Midjourney vs Stable Diffusion:Which is more popular?
In September 2026, Midjourney had more branded searches than Stable Diffusion among AI image generators worldwide. Midjourney had about 1.5 million branded searches, while Stable Diffusion had 421,000. Midjourney made up 31.1% of all AI image generator searches we track, and Stable Diffusion accounted for 8.7%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about AI image generators, Midjourney appeared in three of the five answers and Stable Diffusion in one. Midjourney was mentioned before Stable Diffusion in three out of four answers.
Who do people search for more?
Midjourney, about 4 searches for every 1 for Stable Diffusion
Who does AI mention more?
Midjourney, mentioned in 3 of 5 answers, Stable Diffusion in 1
Who does AI recommend more?
Midjourney, named ahead of Stable Diffusion in 3 of 4 answers
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Top AI image generators in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews
In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Midjourney was mentioned in three out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Stable Diffusion was mentioned in one out of five: not in any of the three ChatGPT answers, but in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Midjourney was listed before Stable Diffusion in three out of four answers.
Most recommended by AI
Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.
- Midjourney1st
Ideogram2nd
Adobe Firefly3rd
Stable Diffusion4th
Leonardo AI5th
DALL-E–
Mentioned by AI
Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.
- Adobe Firefly4 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
- Midjourney3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
- Ideogram3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
- Leonardo AI1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
- Stable Diffusion1 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
- DALL-E0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
See every answer about AI image generators
5 answers
Asked ChatGPT
“Which AI image generator should I use?”
Asked ChatGPT
“What are the best AI image generators?”
Asked ChatGPT
“What's the best AI image generator for text to image?”
Searched Google, AI Overview
“ai image generator”
Searched Google, AI Overview
“ai art generator”
Not named in any answer:
Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in the United States on October 20, 2026.
Is Midjourney or Stable Diffusion more popular in search?
This chart shows how often people search Google for Midjourney and Stable Diffusion by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all six AI image generators we track, month by month, from English-language searches worldwide.
Share of searches by month for Midjourney, Stable Diffusion. The figures are in the table below the chart.
View monthly share of searches table
| Month | Midjourney | Leonardo AI | Adobe Firefly | Stable Diffusion | Ideogram | DALL-E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 30.2% | 30.5% | 11% | 8.3% | 11% | 8.9% |
| Nov 2025 | 28.4% | 28.7% | 12.7% | 9.6% | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| Dec 2025 | 30.2% | 30.5% | 11.1% | 10.2% | 9.1% | 8.9% |
| Jan 2026 | 27.2% | 33.6% | 10% | 11.4% | 8.2% | 9.5% |
| Feb 2026 | 30.7% | 31% | 11.3% | 10.5% | 7.5% | 9% |
| Mar 2026 | 33.7% | 27.8% | 12.3% | 9.5% | 6.8% | 9.9% |
| Apr 2026 | 29.4% | 29.7% | 13.1% | 10% | 7.2% | 10.6% |
| May 2026 | 26.4% | 32.6% | 17.6% | 9.1% | 6.5% | 7.8% |
| Jun 2026 | 29.9% | 30.2% | 16.3% | 8.5% | 9% | 6.1% |
| Jul 2026 | 28.4% | 28.7% | 18.9% | 9.7% | 8.5% | 5.8% |
| Aug 2026 | 28.5% | 28.8% | 19% | 9.8% | 8.6% | 5.2% |
| Sep 2026 | 31.1% | 25.5% | 20.7% | 8.7% | 7.6% | 6.3% |
How has the Midjourney and Stable Diffusion comparison changed over the last 12 months?
3 findings
- Midjourney was ahead of Stable Diffusion in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Midjourney’s share of searches among AI image generators worldwide moved from 30.2% to 31.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 2.7M to 1.5M.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Stable Diffusion’s share of searches among AI image generators worldwide moved from 8.3% to 8.7%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 756K to 421K.
How did search popularity change for AI image generators worldwide in September 2026?
2 changes
In September 2026, Midjourney overtook Leonardo AI to become the leader among AI image generators worldwide, with 31.1% of the searches.
In September 2026, Stable Diffusion lost share of searches among AI image generators worldwide, from 9.8% to 8.7%.
How are branded searches counted?
4 search terms
Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Midjourney’s and Stable Diffusion’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.
Midjourney
1 branded search term
- midjourney
Stable Diffusion
3 branded search terms
- stable diffusion
- stable diffusion ai
- stablediffusion
Other head-to-heads among AI image generators
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