---
title: "University application platforms: Which brands are most popular in search?"
description: "Compare the platforms students apply to universities through. Share of Search among Common App, UCAS, ApplyBoard, Studyportals and Coalition, the university application platforms 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/university-application-platforms"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# University application platforms: Which brands are most popular in search?

Compare the platforms students apply to universities through. Share of Search among Common App, UCAS, ApplyBoard, Studyportals and Coalition, the university application platforms 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**: University application platforms
- **Market**: Global
- **Brands compared**: 5
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Common App, 54.1%

## Which brand is most popular in search among university application platforms worldwide?

- In August 2026, Common App was the most searched among university application platforms worldwide, with an estimated 1.8M branded searches and 54.1% estimated Share of Search within this set.
- UCAS is in 2nd place, 9.8 percentage points behind at 44.3% Share of Search.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Common App’s estimated Share of Search among university application platforms worldwide decreased from 76.2% to 54.1%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, UCAS’s estimated Share of Search among university application platforms worldwide increased from 22.7% to 44.3%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Common App’s estimated Share of Search among university application platforms worldwide peaked at 76.2% in October 2025 and was lowest at 33.9% in June 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, UCAS’s estimated Share of Search among university application platforms worldwide peaked at 62% in June 2026 and was lowest at 22.7% in October 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, ApplyBoard’s estimated Share of Search among university application platforms worldwide peaked at 2.3% in April 2026 and was lowest at 0.62% in October 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Studyportals’ estimated Share of Search among university application platforms worldwide peaked at 2.1% in July 2026 and was lowest at 0.5% in October 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, ApplyBoard, Studyportals and Coalition held steady: their estimated Share of Search among university application platforms worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [Common App vs UCAS: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/common-app-vs-ucas): 54.1% against 44.3% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for university application platforms worldwide in August 2026?

- In August 2026, Common App overtook UCAS to take the highest estimated Share of Search among university application platforms worldwide, at 54.1%.
- In August 2026, UCAS lost estimated Share of Search among university application platforms worldwide, from 52.7% to 44.3%.
- In August 2026, ApplyBoard lost estimated Share of Search among university application platforms worldwide, from 2.1% to 0.8%.
- In August 2026, Studyportals lost estimated Share of Search among university application platforms worldwide, from 2.1% to 0.8%.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Common App | 54.1% | 1.8M | +232.7% | Common App |
| 2 | UCAS | 44.3% | 1.5M | +122.9% | UCAS |
| 3 | ApplyBoard | 0.8% | 27.1K | 0.0% | ApplyBoard |
| 4 | Studyportals | 0.8% | 27.1K | 0.0% | Studyportals |
| — | Coalition | — | — | — | Coalition |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Common App | 4.1M | 76.2% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | UCAS | 1.2M | 22.7% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | ApplyBoard | 33.1K | 0.62% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Studyportals | 27.1K | 0.5% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| Nov 2025 | Common App | 1.8M | 54.2% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | UCAS | 1.5M | 44.4% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | ApplyBoard | 27.1K | 0.8% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Studyportals | 22.2K | 0.66% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| Dec 2025 | Common App | 1.5M | 49.2% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | UCAS | 1.5M | 49.2% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | ApplyBoard | 27.1K | 0.89% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Studyportals | 22.2K | 0.73% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| Jan 2026 | UCAS | 1.5M | 54.1% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Common App | 1.2M | 44% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | ApplyBoard | 27.1K | 0.98% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Studyportals | 27.1K | 0.98% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| Feb 2026 | UCAS | 823K | 53.3% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Common App | 673K | 43.6% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | ApplyBoard | 27.1K | 1.8% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Studyportals | 22.2K | 1.4% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| Mar 2026 | UCAS | 823K | 57.9% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Common App | 550K | 38.7% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | ApplyBoard | 27.1K | 1.9% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Studyportals | 22.2K | 1.6% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| Apr 2026 | UCAS | 673K | 57.4% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Common App | 450K | 38.4% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | ApplyBoard | 27.1K | 2.3% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Studyportals | 22.2K | 1.9% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| May 2026 | UCAS | 673K | 57.4% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Common App | 450K | 38.4% | 2 |
| May 2026 | ApplyBoard | 27.1K | 2.3% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Studyportals | 22.2K | 1.9% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| Jun 2026 | UCAS | 823K | 62% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Common App | 450K | 33.9% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | ApplyBoard | 27.1K | 2% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Studyportals | 27.1K | 2% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| Jul 2026 | UCAS | 673K | 52.7% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Common App | 550K | 43.1% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | ApplyBoard | 27.1K | 2.1% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Studyportals | 27.1K | 2.1% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| Aug 2026 | Common App | 1.8M | 54.1% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | UCAS | 1.5M | 44.3% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | ApplyBoard | 27.1K | 0.8% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Studyportals | 27.1K | 0.8% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | ApplyBoard | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Coalition | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Common App | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Studyportals | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | UCAS | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **ApplyBoard**: Measured on the search term “applyboard”.
- **Coalition**: Measured on the search term “coalition college”.
- **Common App**: Measured on the search term “common app”.
- **Studyportals**: Measured on the search term “studyportals”.
- **UCAS**: Measured on the search term “ucas”.

- [ApplyBoard](/demand/global-en/brands/applyboard)
- [Coalition](/demand/global-en/brands/coalition)
- [Common App](/demand/global-en/brands/common-app)
- [Studyportals](/demand/global-en/brands/studyportals)
- [UCAS](/demand/global-en/brands/ucas)

## 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 university application platforms worldwide?

In August 2026, Common App was the most searched among university application platforms worldwide, with an estimated 1.8M branded searches and 54.1% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "University application platforms: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/university-application-platforms

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