Brandwave

External drive brands:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, SanDisk was the most searched among external drive brands worldwide, with an estimated 673K branded searches and 45% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. SanDisk45%
  2. Samsung28.2%
  3. Seagate13.4%
  4. Western Digital11%
  5. LaCie1.5%
  6. Crucial0.81%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare the external drive brands people search for. 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 external drive brands worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for SanDisk, Samsung, Seagate, Western Digital. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthSanDiskSamsungSeagateWestern DigitalLaCieCrucial
Oct 202530%36.9%16.4%13.5%2.2%0.99%
Nov 202535.7%34.1%13.1%13.1%2.6%1.4%
Dec 202529.3%31.6%13.1%13.1%2.2%10.7%
Jan 202643.8%25.8%13.1%13.1%2.2%2.2%
Feb 202639.7%27.1%11.9%17.7%2%1.6%
Mar 202637.3%31.2%13.7%13.7%2.7%1.5%
Apr 202643.2%27.6%13%13%2.1%1.2%
May 202652.1%22.3%12.7%10.4%1.7%0.77%
Jun 202647.2%24.7%14.1%11.6%1.6%0.85%
Jul 202647.4%26.5%14.2%9.5%1.6%0.85%
Aug 202645%28.2%13.4%11%1.5%0.81%
Sep 2026——————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.SanDisk

    45%

    Held 1st. 673K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -2.4 points.

  2. 2.Samsung

    28.2%

    Held 2nd. 422K estimated branded searches, +12% vs prior month. Share +1.7 points.

  3. 3.Seagate

    13.4%

    Held 3rd. 201K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -0.7 points.

  4. 4.Western Digital

    11%

    Held 4th. 165K estimated branded searches, +22.2% vs prior month. Share +1.5 points.

  5. 5.LaCie

    1.5%

    Held 5th. 22.2K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -0.1 points.

  6. 6.Crucial

    0.81%

    Held 6th. 12.1K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among external drive brands worldwide?

In August 2026, SanDisk was the most searched among external drive brands worldwide, with an estimated 673K branded searches and 45% estimated Share of Search within this set. Samsung is in 2nd place, 16.8 percentage points behind at 28.2% Share of Search.

Global external drive brands, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
SanDisk30% → 45%52.1%May 202629.3%Dec 20252nd → 1st
Samsung36.9% → 28.2%36.9%Oct 202522.3%May 20261st → 2nd
Seagate16.4% → 13.4%16.4%Oct 202511.9%Feb 20263rd
Western Digital13.5% → 11%17.7%Feb 20269.5%Jul 20264th
LaCie2.2% → 1.5%2.7%Mar 20261.5%Aug 20265th
Crucial0.99% → 0.81%10.7%Dec 20250.77%May 20266th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, SanDisk’s estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide increased from 30% to 45%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Samsung’s estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide decreased from 36.9% to 28.2%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Seagate’s estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide decreased from 16.4% to 13.4%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Western Digital’s estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide decreased from 13.5% to 11%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, LaCie’s estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide decreased from 2.2% to 1.5%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, SanDisk’s estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide peaked at 52.1% in May 2026 and was lowest at 29.3% in December 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Samsung’s estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide peaked at 36.9% in October 2025 and was lowest at 22.3% in May 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Seagate’s estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide peaked at 16.4% in October 2025 and was lowest at 11.9% in February 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Western Digital’s estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide peaked at 17.7% in February 2026 and was lowest at 9.5% in July 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, LaCie’s estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide peaked at 2.7% in March 2026 and was lowest at 1.5% in August 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Crucial’s estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide peaked at 10.7% in December 2025 and was lowest at 0.77% in May 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, SanDisk rose from 2nd to 1st among external drive brands worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Samsung fell from 1st to 2nd among external drive brands worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Crucial held steady: its estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for external drive brands worldwide in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, Samsung gained estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide, from 26.5% to 28.2%.

  2. In August 2026, Western Digital gained estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide, from 9.5% to 11%.

  3. In August 2026, SanDisk lost estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide, from 47.4% to 45%.

  4. In August 2026, Seagate lost estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide, from 14.2% to 13.4%.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for LaCie worldwide fell 18.1% over 11 measured months, from 27.1K to 22.2K in August 2026.

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