What Do DJs Use? A Plain-English Guide to DJ Software and Gear
Most DJs use a controller plugged into a laptop, phone, or tablet running DJ software like Rekordbox, Serato DJ, or Virtual DJ, plus a pair of headphones for cueing up the next track. In clubs, DJs often use CDJ media players and a separate mixer instead of a laptop, and a smaller group still plays vinyl on turntables.
So what do DJs use to mix? Two things working together: software that holds and plays the music, and hardware that lets them control it by hand. Here is what each piece is and why it exists, in plain English.
The Short Answer: Software Plus Hardware
Every bit of DJ kit you have ever seen in a booth fits into one of two buckets.
The first bucket is software, sometimes called DJ programs. This is where the music lives, how it gets analyzed for tempo, and what actually plays the sound. The second bucket is hardware: the physical boxes, knobs, faders, and platters that let a DJ do something with their hands instead of clicking a mouse.
Some setups blur the line. A CDJ is hardware with the software built inside it, so it needs no laptop at all.
You do not need to know any jargon to follow along. Each term below gets explained the first time it shows up.
The Hardware DJs Use: What Equipment Do DJs Use?
Hardware is the part people notice first. Here are the five categories that cover almost everything.
DJ Controllers
A DJ controller is one box that does nearly everything. It has jog wheels (the round platters you spin), a built-in mixer, volume faders, and rubber pads for triggering cue points and loops.
It connects by USB to a laptop, phone, or tablet, and the software does the real work while the controller gives you something physical to touch.
If you picture someone DJing at home, in a bar, or at a wedding, a controller is usually what they are using. It is the most common answer to "what do DJs use" today.
CDJs and Media Players
CDJs are the standalone players you see lined up in club and festival booths, usually two or four of them either side of a mixer. Despite the name, hardly anyone puts a CD in them now. DJs load their tracks from a USB stick or an SD card.
Each player handles one track and gives you a jog wheel, a pitch fader, and cue buttons. No laptop required, which is why clubs like them: every DJ walks up, plugs in a USB, and plays.
Pioneer DJ (now part of AlphaTheta) makes the models most venues install. They cost far more than a controller, so most people learn at home and meet CDJs later.
DJ Mixers
The mixer is the hub that everything else runs through. It takes the sound from two or more decks, lets you set the level of each with a fader, cut or boost the bass, mids, and highs with EQ knobs, and blend between decks with the crossfader.
In a controller, the mixer is built in and you may never think of it as a separate thing. In a club setup, it is its own box sitting between the CDJs, and it is where the headphones plug in.
Turntables and Vinyl
Turntables are the original DJ setup and they still have a devoted following. Two record decks and a mixer is how all of this started, and scratch DJs in particular love the feel of a needle on a record.
Plenty of vinyl DJs now use DVS (digital vinyl system), where special control records let them play digital files from a laptop using real turntables. Best of both, in other words.
Playing vinyl is a different skill from playing on a controller, and not the easiest place to begin.
Headphones
Headphones are the piece beginners forget to budget for, and no DJ works without them. They let you listen to the next track on its own, in your ears only, while the crowd hears the current track through the speakers.
That is called cueing, and it is how a DJ finds the right moment to bring the next song in. Without it, you are guessing.
Any closed-back pair will get you started. DJ models just add tougher build quality and cups that swivel, so you can wear one ear on and one ear off.
The Software DJs Use to Play Music
So what software do DJs use once the gear is plugged in? Four names cover the vast majority of DJs, and none of them is the "best" one. Each suits a different kind of DJ.
Rekordbox
Rekordbox comes from AlphaTheta, the company behind Pioneer DJ hardware. It began as the program you used to prepare tracks and export them to a USB for CDJs, and it now works as a full DJ program with controllers as well.
If you plan to play on club gear, this is the one most DJs learn, because the playlists and cue points you set at home carry straight over to the CDJs. There is a free tier for organizing and exporting music, with paid plans for the performance features.
Serato DJ
Serato DJ is one of the most widely used DJ programs in the world, especially with hip-hop, scratch, and open-format DJs who play a bit of everything. Its layout is famously quick to learn.
It works with a long list of controllers and mixers from lots of different brands. Serato DJ Lite is free and comes bundled with plenty of entry-level hardware, while Serato DJ Pro is the paid version.
Virtual DJ
Virtual DJ is often the first program people ever open, partly because it is free for home use and runs on almost anything, phones included. It has been around longer than most.
Mobile and wedding DJs like it for its video and karaoke features and its support for a huge range of hardware. Paid licenses are for DJs earning money from gigs.
Others: Traktor, djay, and Engine DJ
Traktor Pro, from Native Instruments, keeps a loyal following in techno and house circles and pairs with its own controllers. djay, by Algoriddim, is a favorite on iPhone, iPad, and Mac and is one of the friendliest ways to try mixing for the first time.
Engine DJ is the system inside Denon DJ's standalone players and controllers, which run tracks without a laptop attached.
One thing worth knowing early: your controller usually picks your software for you, because hardware ships with a license for one program. That is why the gear question and the software question are really the same question. Best DJ Gear for Beginners covers choosing.
What Do DJs Use to Find and Store Their Music?
DJs almost never play from a normal streaming account. DJ software needs the actual audio file to analyze and manipulate, so Spotify and similar services are out.
Instead, DJs buy tracks from download stores like Beatport, Bandcamp, Traxsource, and Juno, or subscribe to a record pool such as BPM Supreme, ZipDJ, or DJcity. Record pools give you a monthly download allowance and tend to include clean versions, intro edits, and remixes made for DJs. Some DJ programs also have DJ-friendly streaming built in, which is handy as long as the venue has decent internet.
Wherever the music comes from, it ends up in one organized library: files on a laptop, and often a USB stick or two as backup for club gear. Most DJs sort tracks into playlists by genre, energy, or type of event so they can find something fast under pressure. See How to Organize Your DJ Library for the full system.
What Do Professional vs Bedroom DJs Use?
The gear changes depending on where someone plays. Three rough groups cover most DJs:
Club and festival DJs turn up with a USB stick and play on the venue's CDJs and mixer. Their tracks are already analyzed and cued at home, so the prep is done before they arrive.
Bedroom and beginner DJs use a controller with a laptop or tablet, headphones, and either speakers or just the headphones for quiet practice. This is where nearly everyone starts. See How to Set Up Your DJ Equipment at Home.
Mobile and wedding DJs carry their own everything: a controller, a laptop, speakers, stands, cables, and lights. Virtual DJ is common in this group, though plenty use Serato or Rekordbox.
The equipment differs, but the skills carry across. Learn to beatmatch and read a crowd on a controller and you can walk up to a pair of CDJs and work out the buttons in an afternoon.
The Tools DJs Use to Prep Their Music
Playing is only half of it. Before a gig, DJs prepare tracks by analyzing tempo and key, checking the beatgrid lines up, and setting cue points so they can jump straight to the intro, the breakdown, or the drop.
Doing that by hand takes a few minutes per track, so some DJs use tools to speed it up. KimiCue is one of them: it listens for the drop and places hot cues automatically for Rekordbox and Serato. See the full track prep checklist for the whole process.
So What Should You Use?
For most beginners, the answer is short: a controller, the software that came bundled with it, and a pair of headphones. That is genuinely enough to mix two tracks together, practice every day, and record your first set.
You do not need CDJs, you do not need a separate mixer, and you do not need to pay for software on day one. Those come later, if and when you play out.
Ready to pick something? Best DJ Gear for Beginners walks through what to buy at each budget. Ready to actually mix? How to DJ for Beginners takes you from first press of play to your first full set.
FAQ
What software do most DJs use?
Rekordbox and Serato DJ are the two most common among DJs who play out, with Virtual DJ very popular at home and with mobile DJs. Traktor, djay, and Engine DJ each have their own following. There is no single winner. Most DJs end up on whichever program came with their controller, then stick with it.
What do professional DJs use to mix?
In clubs and at festivals, the standard is a pair or a bank of CDJ media players with a DJ mixer in the middle, fed by a USB stick. It is the setup venues install because any visiting DJ can use it. Away from clubs, plenty of working DJs, including wedding and bar DJs, use a controller and a laptop all night. Professional means paid, not a particular brand of gear.
Do DJs still use vinyl?
Yes, though it is a minority now. Scratch DJs, turntablists, and DJs in genres with strong record culture still play vinyl, and some clubs keep turntables available on request. Many of them use DVS, which combines real turntables with digital files. You get the feel of vinyl without carrying crates of records to every gig.
What do DJs use instead of a laptop?
Standalone gear. CDJ media players and standalone controllers have the software built in, so you load your music onto a USB stick or SD card and plug it straight into the hardware. Phones and tablets are the other laptop-free route. Apps like djay, Rekordbox, and Serato Stems run on iPad and phones and connect to plenty of small controllers.
What equipment do I need to start DJing?
A controller, a device to run it (the laptop or tablet you already own is fine), headphones, and some music you own the files for. That is the whole list. Speakers help, but you can practice through headphones without annoying anyone. Add gear as you find you need it, not before.
Wrapping Up
What DJs use comes down to software plus hardware: a program that stores, analyzes, and plays the music, and gear that gives you hands-on control of it. Rekordbox, Serato DJ, and Virtual DJ cover most of the software side. Controllers, CDJs, mixers, turntables, and headphones cover the hardware.
Starting out is simpler than the booth photos suggest. One controller, its bundled software, and headphones will teach you almost everything, and you can upgrade from there.
Next steps: Best DJ Gear for Beginners for what to buy, and How to DJ for Beginners for how to actually use it.