diff --git a/cmp/internal/diff/diff.go b/cmp/internal/diff/diff.go
index 3d2e426..730e223 100644
--- a/cmp/internal/diff/diff.go
+++ b/cmp/internal/diff/diff.go
@@ -12,6 +12,13 @@
 // is more important than obtaining a minimal Levenshtein distance.
 package diff
 
+import (
+	"math/rand"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp/internal/flags"
+)
+
 // EditType represents a single operation within an edit-script.
 type EditType uint8
 
@@ -112,6 +119,8 @@ func (r Result) Similar() bool {
 	return r.NumSame+1 >= r.NumDiff
 }
 
+var randInt = rand.New(rand.NewSource(time.Now().Unix())).Intn(2)
+
 // Difference reports whether two lists of lengths nx and ny are equal
 // given the definition of equality provided as f.
 //
@@ -159,6 +168,17 @@ func Difference(nx, ny int, f EqualFunc) (es EditScript) {
 	// A vertical edge is equivalent to inserting a symbol from list Y.
 	// A diagonal edge is equivalent to a matching symbol between both X and Y.
 
+	// To ensure flexibility in changing the algorithm in the future,
+	// introduce some degree of deliberate instability.
+	// This is achieved by fiddling the zigzag iterator to start searching
+	// the graph starting from the bottom-right versus than the top-left.
+	// The result may differ depending on the starting search location,
+	// but still produces a valid edit script.
+	zigzagInit := randInt // either 0 or 1
+	if flags.Deterministic {
+		zigzagInit = 0
+	}
+
 	// Invariants:
 	//	• 0 ≤ fwdPath.X ≤ (fwdFrontier.X, revFrontier.X) ≤ revPath.X ≤ nx
 	//	• 0 ≤ fwdPath.Y ≤ (fwdFrontier.Y, revFrontier.Y) ≤ revPath.Y ≤ ny
@@ -209,7 +229,7 @@ func Difference(nx, ny int, f EqualFunc) (es EditScript) {
 		if fwdFrontier.X >= revFrontier.X || fwdFrontier.Y >= revFrontier.Y || searchBudget == 0 {
 			break
 		}
-		for stop1, stop2, i := false, false, 0; !(stop1 && stop2) && searchBudget > 0; i++ {
+		for stop1, stop2, i := false, false, zigzagInit; !(stop1 && stop2) && searchBudget > 0; i++ {
 			// Search in a diagonal pattern for a match.
 			z := zigzag(i)
 			p := point{fwdFrontier.X + z, fwdFrontier.Y - z}
diff --git a/cmp/internal/diff/diff_test.go b/cmp/internal/diff/diff_test.go
index ef39077..35e8642 100644
--- a/cmp/internal/diff/diff_test.go
+++ b/cmp/internal/diff/diff_test.go
@@ -10,8 +10,14 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"unicode"
+
+	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp/internal/flags"
 )
 
+func init() {
+	flags.Deterministic = true
+}
+
 func TestDifference(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
 		// Before passing x and y to Difference, we strip all spaces so that