--- title: "External drive brands: Which brands are most popular in search?" description: "Compare the external drive brands people search for. Share of Search among SanDisk, Samsung, Seagate, Western Digital, LaCie and Crucial, the external drive brands 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/external-drive-brands" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # External drive brands: Which brands are most popular in search? Compare the external drive brands people search for. Share of Search among SanDisk, Samsung, Seagate, Western Digital, LaCie and Crucial, the external drive brands 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**: External drive brands - **Market**: Global - **Brands compared**: 6 - **Month measured**: Aug 2026 - **Highest Share of Search**: SanDisk, 45% ## 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. - 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. ## Compare search popularity between leading brands - [SanDisk vs Samsung: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/samsung-vs-sandisk): 45% against 28.2% Share of Search. - [SanDisk vs Seagate: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/sandisk-vs-seagate): 45% against 13.4% Share of Search. - [SanDisk vs Western Digital: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/sandisk-vs-western-digital): 45% against 11% Share of Search. - [Samsung vs Seagate: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/samsung-vs-seagate): 28.2% against 13.4% Share of Search. - [Samsung vs Western Digital: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/samsung-vs-western-digital): 28.2% against 11% Share of Search. - [Seagate vs Western Digital: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/seagate-vs-western-digital): 13.4% against 11% Share of Search. ## How did search popularity change for external drive brands worldwide in August 2026? - In August 2026, Samsung gained estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide, from 26.5% to 28.2%. - In August 2026, Western Digital gained estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide, from 9.5% to 11%. - In August 2026, SanDisk lost estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide, from 47.4% to 45%. - In August 2026, Seagate lost estimated Share of Search among external drive brands worldwide, from 14.2% to 13.4%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for LaCie worldwide fell 18.1% over 11 measured months, from 27.1K to 22.2K in August 2026. ## Share of Search ranking | Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | SanDisk | 45% | 673K | 0.0% | SanDisk | | 2 | Samsung | 28.2% | 422K | +12.0% | Samsung | | 3 | Seagate | 13.4% | 201K | 0.0% | Seagate | | 4 | Western Digital | 11% | 165K | +22.2% | Western Digital | | 5 | LaCie | 1.5% | 22.2K | 0.0% | LaCie | | 6 | Crucial | 0.81% | 12.1K | 0.0% | Crucial | ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | Samsung | 452K | 36.9% | 1 | | Oct 2025 | SanDisk | 368K | 30% | 2 | | Oct 2025 | Seagate | 201K | 16.4% | 3 | | Oct 2025 | Western Digital | 165K | 13.5% | 4 | | Oct 2025 | LaCie | 27.1K | 2.2% | 5 | | Oct 2025 | Crucial | 12.1K | 0.99% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | SanDisk | 450K | 35.7% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | Samsung | 431K | 34.1% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | Seagate | 165K | 13.1% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | Western Digital | 165K | 13.1% | 4 | | Nov 2025 | LaCie | 33.1K | 2.6% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | Crucial | 18.1K | 1.4% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | Samsung | 397K | 31.6% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | SanDisk | 368K | 29.3% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | Seagate | 165K | 13.1% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | Western Digital | 165K | 13.1% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | Crucial | 135K | 10.7% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | LaCie | 27.1K | 2.2% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | SanDisk | 673K | 43.8% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | Samsung | 397K | 25.8% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | Seagate | 201K | 13.1% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | Western Digital | 201K | 13.1% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | Crucial | 33.1K | 2.2% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | LaCie | 33.1K | 2.2% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | SanDisk | 550K | 39.7% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | Samsung | 377K | 27.1% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | Western Digital | 246K | 17.7% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | Seagate | 165K | 11.9% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | LaCie | 27.1K | 2% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | Crucial | 22.2K | 1.6% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | SanDisk | 450K | 37.3% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | Samsung | 377K | 31.2% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | Seagate | 165K | 13.7% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | Western Digital | 165K | 13.7% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | LaCie | 33.1K | 2.7% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | Crucial | 18.1K | 1.5% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | SanDisk | 550K | 43.2% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | Samsung | 352K | 27.6% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | Seagate | 165K | 13% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | Western Digital | 165K | 13% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | LaCie | 27.1K | 2.1% | 5 | | Apr 2026 | Crucial | 14.8K | 1.2% | 6 | | May 2026 | SanDisk | 823K | 52.1% | 1 | | May 2026 | Samsung | 352K | 22.3% | 2 | | May 2026 | Seagate | 201K | 12.7% | 3 | | May 2026 | Western Digital | 165K | 10.4% | 4 | | May 2026 | LaCie | 27.1K | 1.7% | 5 | | May 2026 | Crucial | 12.1K | 0.77% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | SanDisk | 673K | 47.2% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | Samsung | 352K | 24.7% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | Seagate | 201K | 14.1% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | Western Digital | 165K | 11.6% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | LaCie | 22.2K | 1.6% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | Crucial | 12.1K | 0.85% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | SanDisk | 673K | 47.4% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | Samsung | 377K | 26.5% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | Seagate | 201K | 14.2% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | Western Digital | 135K | 9.5% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | LaCie | 22.2K | 1.6% | 5 | | Jul 2026 | Crucial | 12.1K | 0.85% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | SanDisk | 673K | 45% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | Samsung | 422K | 28.2% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | Seagate | 201K | 13.4% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | Western Digital | 165K | 11% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | LaCie | 22.2K | 1.5% | 5 | | Aug 2026 | Crucial | 12.1K | 0.81% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | Crucial | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | LaCie | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | Samsung | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | SanDisk | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | Seagate | — | — | — | | Sep 2026 | Western Digital | — | — | — | ## What is being compared - **Crucial**: Measured on the search term “crucial ram”. - **LaCie**: Measured on the search term “lacie”. - **Samsung**: Measured on the search terms “samsung com”, “samsung washer” and “samsung washing machine”, summed into one figure. - **SanDisk**: Measured on the search term “sandisk”. - **Seagate**: Measured on the search term “seagate”. - **Western Digital**: Measured on the search term “western digital”. - [Crucial](/demand/global-en/brands/crucial) - [LaCie](/demand/global-en/brands/lacie) - [Samsung](/demand/global-en/brands/samsung) - [SanDisk](/demand/global-en/brands/sandisk) - [Seagate](/demand/global-en/brands/seagate) - [Western Digital](/demand/global-en/brands/western-digital) ## 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 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. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "External drive brands: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/external-drive-brands This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/external-drive-brands. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.