Usb Mixer Vs Audio Interface

I have not looked up yet what kind of soundcard my computer has but i s a mac and i hope it s good enough thanks in advance beginner here.

Usb mixer vs audio interface. Mixers definitely take up more space than audio interfaces something you should keep in mind. This is one of the primary differences between them and audio interfaces meaning that you may actually need to plug the mixer output into an audio interface anyway to get the signal into your computer or laptop. Audio interfaces are smaller in comparison and are much more portable than mixers. While a mixer is often compared and confused with an audio interface it serves a completely different and more complicated purpose.

Mixers offer more control over what gets sent to your computer. However if you ve got music production software with virtual faders and effects a bare bones audio interface could. My main question is though is my mixer ok without the usb or in other words does it already have the audio interface or should i just purchase a usb audio interface and go that route. They re also not as portable.

However recently the usb mixer has become a more common piece of studio hardware adding to the confusion.