--- title: "Optus vs Telstra: Which is searched more in Australia?" description: "Is Optus or Telstra more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Mobile providers set in Australia. 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-mobile-providers/compare/optus-vs-telstra" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Optus vs Telstra: Which is searched more in Australia? Is Optus or Telstra more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Mobile providers set in Australia. 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 - **Compared**: Optus and Telstra - **Competitive set**: Mobile providers - **Market**: Australia - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Optus Share of Search**: 3.2% - **Telstra Share of Search**: 5.5% ## Is Optus or Telstra more popular in search? - In September 2026, Telstra had more branded searches than Optus among mobile providers in Australia. Telstra had about 30,700 branded searches, while Optus had 17,700. Telstra made up 5.5% of all mobile provider searches we track, and Optus accounted for 3.2%. - Telstra was ahead of Optus in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Optus’ share of searches among mobile providers in Australia moved from 2.7% to 3.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 15K to 17.7K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Telstra’s share of searches among mobile providers in Australia moved from 5.7% to 5.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 31.5K to 30.7K. ## Top mobile providers in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Telstra was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Optus was mentioned in three out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Telstra was listed before Optus in every answer. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Telstra | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | amaysim | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Boost Mobile | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | ALDI Mobile | 4th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Vodafone | 5th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Optus | 6th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Belong | 7th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Felix | 8th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Kogan Mobile | 9th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Tangerine | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about mobile providers - Asked ChatGPT "Which mobile provider should I use in Australia?": 1. amaysim, 2. Telstra, 3. Boost Mobile, 4. Felix, 5. Optus - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best mobile providers in Australia?": 1. Telstra, 2. Optus, 3. Vodafone, 4. Boost Mobile, 5. ALDI Mobile, 6. Belong, 7. amaysim, 8. Kogan Mobile - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best prepaid phone plan in Australia for lots of data?": 1. Kogan Mobile, 2. Felix, 3. Boost Mobile, 4. Telstra - Searched Google, AI Overview "prepaid phone plans": 1. amaysim - Searched Google, AI Overview "sim only plans": 1. ALDI Mobile, 2. Belong, 3. amaysim, 4. Vodafone, 5. Telstra, 6. Optus Not named in any answer: Tangerine. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in Australia on October 22, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for Australia mobile providers in September 2026? - In September 2026, Vodafone overtook Telstra to rank 5th among mobile providers in Australia, with 7.2% of the searches. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Optus in Australia rose 18% over 12 measured months, from 15K to 17.7K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Optus estimated searches | Optus Share of Search | Optus rank | Telstra estimated searches | Telstra Share of Search | Telstra rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 15K | 2.7% | 9 | 31.5K | 5.7% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | 18.4K | 3% | 8 | 37.5K | 6.2% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | 17.7K | 3.1% | 9 | 30.7K | 5.5% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 17.7K | 3.1% | 9 | 31.5K | 5.5% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 17.7K | 3.4% | 9 | 31.5K | 6% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | 17.7K | 3.1% | 9 | 37.5K | 6.6% | 5 | | Apr 2026 | 17.7K | 3.2% | 9 | 30.7K | 5.5% | 5 | | May 2026 | 17.7K | 3.2% | 9 | 30.7K | 5.5% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | 17.7K | 3% | 9 | 30.7K | 5.2% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 17.7K | 3% | 9 | 31.5K | 5.4% | 5 | | Aug 2026 | 17.7K | 3.2% | 9 | 30K | 5.5% | 5 | | Sep 2026 | 17.7K | 3.2% | 9 | 30.7K | 5.5% | 6 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Optus’ and Telstra’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Optus**: Measured on the search terms “optus mobile” and “optus prepaid”, summed into one figure. - **Telstra**: Measured on the search terms “telstra mobile” and “telstra prepaid”, summed into one figure. - [Optus profile](/demand/au/brands/optus) - [Telstra profile](/demand/au/brands/telstra) - [All mobile providers in Australia](/demand/au/categories/au-mobile-providers): The set both shares are measured inside, 10 brands. ## 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 ### Is Optus or Telstra more popular in search? In September 2026, Telstra had more branded searches than Optus among mobile providers in Australia. Telstra had about 30,700 branded searches, while Optus had 17,700. Telstra made up 5.5% of all mobile provider searches we track, and Optus accounted for 3.2%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Optus vs Telstra: Which is searched more in Australia?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/au/categories/au-mobile-providers/compare/optus-vs-telstra This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/au/categories/au-mobile-providers/compare/optus-vs-telstra. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.