--- title: "Fern vs Slate: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Fern or Slate more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Developer documentation platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/fern-api-vs-slate" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Fern vs Slate: Which is searched more? Is Fern or Slate more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Developer documentation platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Fern and Slate - **Competitive set**: Developer documentation platforms - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Fern Share of Search**: 0.85% - **Slate Share of Search**: 0.14% ## Is Fern or Slate more popular in search? - In September 2026, Fern had more branded searches than Slate among developer documentation platforms worldwide. Fern had about 430 branded searches, while Slate had 70. Fern made up 0.85% of all developer documentation platform searches we track, and Slate accounted for 0.14%. - Fern was ahead of Slate in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Fern’s share of searches among developer documentation platforms worldwide moved from 0.59% to 0.85%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 490 to 430. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Slate’s share of searches among developer documentation platforms worldwide moved from 0.17% to 0.14%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 140 to 70. ## Top developer documentation platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Fern was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Slate did not appear in any of the five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Mintlify | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | ReadMe | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | GitBook | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Docusaurus | 4th | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Fern | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Read the Docs | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Slate | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about developer documentation platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which developer documentation platform should I use?": 1. Mintlify, 2. Docusaurus, 3. ReadMe, 4. GitBook, 5. Fern - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best developer documentation platforms?": 1. Mintlify, 2. ReadMe, 3. GitBook, 4. Fern, 5. Docusaurus - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best developer documentation platform for a dev team?": 1. Mintlify, 2. GitBook, 3. ReadMe, 4. Docusaurus - Searched Google, AI Overview "api documentation tool": 1. ReadMe, 2. Mintlify, 3. GitBook, 4. Docusaurus - Searched Google, AI Overview "developer documentation platforms": 1. Mintlify, 2. ReadMe, 3. GitBook Not named in any answer: Read the Docs and Slate. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 20, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for developer documentation platforms worldwide in September 2026? - Estimated monthly branded searches for Slate worldwide fell 50% over 12 measured months, from 140 to 70 in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Fern worldwide fell 12.2% over 12 measured months, from 490 to 430 in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Fern estimated searches | Fern Share of Search | Fern rank | Slate estimated searches | Slate Share of Search | Slate rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 490 | 0.59% | 6 | 140 | 0.17% | 7 | | Nov 2025 | 460 | 0.59% | 6 | 170 | 0.22% | 7 | | Dec 2025 | 560 | 0.69% | 6 | 110 | 0.13% | 7 | | Jan 2026 | 690 | 0.82% | 6 | 140 | 0.17% | 7 | | Feb 2026 | 600 | 0.94% | 6 | 110 | 0.17% | 7 | | Mar 2026 | 600 | 0.8% | 6 | 140 | 0.19% | 7 | | Apr 2026 | 530 | 0.67% | 6 | 90 | 0.11% | 7 | | May 2026 | 580 | 0.94% | 6 | 90 | 0.15% | 7 | | Jun 2026 | 520 | 0.61% | 6 | 90 | 0.11% | 7 | | Jul 2026 | 420 | 0.64% | 6 | 90 | 0.14% | 7 | | Aug 2026 | 470 | 0.66% | 6 | 70 | 0.1% | 7 | | Sep 2026 | 430 | 0.85% | 6 | 70 | 0.14% | 7 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Fern’s and Slate’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. - **Fern**: Measured on the search terms “buildwithfern” and “fern api”, summed into one figure. - **Slate**: Measured on the search term “slate docs”. - [Fern profile](/demand/global-en/brands/fern-api) - [Slate profile](/demand/global-en/brands/slate) - [All developer documentation platforms worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/developer-documentation-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Fern or Slate more popular in search? In September 2026, Fern had more branded searches than Slate among developer documentation platforms worldwide. Fern had about 430 branded searches, while Slate had 70. Fern made up 0.85% of all developer documentation platform searches we track, and Slate accounted for 0.14%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Fern vs Slate: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/fern-api-vs-slate This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/fern-api-vs-slate. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.