Which AI model should I choose?

Mixroadie measures your audio itself, on your computer, whichever AI you choose. The AI reads those measurements, makes the judgment calls and explains them. There are three kinds of choice:

	Costs	What leaves your computer
On this computer: the built-in model, or LM Studio / Ollama	Free	Nothing
Cloud with your own API key: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and others	About 1–2 cents per song	Numbers, track names, the project’s shape and what you typed. Never audio
Your Claude or ChatGPT app, on the plan you already pay for	Your plan	What Mixroadie hands your AI app. Never audio

Which one to pick

• You want everything to stay on your computer, or to work offline: the built-in model. It is sized to your computer’s memory automatically. It needs a Mac with Apple Silicon or a Windows PC; on an Intel Mac, use LM Studio or Ollama, free apps that run a model on your computer.
• You want the best answers: a cloud option. Claude is the one we recommend: in our benchmark of 25 AI models it was the cheapest cloud model that came top on every measure. Each cloud option starts on a small, cheap model, and Settings lets you pick a bigger one. See Where do I get an API key?
• You already pay for Claude or ChatGPT: use Mixroadie from Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Codex. You then work in that app, not in the REAPER panel. See Can I use my Claude or ChatGPT subscription?

Changing it later

You can change it in the panel’s Settings at any time. A badge beside the Settings title shows which AI is answering: green when it stays on your computer, orange when it sends. For a cloud option, Settings shows the actual request that would be sent.

Nothing is sent anywhere from a fresh install: choosing a cloud option and entering your API key is the decision.