Serato DJ Lite Review

Serato DJ Lite is a free DJ software with limited functionalities compared to paid DJ software. Though Serato DJ Lite might have less to offer compared to paid DJ software, it might still be a great DJ software for beginners. I’ve been using Serato DJ Lite in the first few years of my DJ journey and I would like to share my thoughts with you. That’s why in this post: an honest review of Serato DJ Lite.

What is Serato DJ Lite

Serato is a very popular brand among DJs. Serato has DJ software and producer software available. Its software’s compatible with most DJ controllers on the market today. Especially Serato software like Serato DJ Lite and Pro is very popular.

Serato DJ Lite is the free version of Serato DJ pro. Serato DJ lite has fewer features and is made for the beginner DJ to get the hang of DJing without too much hassle. While Serato DJ Pro is created for DJs that are past the beginner phase.

What Can You Do with Serato DJ Lite

As I mentioned before, the Lite version is fewer features than the Pro version. Though it might have fewer features, it does have almost all the important features that a beginner DJ needs.

Let’s look at all the features of Serato DJ Lite.

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Practice mode

Serato DJ Lite is a great DJ software when you don’t own a DJ controller. Practice mode on Serato DJ Lite is a mode where you can DJ with your keyboard using hotkeys.

Each key on your keyboard will have a different function. Here is an overview of the different functions of the keys on your keyboard.

Streaming music

Just like all the paid versions of all DJ software, on this free version, you can also stream your music.

In total there are 6 different ways to get your music into Serato DJ Lite.

MP3
iTunes
Tidal
SoundCloud
Beatport
Beatsource

Serato DJ Lite supports virtual input devices. The audio output can be made available to other applications to help you set up your own Livestreams.

There are tutorials available to help you set up your live streams with Serato DJ Lite on Serato’s official website.

Serato also created a Twitch extension to show song names and artists you’re playing directly from your Serato DJ Lite software into your Twitch Livestream.

FX

In Serato DJ Lite there are 6 FXs available.

HPF
LPF
Flanger
Echo Reverb
Phaser

You can set these FXs from 1/16 beat to 8 beats.

Loops and Hot Cues

Hot cues are vital to performing a good DJ set. In Serato DJ Lite you can set 4 hot cues. These will be saved when you exit Serato.

Serato Dj Lite also has the Loop feature. You can set a 1 beat loop, 2 beat loop, 4 beat loop, and 8 beat loop.

EQ

EQs are those knobs you see on the DJ controller except now you can find these on the mixing panel on your Serato DJ Lite software. You can adjust the highs, the mids, and the lows and adjust the filter.

Sampler

Samplers are sounds that last for a couple of seconds at most. The most popular one must be the horn or the glass breaking.

You can up to 4 samples in the Lite version of Serato.

Analyze Files

Analyzing files is a feature where things like the BPM and the length of a song get analyzed. They will show in your music library and you have the option of showing this information or not.

You can analyze all your files at the same time or analyze them one by one or any number that you want.

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Does Serato DJ Lite Analyze Key

Serato Dj Lite does not analyze the key of a song. To analyze this you’ll have to either download Serato DJ pro or find alternatives to get to know the key of the song.

You could create creates for example with only one sort of key. There are multiple websites available to discover the key to a song. One of them is getsongkey.com.

When you download your songs from DJ Pools, you already get the Key information when you download the song. It would be smart to write it down as you download your songs and put them in the right crate with the same key.

Serato DJ Lite Compatible DJ Controllers

Complete list of DJ controllers compatible with Serato DJ Lite (January 2022)

Numark Party Mix Live
Numark Party Mix 2
Numark Mixtrack Platinum FX
Numark Mixtrack Pro FX
Numark DJ2Go2 Touch
Numark Party Mix
Numark Mixtrack Platinum
Numark Party Mix Pro
Numark DJ2GO2
Numark Mixtrack Pro 3
Numark Mixtrack Pro 2
Numark Mixdeck Express
Numark Mixtrack Quad
Numark Mixdeck quad
Numark Mixtrack Pro
Numark N4
Hercules DJ Control Inpulse 500
Hercules DJ Control Starlight
Hercules DJControl JogVision
Pioneer DDJ SB3
Pioneer DDJ SB2
Pioneer DDJ WeGO3
Pioneer DDJ WeGO
Pioneer DDJ ERGO
Pioneer DDJ SB
Denon DJ MC4000
Denon DJ MC6000MK2
Denon DJ MC2000
Reloop Ready
Reloop Beatmix 4
Reloop Terminal Mix 4
Reloop Terminal Mix 2
Reloop Beatmix 2
Vestax Typhoon
Vestax VCI-400
Vestax VCI-100 MK2
Gemini Slate
Gemini Slate 4
Roland DJ 202

How do you get Serato DJ Lite

You can download Serato DJ Lite from the Serato website. Here is a link that will take you directly to the download page. Here you can download the latest version for either Windows or iOS.

You can also find a list of system requirements for Mac and Windows.

When to Upgrade to Serato DJ Pro

Serato DJ Lite is a great DJ software if you’re a beginner. You can go a long way with Serato DJ Lite.

However, at some point in your DJ journey, you’re going to want to switch to Serato DJ Pro.

Especially having the key analyzing feature is a great tool that saves you a lot of time.

Switching to Serato DJ Pro would probably be best when you’ve been DJing for at least one year. When you feel like you can move on sooner, please do. If you feel like you’re still good with Serato DJ Lite, then stick with it a little bit longer.

My personal experience and opinion of Serato DJ Lite

I’ve used Serato DJ Lite for about a year myself. I used it when I didn’t really know a lot about DJing.

My experience with Serato DJ Lite has been great that year. I feel like it’s a very simple and very easy-to-use DJ software.

The fact that there are not too many features actually made it very effective to learn the feature that is available on Serato DJ Lite.

Especially when you’re first starting out as a beginner, you don’t need all the features. It will only distract you from things that you actually need to learn as a beginner.

I highly recommend using Serato DJ Lite if you’re a beginner DJ.