effectively a 60-day trial with full refund rights — much longer than Flowkey’s 7-day free trial.
Which is better for learning jazz piano?
Pianoforall, clearly. Book 5 is dedicated entirely to jazz chord voicings and feel, and the jazz content throughout the course is unusually strong for a beginner product. Flowkey has some jazz songs but no dedicated jazz theory curriculum.
Final Verdict
If budget is a consideration at all, Pianoforall wins. If you have a MIDI keyboard and your primary goal is to accurately play specific songs with feedback, Flowkey is worth the subscription. For most adult beginners trying to build genuine musical ability from scratch, Pianoforall is the stronger foundation.