--- title: "StackAdapt vs The Trade Desk: Which is searched more?" description: "Is StackAdapt or The Trade Desk more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Digital ad buying platforms set worldwide. 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/digital-ad-buying-platforms/compare/stackadapt-vs-the-trade-desk" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # StackAdapt vs The Trade Desk: Which is searched more? Is StackAdapt or The Trade Desk more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Digital ad buying platforms set worldwide. 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**: StackAdapt and The Trade Desk - **Competitive set**: Digital ad buying platforms - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **StackAdapt Share of Search**: 19.6% - **The Trade Desk Share of Search**: 44.2% ## Is StackAdapt or The Trade Desk more popular in search? - In September 2026, The Trade Desk had more branded searches than StackAdapt among digital ad buying platforms worldwide. The Trade Desk had about 50,500 branded searches, while StackAdapt had 22,400. The Trade Desk made up 44.2% of all digital ad buying platform searches we track, and StackAdapt accounted for 19.6%. - The Trade Desk was ahead of StackAdapt in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, StackAdapt’s share of searches among digital ad buying platforms worldwide moved from 14.2% to 19.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 22.4K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, The Trade Desk’s share of searches among digital ad buying platforms worldwide moved from 38.6% to 44.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 61.1K to 50.5K. ## Top digital ad buying platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, The Trade Desk appeared in all five answers. StackAdapt was mentioned in three out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. The Trade Desk was listed before StackAdapt 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Display & Video 360 | 1st | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | The Trade Desk | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Amazon DSP | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | StackAdapt | 4th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Basis Technologies | 5th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Quantcast | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | AdRoll | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about digital ad buying platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which digital ad buying platform should I use?": 1. The Trade Desk - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best digital ad buying platforms?": 1. Amazon DSP, 2. Display & Video 360, 3. The Trade Desk, 4. StackAdapt - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best digital ad buying platform for programmatic campaigns?": 1. The Trade Desk, 2. Display & Video 360, 3. StackAdapt, 4. Basis Technologies, 5. Amazon DSP - Searched Google, AI Overview "programmatic buying platform": 1. Display & Video 360, 2. The Trade Desk, 3. Basis Technologies - Searched Google, AI Overview "programmatic ad platform": 1. Display & Video 360, 2. The Trade Desk, 3. Amazon DSP, 4. StackAdapt, 5. Basis Technologies Not named in any answer: Quantcast and AdRoll. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 20, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for digital ad buying platforms worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, StackAdapt gained share of searches among digital ad buying platforms worldwide, from 17.9% to 19.6%. - In September 2026, The Trade Desk lost share of searches among digital ad buying platforms worldwide, from 49.3% to 44.2%. ## Month by month | Month | StackAdapt estimated searches | StackAdapt Share of Search | StackAdapt rank | The Trade Desk estimated searches | The Trade Desk Share of Search | The Trade Desk rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 22.4K | 14.2% | 3 | 61.1K | 38.6% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 18.4K | 15.2% | 3 | 50K | 41.4% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 15K | 14.3% | 3 | 41.2K | 39.2% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 22.5K | 16.6% | 3 | 61.2K | 45.2% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 18.4K | 14.6% | 3 | 61.5K | 48.9% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 22.5K | 14.9% | 3 | 75.6K | 50.3% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 22.5K | 18.1% | 3 | 51.4K | 41.2% | 1 | | May 2026 | 22.6K | 18.3% | 3 | 52.4K | 42.4% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 22.4K | 18.2% | 3 | 52.4K | 42.5% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 18.3K | 17.7% | 3 | 43.4K | 42.1% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 22.4K | 17.9% | 3 | 61.8K | 49.3% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 22.4K | 19.6% | 3 | 50.5K | 44.2% | 1 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using StackAdapt’s and The Trade Desk’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. - **StackAdapt**: Measured on the search terms “stackadapt”, “stackadapt dsp” and “stackadapt programmatic advertising”, summed into one figure. - **The Trade Desk**: Measured on the search terms “the trade desk” and “the trade desk dsp”, summed into one figure. - [StackAdapt profile](/demand/global-en/brands/stackadapt) - [The Trade Desk profile](/demand/global-en/brands/the-trade-desk) - [All digital ad buying platforms worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/digital-ad-buying-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 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 StackAdapt or The Trade Desk more popular in search? In September 2026, The Trade Desk had more branded searches than StackAdapt among digital ad buying platforms worldwide. The Trade Desk had about 50,500 branded searches, while StackAdapt had 22,400. The Trade Desk made up 44.2% of all digital ad buying platform searches we track, and StackAdapt accounted for 19.6%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "StackAdapt vs The Trade Desk: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/digital-ad-buying-platforms/compare/stackadapt-vs-the-trade-desk This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/digital-ad-buying-platforms/compare/stackadapt-vs-the-trade-desk. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.