Brandwave

Coursera vs University of Phoenix:Which is more popular?

In September 2026, Coursera had more branded searches than University of Phoenix among university online degrees worldwide. Coursera had about 3.4 million branded searches, while University of Phoenix had 550,000. Coursera made up 68.5% of all university online degree searches we track, and University of Phoenix accounted for 11.2%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about university online degrees, neither Coursera nor University of Phoenix appeared in any of the five answers.

Among university online degrees worldwide in September 2026

Who do people search for more?

Coursera, about 6 searches for every 1 for University of Phoenix

Coursera 3.4M searchesUniversity of Phoenix 550K searches

Who does AI mention more?

Both were mentioned in 0 of 5 answers.

Coursera in 0 of 5University of Phoenix in 0 of 5

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Top university online degrees in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, neither Coursera nor University of Phoenix showed up in any of the five answers.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Western Governors University1st
  2. University of Florida Online2nd
  3. SNHU3rd
  4. Arizona State University Online4th
  5. Coursera–
  6. University of Phoenix–
  7. Open University–
  8. edX–
  9. Udacity–

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Western Governors University5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • University of Florida Online3 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Arizona State University Online3 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • SNHU3 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Coursera0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • University of Phoenix0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Open University0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • edX0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Udacity0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about university online degrees

5 answers

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in the United States on October 21, 2026.

Is Coursera or University of Phoenix more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for Coursera and University of Phoenix by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all nine university online degrees we track, month by month, from English-language searches worldwide.

Coursera and University of Phoenix among university online degrees worldwide, by month

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

View monthly share of searches table
MonthCourseraUniversity of PhoenixOpen UniversityedXWestern Governors UniversityUdacityUniversity of Florida OnlineArizona State University OnlineSNHU
Oct 202568.6%9.2%7.5%9.2%2.8%2.3%0.2%0.11%0.05%
Nov 202565.8%8.8%8.8%10.8%3.2%2.2%0.16%0.11%0.05%
Dec 202569.5%7.6%6.2%9.3%4.2%2.8%0.17%0.11%0.06%
Jan 202668%9.1%7.5%9.1%4.1%1.8%0.2%0.11%0.07%
Feb 202667.1%9%7.4%11%3.3%1.8%0.24%0.11%0.06%
Mar 202664.9%10.7%7.1%10.7%3.9%2.1%0.43%0.13%0.06%
Apr 202667.4%11.1%7.4%7.4%4%2.2%0.24%0.13%0.09%
May 202667.6%11.1%7.4%7.4%4.1%1.8%0.3%0.16%0.06%
Jun 202669.4%11.4%6.2%7.6%3.4%1.5%0.17%0.11%0.05%
Jul 202667.6%11.1%9.1%7.4%3.3%1.2%0.13%0.11%0.05%
Aug 202668.2%11.2%7.5%7.5%4.1%1.2%0.16%0.13%0.05%
Sep 202668.5%11.2%9.2%6.2%3.4%1.2%0.13%0.11%0.05%

How has the Coursera and University of Phoenix comparison changed over the last 12 months?

3 findings

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

1 change

  1. Estimated monthly branded searches for Coursera worldwide fell 18.1% over 12 measured months, from 4.1M to 3.4M in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted?

2 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Coursera’s and University of Phoenix’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.

Coursera

1 branded search term

  • coursera

University of Phoenix

1 branded search term

  • university of phoenix

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among university online degrees

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