House music BPM: the tempo range for every subgenre
The short answer
House music runs roughly 118–130 BPM overall, with 128 BPM the single most common tempo — but each subgenre has settled into its own narrower band. At the slow end, organic house and amapiano sit around 100–120 BPM; deep house and afro house run through the mid-110s to mid-120s; tech house, melodic house and classic house cluster around 120–128; progressive house pushes up toward 130. Cross out of house entirely and into techno, and the range keeps climbing, up to hard techno's 145–160 BPM. Tempo is a useful first filter, but it won't identify a subgenre on its own — instrumentation, mood and structure matter just as much.
The full BPM comparison table
| Subgenre | Typical BPM | What defines the feel |
|---|---|---|
| Organic house | ~100–124 (rarely above ~126) | Acoustic/world instruments, layered percussion with no single hit standing out |
| Amapiano (not house, but house's closest current cousin) | ~110–120 | Log-drum bassline, jazzy piano, wide space |
| Deep house | ~110–125 (current tracks cluster ~120–124) | Lush jazz- and gospel-tinged chords, relaxed groove |
| Afro house | ~118–125 | Polyrhythmic hand percussion, spiritual, chant-like vocals |
| House music (the umbrella term) | ~118–130 (commonly ~120–128) | Four-on-the-floor kick, soulful, disco-rooted |
| Melodic house & techno | ~120–126 | Emotional, cinematic, arpeggio- or hook-led |
| Tech house | ~120–128 | Groovy, percussive, built to function as a DJ tool |
| Progressive house | ~124–130 | Long, patient, evolving builds over many minutes |
| Techno (for contrast — not a house subgenre) | ~120–150 | Harder, more mechanical, hypnotic and repetitive |
| Hard techno | ~145–160 | Distorted, relentless, built for peak-intensity floors |
Figures above are rounded, typical ranges, not fixed rules — individual tracks, DJs and sources vary by a few BPM either way. See each linked page for the full definition, origin story and artists to listen to.
Why tempo alone won't tell you the subgenre
Two genres can share almost the same BPM and sound nothing alike — and two very different-sounding tracks can share the exact same tempo. Deep house (~110–125) and tech house (~120–128) overlap for most of their range, yet one is built on lush chords and mood, the other on stripped-back percussion and function. Melodic house (~120–126) and progressive house (~124–130) overlap almost entirely and are told apart by arrangement — a hook-led emotional peak versus a slow, evolving build — not by speed. A 122 BPM track could just as easily be deep house, tech house or melodic house; the number narrows the field, but chords, percussion and mood decide it.
How to use BPM when you're building a set or a playlist
- Matching tempo for a smooth transition: tracks within about 3–4 BPM of each other blend cleanly with only a small pitch adjustment — a 122 BPM deep house track sits close enough to a 125 BPM tech house track, but not to a 145 BPM hard techno one.
- Reading how a night usually moves: club sets tend to climb in tempo as the night goes on — deep house and organic house early, tech house and melodic house through the peak hours, techno and hard techno very late.
- Don't stop at the number: knowing a track's BPM narrows down which subgenres it could be, but it won't confirm one on its own — check the instrumentation and mood against the table above.
Keep reading
For how every subgenre relates to the others, see the guide to house music subgenres. For the two comparisons where BPM overlaps the most and confuses people, read deep house vs tech house and melodic house vs progressive house. New to house entirely? Start with what is house music.
FAQ
What BPM is most house music? Most house music sits around 118–130 BPM, with 128 BPM the single most common tempo across club and festival sets.
What's the slowest house subgenre? Organic house is the slowest, typically 100–124 BPM and rarely played above about 126. Amapiano — house's closest cousin, though not technically house itself — sits close behind at roughly 110–120 BPM.
What's the fastest house subgenre? Among the styles this site classifies as house, progressive house runs fastest at roughly 124–130 BPM. Step outside house entirely and techno (120–150 BPM) and hard techno (145–160 BPM) go faster still.
Can two house subgenres share the exact same BPM? Yes. Deep house and tech house overlap for most of their range (both often sit around 120–125 BPM), and melodic house and progressive house overlap almost entirely (120–130 BPM). Tempo alone can't separate them — listen for chords versus percussion, or mood versus the length of the build.
Is a 128 BPM track always tech house? No. 128 BPM falls inside the range for classic house, tech house, progressive house and even the low end of techno — the tempo alone doesn't fix the subgenre.
BPM ranges verified as of 2026-07-17 against this site's own genre-by-genre explainers (each independently sourced to Wikipedia and specialist references — see the linked pages above) and cross-checked against ZIPDJ's house music BPM guide, Mixgraph's measured tech house tempo data and Wikipedia's "Styles of house music" overview. Individual tracks and DJs regularly sit outside these ranges; treat the table as typical bands, not hard rules.