--- title: "Native Instruments vs Waves: Which is more popular?" description: "Is Native Instruments or Waves more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Audio plugin brands 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/native-instruments-vs-waves-audio" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Native Instruments vs Waves: Which is more popular? Is Native Instruments or Waves more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Audio plugin brands 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**: Native Instruments and Waves - **Competitive set**: Audio plugin brands - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Oct 2026 - **Native Instruments Share of Search**: 2.4% - **Waves Share of Search**: 5.5% ## Is Native Instruments or Waves more popular in search? - In October 2026, Waves had more branded searches than Native Instruments among audio plugin brands worldwide. Waves had about 22,200 branded searches, while Native Instruments had 9,800. Waves made up 5.5% of all audio plugin brand searches we track, and Native Instruments accounted for 2.4%. - Waves was ahead of Native Instruments in every measured month of the 12 months ending October 2026. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Native Instruments’ share of searches among audio plugin brands worldwide moved from 2% to 2.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 14.7K to 9.8K. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Waves’ share of searches among audio plugin brands worldwide moved from 6.8% to 5.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 49.5K to 22.2K. ## Top audio plugin brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Waves was mentioned in three out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers and in both 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. Native Instruments and Waves were each listed first in two of the four answers that named either. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | FabFilter | 1st | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Waves | 2nd | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Soundtoys | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Universal Audio | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | iZotope | 5th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Native Instruments | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Xfer Records | 7th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Plugin Alliance | 8th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Valhalla DSP | 9th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | u-he | 10th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Slate Digital | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Kilohearts | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Spectrasonics | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Output | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Eventide | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about audio plugin brands - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best VST plugins for mixing?": 1. FabFilter, 2. Soundtoys, 3. Universal Audio, 4. iZotope - Asked ChatGPT "Which companies make the best audio plugins?": 1. FabFilter, 2. Universal Audio, 3. iZotope, 4. Soundtoys, 5. Valhalla DSP, 6. Waves, 7. Plugin Alliance, 8. u-he - Asked ChatGPT "What plugins should I buy for music production?": 1. Xfer Records, 2. FabFilter, 3. Soundtoys, 4. Native Instruments - Searched Google, AI Overview "vst plugins": 1. Native Instruments, 2. Waves, 3. iZotope - Searched Google, AI Overview "audio plugins": 1. Waves, 2. Plugin Alliance Not named in any answer: Slate Digital, Kilohearts, Spectrasonics, Output and Eventide. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 27, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for audio plugin brands worldwide in October 2026? - In October 2026, Native Instruments lost share of searches among audio plugin brands worldwide, from 3.1% to 2.4%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Waves worldwide fell 55.2% over 12 measured months, from 49.5K to 22.2K in October 2026. ## How has branded search for Native Instruments and Waves changed worldwide over the last 12 months? | Month | Native Instruments estimated searches | Native Instruments Share of Search | Native Instruments rank | Waves estimated searches | Waves Share of Search | Waves rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Nov 2025 | 14.7K | 2% | 13 | 49.5K | 6.8% | 8 | | Dec 2025 | 13.2K | 1.6% | 11 | 27.1K | 3.3% | 9 | | Jan 2026 | 13.2K | 2.9% | 11 | 27.1K | 5.9% | 8 | | Feb 2026 | 10.8K | 2.9% | 11 | 22.2K | 6% | 8 | | Mar 2026 | 10.8K | 2.7% | 12 | 22.2K | 5.6% | 8 | | Apr 2026 | 9.8K | 2.4% | 13 | 22.2K | 5.5% | 9 | | May 2026 | 9.8K | 2.6% | 13 | 22.2K | 5.9% | 8 | | Jun 2026 | 8.8K | 2.6% | 13 | 18.1K | 5.3% | 9 | | Jul 2026 | 8.8K | 2.6% | 13 | 18.1K | 5.3% | 9 | | Aug 2026 | 9.8K | 3% | 13 | 18.1K | 5.6% | 8 | | Sep 2026 | 9.8K | 3.1% | 13 | 18.1K | 5.7% | 8 | | Oct 2026 | 9.8K | 2.4% | 13 | 22.2K | 5.5% | 8 | ## How are Native Instruments’ and Waves’ branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Native Instruments’ and Waves’ 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**: Measured on the search terms “native instruments komplete” and “native instruments kontakt”, summed into one figure. - **Waves**: Measured on the search term “waves plugins”. - [Native Instruments profile](/demand/global-en/brands/native-instruments) - [Waves profile](/demand/global-en/brands/waves-audio) - [All audio plugin brands worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/audio-plugin-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 15 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 Native Instruments or Waves more popular in search? In October 2026, Waves had more branded searches than Native Instruments among audio plugin brands worldwide. Waves had about 22,200 branded searches, while Native Instruments had 9,800. Waves made up 5.5% of all audio plugin brand searches we track, and Native Instruments accounted for 2.4%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Native Instruments vs Waves: Which is more popular?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/native-instruments-vs-waves-audio This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/native-instruments-vs-waves-audio. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.