--- title: "Material Symbols vs Phosphor Icons: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Material Symbols or Phosphor Icons more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Icon libraries 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/material-symbols-vs-phosphor-icons" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Material Symbols vs Phosphor Icons: Which is searched more? Is Material Symbols or Phosphor Icons more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Icon libraries 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**: Material Symbols and Phosphor Icons - **Competitive set**: Icon libraries - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Material Symbols Share of Search**: 0.85% - **Phosphor Icons Share of Search**: 2.3% ## Is Material Symbols or Phosphor Icons more popular in search? - In September 2026, Phosphor Icons had more branded searches than Material Symbols among icon libraries worldwide. Phosphor Icons had about 40,500 branded searches, while Material Symbols had 14,800. Phosphor Icons made up 2.3% of all icon library searches we track, and Material Symbols accounted for 0.85%. - Phosphor Icons was ahead of Material Symbols in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Material Symbols’ share of searches among icon libraries worldwide moved from 0.72% to 0.85%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 18.1K to 14.8K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Phosphor Icons’ share of searches among icon libraries worldwide moved from 1.1% to 2.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 27.1K to 40.5K. ## Top icon libraries in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Material Symbols was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Phosphor Icons was mentioned in four out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in both Google AI Overviews. Phosphor Icons was listed before Material Symbols in four out of 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Lucide | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Phosphor Icons | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Heroicons | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Material Symbols | 4th | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Tabler Icons | 5th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Font Awesome | 6th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Flaticon | 7th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Iconoir | 8th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Noun Project | 9th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Iconify | 10th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about icon libraries - Asked ChatGPT "Which icon library should I use?": 1. Lucide, 2. Heroicons, 3. Font Awesome, 4. Material Symbols - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best icon libraries?": 1. Lucide, 2. Phosphor Icons, 3. Tabler Icons, 4. Heroicons, 5. Material Symbols, 6. Font Awesome, 7. Iconoir, 8. Iconify - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best icon library for app design?": 1. Lucide, 2. Phosphor Icons, 3. Material Symbols, 4. Heroicons, 5. Iconoir - Searched Google, AI Overview "icon libraries": 1. Lucide, 2. Heroicons, 3. Phosphor Icons, 4. Tabler Icons, 5. Iconoir, 6. Material Symbols, 7. Font Awesome - Searched Google, AI Overview "free icon set": 1. Flaticon, 2. Noun Project, 3. Phosphor Icons 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 icon libraries worldwide in September 2026? - Estimated monthly branded searches for Phosphor Icons worldwide rose 49.4% over 12 measured months, from 27.1K to 40.5K in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Material Symbols worldwide fell 18.2% over 12 measured months, from 18.1K to 14.8K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Material Symbols estimated searches | Material Symbols Share of Search | Material Symbols rank | Phosphor Icons estimated searches | Phosphor Icons Share of Search | Phosphor Icons rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 18.1K | 0.72% | 9 | 27.1K | 1.1% | 8 | | Nov 2025 | 14.8K | 0.59% | 9 | 27.1K | 1.1% | 7 | | Dec 2025 | 14.8K | 0.72% | 9 | 27.1K | 1.3% | 7 | | Jan 2026 | 18.1K | 0.86% | 9 | 33.1K | 1.6% | 7 | | Feb 2026 | 18.1K | 0.86% | 9 | 33.1K | 1.6% | 7 | | Mar 2026 | 18.1K | 0.82% | 9 | 49.5K | 2.2% | 7 | | Apr 2026 | 18.1K | 0.85% | 9 | 49.5K | 2.3% | 6 | | May 2026 | 18.1K | 0.88% | 9 | 40.5K | 2% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | 18.1K | 0.88% | 9 | 40.5K | 2% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 18.1K | 1% | 9 | 49.5K | 2.7% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 14.8K | 0.86% | 9 | 40.5K | 2.4% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | 14.8K | 0.85% | 9 | 40.5K | 2.3% | 6 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Material Symbols’ and Phosphor Icons’ 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. - **Material Symbols**: Measured on the search term “material symbols”. - **Phosphor Icons**: Measured on the search term “phosphor icons”. - [Material Symbols profile](/demand/global-en/brands/material-symbols) - [Phosphor Icons profile](/demand/global-en/brands/phosphor-icons) - [All icon libraries worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/icon-libraries): The set both shares are measured inside, 10 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 Material Symbols or Phosphor Icons more popular in search? In September 2026, Phosphor Icons had more branded searches than Material Symbols among icon libraries worldwide. Phosphor Icons had about 40,500 branded searches, while Material Symbols had 14,800. Phosphor Icons made up 2.3% of all icon library searches we track, and Material Symbols accounted for 0.85%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Material Symbols vs Phosphor Icons: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/material-symbols-vs-phosphor-icons This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/material-symbols-vs-phosphor-icons. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.