---
title: "Car marketplaces in Australia: Which are searched most?"
description: "Compare the websites people use to buy and sell new and used cars. Share of Search among carsales, CarsGuide, Carma, Drive, Autotrader and Gumtree, the car marketplaces Brandwave compares in Australia, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. 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/categories/au-car-marketplaces"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Car marketplaces in Australia: Which are searched most?

Compare the websites people use to buy and sell new and used cars. Share of Search among carsales, CarsGuide, Carma, Drive, Autotrader and Gumtree, the car marketplaces Brandwave compares in Australia, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. 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

- **Competitive set**: Car marketplaces
- **Market**: Australia
- **Brands compared**: 6
- **Month measured**: Sep 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: carsales, 92.1%

## Which brand is most popular in search among car marketplaces in Australia?

- In September 2026, carsales was the most searched among car marketplaces in Australia, with an estimated 823K branded searches, 92.1% of all searches for the six we track.
- CarsGuide is in 2nd place, 89.1 percentage points behind at 3%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, carsales’ share of searches among car marketplaces in Australia decreased from 94.1% to 92.1%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Carma’s share of searches among car marketplaces in Australia increased from 1.4% to 2.5%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, carsales’ share of searches among car marketplaces in Australia peaked at 94.8% in December 2025 and was lowest at 92.1% in September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Carma’s share of searches among car marketplaces in Australia peaked at 2.5% in September 2026 and was lowest at 1.1% in December 2025.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, CarsGuide, Drive, Autotrader and Gumtree held steady: their share of searches among car marketplaces in Australia each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Top car marketplaces in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, CarsGuide appeared every time. carsales was recommended most often, coming first in all three answers that gave a list. Gumtree was second, and CarsGuide was third. Carma, which ranked third in searches, was not mentioned at all.

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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| carsales | 1st | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 |
| Gumtree | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 |
| CarsGuide | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 4 of 4 |
| Drive | 4th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 4 |
| Autotrader | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 4 |
| Carma | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 4 |

## Every AI answer about car marketplaces

- Asked ChatGPT "Which website should I use to buy a used car in Australia?": 1. carsales, 2. CarsGuide, 3. Gumtree
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the best car marketplaces in Australia?": 1. carsales, 2. Gumtree, 3. CarsGuide, 4. Drive, 5. Autotrader
- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best website in Australia to sell my car privately?": 1. carsales, 2. Gumtree, 3. CarsGuide
- Searched Google, AI Overview "buy a car online": 1. CarsGuide

Not named in any answer: Carma.

Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in Australia on October 22, 2026.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [carsales vs CarsGuide: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/carsales-vs-carsguide): 92.1% against 3% Share of Search.
- [carsales vs Carma: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/carma-vs-carsales): 92.1% against 2.5% Share of Search.
- [CarsGuide vs Carma: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/carma-vs-carsguide): 3% against 2.5% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for Australia car marketplaces in September 2026?

- In September 2026, CarsGuide gained share of searches among car marketplaces in Australia, from 2.5% to 3%.
- In September 2026, carsales lost share of searches among car marketplaces in Australia, from 93.4% to 92.1%.
- Carma’s share of searches among car marketplaces in Australia has gained ground for 3 months in a row, from 1.7% to 2.5% in September 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Drive in Australia rose 22.2% over 12 measured months, from 8.1K to 9.9K in September 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Gumtree in Australia fell 33.3% over 12 measured months, from 6.6K to 4.4K in September 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | carsales | 92.1% | 823K | -17.7% | CAR Group |
| 2 | CarsGuide | 3% | 27.1K | 0.0% | CarsGuide |
| 3 | Carma | 2.5% | 22.2K | 0.0% | Carma |
| 4 | Drive | 1.1% | 9.9K | 0.0% | Drive |
| 5 | Autotrader | 0.74% | 6.6K | 0.0% | CarsGuide |
| 6 | Gumtree | 0.49% | 4.4K | -18.5% | Gumtree Australia |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | carsales | 1M | 94.1% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | CarsGuide | 27.1K | 2.5% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Carma | 14.8K | 1.4% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Drive | 8.1K | 0.76% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Autotrader | 6.6K | 0.62% | 5 |
| Oct 2025 | Gumtree | 6.6K | 0.62% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | carsales | 1M | 93.9% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | CarsGuide | 27.1K | 2.5% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Carma | 18.1K | 1.7% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Drive | 8.1K | 0.76% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Autotrader | 6.6K | 0.62% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Gumtree | 5.4K | 0.51% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | carsales | 1M | 94.8% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | CarsGuide | 22.2K | 2.1% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Carma | 12.1K | 1.1% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Drive | 8.1K | 0.77% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Autotrader | 6.6K | 0.63% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Gumtree | 5.4K | 0.51% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | carsales | 1M | 93.2% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | CarsGuide | 33.1K | 3.1% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Carma | 14.8K | 1.4% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Drive | 9.9K | 0.92% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Autotrader | 8.1K | 0.76% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Gumtree | 6.6K | 0.62% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | carsales | 1M | 93.8% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | CarsGuide | 27.1K | 2.5% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Carma | 14.8K | 1.4% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Drive | 12.1K | 1.1% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Autotrader | 6.6K | 0.62% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Gumtree | 5.4K | 0.51% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | carsales | 1M | 93.9% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | CarsGuide | 27.1K | 2.5% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Carma | 18.1K | 1.7% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Drive | 8.1K | 0.76% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Autotrader | 6.6K | 0.62% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Gumtree | 5.4K | 0.51% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | carsales | 1M | 94.3% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | CarsGuide | 27.1K | 2.6% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Carma | 14.8K | 1.4% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Drive | 8.1K | 0.76% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Autotrader | 6.6K | 0.62% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Gumtree | 4.4K | 0.41% | 6 |
| May 2026 | carsales | 1M | 93.9% | 1 |
| May 2026 | CarsGuide | 27.1K | 2.5% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Carma | 18.1K | 1.7% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Drive | 8.1K | 0.76% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Autotrader | 6.6K | 0.62% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Gumtree | 5.4K | 0.51% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | carsales | 1M | 94% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | CarsGuide | 27.1K | 2.5% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Carma | 18.1K | 1.7% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Drive | 8.1K | 0.76% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Autotrader | 6.6K | 0.62% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Gumtree | 4.4K | 0.41% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | carsales | 1M | 93.1% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | CarsGuide | 33.1K | 3.1% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Carma | 22.2K | 2.1% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Drive | 8.1K | 0.75% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Autotrader | 6.6K | 0.61% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Gumtree | 4.4K | 0.41% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | carsales | 1M | 93.4% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | CarsGuide | 27.1K | 2.5% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Carma | 22.2K | 2.1% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Drive | 9.9K | 0.92% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Autotrader | 6.6K | 0.62% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Gumtree | 5.4K | 0.5% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | carsales | 823K | 92.1% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | CarsGuide | 27.1K | 3% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | Carma | 22.2K | 2.5% | 3 |
| Sep 2026 | Drive | 9.9K | 1.1% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | Autotrader | 6.6K | 0.74% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | Gumtree | 4.4K | 0.49% | 6 |

## What is being compared

- **Autotrader**: Measured on the search term “autotrader australia”.
- **Carma**: Measured on the search term “carma”.
- **carsales**: Measured on the search term “carsales”.
- **CarsGuide**: Measured on the search term “carsguide”.
- **Drive**: Measured on the search term “drive.com.au”.
- **Gumtree**: Measured on the search term “gumtree cars”.

- [Autotrader](/demand/au/brands/autotrader-au)
- [Carma](/demand/au/brands/carma)
- [carsales](/demand/au/brands/carsales)
- [CarsGuide](/demand/au/brands/carsguide)
- [Drive](/demand/au/brands/drive-com-au)
- [Gumtree](/demand/au/brands/gumtree-au)

## 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

### Which brand is most popular in search among car marketplaces in Australia?

In September 2026, carsales was the most searched among car marketplaces in Australia, with an estimated 823K branded searches, 92.1% of all searches for the six we track.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Car marketplaces in Australia: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/au/categories/au-car-marketplaces

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/au/categories/au-car-marketplaces. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.