Brandwave

Native Instruments vs Slate Digital:Which is more popular?

In October 2026, Slate Digital had more branded searches than Native Instruments among audio plugin brands worldwide. Slate Digital had about 60,500 branded searches, while Native Instruments had 9,800. Slate Digital made up 15% of all audio plugin brand searches we track, and Native Instruments accounted for 2.4%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about audio plugin brands, Native Instruments appeared in two of the five answers and Slate Digital in none.

Among audio plugin brands worldwide in October 2026

Who do people search for more?

Slate Digital, about 6 searches for every 1 for Native Instruments

Slate Digital 60.5K searchesNative Instruments 9.8K searches

Who does AI mention more?

Native Instruments, mentioned in 2 of 5 answers, Slate Digital in 0

Native Instruments in 2 of 5Slate Digital in 0 of 5

Who does AI recommend more?

Native Instruments, the only one of the two named

Native Instruments first in 2Slate Digital never named

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Top audio plugin brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Native Instruments was mentioned in two out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Slate Digital did not appear in any of the five answers.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. FabFilter1st
  2. Waves2nd
  3. Soundtoys3rd
  4. Universal Audio4th
  5. iZotope5th
  6. Native Instruments6th
  7. Xfer Records7th
  8. Plugin Alliance8th
  9. Valhalla DSP9th
  10. +1 more
  11. Slate Digital–
  12. +4 more

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • FabFilter3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • iZotope3 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Soundtoys3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Waves3 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • Plugin Alliance2 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Universal Audio2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Native Instruments2 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • u-he1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Valhalla DSP1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Slate Digital0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

+5 more

See every answer about audio plugin brands

5 answers

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 27, 2026.

Is Native Instruments or Slate Digital more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for Native Instruments and Slate Digital by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all 15 audio plugin brands we track, month by month, from English-language searches worldwide.

Native Instruments and Slate Digital among audio plugin brands worldwide, by month

Share of searches by month for Slate Digital, Native Instruments. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthFabFilterPlugin AllianceSlate DigitaliZotopeu-heSoundtoysValhalla DSPWavesUniversal AudioXfer RecordsKiloheartsSpectrasonicsNative InstrumentsOutputEventide
Nov 202515.1%12.4%5.6%12.4%8.6%12.4%8.3%6.8%6.8%2.6%2%3.1%2%1.4%0.26%
Dec 20259.1%9.1%4%13.5%6.4%36.8%5%3.3%5%2%1.5%1.5%1.6%1.1%0.23%
Jan 202616.2%13.2%7.2%13.2%8.1%8.9%8.9%5.9%4.9%3.6%2.2%2.6%2.9%2%0.22%
Feb 202616.4%13.4%7.3%13.4%8.2%7.3%9%6%4.9%3.7%2.7%2.7%2.9%2%0.27%
Mar 202615.3%12.5%6.9%15.3%8.9%8.4%8.4%5.6%4.6%3.6%2.5%3.1%2.7%1.8%0.25%
Apr 202615%12.3%6.7%12.3%10.2%10.1%8.2%5.5%6.7%3.5%2.5%2.5%2.4%1.8%0.25%
May 202616.2%10.8%7.2%13.2%11%7.2%8.8%5.9%4.8%3.8%3.2%2.6%2.6%2.1%0.27%
Jun 202617.7%11.8%7.9%11.8%10.3%7.9%7.9%5.3%5.3%3.4%2.9%2.9%2.6%2%0.29%
Jul 202614.5%11.9%6.5%14.5%10.3%9.7%7.9%5.3%5.3%3.4%2.9%2.9%2.6%1.8%0.29%
Aug 202615.2%12.5%6.8%12.5%10.8%8.3%8.3%5.6%4.6%3.8%3%3%3%2.1%0.31%
Sep 202615.6%10.4%7%12.8%11.1%8.5%8.5%5.7%4.7%3.9%3.1%3.1%3.1%2.1%0.31%
Oct 202615%15%15%10%8.7%8.2%6.7%5.5%3.7%3.1%2.5%2.5%2.4%1.6%0.25%

Native Instruments sells other things too, so only its searches that name this product count here, like “native instruments kontakt”.

How has branded search for Native Instruments and Slate Digital changed worldwide over the last 12 months?

3 findings

How did search popularity change for audio plugin brands worldwide in October 2026?

2 changes

  1. In October 2026, Slate Digital overtook iZotope and 3 others to rank 3rd among audio plugin brands worldwide, with 15% of the searches.

  2. In October 2026, Native Instruments lost share of searches among audio plugin brands worldwide, from 3.1% to 2.4%.

How are Native Instruments’ and Slate Digital’s branded searches counted?

3 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Native Instruments’ and Slate Digital’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.

Native Instruments

2 branded search terms

  • native instruments komplete
  • native instruments kontakt

Slate Digital

1 branded search term

  • slate digital

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among audio plugin brands

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