--- title: "Budget: search popularity in Australia" description: "Budget rents cars. 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/au/brands/budget" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Budget: search popularity in Australia Budget rents cars. 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 - **Brand**: Budget - **Market**: Australia - **Measured month**: Sep 2026 - **Share of Search among car rental companies**: 14.2% ## Where the brand sits | Competitive set | Rank | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Car rental companies | 5 | 14.2% | 49.5K | - [Car rental companies](/demand/au/categories/au-car-rental-companies) ## Top car rental companies in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Budget appeared in all five answers. Budget is the second most recommended of the seven. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sixt | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Budget | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Avis | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | East Coast Car Rentals | 4th | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Hertz | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Europcar | 6th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Thrifty | 7th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about car rental companies - Asked ChatGPT "Which car rental company should I use in Australia?": 1. Avis, 2. Sixt, 3. Budget, 4. East Coast Car Rentals, 5. Hertz - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best car hire companies in Australia?": 1. East Coast Car Rentals, 2. Budget, 3. Avis, 4. Sixt, 5. Hertz, 6. Thrifty, 7. Europcar - Asked ChatGPT "What's the cheapest car hire company at Australian airports?": 1. East Coast Car Rentals, 2. Sixt, 3. Budget, 4. Avis, 5. Europcar - Searched Google, AI Overview "car rental": 1. Hertz, 2. Avis, 3. Sixt, 4. Budget, 5. East Coast Car Rentals - Searched Google, AI Overview "car hire": 1. Hertz, 2. Budget, 3. Sixt, 4. East Coast Car Rentals Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in Australia on October 22, 2026. ## How has branded search demand for Budget changed in Australia over the last 12 months? - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for Budget in Australia held steady at 49.5K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Budget’s share of searches among car rental companies in Australia increased from 11.1% to 14.2%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Budget’s share of searches among car rental companies in Australia peaked at 15.8% in August 2026 and was lowest at 11.1% in October 2025. ## How did search popularity change for Australia car rental companies in September 2026? - In September 2026, Europcar overtook Avis and Budget to rank 2nd among car rental companies in Australia, with 17.3% of the searches. - In September 2026, Sixt overtook Avis and Budget to rank 3rd among car rental companies in Australia, with 17.3% of the searches. - In September 2026, East Coast Car Rentals gained share of searches among car rental companies in Australia, from 7.1% to 9.5%. - In September 2026, Thrifty gained share of searches among car rental companies in Australia, from 5.8% to 6.4%. - In September 2026, Hertz lost share of searches among car rental companies in Australia, from 23.7% to 21.2%. - In September 2026, Avis lost share of searches among car rental companies in Australia, from 15.8% to 14.2%. ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Competitive set | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | Car rental companies | 49.5K | 11.1% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | Car rental companies | 60.5K | 13.3% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | Car rental companies | 60.5K | 13.4% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | Car rental companies | 60.5K | 12.4% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | Car rental companies | 60.5K | 13% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | Car rental companies | 60.5K | 12.7% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | Car rental companies | 60.5K | 14.5% | 2 | | May 2026 | Car rental companies | 49.5K | 11.7% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | Car rental companies | 49.5K | 13.1% | 5 | | Jul 2026 | Car rental companies | 49.5K | 13.8% | 5 | | Aug 2026 | Car rental companies | 60.5K | 15.8% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | Car rental companies | 49.5K | 14.2% | 5 | ## How are Budget’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Budget’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for this branded term can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading. - “budget car rental” ## Which car rental companies compete with Budget? - [Hertz](/demand/au/brands/hertz) - [Europcar](/demand/au/brands/europcar): Head-to-head: /demand/au/compare/budget-vs-europcar - [Sixt](/demand/au/brands/sixt): Head-to-head: /demand/au/compare/budget-vs-sixt - [Avis](/demand/au/brands/avis): Head-to-head: /demand/au/compare/avis-vs-budget - [East Coast Car Rentals](/demand/au/brands/east-coast-car-rentals): Head-to-head: /demand/au/compare/budget-vs-east-coast-car-rentals - [Thrifty](/demand/au/brands/thrifty): Head-to-head: /demand/au/compare/budget-vs-thrifty ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Budget: search popularity in Australia". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/au/brands/budget This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/au/brands/budget. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.