Video advertising · October 2026 Edition
YouTube Ads vs MNTN
One of fourteen models named YouTube Ads first on the direct prompt; zero named MNTN. YouTube Ads was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and MNTN by ten and YouTube Ads carries 46 labels and MNTN 15, so the shares are not directly comparable.
By YouTube, San Bruno, United States, founded 2005. Named in two categories this edition.
MNTN
accepted challengerNamed in one category this edition.
First-choice share15%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate15%0%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#6A position in a field of 13; printed, not drawn.
Labels4615A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, YouTube Ads reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.StackAdapt was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. StackAdapt vs YouTube Ads · StackAdapt vs MNTN · YouTube Ads vs Meta Ads
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the video advertising page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
YouTube AdsFirst choices, of fourteen modelsMNTNDirect10
Paraphrase11
Comparative90
Budget-constrained601 against YouTube Ads
Scale-constrained00
Negative106 against YouTube Ads
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where YouTube Ads and MNTN stood in it.
| Model | DirectMN | ParaphraseMN | ComparativeMN | Budget-constrainedMN | Scale-constrainedMN | NegativeMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | MN | | MN | | ||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | |||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | MN | MN | | MN | |
| Perplexity Sonar | MN | | | |||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | MN | | | ||
| Mistral Small | | MN | | | | |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | ||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | ||||
| Kimi K2 | | MN | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | MN | | | ||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | |
YouTube AdsMN MNTN first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, YouTube Ads on the left and MNTN on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where YouTube Ads and MNTN stood in it.
YouTube Ads first, MNTN not the choice
1 of 14 modelsMNTN was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Kimi K2LinkedIn Video Ads, YouTube Ads alternatives: Hey Sid, StackAdapt
Neither was the first choice, one was named
9 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5StackAdapt alternatives: LinkedIn Video Ads, MNTN, Vibe.co
GPT-5.4 miniLinkedIn Campaign Manager alternatives: YouTube Ads
Gemini 3.5 FlashLinkedIn Video Ads alternatives: Meta Ads, StackAdapt, Vibe.co, YouTube Ads
Grok 4.1 FastLinkedIn Campaign Manager alternatives: YouTube Ads
Mistral SmallStackAdapt alternatives: Demandbase, YouTube Ads
DeepSeek V4 FlashLinkedIn Video Ads alternatives: StackAdapt, YouTube Ads
GLM 4.7 FlashXLinkedIn Video Ads alternatives: Demandbase, StackAdapt, YouTube Ads
GPT-6 LunaLinkedIn Campaign Manager alternatives: StackAdapt, YouTube Ads
Muse Glimmer 30BLinkedIn Sponsored Video / LinkedIn Campaign Manager alternatives: Google Video, StackAdapt, YouTube Ads
Neither was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Perplexity SonarStackAdapt alternatives: AdRoll ABM, LinkedIn Video Ads, The Trade Desk, Vibe.co
Llama 4 MaverickStackAdapt
Qwen 3.7 FlashLinkedIn Video Ads, StackAdapt alternatives: Google Ads
MiniMax M2.5StackAdapt alternatives: AdRoll, Demandbase, Hey Sid
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
YouTube Ads leads by seven points.
YouTube Ads15%#1 of 11MNTN7%#7 of 11
The full small business standing →Mid-marketThe figures above
YouTube Ads leads by thirteen points.
YouTube Ads15%#2 of 13MNTN2%#6 of 13
The full mid-market standing →Enterprise
What the models said about YouTube Ads
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“major platforms like YouTube and Meta (Facebook/Instagram) have strict advertising policies. Violations can result in harsh penalties, such as ad account suspension.” Mistral Small · negative prompt · soft negative
“YouTube has faced brand safety scandals involving obscene comments on videos of children and major brands being shown alongside inappropriate content” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“if you want broad reach and can support a somewhat higher ongoing test budget; one source suggests $500–1,000/month” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · soft negative
“YouTube allows you to set flexible budgets, often starting as low as $1–$5 per day, making it highly accessible for small budgets.” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
“Best for: broad reach, intent-driven video, and strong measurement across YouTube, Google TV, and partner inventory.” GPT-5.4 mini · comparative prompt · first choice
“Best For: Full-funnel marketing, search-intent audiences, and reaching viewers on both mobile and TV screens.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
What the models said about MNTN
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.
“StackAdapt and MNTN are the best choices for dedicated CTV and online video advertising” Mistral Small · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“MNTN is built for brands that don't have in-house video production, with higher budget minimums and managed service overhead.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · comparative prompt · alternative
“have democratized CTV for growth marketers and SMBs by offering self-serve buying with budgets as low as $50/day” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · alternative
Also compared
StackAdapt vs YouTube AdsStackAdapt vs MNTNYouTube Ads vs Meta AdsYouTube Ads vs LinkedIn Video AdsYouTube Ads vs Vibe.coYouTube Ads vs TikTok AdsYouTube Ads vs Google Display & Video 360Meta Ads vs MNTNLinkedIn Video Ads vs MNTNVibe.co vs MNTNMNTN vs TikTok AdsMNTN vs Google Display & Video 360All twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full video ads standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.