---
title: "Health insurance funds in Australia: Which are searched most?"
description: "Compare the funds that sell private hospital and extras cover. Share of Search among Medibank, nib, HBF, Bupa, ahm, HCF, GMHBA, Australian Unity and Frank, the health insurance funds 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-health-insurance-funds"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Health insurance funds in Australia: Which are searched most?

Compare the funds that sell private hospital and extras cover. Share of Search among Medibank, nib, HBF, Bupa, ahm, HCF, GMHBA, Australian Unity and Frank, the health insurance funds 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**: Health insurance funds
- **Market**: Australia
- **Brands compared**: 9
- **Month measured**: Sep 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Medibank, 30.5%

## Which brand is most popular in search among health insurance funds in Australia?

- In September 2026, Medibank was the most searched among health insurance funds in Australia, with an estimated 110K branded searches, 30.5% of all searches for the nine we track.
- nib is in 2nd place, 12.7 percentage points behind at 17.8%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Medibank’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia decreased from 32.9% to 30.5%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Bupa’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia increased from 9.9% to 11.2%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, ahm’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia increased from 5.4% to 7.5%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, HCF’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia decreased from 8.1% to 6.2%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, GMHBA’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia increased from 4.4% to 5%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Australian Unity’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia increased from 2% to 2.7%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Medibank’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia peaked at 34.8% in November 2025 and was lowest at 27.6% in March 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, nib’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia peaked at 19.4% in November 2025 and was lowest at 16.5% in January 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, HBF’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia peaked at 19.4% in July 2026 and was lowest at 15.3% in January 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Bupa’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia peaked at 12.4% in March 2026 and was lowest at 8.5% in November 2025.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, ahm’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia peaked at 7.5% in September 2026 and was lowest at 4.4% in December 2025.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, HCF’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia peaked at 10.1% in March 2026 and was lowest at 5.3% in July 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, GMHBA’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia peaked at 5.5% in March 2026 and was lowest at 4.4% in October 2025.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Australian Unity’s share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia peaked at 2.7% in September 2026 and was lowest at 1.6% in July 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, ahm rose from 6th to 5th among health insurance funds in Australia.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, HCF fell from 5th to 6th among health insurance funds in Australia.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, nib, HBF and Frank held steady: their share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Top health insurance funds in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Medibank and HCF were mentioned most often, in four of the five answers. HCF was recommended most often, coming first in all three answers that gave a list. HBF was second, and Medibank was third. Australian Unity, which ranked eighth 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| HCF | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| HBF | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Medibank | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| ahm | 4th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| Frank | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| GMHBA | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| Bupa | 7th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| nib | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| Australian Unity | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |

## Every AI answer about health insurance funds

- Asked ChatGPT "Which health insurance fund should I join in Australia?": 1. HCF, 2. HBF, 3. GMHBA, 4. Medibank
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the best private health insurance funds in Australia?": 1. HCF, 2. HBF, 3. Medibank, 4. Bupa, 5. Frank
- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best private health insurance in Australia for a young couple?": 1. HCF, 2. ahm, 3. Frank, 4. Medibank
- Searched Google, AI Overview "private health insurance": 1. Medibank, 2. Bupa, 3. HCF, 4. nib
- Searched Google, AI Overview "health insurance comparison": named none of the brands we track

Not named in any answer: Australian Unity.

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

- [Medibank vs nib: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/medibank-vs-nib): 30.5% against 17.8% Share of Search.
- [Medibank vs HBF: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/hbf-vs-medibank): 30.5% against 17.1% Share of Search.
- [Medibank vs Bupa: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/bupa-vs-medibank): 30.5% against 11.2% Share of Search.
- [Medibank vs ahm: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/ahm-vs-medibank): 30.5% against 7.5% Share of Search.
- [nib vs HBF: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/hbf-vs-nib): 17.8% against 17.1% Share of Search.
- [nib vs Bupa: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/bupa-vs-nib): 17.8% against 11.2% Share of Search.
- [nib vs ahm: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/ahm-vs-nib): 17.8% against 7.5% Share of Search.
- [HBF vs Bupa: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/bupa-vs-hbf): 17.1% against 11.2% Share of Search.
- [HBF vs ahm: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/ahm-vs-hbf): 17.1% against 7.5% Share of Search.
- [Bupa vs ahm: compare search popularity](/demand/au/compare/ahm-vs-bupa): 11.2% against 7.5% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for Australia health insurance funds in September 2026?

- In September 2026, HCF overtook GMHBA to rank 6th among health insurance funds in Australia, with 6.2% of the searches.
- In September 2026, Bupa gained share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia, from 9.8% to 11.2%.
- In September 2026, ahm gained share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia, from 6.6% to 7.5%.
- In September 2026, Australian Unity gained share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia, from 2% to 2.7%.
- In September 2026, Medibank lost share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia, from 32.8% to 30.5%.
- In September 2026, nib lost share of searches among health insurance funds in Australia, from 19.1% to 17.8%.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Frank in Australia fell 18.5% over 12 measured months, from 8.1K to 6.6K in September 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for HBF in Australia fell 12.5% over 12 measured months, from 70.4K to 61.6K in September 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Medibank | 30.5% | 110K | -18.5% | Medibank |
| 2 | nib | 17.8% | 64.3K | -18.2% | nib New Zealand |
| 3 | HBF | 17.1% | 61.6K | -12.5% | HBF |
| 4 | Bupa | 11.2% | 40.5K | 0.0% | Bupa |
| 5 | ahm | 7.5% | 27.1K | 0.0% | Medibank |
| 6 | HCF | 6.2% | 22.2K | 0.0% | HCF |
| 7 | GMHBA | 5% | 18.1K | -18.5% | GMHBA |
| 8 | Australian Unity | 2.7% | 9.9K | +22.2% | Australian Unity |
| 9 | Frank | 1.8% | 6.6K | -18.5% | GMHBA |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Medibank | 135K | 32.9% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | nib | 75.3K | 18.3% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | HBF | 70.4K | 17.1% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Bupa | 40.5K | 9.9% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | HCF | 33.1K | 8.1% | 5 |
| Oct 2025 | ahm | 22.2K | 5.4% | 6 |
| Oct 2025 | GMHBA | 18.1K | 4.4% | 7 |
| Oct 2025 | Australian Unity | 8.1K | 2% | 8 |
| Oct 2025 | Frank | 8.1K | 2% | 9 |
| Nov 2025 | Medibank | 135K | 34.8% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | nib | 75.3K | 19.4% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | HBF | 59.4K | 15.3% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Bupa | 33.1K | 8.5% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | HCF | 33.1K | 8.5% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | ahm | 18.1K | 4.7% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | GMHBA | 18.1K | 4.7% | 7 |
| Nov 2025 | Australian Unity | 8.1K | 2.1% | 8 |
| Nov 2025 | Frank | 8.1K | 2.1% | 9 |
| Dec 2025 | Medibank | 110K | 32.8% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | nib | 61.6K | 18.4% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | HBF | 57.6K | 17.2% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Bupa | 33.1K | 9.9% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | HCF | 27.1K | 8.1% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | GMHBA | 18.1K | 5.4% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | ahm | 14.8K | 4.4% | 7 |
| Dec 2025 | Australian Unity | 6.6K | 2% | 8 |
| Dec 2025 | Frank | 6.6K | 2% | 9 |
| Jan 2026 | Medibank | 135K | 34.7% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | nib | 64.3K | 16.5% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | HBF | 59.4K | 15.3% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Bupa | 40.5K | 10.4% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | HCF | 33.1K | 8.5% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | ahm | 22.2K | 5.7% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | GMHBA | 18.1K | 4.7% | 7 |
| Jan 2026 | Australian Unity | 8.1K | 2.1% | 8 |
| Jan 2026 | Frank | 8.1K | 2.1% | 9 |
| Feb 2026 | Medibank | 135K | 31.2% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | nib | 78.6K | 18.2% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | HBF | 72.6K | 16.8% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Bupa | 40.5K | 9.4% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | HCF | 40.5K | 9.4% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | ahm | 27.1K | 6.3% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | GMHBA | 22.2K | 5.1% | 7 |
| Feb 2026 | Australian Unity | 8.1K | 1.9% | 8 |
| Feb 2026 | Frank | 8.1K | 1.9% | 9 |
| Mar 2026 | Medibank | 165K | 27.6% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | nib | 101K | 16.9% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | HBF | 96.2K | 16.1% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Bupa | 74K | 12.4% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | HCF | 60.5K | 10.1% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | ahm | 40.5K | 6.8% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | GMHBA | 33.1K | 5.5% | 7 |
| Mar 2026 | Frank | 14.8K | 2.5% | 8 |
| Mar 2026 | Australian Unity | 12.1K | 2% | 9 |
| Apr 2026 | Medibank | 135K | 30.6% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | HBF | 75.3K | 17.1% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | nib | 75.3K | 17.1% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Bupa | 49.5K | 11.2% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | HCF | 40.5K | 9.2% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | ahm | 27.1K | 6.1% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | GMHBA | 22.2K | 5% | 7 |
| Apr 2026 | Australian Unity | 8.1K | 1.8% | 8 |
| Apr 2026 | Frank | 8.1K | 1.8% | 9 |
| May 2026 | Medibank | 135K | 32.7% | 1 |
| May 2026 | nib | 78.6K | 19% | 2 |
| May 2026 | HBF | 72.6K | 17.6% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Bupa | 40.5K | 9.8% | 4 |
| May 2026 | ahm | 27.1K | 6.6% | 5 |
| May 2026 | GMHBA | 22.2K | 5.4% | 6 |
| May 2026 | HCF | 22.2K | 5.4% | 7 |
| May 2026 | Frank | 8.1K | 2% | 8 |
| May 2026 | Australian Unity | 6.6K | 1.6% | 9 |
| Jun 2026 | Medibank | 135K | 32.7% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | nib | 78.6K | 19.1% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | HBF | 70.4K | 17.1% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Bupa | 40.5K | 9.8% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | ahm | 27.1K | 6.6% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | GMHBA | 22.2K | 5.4% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | HCF | 22.2K | 5.4% | 7 |
| Jun 2026 | Frank | 9.9K | 2.4% | 8 |
| Jun 2026 | Australian Unity | 6.6K | 1.6% | 9 |
| Jul 2026 | Medibank | 135K | 32% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | HBF | 82.1K | 19.4% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | nib | 78.6K | 18.6% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Bupa | 40.5K | 9.6% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | ahm | 27.1K | 6.4% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | GMHBA | 22.2K | 5.3% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | HCF | 22.2K | 5.3% | 7 |
| Jul 2026 | Frank | 8.1K | 1.9% | 8 |
| Jul 2026 | Australian Unity | 6.6K | 1.6% | 9 |
| Aug 2026 | Medibank | 135K | 32.8% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | nib | 78.6K | 19.1% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | HBF | 70.4K | 17.1% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Bupa | 40.5K | 9.8% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | ahm | 27.1K | 6.6% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | GMHBA | 22.2K | 5.4% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | HCF | 22.2K | 5.4% | 7 |
| Aug 2026 | Australian Unity | 8.1K | 2% | 8 |
| Aug 2026 | Frank | 8.1K | 2% | 9 |
| Sep 2026 | Medibank | 110K | 30.5% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | nib | 64.3K | 17.8% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | HBF | 61.6K | 17.1% | 3 |
| Sep 2026 | Bupa | 40.5K | 11.2% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | ahm | 27.1K | 7.5% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | HCF | 22.2K | 6.2% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | GMHBA | 18.1K | 5% | 7 |
| Sep 2026 | Australian Unity | 9.9K | 2.7% | 8 |
| Sep 2026 | Frank | 6.6K | 1.8% | 9 |

## What is being compared

- **ahm**: Measured on the search term “ahm health insurance”.
- **Australian Unity**: Measured on the search term “australian unity health insurance”.
- **Bupa**: Measured on the search term “bupa health insurance”.
- **Frank**: Measured on the search term “frank health insurance”.
- **GMHBA**: Measured on the search term “gmhba”.
- **HBF**: Measured on the search terms “hbf” and “hbf health insurance”, summed into one figure.
- **HCF**: Measured on the search term “hcf health insurance”.
- **Medibank**: Measured on the search term “medibank”.
- **nib**: Measured on the search terms “nib” and “nib health insurance”, summed into one figure.

- [ahm](/demand/au/brands/ahm)
- [Australian Unity](/demand/au/brands/australian-unity)
- [Bupa](/demand/au/brands/bupa)
- [Frank](/demand/au/brands/frank-health-insurance)
- [GMHBA](/demand/au/brands/gmhba)
- [HBF](/demand/au/brands/hbf)
- [HCF](/demand/au/brands/hcf)
- [Medibank](/demand/au/brands/medibank)
- [nib](/demand/au/brands/nib)

## 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 health insurance funds in Australia?

In September 2026, Medibank was the most searched among health insurance funds in Australia, with an estimated 110K branded searches, 30.5% of all searches for the nine we track.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Health insurance funds in Australia: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/au/categories/au-health-insurance-funds

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