How much should a DJ cost?

For anyone interested, I think there is a lot of great advice here from the previous posting brides and vendors. While I do agree that asking if xxx amount of dollars is reasonable, it does help to know what you get out of that other than a time frame, that just helps comparisons to be more on the same page. So it is helpful for brides to do a little bit of that extra research like Kelly M. mentioned. But I also agree that, as a vendor, we've never been asked brand names for equipment, etc. We've been asked about backup gear, lighting and sound options, etc, but never about specific brands.

And I mean, for future coversation starters there is an option to either allow or not-allow vendors, if you fear "hijacking."

Happy Planning!

@PMEDJ.... I understand now, what you are saying... BUT, I can't find more than a handful of DJ's who do the same show I do, or even close to it. A "Gazillion" videos???? Really?

My point of showing the video was to show the bride exactly what she's getting for her money.,.. a point you made in one of your posts ("they don't look at the camera, they look at the pictures of the result").... that's exactly what I was doing.

While you make many good points, I believe each bride wants to know what their money can purchase for them.,.. OK, some simply don't care...

... and the book you refer to has issues too. Merry is using it as a marketing vehicle for himself... while not a bad thing, he's very opinionated about many aspects. Many pros don't agree with him.

The whole point should be to give the best possible service to each customer that they can afford. I still stand on my original statement to the OP. $700 might be OK, and it might not... it all depends... she asked a very general question that can't be answered with a "yes" or "no".

Is $700 a good price for a car?

We are nationwide and offer expert WEDDING DJS for only $499, or you can get our WEDDING DJ|PHOTOGRAPHER package for only $999. These are the same quality of DJs and photographers that others are paying thousands for. All of our DJs and photographers have done at least 100 weddings to qualify to be part of our team. We will also customize a package for you that will provide everything you want to make your special day and night be exactly what you've dreamed it wouyld be.

Visit our site then give us a call http://www.abetterdj.net

Visit our site then give us a call http://www.abetterdj.net

We are nationwide and offer expert WEDDING DJS for only $499, or you can get our WEDDING DJ|PHOTOGRAPHER package for only $999. These are the same quality of DJs and photographers that others are paying thousands for. All of our DJs and photographers have done at least 100 weddings to qualify to be part of our team.

We have a special running . We have a new package called the "CAPTURED" for only $1199 that includes both 6 hours of professional photography and 4 hours expert DJ|MC services plus video of your ceremony http:www.abetterdj.net

Brides: When choosing your entertainment for your wedding, you will find $300 djs, $3000 djs, and everything in between. The most important factor when choosing entertainment for your special day is to see if your DJ is a good fit. So before you break out the checkbook remember one thing. This is your wedding. You only get one shot. Make it count.

Good post Pryme Tyme! Another thing to consider is that just because a wedding DJ is cheap doesn't mean they are bad, and just because they are expensive doesn't mean that they are good!

All of our DJs have done at least 100 weddings and could easily command top dollar... and some do, but through our network you can get DJs that other people are paying thousands for for only $599

The Original Question is "How Much Should a DJ Cost?"

A particular DJ's cost has many variables:

The main variables are:

- How experienced the DJ is (An amateur, or Novice DJ should be in the bottom tier of pricing for your area while a Seasoned DJ with more than 15 years of Mobile DJ Experience will be more likely to be in the top 20% tier of pricing for DJs in your area)

- The demand of the Date: A Saturday in May, June, September, or October is going to have the most demand in most areas of the United States. Those are prime wedding months. Fridays and Sundays have less demand, so often prices for a Friday or Sunday are anywhere from 10% to as much as 50% LESS than booking with the same DJ or DJ company on a Saturday. Also, the "OFF SEASON" has major discounts built in. Prices for a DJ in January, February, or March in most areas of USA are going to be much lower than In Season prime dates. Brides/Grooms holding their wedding in January, February, or March can expect to pay any where from 20% to even 60% LESS for a DJ than on a Prime Saturday In Season. It's just how it is. Keep in Mind that a BUSY DJ may only book 30-35 Saturdays a year, and maybe 15 to 20 Fridays/Sundays a year. That is about 50 or so events a year in order to make a living with (If they are full time)....

- The Location of the event: There are two metrics for this: How far is the venue from the said DJ who is quoting for the event. MOST DJs are willing to drive up to about 50 or 60 miles from their home to do a wedding without charging more for travel. Most DJs will tack on anywhere from $1 to $2 per mile above say 60 miles from their house as an example. Bringing in a DJ from 100 miles away is likely going to cost a good chunk more than a local DJ who lives maybe 15 or 20 miles from the venue.

The 2nd metric to location is the venue itself. If you are a bride having your wedding at a Fire Hall or a Community Center...The DJs who target that clientele are usually younger, or simply lower end DJ services. These DJs know that a bride/groom having a fire hall wedding doesn't have a lot of money to spend. Typically DJs quoting on a Fire hall wedding will be under $750. Most DJs who quote on Fire hall weddings are usually quoting anywhere from $300 to $750. Some may try and quote $850 to $1,000 and hope to book the client, but it usually doesn't happen as the budgets for events at a fire hall or community center is low. A bride/groom having a wedding at a Fancy Big and Beautiful Wedding Venue that costs $10,000 just to book the venue is going to have DJs quoting higher prices. They know there is more money in the budget, and they want to market to that type of clientele. DJs who routinely book weddings at high end venues are charging any where from $850 or so on the very low end all the way to $3,000 (without other add ons like up lighting, photo booth etc.)

The last metric is the equipment- If a DJ has a high end sound system that they spent $10,000 on they want to charge at least 5%-8% as a rental cost per event to help pay for their equipment. If a DJ actually spent $10,000 on all their sound equipment, then they will likely charge at least $500 as a start just to pay for their audio. A lower end DJ will charge much less because often, their equipment costs are much lower. They are using lower end gear which may have cost them $3,000, to $5000 to obtain, and often times they are using older "out dated" gear that they have paid for 5 times over already. In the end it works out to be $150 to $500 or so (equipment fee) plus the costs of their miscellaneous business expenses, plus what they want to be paid for their overall time spent on the wedding.

The last metric - The foreseen amount of time they will spend on your wedding. MOST weddings will require anywhere from 10 hours on the low end to 20 (in rare cases as much as 25) hours of actual time that the DJ spends on the client's wedding. A DJ wants to be paid for their time...Some DJs are fine getting paid around $10 per hour for time...Others want to reach for the stars and get $100 an hour for their time. That is the biggest metric that makes the DJs prices vary greatly.

Now that you know that a DJ is charging anywhere from $150 to $500 as a fee to pay for their equipment costs, and then need to charge more to cover their business expenses (advertising, music, fuel), and then they need to charge for their time...How much should a DJ charge?

If A DJ is charging say just $150 - $300 as a fee to cover their equipment, and they do a wedding under 50 miles from their residence, and they spend maybe 20 hours total on the client's wedding...Would it be reasonable that the DJ is quoting $1,000? If they charge $250 for the equipment, and another $150 to cover all their other business expenses(fuel, parking, advertising, storage fees, music costs, insurance costs etc.), is paying them $600 for their time, and expertise reasonable if they put 20 hours into your wedding? $600/20 is $30 per hour. Is your Wedding DJ worth paying $30 an hour for their time and service?

DJs who charge $350 total to do a wedding are going to be newbies, amateurs, or simply poor business people. Think about everything that is involved, Do you really want to trust your wedding to a $350 DJ? ...If your budget is real low, and you are having your wedding at a Fire Hall...The $350 or so DJ might be your only option outside of DIY music. However, if you are throwing your wedding at a Country Club, Beautiful wedding venue, Big Fancy Hotel etc. then it would be prudent to budget accordingly for a DJ. A DJ Budget of $800 to $2,000 is reasonable in most parts of the USA. If you want the Up Lighting, or a Photo Booth, that should be a separate budget amount outside of DJ, and added to that.

Budgeting under say $900 and you are basically looking for DJs who are willing to pay themselves closer to minimum wage for their time involved. Looking to book a $200 - $400 DJ? You are hiring the equivalent to a minimum wage (or below legal wage employee) working your wedding. Don't expect the outcome with a budget DJ to be anything better than Sub Par. Sometimes you find a Diamond in the Rough who turned out to be a good DJ, but usually things will be lacking service wise with a DJ charging $400 or less to DJ a wedding TODAY IN 2016. Certainly don't expect them to be true professionals at that price point.

I don't mean to offend any Low Price DJs who may read this. I am just trying to state the facts, and show brides/grooms reading this "How Much Should a DJ Cost" by answering their question as honestly as I can.

In my area, that's a very good price for a pro DJ, but it really matters on the level of DJ you are getting, as DJ Ricky is saying. Here's my explanation from an article I wrote: (video here if you don't feel like reading, skip to 9:00 https://youtu.be/6G91VPbgofE?t=8m55sE

"Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers mentions a “10,000 hour rule”, in which “Super-Stars” are made after 10,000 hours of working within a discipline. Weddings can take 12 ~ 30 hours to complete from the first call to the moment the DJ unloads his truck after the wedding. Most DJs will probably agree that 20 hours is typical. So a DJ who has performed 500 weddings is a “Super-Star” according to this definition.

I will call this the “Master Wedding DJ”. In order to get to this level you must first complete the following experience levels, and each level gets progressively harder as you move up, just like an RPG:

Apprentice DJ: 0 ~ 125 Weddings

Professional DJ: 125 ~ 250 Weddings

Expert DJ: 250 ~ 500 Weddings

Master DJ: 500 Weddings

At the time of writing, I am at about 300 weddings under my belt which puts me at the expert level. However, my mentor has OVER 2000 under his belt! That basically makes him a Grand Master twice over! I’ve seen him do things that completely blows me away in terms of coordination and making announcements, and also marketing with bridal consultants, which is his main stream of referrals. I’m working hard to hopefully be where he is in the next 10 years, but the gulf between us is like the difference between Daniel LaRusso and Mr Miyagi. I will need to Crane Kick my way into Super-Stardom!"

Experience really matters in this industry. I hope this helps!

View Quoted Comment Who are you using??

View Quoted Comment Where do you live??

More than. It is dirt cheap! Consider that DJs get hired at best for 3 events per weekend and there are 52 weekends per year. Also consider the vast amount time and money spent on equipment, music, practice, travel, accounting, etc. It is a steal!