Tech house vs techno: what's the difference?
The short answer
They share a four-on-the-floor pulse, but the feel is opposite. Tech house is house with a techno edge — groovy, warm-ish and bouncy, built around a rolling bassline for the club. Techno is harder, faster and more machine-like — hypnotic, often darker, and built around relentless drive rather than groove. If it makes you smile and shuffle, it's probably tech house; if it locks you into a trance, it's techno.
| Tech house | Techno | |
|---|---|---|
| Roots | House (Chicago) + techno textures | Detroit, mid-1980s |
| Typical BPM | ~122–128 | ~125–140+ |
| Feel | Groovy, bouncy, warm | Driving, hypnotic, industrial |
| Bass/percussion | Rolling bassline, swung groove | Pounding kick, metallic, minimal swing |
| Where it shines | Clubs, terraces, peak-time house floors | Warehouses, dark rooms, all-night techno |
| Reference | groove-led, DJ-driven | Jeff Mills, Underground Resistance, Berghain sound |
Tech house, in more detail
Tech house fuses house's swing and soul with techno's stripped-back, hypnotic discipline. The groove is king: a rolling, often funky bassline, crisp percussion and just enough of a hook. It sits at a comfortable 122–128 BPM and is the sound of sunny terraces and peak-time club rooms.
Techno, in more detail
Techno was born in Detroit in the mid-1980s (the "Belleville Three" — Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson) as a colder, more futuristic cousin of house. It's faster, more repetitive and built around a pounding, relentless kick and metallic textures. It runs anywhere from ~125 to 140+ BPM and lives in warehouses and dark rooms — the sound of Berlin's Tresor and Berghain.
How to tell them apart on the floor
- Listen to the bass: a rolling, funky bassline = tech house; a pounding, hypnotic kick with little groove = techno.
- Read the room: bouncing and smiling = tech house; locked-in and trance-like = techno.
- Tempo creeps up as the night gets harder — tech house early, techno late.
For the wider family, start with what is house music and deep house vs tech house.
See the full guide to house music subgenres for every comparison and deep-dive in one place.