I make MixSurface, so read this list with that in mind. I have used many of these apps myself, and where I haven’t, I say so. What I say about the others comes from their own sites, store pages and docs. Prices checked October 2026, US stores.
The long version of how I got here is in how I ended up building my own REAPER remote. This post is the short list.
MixSurface is not affiliated with Cockos. REAPER is their trademark, and the other product names belong to their owners.
The list
| App | Runs on | Price | Setup | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REAPER Web Remote | Any browser | Included with REAPER | Low | Musicians’ headphone mixes |
| TouchOSC | iOS, Android, desktop | $19.99 | Medium to high | Your own layouts, MIDI and OSC to anything |
| MixSurface | iPhone, iPad, Android | Free mixer, $29.99 unlock | Low | Faders, sends, plugins and EQ |
| CSI | REAPER extension, plus an OSC app | Free | High | Hardware surfaces, deep mapping |
| Lemur | iPhone, iPad | $99.99 lifetime or yearly, $12.99 monthly | High | Heavily scripted controllers |
| TouchDAW | Android | $4.99 | Medium | Cheap Mackie-style control |
| V-Control Pro | iPad, plus Mac or Windows software | $224, or $57.49 a year | Medium | Other DAWs (REAPER support is very limited) |
| ONE Control Plus | iPad | Free, packs $8.99 and $17.99 | Medium | MCU-style control on iPad |
| Avid Control | iPad, Android | Free | High | EUCON DAWs (REAPER only via a workaround) |
REAPER Web Remote
It’s built into REAPER, so there’s nothing to install on the phone. Go to Options > Preferences > Control/OSC/web, click Add, pick “Web browser interface”, choose a default page and press Apply. REAPER shows an Access URL, and you open that in any browser on the same network. On Windows you may need to let the port (8080 by default) through the firewall. The steps are in section 15.31 of the REAPER user guide.
REAPER ships a few pages: a basic one, a graphical one, a fancier one, and a headphone mix page (more_me.html) that REAPER Blog wrote about when it came in. It’s still maintained. REAPER 7.67 added touch support for volume, pan and width on the stock pages (changelog). The stock pages are about transport, track faders, sends and mixes, not plugin editing.
I have used it, and still use it sometimes, for musicians’ in-ear mixes. It works surprisingly well, but it’s a bit clunky UI-wise. I start the server and give the link to the musicians. The tablet with MixSurface stays with me as my master controller. If someone doesn’t have a phone, or doesn’t want the hassle of opening a link, I pass the tablet around. Installing an app only for in-ears is a bit overkill for musicians coming in for a session.
The page only rides what’s already there. Each musician’s mix still needs real routing in REAPER, sends or a bus going to the hardware output for their headphones.
The full comparison: MixSurface vs REAPER Web Remote.
TouchOSC
I used TouchOSC, the first version and the second, and in reality I didn’t get too far. I got one mixer template working. To build one that worked for me I had to jump back and forth between the OSC address and how the control looks, and in my setup I had to find the connection again every time my network changed. The full story is in post 1.
That’s my experience using it as a REAPER mixer. What TouchOSC is best at is something else. You build exactly the layout you want, and it speaks MIDI and OSC to anything, not only REAPER: pads, MIDI instruments, synths, other software on the same computer. The editor is inside the app on every platform, so you don’t need a separate desktop licence to build layouts. Licences are one-time, no subscription. It’s $19.99 on the App Store and on Google Play, and the desktop licence was EUR 22.99 including VAT on Hexler’s checkout. You can download it and try it with no restrictions before you buy.
For REAPER you add an OSC control surface in REAPER, match IPs and ports, then load or build a layout. REAPER ships LogicTouch and LogicPad pattern files and there are community layouts, so you don’t start from nothing. It also does two-way OSC, so faders can follow REAPER.
The full comparison: MixSurface vs TouchOSC.
MixSurface
This is mine. It’s a remote for REAPER on iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets. You install the free extension in REAPER (REAPER 7 or newer, Mac and Windows, Linux in beta), open the app on the same network or over a USB cable, and it connects. There are no OSC addresses to edit, but that’s because it only does REAPER. TouchOSC can control anything.
Free: the mixer with faders, pan, mute, solo and metering, custom track layers, and Sends on Fader. A one-time unlock of $29.99, no subscription, adds Channel Detail (the whole FX chain, every plugin as a control layout, your own plugin layouts), the multi-touch EQ for a growing set of EQ plugins (the list is in the EQ docs), and Control View, pages of plugin parameters, actions and meters from across the project. The Arrange view is in beta.
Most of my hours went into how the fader feels, plugin control, and EQ you can grab and pinch.
What it doesn’t do: no MIDI instruments or pads. Maybe later. It’s REAPER only. And it’s new, 1.0 came out this autumn, so there’s no long track record yet.
The setup page gets you connected. The app is on the App Store and Google Play.
CSI (Control Surface Integrator)
CSI is not an app. It’s a free REAPER extension by Geoff Waddington that maps MIDI, Mackie and OSC surfaces into REAPER, with zone files for FX and actions. It’s mostly used with hardware. I used a Behringer X-Touch with CSI.
A tablet can be a CSI surface through TouchOSC. CSI’s wiki bundles a template for that, and then you write zone files for the FX or actions you want. In 2024 Waddington himself recommended TouchOSC with CSI as the more performant way to use a tablet, in a Cockos forum thread. It’s a lot of setup, but it goes deep.
Lemur
I used Lemur before TouchOSC, and for me it was the same story. Lemur is a programmable MIDI and OSC controller with a lot of scripting. It’s now sold by MIDI Kinetics, who took it over from Liine. The app is on iPhone and iPad, with a free editor for Mac and Windows. The App Store listing is a free download with Lifetime $99.99, Yearly $99.99 or Monthly $12.99. The vendor site still says Android support is coming in 2025, so as of October 2026 there’s no Android version.
REAPER isn’t mentioned on the vendor site. A free community template for REAPER called Binder exists, but it dates from around 2013.
TouchDAW
TouchDAW is an Android app that emulates DAW control surfaces, and REAPER is in its supported list. It’s $4.99 on Google Play with a free demo. It runs over RTP or multicast MIDI, so you need a driver and some setup on the computer first.
I don’t think I used it much. At one point I tried some Mackie emulations on a tablet. They all kind of worked, but it was too much hassle to make any of them part of my workflow. The free demo is the way to find out if it fits yours.
V-Control Pro
I haven’t used it. V-Control Pro from Neyrinck is software for Mac and Windows that turns DAW control protocols into surfaces, with an iPad app. REAPER is on its supported DAWs page, set up as Mackie Control surfaces. But Neyrinck’s own REAPER page says: “At this time functionality is very limited with Reaper.”
Prices: Standard 3 perpetual $224 (list $249), or $57.49 a year, and Plus 2 perpetual $299 (list $349). It needs iLok, and there’s a free trial. If you’re thinking about it for REAPER, run the trial first.
ONE Control Plus
I haven’t used it. ONE Control Plus is a modular MIDI and OSC controller for iPad only, iPadOS 17.6 or newer. It has an MCU-style DAW controller, and REAPER is in its DAW templates. The free Essential tier is limited to four controllers, the DAW pack is $8.99 and the PRO pack is $17.99. OSC is only in the PRO pack.
Avid Control
I haven’t tried it with REAPER. Avid Control is a free iPad app, also on Google Play, for EUCON software, and it needs Avid’s EuControl on the computer. Avid’s description names Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, Nuendo and others, not REAPER.
Users on the Cockos forum in late 2024 reported getting it working with REAPER through Geoff Waddington’s EUCON extension, but said a lot of EUCON features weren’t supported and some REAPER operations slowed down. So it can be made to work, per those reports. It’s not official.
The full comparison: MixSurface vs Avid Control.
Hardware
Hardware is its own topic, so just briefly. I used a Behringer X-Touch with CSI, and a Push with DrivenByMoss. I have the full Console 1 MK3 set, and Console 1 is beautiful, but I move a lot and can’t always have it with me, and projects started with Console 1 were annoying to work on without it. I also had a MIDI Fighter Twister with LiveProfessor. It worked, but it has no display, so it was hard to know which knob was which. If you want real faders and stay in one room, a surface with CSI is the route I’d look at.
Others I left out
Metagrid Pro: REAPER isn’t an officially listed DAW. DAW Remote HD: I couldn’t find it in the App Store. Logic Remote, Cubase iC Pro and Fender Studio Pro Remote are built for one DAW, and they don’t control REAPER. Mixing Station is for digital mixing consoles, not DAWs, and it’s been a big inspiration for me. Open Stage Control is a free OSC and MIDI builder that runs in a browser, with a community REAPER template.
How I’d pick
- Free and quick headphone mixes for musicians: the Web Remote. Start the server, send the link.
- You want pads or MIDI instruments, or to control other software too: TouchOSC.
- You want faders, sends, plugins and EQ that feel right on REAPER, with no OSC setup: MixSurface. That’s mine, so weigh it.
- Physical faders: a hardware surface with CSI.
Who shouldn’t buy MixSurface? I think there isn’t really a category, except if you mainly want MIDI instruments. I don’t have that yet. Maybe later an instrument section comes.
FAQ
Can I control REAPER from my iPad? Yes. You can use the built-in Web Remote in the iPad’s browser, a general OSC app like TouchOSC, or a REAPER app like MixSurface.
Does REAPER have a built-in web remote? Yes. Options > Preferences > Control/OSC/web, add a “Web browser interface”, and open the Access URL REAPER shows on any device on the same network.
Is there a free REAPER remote for Android? The Web Remote runs in an Android browser for free. MixSurface on Google Play has a free mixer with layers and Sends on Fader.
Do I need OSC to control REAPER from a tablet? Only with OSC apps like TouchOSC or Lemur, where you set up an OSC surface in REAPER and match IPs and ports. The Web Remote and MixSurface don’t need that.
If I got something wrong about one of these apps, tell me at support@mixsurface.app and I’ll fix it.
Toms