Brandwave

University online degrees:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, Coursera was the most searched among university online degrees worldwide, with an estimated 3.4M branded searches and 71.3% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. Coursera71.3%
  2. University of Phoenix11.7%
  3. edX7.8%
  4. Open University7.8%
  5. Udacity1.3%
  6. SNHU0.05%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare the university online degrees schools and universities use. 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 university online degrees worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for Coursera, University of Phoenix, edX, Open University. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthCourseraUniversity of PhoenixedXOpen UniversityUdacitySNHU
Oct 202570.8%9.5%9.5%7.8%2.3%0.05%
Nov 202568.2%9.2%11.2%9.2%2.2%0.05%
Dec 202572.7%8%9.8%6.5%2.9%0.06%
Jan 202671.1%9.6%9.6%7.8%1.9%0.08%
Feb 202669.6%9.4%11.4%7.6%1.9%0.06%
Mar 202667.9%11.2%11.2%7.5%2.2%0.06%
Apr 202670.5%11.6%7.7%7.7%2.3%0.09%
May 202670.8%11.6%7.8%7.8%1.9%0.06%
Jun 202672.1%11.8%7.9%6.5%1.6%0.05%
Jul 202670.1%11.5%7.7%9.4%1.3%0.05%
Aug 202671.3%11.7%7.8%7.8%1.3%0.05%
Sep 2026——————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.Coursera

    71.3%

    Held 1st. 3.4M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +1.2 points.

  2. 2.University of Phoenix

    11.7%

    Held 2nd. 550K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +0.2 points.

  3. 3.edX

    7.8%

    Moved from 4th to 3rd. 368K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +0.1 points.

  4. 4.Open University

    7.8%

    Moved from 3rd to 4th. 368K estimated branded searches, -18.2% vs prior month. Share -1.6 points.

  5. 5.Udacity

    1.3%

    Held 5th. 60.5K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  6. 6.SNHU

    0.05%

    Held 6th. 2.4K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among university online degrees worldwide?

In August 2026, Coursera was the most searched among university online degrees worldwide, with an estimated 3.4M branded searches and 71.3% estimated Share of Search within this set. University of Phoenix is in 2nd place, 59.6 percentage points behind at 11.7% Share of Search.

Global university online degrees, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
Coursera70.8% → 71.3%72.7%Dec 202567.9%Mar 20261st
University of Phoenix9.5% → 11.7%11.8%Jun 20268%Dec 20253rd → 2nd
edX9.5% → 7.8%11.4%Feb 20267.7%Jul 20262nd → 3rd
Open University7.8%9.4%Jul 20266.5%Jun 20264th
Udacity2.3% → 1.3%2.9%Dec 20251.3%Jul 20265th
SNHU0.05%0.09%Apr 20260.05%Nov 20256th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Coursera’s estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide increased from 70.8% to 71.3%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, University of Phoenix’s estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide increased from 9.5% to 11.7%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, edX’s estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide decreased from 9.5% to 7.8%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Udacity’s estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide decreased from 2.3% to 1.3%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Coursera’s estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide peaked at 72.7% in December 2025 and was lowest at 67.9% in March 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, University of Phoenix’s estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide peaked at 11.8% in June 2026 and was lowest at 8% in December 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, edX’s estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide peaked at 11.4% in February 2026 and was lowest at 7.7% in July 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Open University’s estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide peaked at 9.4% in July 2026 and was lowest at 6.5% in June 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Udacity’s estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide peaked at 2.9% in December 2025 and was lowest at 1.3% in July 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, University of Phoenix rose from 3rd to 2nd among university online degrees worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, edX fell from 2nd to 3rd among university online degrees worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Open University and SNHU held steady: their estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for university online degrees worldwide in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, Coursera gained estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide, from 70.1% to 71.3%.

  2. In August 2026, Open University lost estimated Share of Search among university online degrees worldwide, from 9.4% to 7.8%.

  3. In August 2026, edX rose from 4th to 3rd among university online degrees worldwide.

  4. Estimated monthly branded searches for Udacity worldwide fell 55.2% over 11 measured months, from 135K to 60.5K in August 2026.

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

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