The easiest way to get started with DDR at home is to download Stepmania on your computer, then plug in a dance pad to your computer. Here are some simplified instructions on how to get started:

Step 1. Get Stepmania

Stepmania is a free DDR simulator.

There are two main forks of Stepmania:

• ITGMania
  • Is the recommended one from me as it comes with the Simply Love theme right out of the box along with some other nice features such as the ability to upload scores to GrooveStats
• Project Outfox
  • Does a lot more than just DDR-esque charts

After that, you have to download the songs for it. You can do that from a site called zenius-i-vanisher:

• Browse all song packs from official DanceDanceRevolution releases
• DanceDanceRevolution EXTREME song pack
• DanceDanceRevolution A20PLUS song pack

• There are also a lot of custom charts for Stepmania as well! Here is the main thread from FlashFlashRevolution's forum compiling a lot of the major songpacks.

Once you've downloaded the songs you want, here are brief instructions on how to add the songs to Stepmania. For other Stepmania-related questions, visit the Stepmania subreddit. (There isn't a good/active Fediverse community yet.)

Step 2. Buy a dance pad

Comprehensive pad buying guide

The above link is a detailed guide which reviews the most popular options for buying a home pad.

The summary is:

• If your budget is < $100 or you're just starting out - Buy a soft pad and consider upgrading it (video tutorial) once you reach an intermediate level of play.

• If your budget is between $100 to $300 - Keep an eye out for a used Cobalt Flux pad or L-Tek pad on eBay, your local Craigslist, or on the Facebook BEMANI buy/sell/trade group. Deals within this price range are rare, but possible. Or if you're handy, you can try to build your own.

• If your budget is > $300 - Same as above, but you'll be able to buy a new pad immediately rather than waiting for a deal to pop up.

And that's it! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask me as well.

NOTE: The above portion was mainly copied from this comment on the DanceDanceRevolution subreddit. I made some edits and additions here and there to add more information and links to things.

That said, I am getting back into DDR myself. Personally own and fairly like my L-Tek pad, but I am about to sell it here in the next week or two. I ended up buying a Compact Machine setup from StepmaniaX which is an entirely different game from the non-X version. (Basically a modern version of In The Groove from the same guys but with 5 panels (U/D/L/R/Center) and they not only sell the machines to arcades but to private owners too.) Their stage/pads are the end-game ones to get these days, but are not cheap.