Yes, we are in US and the numbers are in USD. My son is a beginner who has been taking piano lessons for almost 4 years. Right now, he has Kawai upright. Do you think a beginner needs to play on a grand piano like those?
Short answer to your question is NO, a lot can be done on an upright before a grand piano is truly needed.
On the subject of what sort of pianos are truly
needed for what skill levels, I'll copy-and-paste below what I've written on this subject on another Forum:
Original post linked
HERE.
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Some one asked:
"For a beginner, child to adult, what is the minimally acceptable piano required to start learning and progress to a point that a dream piano is worthwhile and recommended?"
Yamaha U1 -- [snip old price info that may be outdated already]. Without knowing the specific circumstances for that particular piano learner, I deem the U1 to be
statistically the safest and most reliable choice. You can get a U1 in almost any market that sells pianos, and it usually comes right out of the box OK even if you don't have a good dealer, and it maintains itself well even if you have only a so-so tuner to work on it every once in a long while. It will be sufficient for beginner and intermediate level piano studies. Drawing from the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music (ABRSM) piano proficiency grade scale, the U1 is sufficient to carry a student all the way up to Grade 8 (highest "grade"). The next step on that scale is a Performance Certificate -- the U1 might still do, but that's when I'd recommend considering a grand piano.
[... snip unrelated banter with another forumite ...]
For that next step, again, without knowing that pianist's particular situation, I'd recommend a Kawai RX-2 or a Yamaha C-3 (if affordable) to carry the student through at least the first two years of college/university level piano studies. Yamaha and Kawai are cited because they are
available in most markets over the world, very
reliable even when you don't have top dealers or top techs to take care of them, very
consistent from piano to piano, and represent good
value ([snip outdated price info]) since these instruments carry little premium for their brand names while still have the quality, consistency, and long-term track record to make them very safe bets.
There are other good choices, but those choices can rarely match Yamaha and Kawai in terms of
availability in most markets across the world, in terms of
consistency from instrument to instrument, and in terms of
reliability without top-notch expert care. Once you throw away
availability, consistency, and
reliability, it stops making sense to recommend a piano in broad general terms because you become too market-dependent, are subject to sample variability, and are over-dependent on the experts who care for the piano. (Same caveats with used pianos.)
Beyond that, individuals who manage to out-grow the RX-2/C-3 should be well-developed enough to pick their own pianos without "recommendations" from forumites the likes of us.
All said, Yamaha U1 for beginners, and Kawai RX-2 and Yamaha C-3 for beginning college/university level piano studeies. These are the only ones I feel comfortable throwing out as blanket recommendations without knowing the particular pianist's individual situation.
[... snip other banter to another forumite ...]
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Good luck.
Topic: Kawai Rx-2 or Petrof 5'8"