rekordbox is AlphaTheta's music library and DJ software for Mac and Windows: it analyses and organises your tracks, exports them to a USB stick for Pioneer DJ and AlphaTheta players, and mixes them itself with a controller or mouse and keyboard. The Free plan covers export and mouse-and-keyboard mixing; playing it from DJ hardware needs a Hardware Unlock device or a paid Core, Creative or Professional plan.
AlphaTheta is the company behind Pioneer DJ. The current version is rekordbox 7.2.19, released on 24 September 2026, per its download page.
What rekordbox does
Everything starts in the Collection, the list of every track rekordbox manages. rekordbox analyses each track you add for BPM and beatgrid, key, phrase and vocal position, and the Collection, playlists, tags and cue points are shared by every mode. The rekordbox 7 manual splits the rest into modes:
- EXPORT mode prepares music for Pioneer DJ and AlphaTheta players. You set cues and loops, check grids, and export playlists to a USB stick or SD card with their analysis, or play to players over a LAN cable with PRO DJ LINK. This is what you use to play on CDJs in a club.
- PERFORMANCE mode is DJ software in its own right: up to 4 decks, 16 sampler slots, effects, STEMS and sync, played from a controller, mixer or player, or from the mouse and keyboard.
- LIGHTING mode drives DMX lighting from the music through lighting scenes you can edit, and EDIT mode edits tracks: shortening them, cutting out parts or making loops. Each has its own operation guide on the manual page.
Building the library is covered step by step in how to organise music in rekordbox, and gig settings, from Hot Cue Auto Load to keyboard shortcuts, in rekordbox tips for playing out.
The plans
rekordbox 7 is free to download. Paid plans are monthly or yearly subscriptions, and the Cloud Option can be added to the Free, Core and Creative plans. rekordbox 7 has a 30-day trial with almost every feature except some cloud functions, after which it moves to the Free plan, per the plans FAQ.
| Plan | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Free | EXPORT mode and library management; PERFORMANCE mode with mouse, keyboard, trackpad or touchscreen; 16 hot cues; STEMS; vocal position analysis |
| Core | Control from DJ equipment, DVS, MIDI Learn, mix recording, DJM-type effects, Merge FX, Groove Circuit, Sample Scratch, MIX POINT LINK, Intelligent Cue Creation and Cloud Analysis, lighting scene editing |
| Creative | Everything in Core, plus video, RMX-type effects, saving edited tracks, Cloud Library Sync and CloudDirectPlay |
| Professional | Everything in Creative, plus 5 TB of Dropbox storage, Collaborative Playlists with up to five other accounts, and cloud backup of USB and SD libraries |
| Cloud Option | 1 TB of Dropbox storage and Cloud Library Sync, added to Free, Core or Creative |
A Core plan activates on 3 computers or phones, Creative on 4 and Professional on 8. Video also runs on the Free and Core plans, with a caution message on the external screen, and Cloud Library Sync there is limited to a 20-track trial playlist.
Source: AlphaTheta's plans page and plans FAQ, read on 13 October 2026; the plans page lists current prices in your currency. AlphaTheta notes that plan features can change between versions.
Hardware Unlock
Connect a Hardware Unlock device and the Free plan lets you play PERFORMANCE mode from it, "without subscribing to a paid plan", per the rekordbox 7 FAQ. Recording, mix sharing, MIDI LEARN, MERGE FX and SAMPLE SCRATCH come with it. The Hardware Unlock list covers Pioneer DJ and AlphaTheta controllers such as the DDJ-FLX4, DDJ-FLX2 and DDJ-FLX10, all-in-one systems such as the XDJ-RX3, XDJ-AZ and OPUS-QUAD, players such as the CDJ-3000, and DJM mixers. Some devices add more: the DJM mixers add DVS, and the DDJ-FLX10 and RB-DMX1 add lighting control. Serato DJ Pro or rekordbox compares this with Serato's hardware rules.
rekordbox's controller list is Pioneer DJ and AlphaTheta hardware only. Other MIDI controllers can be mapped with MIDI Learn, which needs a paid plan or a connected Hardware Unlock device.
The phone and tablet app
rekordbox for iOS and Android is a separate app, free to start with weekly, monthly or yearly in-app subscriptions for more effects, custom pads and no ads, per the mobile page. It mixes on the phone, controls the DDJ-FLX2, DDJ-GRV6, DDJ-FLX4 and DDJ-200, plays tracks straight to a compatible CDJ or XDJ over PRO DJ LINK, and syncs with the desktop library through Cloud Library Sync. It runs on iOS and iPadOS 17, 18 and 26, and Android 13 to 16.
What your computer needs
From the download page: Windows 10 or 11, or macOS 13 Ventura to macOS 26 Tahoe; a CPU with AVX2; 8 GB of memory, or 16 GB for STEMS and Groove Circuit; and 2 GB of free disk space, not counting your music. An older laptop without AVX2 can't run rekordbox 7.
rekordbox or something else
rekordbox is the program to learn if you play, or want to play, Pioneer DJ and AlphaTheta club gear from USB, because it writes the library those players read. If your controller unlocks another program, or you scratch on turntables, compare it with Serato in Serato DJ Pro or rekordbox, and see the best DJ software for Traktor, VirtualDJ and the rest. CDJ vs XDJ explains the player ranges, and the best USB sticks for DJing covers the stick you export to.
How this page is made
Every feature, plan and requirement here comes from AlphaTheta's own pages: the rekordbox 7 Instruction Manual (the edition for 7.2.18), the plans page and plans FAQ, the rekordbox 7 FAQ, the Hardware Unlock list, the mobile page and the download page, all read on 13 October 2026. Plan contents change between versions, so the plans page has the current list. We haven't tested rekordbox for this page. The methodology explains how the site works.
