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. Lifetime is $500. Ghost-Trax credits are $2.
Search “karaoke software” and you’ll get two different jobs mixed together. One is a living-room app: pick a track from someone else’s catalog, sing in the kitchen, cancel anytime. The other is running a show — a KJ with a hard drive of tracks they already paid for, a rotation that has to survive late arrivals, and a bar router that may not.
Auto-KJ is the second job. 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 — not a Windows-only installer from 2014.
Karaoke software for PC, Mac, and Linux
Auto-KJ is desktop karaoke software for Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), and Linux. Same app, same library folders, same Fairness Engine. Download from pricing — the Free version does not need an account.
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
Most karaoke software “has a rotation.” Auto-KJ names the product the Fairness Engine and defines the ugly cases: late arrivals that don’t push anyone back, duets that consume both turns, pauses that don’t steal a slot, song changes that keep the singer’s place. Singers watch the same list from their phones, so fairness isn’t your word against theirs.
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 same tier.
Free version vs Full version
| Free version | Full version | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 forever | ~$10/mo · Lifetime $500 · 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 every tier — pay-as-you-go tracks on ghost-trax.com, not a second subscription. Extra simultaneous live shows are +$5/mo.
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
KaraFun and similar apps win “karaoke” and “karaoke songs” because that’s a catalog product. Auto-KJ will not out-catalog them, and we’re not trying. If you don’t own tracks and want a polished stream, rent a catalog. If you already own the tracks and the pain is who sings next, you want karaoke host software — that’s the karaoke host software page.
Coming from OpenKJ? Two honest paths, no dunking: 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 if you want receipts before you install.