Brandwave

Customer community platforms:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, Circle was the most searched among customer community platforms worldwide, with an estimated 14.4K branded searches and 62.1% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. Circle62.1%
  2. Discourse12.5%
  3. Khoros12.5%
  4. Higher Logic10.3%
  5. Vanilla Forums2.5%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare the platforms brands host customer communities on. 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.

Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for Circle, Discourse, Khoros, Higher Logic, Vanilla Forums. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthCircleDiscourseKhorosHigher LogicVanilla Forums
Oct 202555.7%8.1%22.1%9.7%4.4%
Nov 202559.5%9.3%17%9.3%5%
Dec 202556.5%10.8%19.7%8.5%4.5%
Jan 202662.3%10.2%15.5%8.5%3.5%
Feb 202657.2%12.9%15.8%10.4%3.6%
Mar 202659.4%10.5%15.9%10.5%3.6%
Apr 202660.7%11.1%13.8%11.1%3.4%
May 202660.8%11.8%14.7%9.8%2.9%
Jun 202662%10%15%10%3%
Jul 202661.1%10.4%15.6%10.4%2.6%
Aug 202662.1%12.5%12.5%10.3%2.5%
Sep 2026—————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.Circle

    62.1%

    Held 1st. 14.4K estimated branded searches, +2.1% vs prior month. Share +1 points.

  2. 2.Discourse

    12.5%

    Moved from 3rd to 2nd. 2.9K estimated branded searches, +20.8% vs prior month. Share +2.1 points.

  3. 3.Khoros

    12.5%

    Moved from 2nd to 3rd. 2.9K estimated branded searches, -19.4% vs prior month. Share -3.1 points.

  4. 4.Higher Logic

    10.3%

    Held 4th. 2.4K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  5. 5.Vanilla Forums

    2.5%

    Held 5th. 590 estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among customer community platforms worldwide?

In August 2026, Circle was the most searched among customer community platforms worldwide, with an estimated 14.4K branded searches and 62.1% estimated Share of Search within this set. Discourse is in 2nd place, 49.6 percentage points behind at 12.5% Share of Search.

Global customer community platforms, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
Circle55.7% → 62.1%62.3%Jan 202655.7%Oct 20251st
Discourse8.1% → 12.5%12.9%Feb 20268.1%Oct 20254th → 2nd
Khoros22.1% → 12.5%22.1%Oct 202512.5%Aug 20262nd → 3rd
Higher Logic9.7% → 10.3%11.1%Apr 20268.5%Jan 20263rd → 4th
Vanilla Forums4.4% → 2.5%5%Nov 20252.5%Aug 20265th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Circle’s estimated Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide increased from 55.7% to 62.1%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Discourse’s estimated Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide increased from 8.1% to 12.5%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Khoros’ estimated Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide decreased from 22.1% to 12.5%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Higher Logic’s estimated Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide increased from 9.7% to 10.3%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Vanilla Forums’ estimated Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide decreased from 4.4% to 2.5%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Circle’s estimated Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide peaked at 62.3% in January 2026 and was lowest at 55.7% in October 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Discourse’s estimated Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide peaked at 12.9% in February 2026 and was lowest at 8.1% in October 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Higher Logic’s estimated Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide peaked at 11.1% in April 2026 and was lowest at 8.5% in January 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Vanilla Forums’ estimated Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide peaked at 5% in November 2025 and was lowest at 2.5% in August 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Discourse rose from 4th to 2nd among customer community platforms worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Khoros fell from 2nd to 3rd among customer community platforms worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Higher Logic fell from 3rd to 4th among customer community platforms worldwide.

How did search popularity change for customer community platforms worldwide in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, Discourse overtook Khoros to rank 2nd among customer community platforms worldwide, at 12.5%.

  2. In August 2026, Circle gained estimated Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide, from 61.1% to 62.1%.

  3. In August 2026, Khoros lost estimated Share of Search among customer community platforms worldwide, from 15.6% to 12.5%.

  4. Estimated monthly branded searches for Vanilla Forums worldwide fell 54.6% over 11 measured months, from 1.3K to 590 in August 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Higher Logic worldwide fell 17.2% over 11 measured months, from 2.9K to 2.4K in August 2026.

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