--- title: "Plugin Alliance vs Soundtoys: Which is more popular?" description: "Is Plugin Alliance or Soundtoys 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/plugin-alliance-vs-soundtoys" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Plugin Alliance vs Soundtoys: Which is more popular? Is Plugin Alliance or Soundtoys 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**: Plugin Alliance and Soundtoys - **Competitive set**: Audio plugin brands - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Oct 2026 - **Plugin Alliance Share of Search**: 15% - **Soundtoys Share of Search**: 8.2% ## Is Plugin Alliance or Soundtoys more popular in search? - In October 2026, Plugin Alliance had more branded searches than Soundtoys among audio plugin brands worldwide. Plugin Alliance had about 60,500 branded searches, while Soundtoys had 33,100. Plugin Alliance made up 15% of all audio plugin brand searches we track, and Soundtoys accounted for 8.2%. - The lead changed hands once in the 12 months ending October 2026: Plugin Alliance took it in January 2026. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Plugin Alliance’s share of searches among audio plugin brands worldwide moved from 12.4% to 15%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 90.5K to 60.5K. - Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Soundtoys’ share of searches among audio plugin brands worldwide moved from 12.4% to 8.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 90.5K to 33.1K. ## Top audio plugin brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Soundtoys was mentioned in three out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Plugin Alliance was mentioned in two out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Soundtoys was listed before Plugin Alliance in three out of 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, Plugin Alliance overtook iZotope and u-he to rank 2nd among audio plugin brands worldwide, with 15% of the searches. - In October 2026, Slate Digital overtook iZotope and 3 others to rank 3rd among audio plugin brands worldwide, with 15% of the searches. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Soundtoys worldwide fell 63.4% over 12 measured months, from 90.5K to 33.1K in October 2026. ## How has branded search for Plugin Alliance and Soundtoys changed worldwide over the last 12 months? | Month | Plugin Alliance estimated searches | Plugin Alliance Share of Search | Plugin Alliance rank | Soundtoys estimated searches | Soundtoys Share of Search | Soundtoys rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Nov 2025 | 90.5K | 12.4% | 3 | 90.5K | 12.4% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | 74K | 9.1% | 4 | 301K | 36.8% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 60.5K | 13.2% | 3 | 40.5K | 8.9% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | 49.5K | 13.4% | 3 | 27.1K | 7.3% | 7 | | Mar 2026 | 49.5K | 12.5% | 3 | 33.1K | 8.4% | 5 | | Apr 2026 | 49.5K | 12.3% | 3 | 40.5K | 10.1% | 5 | | May 2026 | 40.5K | 10.8% | 4 | 27.1K | 7.2% | 7 | | Jun 2026 | 40.5K | 11.8% | 3 | 27.1K | 7.9% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 40.5K | 11.9% | 3 | 33.1K | 9.7% | 5 | | Aug 2026 | 40.5K | 12.5% | 3 | 27.1K | 8.3% | 5 | | Sep 2026 | 33.1K | 10.4% | 4 | 27.1K | 8.5% | 5 | | Oct 2026 | 60.5K | 15% | 2 | 33.1K | 8.2% | 6 | ## How are Plugin Alliance’s and Soundtoys’ branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Plugin Alliance’s and Soundtoys’ 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. - **Plugin Alliance**: Measured on the search term “plugin alliance”. - **Soundtoys**: Measured on the search term “soundtoys”. - [Plugin Alliance profile](/demand/global-en/brands/plugin-alliance) - [Soundtoys profile](/demand/global-en/brands/soundtoys) - [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 Plugin Alliance or Soundtoys more popular in search? In October 2026, Plugin Alliance had more branded searches than Soundtoys among audio plugin brands worldwide. Plugin Alliance had about 60,500 branded searches, while Soundtoys had 33,100. Plugin Alliance made up 15% of all audio plugin brand searches we track, and Soundtoys accounted for 8.2%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Plugin Alliance vs Soundtoys: Which is more popular?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/plugin-alliance-vs-soundtoys This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/plugin-alliance-vs-soundtoys. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.