Avid Control is Avid’s free controller app. I tried it briefly, but not with REAPER. It’s polished and looks great, and it’s made primarily for Pro Tools. What I say about it comes from its App Store listing, its Google Play listing, and a Cockos forum thread from late 2024 where users report on running it with REAPER. Checked October 2026.
MixSurface is not affiliated with Cockos or with Avid. REAPER is a trademark of Cockos, Avid Control and EUCON belong to Avid.
The short answer
If you work in Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase or Nuendo, and want one free app across them, Avid Control is made for that. REAPER is not on Avid’s list.
If you work in REAPER, MixSurface is built for it and connects without anything in between. The mixer part is free, and Avid Control is free, so you can try both.
Side by side
| MixSurface | Avid Control | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | REAPER remote: native app plus a REAPER extension | Avid’s app for EUCON software |
| Runs on | iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets | iPad (iOS 13 or later), Android |
| Computer side | MixSurface extension in REAPER 7+, Mac, Windows, Linux in beta | Avid EuControl, and for REAPER a third-party EUCON extension |
| Price | Free mixer, $29.99 one-time unlock | Free |
| REAPER | Built for it, REAPER only | Not named by Avid. Works through Geoff Waddington’s EUCON extension, per 2024 forum reports |
What both do
Both are free to download, both run on iPad and Android, and both put a mixer on the tablet. The difference is the route to REAPER: Avid Control is built for EUCON DAWs and reaches REAPER through a third-party extension, MixSurface talks to REAPER through its own extension.
What Avid Control has that MixSurface doesn’t
It works with a lot of DAWs, not only one. Avid’s description names Pro Tools, Media Composer, Logic, Cubase, Nuendo, Digital Performer and Premiere. If you move between REAPER and one of those, one app for all of them is a real reason to look at it. And the app itself costs nothing.
The bigger reason, I think, is hardware. EUCON is the protocol behind Avid’s hardware control surfaces, like the S1 and S6, and Avid Control is that same protocol on a tablet. If you already run an Avid surface, the app sits next to it in the same system.
MixSurface is REAPER only.
What the forum reports say about REAPER
Avid Control talks to EUCON software through Avid’s EuControl on the computer, and REAPER isn’t EUCON software out of the box. In September and October 2024, users in the Cockos forum thread reported getting it working through Geoff Waddington’s EUCON extension. They also said a lot of EUCON features weren’t supported and some REAPER operations slowed down. In the same thread Waddington and another user recommended TouchOSC with CSI as the more performant way to use a tablet.
So it can be made to work, per those reports. It’s not official. I don’t know if newer versions of the extension changed that.
What MixSurface is built around
Most of my time went into how the fader feels and into plugin control. In MixSurface:
- Faders and pan are tuned for touch: slow moves are fine, fast throws cover the range, and there’s a Fine mode for small moves.
- Grab a fader in Touch or Latch and it writes automation, and the fader follows the automation back on playback.
- Layers: pick the tracks you need into a named layer and switch between layers. Pin master or a bus so it stays in view.
- Sends on Fader: flip the big faders to a send and ride it.
- Channel Detail shows the whole FX chain, every plugin as a layout of controls, and you can build your own layout by touching the parameter in the plugin.
- A multi-touch EQ surface for a growing set of EQ plugins: grab a band, drag it, pinch for Q. The list is in the EQ docs.
- Control View: your own pages of plugin parameters, actions and meters from across the project.
- Arrange (in beta): waveforms, plus trim, split, fades and moving items.
The free part is the mixer, layers and Sends on Fader. The one-time unlock adds Channel Detail, the EQ surface, Control View and Arrange.
Setup
Avid Control: install the app and Avid’s EuControl (2026.4 per the listing) on the computer. For REAPER you also need Geoff Waddington’s EUCON extension. The forum thread is the place to start.
MixSurface: install the extension from the setup page, restart REAPER, open the app on the same network. It finds REAPER on its own. If it doesn’t, connect over USB or type the IP.
Which I’d pick
For REAPER, MixSurface. If REAPER is one of several DAWs you use and the others are on Avid’s list, Avid Control is free, so try it, and read the forum thread first so you know what to expect in REAPER.
The bigger list of REAPER remotes is in REAPER remote apps in 2026, and there’s a MixSurface vs REAmo comparison too.
FAQ
Does Avid Control work with REAPER? Not officially. Avid doesn’t list REAPER. Cockos forum users in 2024 reported it working through Geoff Waddington’s EUCON extension, with many EUCON features unsupported.
Is Avid Control free? Yes, on the App Store and Google Play. It needs Avid’s EuControl on the computer.
Is Avid Control on Android? Yes, it has a Google Play listing. MixSurface is on Google Play too.
What’s the free REAPER remote for iPad? REAPER’s own Web Remote runs in the iPad’s browser. MixSurface has a free mixer with layers and Sends on Fader.
If I got something wrong about Avid Control, tell me at support@mixsurface.app and I’ll fix it.
Toms