Rekordbox vs Serato DJ Pro (2026): Library, Cues, Hardware and Price

Step by step

1. 1

   Start from the hardware you play on most

   If your sets happen on CDJs or XDJs in clubs, Rekordbox is the app that prepares the USB stick those players read, and no other app writes that format. If your sets happen on a DDJ-REV, DDJ-FLX in Serato mode, a Rane or Numark controller, or a DJM-S mixer with turntables, that hardware unlocks Serato DJ Pro and the choice is largely made for you.

2. 2

   Decide how you want cues and the library to behave

   Rekordbox keeps everything in master.db and offers two kinds of cue: eight hot cues on pads A to H and separate memory cues that scroll through with the cue buttons on a CDJ. Serato has eight hot cues and eight saved loops and writes them into each audio file's tags, so a track copied to another machine carries its cues with it. If you live on memory cues, Rekordbox; if you want file-portable cues, Serato.

3. 3

   List the performance features you actually use

   Serato's Flip records cue-juggle sequences, Pitch 'n Time DJ gives key shifting and key sync, and Stems is built in. Rekordbox has phrase analysis that marks intro, verse, chorus and outro on the waveform, Related Tracks, Ableton Link, and stem separation in version 7. Ignore features you never open today.

4. 4

   Weigh ecosystem and price over a year

   Rekordbox is free to prepare USBs and free in Performance mode with Pioneer DJ hardware, with Core, Creative and Professional subscriptions on top for cloud sync, DVS without Pioneer gear and the extra packs. Serato DJ Pro unlocks free with Pro-ready hardware, otherwise a subscription or a one-time licence, with Lite free on supported entry controllers; DVS, Flip, Pitch 'n Time and Video are paid expansions. Check current pricing on each site and total what you would really pay.

5. 5

   Try the other app on a copy of your own library before you switch

   Install the second app, run it once, then migrate a copy of your library into it with MixGoat (Migrate Library, free on every plan) and play a set. Serato users trying Rekordbox can also use Rekordbox's own Serato import. Either way, check a few tracks whose cues you know by heart before committing.

Library and cue model: master.db versus file tags

Rekordbox 7 stores the whole collection in master.db, an encrypted SQLite database in Library/Pioneer/rekordbox on macOS and AppData/Roaming/Pioneer/rekordbox on Windows. Playlists, intelligent playlists, My Tags, hot cues, memory cues, loops, beat grids and phrase markers all live there, and rekordbox.xml is a separate export and import format you generate on request. Memory cues have no pad but are stepped through on the CDJ's cue buttons, and are how many club DJs mark every section of a track. Export mode copies this database onto a USB stick as the Device Library, the file a CDJ actually reads.

Serato DJ Pro keeps its library in the _Serato_ folder in Music (database V2, plus Subcrates/*.crate for crates and subcrates); the 4.x library adds master.sqlite in Application Support/Serato/Library. Cues, saved loops, beat grid and Flip data are also written into each audio file as Serato tags, so a track dragged to another laptop arrives with its cues. Serato has eight hot cues and eight saved loops per track and no memory cue concept. Crates nest as subcrates and Smart Crates filter by tag rules, which maps closely to Rekordbox playlists and intelligent playlists.

Hardware and where each app is used

Rekordbox is the club standard because Pioneer DJ players read its USB export. A DJ prepares at home, walks in with a stick, and plays on CDJ-2000NXS2, CDJ-3000 or XDJ units with every cue, loop and grid as saved, shared across four players over Pro DJ Link. Performance mode also drives Pioneer DJ controllers and DVS through DJM mixers.

Serato DJ Pro grew out of Serato Scratch Live, and its centre of gravity is still turntables, battle mixers and controllers: Pioneer DJ's DDJ-REV and DDJ-FLX ranges, DJM-S5, S7 and S11 mixers, Rane SEVENTY, SEVENTY-TWO and ONE, Numark, Roland, Reloop and Denon DJ units. CDJs work with Serato too, as DVS timecode players through a Serato-enabled mixer or in HID mode on newer players, laptop attached. Turntablists, open-format DJs and most bar DJs on controllers lean Serato; house and techno DJs touring on CDJs lean Rekordbox.

Price and licensing as of 2026

Rekordbox is sold as subscription tiers: Free (Export mode for USB preparation, plus Performance mode when Pioneer DJ hardware is connected), Core, Creative and Professional, which add DVS with any hardware, Cloud Library Sync, and packs such as Video and Lyric at the higher tiers. If you only prepare sticks for the club, the Free tier is usually enough.

Serato DJ Pro is either included with Pro-ready hardware, or licensed by monthly and annual subscription, or bought once as a perpetual licence. Serato DJ Lite is free with supported entry-level controllers. DVS, Flip, Pitch 'n Time DJ and Video are separate expansion packs, sometimes bundled with a mixer. Prices and bundles change, so check current pricing on rekordbox.com and serato.com, and count the expansions you need rather than the headline number.

What transfers when you switch, in either direction

Rekordbox can import a Serato DJ Pro library on its own (look under the File menu for the library import from other DJ software), bringing playlists, cues and loops in. Serato has no library import at all: it will not read rekordbox.xml or any other app's file, so the Rekordbox to Serato direction needs a converter that writes Serato's tags and crates. MixGoat's Library Migration covers both directions free: it reads master.db (following Rekordbox's own database pointer) or the _Serato_ folder, and writes the other side, with a .bak copy of anything it touches.

What moves: playlists and their folder nesting (crates and subcrates on the Serato side), hot cues with names and colours, loops, beat grids, key (converted between Rekordbox's Classic or Alphanumeric display and Serato's musical or Camelot display), ratings normalised to 0 to 5 stars, track colour, comments, play count, plus title, artist, album, genre, label, year, BPM and remixer. Memory cues exist only in Rekordbox; going to Serato, cues beyond a free hot cue slot have nowhere to land, and coming back from Serato you can choose whether cues become hot or memory cues. Step-by-step notes and the slot-count and rating gotchas are in the switching guide at mixgoat.com/guides/switch-dj-software-without-losing-cue-points and the pair pages mixgoat.com/migrate/rekordbox-to-serato and mixgoat.com/migrate/serato-to-rekordbox.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Serato cues in Rekordbox?

Yes. Rekordbox's own Serato library import reads them, and MixGoat migrates them free with names, colours and positions. Serato's eight hot cues map onto Rekordbox pads A to H; the eight saved loops become Rekordbox loops.

Can I use Rekordbox cues in Serato?

Yes, but only through a converter such as MixGoat, Lexicon or DJCU, because Serato has no import for rekordbox.xml. Hot cues, loops and grids transfer; memory cues have no Serato equivalent, so only the ones that fit a free hot cue slot survive.

Does Serato work with CDJs in a club?

It does, either through a Serato-enabled mixer with DVS timecode on the CDJs or in HID mode on newer players, but you bring the laptop. Rekordbox lets you play the same CDJs from a USB stick with no laptop.

Is Rekordbox free?

The Free tier covers USB preparation in Export mode and Performance mode with Pioneer DJ hardware attached. Core, Creative and Professional are subscriptions that add DVS on other gear, cloud sync and extra packs; check current pricing.

Which is better for scratching, Rekordbox or Serato?

Most turntablists use Serato: its DVS heritage, battle-mixer integrations from Rane and Pioneer DJ, Flip, and the pad and cue feel are built around scratch DJs. Rekordbox DVS works well through DJM mixers but has a smaller share in that scene.