BPM by Genre: Cheat Sheet for House, Techno, Trance and More

BPM, or beats per minute, is the tempo of a track. If you are building a DJ set, learning to produce or just curious why house feels different from techno, knowing the typical BPM of each genre is the quickest shortcut. Below is a cheat sheet of the ranges you will meet most often in clubs and on streaming charts.

BPM Cheat Sheet by Genre

Genre	Typical BPM	Feel
Deep house	115 – 124	Warm, smooth, laid back
House	118 – 130	Four-on-the-floor groove, soulful
Afro house	118 – 125	Percussive, vocal, earthy
Tech house	124 – 128	Tight, rolling bass and drums
Progressive house	122 – 130	Long builds, melodic
Melodic house and techno	120 – 126	Emotional, atmospheric
Techno	125 – 140	Driving, hypnotic, repetitive
Hard techno	145 – 160	Fast, aggressive, kick-led
Trance	128 – 140	Euphoric melodies, big builds
Psytrance	140 – 150	Fast, layered, psychedelic
UK garage	130 – 140	Skippy, shuffled beats
Dubstep	about 140	Half-time feel, heavy bass
Drum and bass	170 – 180	Fast breakbeats, deep sub bass

These are typical ranges, not rules. A producer can slow a techno track down or speed a house track up, and genres overlap at the edges.

Why Tempo Matters

Tempo tells you how a track will feel on the floor and how it will mix with others.

• For DJs: tracks within a few BPM of each other blend easily. The pitch control on a mixer or controller lets you nudge speed to match, so you can move from tech house to house without a jarring jump.
• For producers: starting a project at the right BPM makes it easier to follow genre conventions, from drum patterns to bass lines.
• For dancers: around 120 to 130 BPM is the club sweet spot, which is why most house and techno sits there.

House and Its Branches

Classic house sits at roughly 118 to 130 BPM, built on a steady four-on-the-floor kick. Deep house sits at the slower end, while progressive house stretches higher with longer builds. Afro house, which has exploded in popularity, runs at a relaxed 118 to 125 BPM so that layered percussion can breathe. For history and artists, see our Afro house music guide.

Tech House

Tech house typically lands between 124 and 128 BPM. It borrows the groove of house and the tight, minimal drums of techno. Our tech house guide covers the history, the sound and the essential artists.

Techno

Techno usually runs from 125 to 140 BPM, with the classic Detroit and Berlin sound in the middle of that range. Faster, harder styles push well beyond it. To hear how the subgenres differ, read our types of techno guide, and for how it compares with house see techno vs house.

Melodic Techno and Melodic House

Melodic styles tend to sit slightly slower, often between 120 and 126 BPM, which gives their long, emotional builds room to develop. Our melodic techno guide goes deeper into the sound.

Trance and Psytrance

Trance generally runs 128 to 140 BPM, and psytrance faster, around 140 to 150. The faster tempo is part of the genre’s driving, euphoric character.

Drum and Bass and UK Garage

Drum and bass is the fastest mainstream dance genre at roughly 170 to 180 BPM, though many tracks feel half as fast because of the half-time drum pattern. UK garage and speed garage sit around 130 to 140 BPM with a distinctive shuffled rhythm.

Can Governments Limit BPM?

Tempo even makes the news. In 2024, authorities in Chechnya announced restrictions on the tempo of music, which sparked a wider debate about creative freedom. We covered it in Chechnya’s musical crackdown and tempo restrictions.

How to Find a Track’s BPM

1. Use DJ software or a DAW. Most of them detect BPM automatically when you import a track.
2. Tap it out. Many apps and online tools let you tap along to the beat and show the average tempo.
3. Check the track listing. Stores such as Beatport and Traxsource list BPM next to each release.

Automatic detection can be off by a factor of two on half-time tracks, so trust your ears as well.