Answer first. In October 2026 the cheapest subscription that works inside a DJ app is Apple Music at $11.99 a month (djay, rekordbox, Serato DJ Pro), with Spotify Premium at $12.99 right behind it. Both are streaming only, and both are personal-use plans. If you play out and need tracks saved offline, the cheapest plans with a locker are TIDAL with the DJ Extension ($19.99) and SoundCloud DJ (listed at $19.99), and for electronic music Beatport Professional ($29.99) with its 1,000-track locker. The table below has every plan.
What changed in 2026
- Beatsource is gone as a separate service. It merged into Beatport Streaming this year. Accounts, playlists and streaming plans moved over: the entry plan ($12.99) became Beatport Advanced ($15.99) and Pro+ became Beatport Professional+ ($34.99), the plan that carries the open-format DJ edits.
- Spotify is back in DJ apps. It dropped them in 2020. Since September 2025 Spotify Premium works in rekordbox, Serato DJ Pro and djay, and since September 2026 also in VirtualDJ, Cross DJ and edjing Mix, in 51 markets (the list is on Spotify's DJ software page). Online only, up to four decks, and Spotify's own terms say no clubs, venues, events or livestreams.
- Apple Music is no longer a djay exclusive. rekordbox 7 and Serato DJ Pro take it too, and Engine DJ hardware from Denon DJ and Numark streams it. It cannot be stored offline in any of them.
- TIDAL needs an add-on. A TIDAL Individual plan alone does not unlock DJ apps; you need the DJ Extension, which brings the Individual plan from $11.99 to $19.99 a month (TIDAL lists the total as Tidal DJ Individual). rekordbox can store TIDAL tracks offline (you must log in again every 30 days); djay streams them live only.
- SoundCloud raised the Go+ price in April 2026 and only shows the new price at checkout. Go+ streams in most DJ apps. SoundCloud DJ adds unlimited offline downloads, but only VirtualDJ and rekordbox can play them.
- Deezer works in VirtualDJ and nowhere else. Amazon Music Unlimited works on Engine DJ hardware only (PRIME 4+, PRIME GO+, SC LIVE 2 and 4, Numark Mixstream Pro+ and Pro Go), not in desktop software.
- Free trials: 30 days on every Beatport plan, on TIDAL and on Amazon Music Unlimited, one month on Apple Music, Spotify Premium and Deezer, and one first-time trial at SoundCloud shared between Go+ and DJ. VirtualDJ accepts paid subscriptions only, not trials.
Every plan, side by side
US prices before tax, EUR where the official site shows it. "Locker" means tracks stored inside the DJ app for playing without internet.
| Plan | Per month | Works inside | Offline locker | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beatport Essential | $10.99 / €10.99 | No DJ app (listening only) | No | High quality |
| Beatport Advanced | $15.99 / €15.99 ($159 / €159 a year) | rekordbox, Serato, Traktor, VirtualDJ, djay, Engine DJ, DJUCED, DEX, edjing, CDJ-3000, OPUS-QUAD, OMNIS-DUO | No | AAC (128 kbps in Serato) |
| Beatport Professional | $29.99 / €29.99 ($299 / €299 a year) | Same as Advanced | 1,000 tracks | Lossless FLAC where supported |
| Beatport Professional+ | $34.99 / €34.99 ($349 / €349 a year) | Same, plus open-format DJ edits | 1,000 tracks | Lossless FLAC where supported |
| Beatsource Streaming | Closed, merged into Beatport in 2026 | See Beatport | See Beatport | See Beatport |
| TIDAL Individual + DJ Extension | $19.99 ($11.99 plus the $8 DJ Extension) | rekordbox, Serato DJ Pro, djay, VirtualDJ, Engine DJ | rekordbox only, 30-day re-login | Lossless and HiRes FLAC |
| SoundCloud Go+ | Raised April 2026, shown at checkout ($10.99 before) | rekordbox, Serato DJ Pro and Lite, VirtualDJ, djay, Engine DJ, Cross DJ, edjing, DEX 3, DJUCED | No | 256 kbps AAC |
| SoundCloud DJ | $19.99 (December 2025 listing) | Same as Go+ | Unlimited, VirtualDJ and rekordbox only | 256 kbps AAC |
| Apple Music Individual | $11.99 | djay, rekordbox 7, Serato DJ Pro, Engine DJ hardware | No | 256 kbps AAC |
| Spotify Premium | $12.99 | rekordbox, Serato DJ Pro, djay, VirtualDJ, Cross DJ, edjing Mix (51 markets) | No | Up to lossless FLAC |
| Deezer Premium | $11.99 | VirtualDJ | No | Not stated |
| Amazon Music Unlimited | $12.99 ($11.99 with Prime) | Engine DJ hardware only | No | HD and Ultra HD catalog |
Prices checked October 2026.
Cheapest for a bedroom DJ
If you only mix at home and your DJ app is on the list, the plan you may already pay for is the cheapest: Apple Music ($11.99) or Spotify Premium ($12.99). You get a huge catalog, your own playlists and no second subscription. Deezer ($11.99) does the same job in VirtualDJ. None of these store tracks offline, so you need a solid connection, and Serato DJ Pro and djay will not record while a streamed track is playing.
If you mix electronic music and want DJ-ready tracks with clean metadata, Beatport Advanced ($15.99, or $159 a year) is the cheapest DJ-specific plan. Start with the 30-day trial.
Cheapest for a bar or wedding DJ (open format)
You need pop, hip hop, Latin, rock and the classics, plus clean versions and intro edits. Three plans fit:
- TIDAL with the DJ Extension, $19.99. Full major-label catalog in lossless, in rekordbox, Serato DJ Pro, djay, VirtualDJ and Engine DJ. Offline storage only in rekordbox.
- SoundCloud DJ, $19.99 (December 2025 listing). Unlimited offline downloads, but only VirtualDJ and rekordbox can play them, and rights holders decide track by track whether DJ apps may play a song, so expect gaps in the mainstream catalog.
- Beatport Professional+, $34.99. The old Beatsource offer: DJ edits, extended intros and outros, clean versions and transition tools, with the 1,000-track locker. The most expensive, and the only one built for this job.
Cheapest safe pick: TIDAL plus the DJ Extension on rekordbox, or SoundCloud DJ on VirtualDJ or rekordbox, both $19.99 with tracks stored offline. On Serato or djay, no plan under $29.99 gives you a locker; Beatport Professional does, and Beatport now carries the Beatsource open-format catalog, but the edits need Professional+.
Cheapest for a club DJ (electronic)
Beatport Professional, $29.99 a month or $299 a year. The 1,000-track locker means the set does not depend on the venue Wi-Fi, and you get FLAC where your app supports it. Advanced ($15.99) works in the same apps but has no locker: fine for a residency with a wired connection, risky anywhere else. Paid yearly, Advanced comes to $13.25 a month and Professional to $24.92. In Traktor Pro 4, Beatport is the only streaming service left. On rekordbox, TIDAL with the DJ Extension ($19.99) is the budget alternative, but Beatport has the promos, charts and metadata DJs rely on.
The catch
- You own nothing. Stop paying and the tracks are gone, and with them the cue points and loops you set on them.
- No internet, no set, unless your plan has a locker and your app supports it: Beatport Professional and Professional+ (1,000 tracks, most apps), SoundCloud DJ (VirtualDJ and rekordbox), TIDAL DJ Extension (rekordbox). Lockers expire too: rekordbox gives TIDAL and SoundCloud DJ tracks 30 days, then you must log in again.
- Tracks leave catalogs. A label pulls a release and the track vanishes from your playlist. SoundCloud lets uploaders decide per track whether DJ apps can play it, and Spotify says availability can vary by market and over time.
- Personal use. These are consumer plans. Spotify's terms rule out clubs, venues, events and livestreams; SoundCloud says the same for Go+ and DJ. Whether the venue's license covers streamed tracks differs by country. This is not legal advice: ask your local collecting society.
When buying is cheaper
Do the math on your real habits. Beatport Professional is $299 a year. A single track download usually costs between one and three dollars, so the same money buys roughly 100 to 300 tracks that stay yours, play offline in any app, record fine and never leave the catalog. If you add fewer than ten new tracks a month, buying wins. Streaming wins when you need a huge catalog on demand: wedding requests, a new style, or testing tracks before you commit.
There is a third route between streaming and buying: record pools, which let you download DJ edits (intros, clean versions, acapellas) for a monthly fee. DJ music subscriptions compares them with the streaming plans.
Stream to discover, buy what you actually play. Every track on Digger Digger has a 30-second official preview and links to buy or listen, and you can see how many recorded DJ sets it was found in before you spend anything. The official free downloads cost nothing at all. See Free downloads, the legit way.
Pick a style on Digger Digger, preview the tracks for free, save the ones you want to your crate, then stream or buy them where you like.