Brave Search vs DuckDuckGo:Which is searched more?
In September 2026, DuckDuckGo had more branded searches than Brave Search among search engines worldwide. DuckDuckGo had about 68 million branded searches, while Brave Search had 4.1 million. DuckDuckGo made up 12.1% of all search engine searches we track, and Brave Search accounted for 0.73%. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.
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Is Brave Search or DuckDuckGo more popular in search?
Compare the engines teams build site search on. 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 searches by month for DuckDuckGo, Brave Search. The figures are in the table below the chart.
View monthly share of searches table
| Month | DuckDuckGo | Bing | Perplexity | Brave Search | Yahoo | Ecosia | OpenSearch | Algolia | Meilisearch | Solr | Typesense | Elastic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 80.6% | 9.8% | 2.4% | 6.5% | 0.48% | 0.18% | 0.08% | 0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
| Nov 2025 | 83.2% | 8.2% | 2.5% | 5.3% | 0.5% | 0.18% | 0.08% | 0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
| Dec 2025 | 84.3% | 8.5% | 2.5% | 3.9% | 0.51% | 0.19% | 0.08% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
| Jan 2026 | 84.6% | 8.5% | 2.5% | 3.4% | 0.51% | 0.19% | 0.19% | 0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
| Feb 2026 | 82.5% | 9.8% | 2.9% | 3.9% | 0.59% | 0.18% | 0.14% | 0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
| Mar 2026 | 83.1% | 10.1% | 2.5% | 3.4% | 0.61% | 0.18% | 0.15% | 0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
| Apr 2026 | 84.7% | 8.4% | 2.5% | 3.5% | 0.62% | 0.18% | 0.12% | 0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
| May 2026 | 83.4% | 10.3% | 2.5% | 2.9% | 0.62% | 0.18% | 0.12% | 0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
| Jun 2026 | 83.6% | 10.5% | 2.6% | 2.4% | 0.63% | 0.19% | 0.13% | 0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
| Jul 2026 | 83.8% | 10.6% | 2.6% | 2.1% | 0.52% | 0.19% | 0.11% | 0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
| Aug 2026 | 83.8% | 10.5% | 2.6% | 2.1% | 0.63% | 0.23% | 0.13% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
| Sep 2026 | 81.9% | 12.1% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 0.73% | 0.27% | 0.18% | 0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% | <0.01% |
How has the Brave Search and DuckDuckGo comparison changed over the last 12 months?
3 findings
- DuckDuckGo was ahead of Brave Search in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Brave Search’s share of searches among search engines worldwide moved from 0.48% to 0.73%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 2.7M to 4.1M.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, DuckDuckGo’s share of searches among search engines worldwide moved from 9.8% to 12.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 55.6M to 68M.
How did search popularity change for search engines worldwide in September 2026?
2 changes
In September 2026, DuckDuckGo gained share of searches among search engines worldwide, from 10.5% to 12.1%.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Brave Search worldwide rose 49.3% over 12 measured months, from 2.7M to 4.1M in September 2026.
How are branded searches counted?
2 search terms
Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Brave Search’s and DuckDuckGo’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.
Brave Search
1 branded search term
- brave search
DuckDuckGo
1 branded search term
- duckduckgo
Other head-to-heads among search engines
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