Prices, rates and average cost for hiring a DJ

Most people who are looking around for local DJ prices in San Diego for their event or wedding can answer these questions to get an idea of how much on average they should be budgeting for DJ services – whether for a party, wedding or corporate event and from small gatherings with a few friends to large events with thousands of attendees.  

Asking the right questions will ensure that you get the right service and cost for your needs if trying to find something on an affordable or cheap budget all way to a high-end San Diego DJ, so begin with asking the following the questions and understanding why they matter when you receive a cost estimate from a professional music DJ near you. 

This page covers various factors that go into the cost of hiring a DJ. Prices can vary widely and depend on the following primary factors:

• Type of event you are hosting
• Sound equipment required
• Type of DJ and their experience level
• Time, date and location of the event
• Number of people attending the event
• Client specific expectations and specific requests

How much sound I budget for a DJ? 

Common answers:  I don’t have a budget,  I would like to know your rates, my budget is flexible, I have budgeted $1000-2500 for my event music entertainment. 

Why this matters: Having a budget in mind for your event will help you quickly determine what you can afford and what kind of talent and services you need to match to your event vision.  If you’re just shopping around for rates, try to set a mental budget now.  It is both totally okay to be frugal and affordable when hiring talent and also extremely extravagant to obtain high end talent.  

What kind of event are you hosting?

Common Answers: Birthday party, Wedding, Corporate event, Prom / school dance, Graduation party, Summer party, Family reunion, Class reunion, Anniversary party, Engagement party, Reception / party

Why this matters:  The type of event you are hosting will determine the best kind of DJ and MC talent for the given situation. Wedding DJ’s are going to be excellent for that type of event, for more distinct corporate events you may want an elegantly specific DJ music, and for total private party rager you’ll want that party rocker with attitude from your disk jockey.  

How many guests do you expect at the event?

Common Answers: 25 guests or fewer, 26 – 50 guests, 51 – 100 guests, 101 – 150 guests, 151 – 200 guests, 201 – 250 guests, and many more….

Why this matters:  The amount of guests to be entertained will help determine a couple of factors that are essential to the event including how much sound you’ll need, how big the venue is and how much lighting equipment needed to fill the space.   A indoor house party will be different from an outside open air venue when hiring a DJ to spin records near you. 

What is the age of the guest attending the event guests?

Answers: 12 years old or younger, 13 – 17 years old, 18 – 30 years old, 31 – 50 years old, 51 or older

Why this matter: Age of attendees will help determine the type of music best suited to be played at your event.  You’ll likely have specific type of music in mind, and it’s also implant to remember that you’r guests may have different tastes.  Take a closer look at the attending guests coming to your party and try to match the genres and generations of music they’d likely enjoy.  For example, your guests could all enjoy a mix of 80’s, 90;s hip hop and 2000’s pop dance hits.  Of course every event is a distinct in the style of music played. 

What kind of music would you like to hear?

Common Answers: Pop, Rock, R&B / Soul, Hip-hop / Rap, EDM (electronic dance music) / House / Club, Top 40, Latin, Country, Funk / Disco, Oldies, 80s

Why this matters: Musicians, Bands, DJ’s and musical talent tend to specialize in specific types of music.  If you don’t know anything about music and just want to have fun, that’s all good.  Let the professionals handle the audio while you sit back and enjoy the show. 

What type of venue will your event be held at?

Common Answers: Banquet hall / ballroom, Conference / convention center, Concert hall, Outdoor venue, Office, School, Home, Community center, Place of worship (church, synagogue, temple, etc.), Barn

Why this matters:  Similar to the way the amount of people you are expected to attend an event, the venue size ill help determine the amount of sound equipment that need to be rented or provide to fill the room. And it will help with knowing how much light will fill the spaces of the room.  The bigger the venue and the more people, generally it require more resources to execute a great experience for guests. 

Do you need to rent sound equipment?

Common Answers:  I’ll rent and provide sound equipment.  The venue has sound equipment.  Can the DJ provide all needed audio equipment?

Why this matters:  Venues like nightclubs, lounges and event restaurant can have built in DJ mixing stations and sound systems.  This allows the DJ to simply show up with their music and they can perform immediately.  On the other hand, a private party would require you to rent a sound system that is usually provided in a package with lighting and sometimes budgeted with other services like photo booths.  Each provider is a little bit different so check out their individual offerings when you reach out for a cost estimate.  

What additional equipment or services would you like?

Answers: MC Services, Lighting, Fog machine, Photo booth, Live Music accompaniment

Why this matters: DJ’s can often provided more services if you need.  For example for weddings the DJ is often expected to also be the MC or master of ceremonies which requires experienced use of the microphone and the ability to speak comfortable in a public setting to keep the crowds entertained and the night moving along.  In other cases you could have a live musician like Saxophone and DJ at your event to add that extra flare to the evening. 

Which of the following best describes your role?

Common Answers: Party host, Professional event planner, Bride or groom, Office coordinator, Venue manager

Why this matters: When requesting a rate estimate from a professional it could be helpful for them to know your role in the planning of the event.  This simply helps speed up communication and can assist in helping to set exceptions and an explanation of requested services. 

How would you describe the type of service you’re looking for?

Common Answers: $ (basic), $$ (standard), $$$ (premium), $$$$ (high-end), $$$$$ (world class talent)

Why this matters:  The experience of a DJ will be a large factor into how they set their hourly rates. A beginner will cost less vs. 10 year professional will cost more. Or if you want a world class EDM DJ to play at your wedding and have that fully festival experience, be ready to dish out for the higher DJ rate and travel costs for the talent. 

Just like in any career path, with DJ’ing there are many factors that could determine what kind of DJ a performer becomes and how much artists charge for their performances. Commonly DJ’ing involves playing music for people – the specifics get more involved when considering the type of music, the venue or setting, the event type, amount of people attending the event, and finally the equipment required to make the performance successful. Also how many years the DJ has been doing all of those things, and how much notoriety they have attained will all be taken into account.

Let’s try to define what it means to be in one of the buckets above based on possible experience a DJ may have based on these criteria.

• Years of experience practicing the craft of DJ’ing
• Music style and size of music collection
• Type of equipment
• Type of past events played
• Notoriety and fame level

Beginner DJ

Beginner DJ is someone who may have started DJ’ing recently or within the last 3 years. They may have the very basic equipment needed to perform as a DJ and practice in their bedroom or living room, sometimes fondly called a “Bedroom DJ”. They are starting to build out their music collection in order to define a formidable sound of type of music they play. They may play one or two types of genres of music and do not yet have much experience playing in front of people or crowds, except a few friends or a family party like a BBQ.

Intermediate DJ

Intermediate DJ is someone who may have been playing records for 5 years and have started to form a large collection of music, being able to play multiple styles of music in one set. They also probably have acquired more high end equipment that is needed to perform for larger crowds of up to 100 people, could include large speakers, turntables, mixers and microphones that can be traveled to local events. They are more comfortable playing in front of crowds, have more stage presence and can read the crowd in order to hold a dance floor. Also have probably a couple of hundred gigs under their belts. Could start to get sets at local nightclubs and lounges and may even have a residency.

Expert DJ

Expert DJ is someone who has probably had more than a decade of experience DJ’ing. They may have a large library of music that spans many genres, decades and music styles. The have acquired a lot of high-end professional DJ equipment that is often traveled to events. They probably specialize is a specific type of event which could include gigs like weddings, proms, birthdays and also nightclubs or festivals. They achieved local or national notoriety and are know as the go to DJ for their specific area of expertise.

Famous DJ

Famous DJ has achieved world fame and are a household name and known in the music industry. They have produced their own songs and have a common sound they are associated with. Their music may gets played on the radio and is available for download and streaming on the popular music platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. They have a massive following of loyal fans around the globe. They have also played for venues and large crowds of thousands of people, like music festivals, clubs and large venues. The travel internationally regularly to play gigs around the world.

Date, Time and details: What day do you need the DJ? At what time? For how many hours? Anything else the DJ should know?

Finally, you’ll want to consider the date of your party because during certain times of the year rates could fluctuate.  Everyone wants to have a summer wedding and corporate DJ’s are in high demand during the holiday party season.  Generally a DJ set can last between 3-5 hours and the rate per hour DJ’s charge will determine the final cost.  If you’d like the DJ to play specific requests, this may add to the price as it requires preparation before the event.  Keep this in mind and tell your DJ early about specific needs you may have. 

These are the basic questions for event and wedding planning that determine most factors, and once you have all of the above details figured out, you’ll be able to get an estimate from any entertainer, performer or DJ offering services in your area, in San Diego and beyond.

What is the average DJ Pricing for events in San Diego?

In San Diego, for example for a 4 hour event, an average DJ price rate could range between $2000 to $5000 dollars, according to bids placed on the website Thumbtack, which acts like a DJ escrow service and allows DJ’s to bid on the event when a host submits their event information. In this case you would have a wide selection of talent to choose from with vastly different niche and expertise to match your given music needs.

All packages listed and provided by DJ Misha in San Diego and around the world, at a party near you, could include services such as DJ set with mixed music, providing speakers for sound and mixing DJ booth equipment, event planning coordination, and working with the host to perfect your playlist.

Destination Events and Out of Town Gigs

DJ Misha travels nationally and internationally for gigs, for out of town travels we will arrange for all travel accommodations, including air travel, ground travel by car, lodging and meals. If needed, we’ll also make arrangements to provide a sound system with setup and delivery by a local vendor.

And as described above are average rates and prices may vary depending on client specific requests and expectations, plus date/time, location, equipment required, number of people attending and range of travel. Please provide as many details as possible about your event for an accurate estimate and contact DJ Misha today about your event to receive a fast reply with usually same day response with availability.