Free version is $0 forever — desk-entered rotation, your files, dual screen. No singer phones. Full version is ~$10/mo after a 60-day trial, no card: cloud singer phones with our full Social Engine, the Fairness Engine, Break-Wave, LAN failover, and OpenKJ songbook hosting. Pay once. Run up to four shows. Auto-KJ Lifetime is $500, one time. Everything in the full version, with up to 4 shows running at the same time. No monthly bill. Ghost-Trax credits are $2.
Choosing karaoke software starts with your library. Auto-KJ is for hosts who bring their own tracks and need to manage playback, singer requests, and a changing rotation.
Auto-KJ works with the tracks you own. If you want a huge licensed catalog and don’t own files, that’s a different product — we wrote the honest split in Auto-KJ vs KaraFun Pro. This page is for people buying computer karaoke software to host with.
What KJ karaoke software actually has to do
- Play the library you already own — MP3+G, ZIP, video karaoke — on the laptop you already bring to the gig.
- Keep rotation fair when someone walks in at 10:40, a duet needs both names, or a singer skips.
- Take requests without paper slips when you want phones — and keep working when the venue Wi-Fi dies.
- Run on the machine you have — Windows, macOS, or Linux — with a download that fits your computer.
Karaoke software for PC, Mac, and Linux
Auto-KJ is available in five desktop builds: Windows x64, Windows ARM64, Intel Mac, Apple Silicon Mac, and Linux x64. Same app, same library folders, same Fairness Engine. Download from pricing — the Free version does not need an account. Per-platform details: karaoke software for Windows, Mac karaoke software, and karaoke software for Linux.
A bar or venue running the night in its own room can start with karaoke software for bars. Same desktop app, written for the booth rather than a living-room catalog.
If you’re comparing “karaoke software for PC” or “karaoke app for PC” lists, check whether the tool is a consumer player or a show runner. A player that streams tracks is fine at home. A Saturday night KJ needs local files, a rotation you can defend, and a second screen for lyrics.
Bring your own library
Your Sound Choice / Chartbuster / Sunfly / whatever-you’ve-been-buying-since-2008 stays on your SSD. Auto-KJ indexes it. Titles and artists can go to the cloud so singers can search; the audio and graphics never leave the booth. Cancel a subscription and you still own every ZIP.
Full version library tools cover the boring jobs that eat a Sunday: filename correction, duplicate detect/isolate, and manufacturer preference so auto-queue picks the brand you actually want. Details in the library management guide.
Fair rotation — the Fairness Engine
The Fairness Engine handles late arrivals, shared duet turns, pauses, and song changes that keep a singer’s place. With the Full version, singers can follow the same list on their phones.
Throw chaos at it in the browser first: the Rotation Simulator. Then read what the Fairness Engine actually means.
Singer phones vs paper slips
Free version is desk-entered only — you type the name, you run the list. Full version adds cloud singer phones with our full Social Engine: singers search your songbook, see their wait, and request without an app-store install (GPS, show code, or LAN). Walk-up kiosk and a phone remote are in the Full version.
Free version vs Full version
| Free version | Full version | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 forever | ~$10/mo · Pay once. Run up to four shows. Auto-KJ Lifetime is $500, one time. Everything in the full version, with up to 4 shows running at the same time. No monthly bill. · 60-day no-card trial |
| Library & playback | Your files, dual screen, Break-Wave decks | Same, plus full library management |
| Rotation | Fairness Engine, desk-entered | Fairness Engine + singers watch it live |
| Singer phones | None | Cloud singer phones with our full Social Engine |
| Dead Wi-Fi bar | Local files, you type the list | LAN failover mid-show |
| OpenKJ songbook | — | Included (or $5 standalone if you stay on OpenKJ) |
Ghost-Trax credits are $2 on the Free version and the Full version — pay-as-you-go tracks on ghost-trax.com, not a second subscription. Extra simultaneous live shows are +$5/mo. That extra show is a Full version add-on.
Break-Wave (when the singers sit down)
Break-Wave is the dual-deck DJ mixer in Auto-KJ: song-analyzing beat and key matching, automixing between karaoke sets, headphone cue, soundboard, and a DSP rack. It’s the break-music job sitting next to the rotation instead of a second app.
Consumer karaoke apps vs KJ software
A catalog subscription can be useful if you need a ready-made selection of tracks. Auto-KJ is for your own library. If your priority is managing the show and singer requests, see the karaoke host software guide.
Coming from OpenKJ? You can keep using OpenKJ or try Auto-KJ: OpenKJ alternative — $5 songbook if you stay, or the 60-day Full version trial if you want the Fairness Engine. Paul still maintains the community fork.
Download the Free version — or try Full version for 60 days
No card for the Full version trial. Point the app at the folders you already have. Prove the Fairness Engine in the simulator to see how it works before you install.