--- title: "Friendbuy vs Smile.io: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Friendbuy or Smile.io more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Referral marketing platforms set worldwide. 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/compare/friendbuy-vs-smile-io" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Friendbuy vs Smile.io: Which is searched more? Is Friendbuy or Smile.io more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Referral marketing platforms set worldwide. 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 - **Compared**: Friendbuy and Smile.io - **Competitive set**: Referral marketing platforms - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Friendbuy Share of Search**: 3.4% - **Smile.io Share of Search**: 2.6% ## Is Friendbuy or Smile.io more popular in search? - In September 2026, Friendbuy had more branded searches than Smile.io among referral marketing platforms worldwide. Friendbuy had about 1,310 branded searches, while Smile.io had 970. Friendbuy made up 3.4% of all referral marketing platform searches we track, and Smile.io accounted for 2.6%. - The lead changed hands 3 times in the 12 months ending September 2026: Friendbuy took it in December 2025, Smile.io took it in January 2026, Friendbuy took it in June 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Friendbuy’s share of searches among referral marketing platforms worldwide moved from 1.9% to 3.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1K to 1.3K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Smile.io’s share of searches among referral marketing platforms worldwide moved from 2.1% to 2.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.1K to 970. ## Top referral marketing platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Friendbuy was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Smile.io did not appear in any of the five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ReferralCandy | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Referral Factory | 2nd | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Referral Rock | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | GrowSurf | 4th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Friendbuy | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Viral Loops | 6th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Talkable | 7th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Yotpo | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Mention Me | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Ambassador | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Extole | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Smile.io | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about referral marketing platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which referral marketing platform should I use?": 1. ReferralCandy, 2. Referral Factory - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best referral marketing platforms?": 1. ReferralCandy, 2. Referral Rock, 3. Friendbuy, 4. GrowSurf - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best referral marketing platform for customer referrals?": 1. ReferralCandy, 2. Referral Rock, 3. Friendbuy, 4. Talkable, 5. GrowSurf - Searched Google, AI Overview "referral marketing platform": 1. Referral Factory, 2. ReferralCandy, 3. GrowSurf, 4. Viral Loops - Searched Google, AI Overview "customer referral software": 1. ReferralCandy, 2. Referral Factory, 3. GrowSurf, 4. Referral Rock, 5. Viral Loops Not named in any answer: Yotpo, Mention Me, Ambassador, Extole and Smile.io. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for referral marketing platforms worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Smile.io fell from 9th to 11th among referral marketing platforms worldwide. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Friendbuy worldwide rose 29.7% over 12 measured months, from 1K to 1.3K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Friendbuy estimated searches | Friendbuy Share of Search | Friendbuy rank | Smile.io estimated searches | Smile.io Share of Search | Smile.io rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1K | 1.9% | 11 | 1.1K | 2.1% | 10 | | Nov 2025 | 1K | 2.2% | 11 | 1.1K | 2.5% | 10 | | Dec 2025 | 1K | 2.4% | 10 | 970 | 2.3% | 11 | | Jan 2026 | 1K | 2.2% | 11 | 1.1K | 2.4% | 10 | | Feb 2026 | 1K | 1.6% | 11 | 1.1K | 1.8% | 10 | | Mar 2026 | 1K | 2% | 11 | 1.4K | 2.8% | 8 | | Apr 2026 | 1K | 2.2% | 10 | 1.1K | 2.4% | 9 | | May 2026 | 1K | 2.3% | 10 | 1.1K | 2.5% | 9 | | Jun 2026 | 1.3K | 3% | 8 | 1K | 2.3% | 12 | | Jul 2026 | 1.3K | 3% | 8 | 1K | 2.3% | 12 | | Aug 2026 | 1.3K | 3.4% | 8 | 1.1K | 2.9% | 9 | | Sep 2026 | 1.3K | 3.4% | 8 | 970 | 2.6% | 11 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Friendbuy’s and Smile.io’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. - **Friendbuy**: Measured on the search terms “friendbuy” and “friendbuy referral”, summed into one figure. - **Smile.io**: Measured on the search terms “smile.io”, “smile.io points” and “smile.io rewards”, summed into one figure. - [Friendbuy profile](/demand/global-en/brands/friendbuy) - [Smile.io profile](/demand/global-en/brands/smile-io) - [All referral marketing platforms worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/referral-marketing-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 12 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Friendbuy or Smile.io more popular in search? In September 2026, Friendbuy had more branded searches than Smile.io among referral marketing platforms worldwide. Friendbuy had about 1,310 branded searches, while Smile.io had 970. Friendbuy made up 3.4% of all referral marketing platform searches we track, and Smile.io accounted for 2.6%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Friendbuy vs Smile.io: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/friendbuy-vs-smile-io This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/friendbuy-vs-smile-io. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.