For example, a Pioneer DJM-S9 mixer, which is designed to plug-and-play with Serato DJ, will also connect to Virtual DJ, and can be custom mapped to the DJ’s liking in either program.ĭVS support is available in both Serato DJ and Virtual DJ, though this requires a DVS expansion pack purchase in Serato. However, Virtual DJ’s hardware support extends even further – including devices built for Serato. Looking at hardware compatibility, Serato DJ Pro has a long list of supported mixers, media players, controllers, and accessories. However, Serato’s crate structure is a little easier to use, with a parent crate being able to show all tracks inside its subcrates (Virtual DJ requires recursing, which can be tedious).īoth platforms have adopted music streaming via a SoundCloud Go+ subscription (and in Serato’s case, TIDAL too). It also has star ratings and play counts for tracks, something that Serato users have long been asking for. Virtual DJ has a separate window to edit track tag information, which is helpful. Smart crates/folders automatically fill a crate with any track in the library that meets the criteria you set. In the music library section, DJs can organise their tracks into crates in Serato DJ Pro, or virtual folders in Virtual DJ. Scrolling waveforms allow for visual mixing in both programs, and audio output quality with both is excellent.
Both can mix with or without DJ hardware connected (you’ll need to buy the Serato Play expansion pack to access this), and have similar basic features such as cue points, loops, sync, FX, sampler, and set recording. Serato lets you mix up to four decks of music, while Virtual DJ supports up to six decks.
You can download custom skins to personalise Virtual DJ’s look and feel, but many adopt the kind of skeuomorphism that has since gone by the wayside in modern software. Both programs’ interfaces are well organised, but I find Serato’s to look a little cleaner and more modern, while Virtual DJ’s could use a refresh, in my opinion. User interfaceīoth Serato DJ Pro and Virtual DJ have the traditional layout of virtual decks on the top, and the music collection on the bottom. Well better late than never – time to compare Serato DJ Pro and Virtual DJ 2018.
I’ve tried and tested several of the other top-tier DJ platforms, but somehow Atomix’s Virtual DJ software was one that slipped under the radar. For many years now, my primary DJ software has been Serato DJ (now known as Serato DJ Pro).