Thinking about starting DJing but don’t know what controller to get? If your money is on your mind, check these out: the best budget DJ controllers under five bills.
5 of the Best Budget DJ Controllers
Best Budget DJ Controllers
DJing can get expensive, and fast. Top-of-the-line controllers can cost thousands of dollars. Even mid-tier ones can break the bank. While these can offer incredible quality and features, they also may be out of reach for most of us. This is doubly true if you’re a beginner and just want to give DJing a try without a major financial commitment. Thankfully, there are plenty of excellent DJ controllers at the lower end of the price spectrum worth your time.
Today, let’s check out five of the best budget DJ controllers. They’re all under $500 and span the budget range, starting from around $100. Note that these all require you to have some kind of device to hold the audio files, either a computer or phone/tablet. If you’re looking for the best gear all around for beginners, check here. And if you need a mixer instead of a controller, this is the place to start.
Ready to take control?
Best Budget DJ Controllers: Hercules DJControl Inpulse 200 MK3
Just because you’re skint, that doesn’t mean you can’t get a quality controller. Hercules’ DJControl Inpulse 200 MK3, which came out just this spring, is a solid controller with a ton of great features – and all for around $100. It’s honestly pretty unbelievable how much you get for the sticker price.
A two-deck controller, DJControl Inpulse 200 MK3 gives you a touch-sensitive jog wheel and four performance pads per side, stem access via Instrumental and Acapella buttons, streaming integration, a beatmatching guide with lights to help you master getting tracks in sync, and a built-in virtual sound card for streaming.
DJControl Inpulse 200 MK3 works with both Hercules’ own DJUCED as well as Serato DJ Lite (included) and Serato DJ Pro.
Buy Hercules DJControl Inpulse 200 MK3 from our affiliate partners Thomann* or Sweetwater*.
Best Budget DJ Controllers: Numark Party Mix III
The entry-level DJ controller market is really hot these days. Another contender for the best DJ controller under $500 is the Party Mix III from Numark, which continues the company’s line of affordable and beginner-friendly controllers.
Another two-deck affair, Party Mix III offers two jog wheels in total, plus eight pads per deck. You also get stem control with Acapella and Instrumental buttons, Fade FX tied to the crossfader, three-band EQ and filter knobs per channel, and a built-in, beat‑synchronized LED light show around the back. Bluetooth connectivity lets you DJ wirelessly with Algoriddim djay on iOS and Android.
Along with Algoriddim djay, Party Mix III also supports Serato and VirtualDJ.
Get Numark Party Mix III from our affiliate partners Thomann* or Sweetwater*.
Best Budget DJ Controllers: Reloop Buddy
Algoriddim djay DJs! This one is for you. If you mix with djay, chances are you’re using some kind of device like an iPhone, iPad or Android device. Although you can DJ using the touchscreen, swiping glass isn’t nearly as much fun as grabbing knobs and flicking faders. And that’s where this DJ controller comes in.
Reloop Buddy is an affordable controller aimed at djay users. You get two channels, each with a jog dial and eight color-coded RGB performance pads with hot cue, auto loop, touch FX, sampler, slicer, bounce loop, Neural Mix and looper performance modes. The two FX paddles let you access effects, and with a flick of a switch, you can change the EQ knobs into Neural Mix controls that allow you to isolate drums, instruments and vocals in real-time.
It’s got a built-in audio interface and is plug-and-play with most portable Apple and Android devices and even features a dock to hold your phone or tablet up to 12.9”.
Buy Reloop Buddy from our affiliate partners Thomann* or Sweetwater*.
Best Budget DJ Controllers: Pioneer DJ DDJ-FLX4
Pioneer DJ (now known as AlphaTheta) is a well-respected name in the DJ business, and its DDJ-FLX4 controller often tops out lists of the best budget DJ controllers. It’s a little more expensive than the other controllers we’ve been looking at, but it could be just what you need, especially if you prefer rekordbox as a DJ platform.
This two-deck controller features two jog wheels, eight pads per side, three-band EQ per channel, plus dedicated channel CFX knobs for controlling the combo highpass/lowpass filter or any other effect that you want to assign. The DDJ-FLX4 is also beginner-friendly, with a Smart Fader feature that automatically adjusts the volume, bass and BPM so you can concentrate on just moving the channel faders or crossfader.
The controller supports streaming, works with rekordbox, Serato, djay Pro and Traktor, lets you control a computer, phone or tablet, and offers a built-in audio interface.
Grab Pioneer DJ DDJ-FLX4 from our affiliate partner Sweetwater*.
Best Budget DJ Controllers: Native Instruments Traktor MX2
For the last of the best budget DJ controllers, let’s take a look at something a little different. While most people will be DJing with either rekordbox or Serato, with a few device-oriented folks rocking Algoriddim djay, there are those of us who prefer something more left of center. I’m talking about Traktor, Native Instruments’ proprietary DJ software. If you’re in the Traktor camp and you need a new controller, or you think Traktor might be the software for you because you’re oh-so techno, check out Traktor MX2.
The latest controller from Native Instruments, the two-channel Traktor MX2 comes equipped with two big jog wheels plus eight RGB pads per deck, which provide access to four different pad modes: Hot Cues, Flux Loops for stuttered loops, Pattern Player for programming percussion step sequences, and Stems, which lets you remix vocals, drums, bass, and instruments live. There are also mixer FX and Deck FX, plus an illuminated bottom shell for visual mix feedback.
Includes Traktor Pro 4 for free.
Buy Native Instruments Traktor MX2 from our affiliate partners Thomann* or Sweetwater*.
More Information About DJ Controllers
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