Klaviero vs Synthesia, the piano software
Checked on 2026-08-06
First, the disambiguation, because two products share this name. This page is about Synthesia the falling-notes piano software at synthesiagame.com, made by Nicholas Piegdon. It is not about Synthesia the AI video-generation company. If you are looking for AI avatars, you are on the wrong page.
Klaviero needs a MIDI keyboard and Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Opera on a desktop or laptop. It cannot run in Safari or on an iPad, because Apple does not support Web MIDI and requires every iOS browser to use Safari's engine. Synthesia has a native iPad app and Klaviero does not. Full requirements.
The honest summary
Synthesia is good software and it has been good for eighteen years. It costs 39 dollars once, it is not a subscription, and its MIDI support is native and available free before you buy. If you want a desktop app you own outright and you already have your own MIDI files, buy Synthesia. This page will not talk you out of it.
Klaviero is a different shape. It runs in a browser, it scores you like a rhythm game, and the library is 315 classical pieces charted with both hands separated and measured note by note.
Side by side
| Klaviero | Synthesia | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Browser, plus a macOS app | Windows, macOS, iPad, Android |
| Install | None | Yes |
| Price | Free tier, then paid | 39 dollars one-time, not a subscription |
| Scoring | Combo ×1 to ×6, FEVER at 25, PERFECT to MISS, S to D grade | Practice feedback, no rhythm-game scoring layer |
| Built-in library | 315 measured classical charts | 100+ included, more sold separately |
| Your own MIDI | Yes | Yes |
| MP3 to arrangement | Yes, in the browser | No |
| Lighted keys | No | Yes |
| Sheet music view | No | Yes |
| Note data published | Note count, duration, peak notes per second | No |
Where Synthesia wins
Lighted-key support. If you own a keyboard with LED keys, Synthesia drives them and Klaviero does not.
Ownership. 39 dollars once, forever, on every platform at the same time. That is a genuinely good deal and there is no monthly equivalent of it.
Sheet music. Synthesia will show you real notation next to the falling notes. Klaviero will not.
iPad. Synthesia has a native iPad app. Klaviero cannot run on an iPad at all.
Where Klaviero wins
Nothing to install. Open a URL, plug in the keyboard, play.
The scoring is the product, not a readout. Combo multiplier to ×6, FEVER at a 25-note streak that doubles score until you miss, a judgment on every single note, and a grade saved per piece. That changes what practice feels like, and it is the reason people come back on a Tuesday.
The library is measured. Every chart carries a note count, a duration and a peak note density, so you can see what a piece asks of you before you open it. Chopin's Prelude Op. 28 No. 12 is 1,243 notes in 0:57, peaking at 27.2 notes per second. His Raindrop Prelude is 1,518 notes over 4:31, peaking at 8.3. Nobody else publishes this, and the full ranking is here.
MP3 in. Drop an audio file and it becomes a playable arrangement, transcribed on your machine.
What is the same
Both need a MIDI keyboard to be worth using. Both do falling notes with hands colour-separated. Both let you slow a piece down and loop a section.
Which to pick
Buy Synthesia if you want to own it, you have lighted keys, you want notation, or you need it on an iPad.
Try Klaviero if you want a score that means something, you want a measured classical library out of the box, or you want to stop installing things.
The free tier needs no card.
Every claim about Synthesia on this page was checked against synthesiagame.com on 2026-08-06, including the price and the statement that MIDI device features are available in the free version. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.