---
title: "Car marketplaces: Which are searched most?"
description: "Compare the sites people buy and sell cars on. Share of Search among CarGurus, CarMax, Carvana, Cars.com and AutoTrader NZ, the car marketplaces Brandwave compares worldwide, 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/global-en/categories/car-marketplaces"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Car marketplaces: Which are searched most?

Compare the sites people buy and sell cars on. Share of Search among CarGurus, CarMax, Carvana, Cars.com and AutoTrader NZ, the car marketplaces Brandwave compares worldwide, 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**: Global
- **Brands compared**: 5
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: CarGurus, 32.1%

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

- CarGurus, CarMax and Carvana share the highest estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide, at 32.1% in August 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, CarGurus’ estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide decreased from 34% to 32.1%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, CarMax’s estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide decreased from 34% to 32.1%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Carvana’s estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide increased from 27.8% to 32.1%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, CarGurus’ estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide peaked at 34% in February 2026 and was lowest at 27.9% in July 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, CarMax’s estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide peaked at 36.2% in June 2026 and was lowest at 31.8% in December 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Carvana’s estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide peaked at 34% in July 2026 and was lowest at 27.8% in October 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Cars.com and AutoTrader NZ held steady: their estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [CarGurus vs CarMax: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/cargurus-vs-carmax): 32.1% Share of Search each.
- [CarGurus vs Carvana: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/cargurus-vs-carvana): 32.1% Share of Search each.
- [CarGurus vs Cars.com: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/cargurus-vs-cars-com): 32.1% against 3.5% Share of Search.
- [CarMax vs Carvana: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/carmax-vs-carvana): 32.1% Share of Search each.
- [CarMax vs Cars.com: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/carmax-vs-cars-com): 32.1% against 3.5% Share of Search.
- [Carvana vs Cars.com: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/cars-com-vs-carvana): 32.1% against 3.5% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for car marketplaces worldwide in August 2026?

- In August 2026, CarGurus overtook CarMax to take the highest estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide, at 32.1%.
- In August 2026, CarMax lost estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide, from 34% to 32.1%.
- In August 2026, Carvana lost estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide, from 34% to 32.1%.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for AutoTrader NZ worldwide fell 33.2% over 11 measured months, from 54.2K to 36.2K in August 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | CarGurus | 32.1% | 4.1M | +22.1% | CarGurus |
| 2 | CarMax | 32.1% | 4.1M | 0.0% | CarMax |
| 3 | Carvana | 32.1% | 4.1M | 0.0% | Carvana |
| 4 | Cars.com | 3.5% | 450K | 0.0% | Cars.com |
| 5 | AutoTrader NZ | 0.28% | 36.2K | 0.0% | AutoTrader NZ |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | CarGurus | 4.1M | 34% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | CarMax | 4.1M | 34% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Carvana | 3.4M | 27.8% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Cars.com | 450K | 3.7% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | AutoTrader NZ | 54.2K | 0.45% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | CarGurus | 3.4M | 32% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | CarMax | 3.4M | 32% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Carvana | 3.4M | 32% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Cars.com | 368K | 3.5% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | AutoTrader NZ | 44.4K | 0.42% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | CarGurus | 3.4M | 31.8% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | CarMax | 3.4M | 31.8% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Carvana | 3.4M | 31.8% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Cars.com | 450K | 4.3% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | AutoTrader NZ | 44.4K | 0.42% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | CarGurus | 4.1M | 34% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | CarMax | 4.1M | 34% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Carvana | 3.4M | 27.8% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Cars.com | 450K | 3.7% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | AutoTrader NZ | 54.2K | 0.45% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | CarGurus | 4.1M | 34% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | CarMax | 4.1M | 34% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Carvana | 3.4M | 27.9% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Cars.com | 450K | 3.7% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | AutoTrader NZ | 44.4K | 0.37% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | CarGurus | 4.1M | 32% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | CarMax | 4.1M | 32% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Carvana | 4.1M | 32% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Cars.com | 450K | 3.5% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | AutoTrader NZ | 44.4K | 0.35% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | CarGurus | 4.1M | 32% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | CarMax | 4.1M | 32% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Carvana | 4.1M | 32% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Cars.com | 450K | 3.5% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | AutoTrader NZ | 44.4K | 0.35% | 5 |
| May 2026 | CarGurus | 4.1M | 32% | 1 |
| May 2026 | CarMax | 4.1M | 32% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Carvana | 4.1M | 32% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Cars.com | 450K | 3.5% | 4 |
| May 2026 | AutoTrader NZ | 44.4K | 0.35% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | CarMax | 4.1M | 36.2% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | CarGurus | 3.4M | 29.7% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Carvana | 3.4M | 29.7% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Cars.com | 450K | 4% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | AutoTrader NZ | 44.4K | 0.39% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | CarMax | 4.1M | 34% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Carvana | 4.1M | 34% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | CarGurus | 3.4M | 27.9% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Cars.com | 450K | 3.7% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | AutoTrader NZ | 36.2K | 0.3% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | CarGurus | 4.1M | 32.1% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | CarMax | 4.1M | 32.1% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Carvana | 4.1M | 32.1% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Cars.com | 450K | 3.5% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | AutoTrader NZ | 36.2K | 0.28% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | AutoTrader NZ | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | CarGurus | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | CarMax | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Cars.com | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Carvana | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **AutoTrader NZ**: Measured on the search terms “autotrader nz” and “autotradernz”, summed into one figure.
- **CarGurus**: Measured on the search term “cargurus”.
- **CarMax**: Measured on the search term “carmax”.
- **Cars.com**: Measured on the search term “cars.com”.
- **Carvana**: Measured on the search term “carvana”.

- [AutoTrader NZ](/demand/global-en/brands/autotrader-nz)
- [CarGurus](/demand/global-en/brands/cargurus)
- [CarMax](/demand/global-en/brands/carmax)
- [Cars.com](/demand/global-en/brands/cars-com)
- [Carvana](/demand/global-en/brands/carvana)

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand 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 worldwide?

CarGurus, CarMax and Carvana share the highest estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces worldwide, at 32.1% in August 2026. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Car marketplaces: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/car-marketplaces

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