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

Step by step

1. 1

   Match the app to the gear and the rooms

   Serato is unlocked by specific hardware: DDJ-REV and DDJ-FLX in Serato mode, DJM-S mixers, Rane, Numark, Roland and Denon DJ units, plus turntables through DVS. VirtualDJ maps hundreds of controllers from every brand, including many Serato ones, and adds video output for a projector or screen. If a venue hands you unknown gear, VirtualDJ is more likely to have a mapping; if you own Serato-ready gear and play clubs and bars, Serato is the shorter path.

2. 2

   Compare cue storage and library structure to how you work

   Serato: eight hot cues and eight saved loops per track, written into the file tags, with crates, subcrates and Smart Crates in the _Serato_ folder. VirtualDJ: POIs of many types per track with far more than eight cues if you want them, stored in database.xml plus a database.xml on each external drive, with MyLists, filter folders and virtual folders. File-portable cues favour Serato; per-drive databases and many cues favour VirtualDJ.

3. 3

   List the event and performance features that matter

   VirtualDJ: video mixing, karaoke with rotation lists, Automix, a sampler with video samples, Stems, broadcasting, and skins that can reshape the whole interface. Serato: Flip, Pitch 'n Time DJ, Stems, Serato Video as an expansion, Practice mode and Serato Play without hardware. A wedding DJ and a scratch DJ tick almost none of the same boxes.

4. 4

   Price the licence and expansions for your actual gear

   Serato DJ Pro is 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. VirtualDJ is free for home use, and professional controllers need Home Plus (per controller, monthly), a Pro subscription, or the perpetual Pro Infinity licence. Check current pricing on both sites for your controller and the features you ticked.

5. 5

   Migrate a copy of your library and play with it

   Install the other app, run it once, then convert a copy with MixGoat's Migrate Library (free). VirtualDJ users going to Serato open Serato and the crates and cue tags are there. Serato users going to VirtualDJ open VirtualDJ; cues appear when each track is first loaded. Play a set on the new app before you retire the old setup.

Library and cue model: _Serato_ and file tags versus database.xml

Serato DJ Pro keeps its library in the _Serato_ folder in Music (database V2 and Subcrates/*.crate), with the 4.x library adding master.sqlite in Application Support/Serato/Library. Hot cues, saved loops, beat grid and Flip data are also written into each audio file as Serato tags, so a copied track keeps its cues. Each track has eight hot cues and eight saved loops in separate banks. Crates nest as subcrates and Smart Crates filter by rules.

VirtualDJ 2025 keeps its library in database.xml, in Documents/VirtualDJ on Windows and Library/Application Support/VirtualDJ on macOS, with playlists in MyLists. Each Song element carries Tags, Infos, Scan data (BPM, key, grid) and POI entries: cues, saved loops, beat grid anchors, automix in and out points and remix points, each with a name, type, position and colour, with no practical limit on cue count. VirtualDJ also writes a database.xml on every external drive that holds tracks, so a stick of music opened on another VirtualDJ machine brings its cues along.

Hardware and where each app is used

Serato's roots are Serato Scratch Live and it remains the scratch and open-format standard: Pioneer DJ's DDJ-REV and DDJ-FLX controllers and DJM-S5, S7 and S11 mixers, Rane SEVENTY, SEVENTY-TWO and ONE, Numark, Roland and Reloop controllers, Denon DJ units in Serato mode, and turntables with DVS. It is the usual choice in hip-hop, open-format and bar DJ booths and for anyone who scratches. Club CDJs work through DVS on a Serato-enabled mixer or HID on newer players, laptop attached.

VirtualDJ has the widest controller compatibility of any DJ app, with native mappings for hundreds of units from Pioneer DJ, Denon DJ, Numark, Hercules, Reloop, Roland and more, DVS with timecode, and video output. Its user base is mobile, wedding, bar, restaurant and radio DJs. It is used in some clubs, but it cannot prepare a Rekordbox USB for CDJs, and neither can Serato.

Price and licensing as of 2026

Serato DJ Pro is included with Pro-ready hardware, or licensed by monthly and annual subscription or a perpetual licence for other gear. 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.

VirtualDJ is free for home use with a keyboard, mouse or a non-professional controller. Professional controllers need a paid licence: Home Plus unlocks one controller at a time on a monthly plan, Pro is a monthly or annual subscription that covers everything, and Pro Infinity is a perpetual licence with lifetime updates. Check current pricing on serato.com and virtualdj.com, and VirtualDJ's supported hardware list for your controller, before paying for a licence.

What transfers between Serato and VirtualDJ

Serato has no library import, and VirtualDJ does not read Serato's crates or database, so switching goes through a converter. MixGoat's Library Migration reads the _Serato_ folder or master.sqlite, or database.xml, and writes the other side free. Going to VirtualDJ it saves database.xml to .bak first and matches existing tracks by file path so cues are added to the existing entry rather than a duplicate. Going to Serato it writes the crates and the cue tags Serato reads.

What moves: crates and subcrates to and from playlists and MyLists with folder nesting, hot cues with names and colours, saved loops, beat grids, key converted between Serato's musical or Camelot display and VirtualDJ's notation, ratings (both apps use 0 to 5 stars, so nothing is rescaled), track colour, comments, play count, and the text metadata. VirtualDJ remix POIs are skipped so they do not duplicate cues; VirtualDJ's automix in and out points have no Serato counterpart. The direction that needs care is VirtualDJ to Serato, because a VirtualDJ track can carry more cues than Serato's eight hot cue slots, so only eight land. In VirtualDJ, migrated cues appear when a track is first loaded. The full procedure and gotchas are in mixgoat.com/guides/switch-dj-software-without-losing-cue-points, with direction notes on mixgoat.com/migrate/serato-to-virtualdj and mixgoat.com/migrate/virtualdj-to-serato.

Frequently asked questions

Can VirtualDJ read Serato cues from the file tags?

VirtualDJ can read some Serato tag data from files, but relying on it is hit and miss across formats and versions. A migration that writes cues straight into database.xml, which is what MixGoat does free, is the dependable route, and it brings crates and ratings too.

Can I use VirtualDJ cues in Serato?

Yes, through a converter. MixGoat writes VirtualDJ cue and loop POIs into Serato's crates and file tags. Serato holds eight hot cues and eight saved loops per track, so a VirtualDJ track with more cues than that keeps the first eight.

Is VirtualDJ used in clubs?

In some, usually by residents bringing their own controller or using DVS, and widely in bars, lounges and events. The CDJ-based club circuit expects a Rekordbox USB, which neither VirtualDJ nor Serato prepares.

Does Serato do video and karaoke?

Serato Video is a paid expansion for video mixing; there is no karaoke mode with singer rotation. VirtualDJ has both built in, which is the main reason mobile and karaoke DJs pick it.

Which is cheaper, Serato or VirtualDJ?

It depends on your gear. Serato is free with Pro-ready hardware, VirtualDJ is free at home but needs a licence for any professional controller. Add Serato's expansion packs or VirtualDJ's Pro licence for what you use, and check current pricing on both sites.