--- title: "National Car Rental vs Thrifty: Which is searched more?" description: "Is National Car Rental or Thrifty more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Rental car companies 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/national-car-rental-vs-thrifty" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # National Car Rental vs Thrifty: Which is searched more? Is National Car Rental or Thrifty more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Rental car companies 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**: National Car Rental and Thrifty - **Competitive set**: Rental car companies - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **National Car Rental Share of Search**: 8.1% - **Thrifty Share of Search**: 1.6% ## Is National Car Rental or Thrifty more popular in search? - In September 2026, National Car Rental had more branded searches than Thrifty among rental car companies worldwide. National Car Rental had about 1 million branded searches, while Thrifty had 201,000. National Car Rental made up 8.1% of all rental car company searches we track, and Thrifty accounted for 1.6%. - National Car Rental was ahead of Thrifty in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, National Car Rental’s share of searches among rental car companies worldwide moved from 7.5% to 8.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 1M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Thrifty’s share of searches among rental car companies worldwide moved from 1.9% to 1.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 246K to 201K. ## Top rental car companies in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, National Car Rental was mentioned in four out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in both Google AI Overviews. Thrifty 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Enterprise Rent-A-Car | 1st | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Budget | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | National Car Rental | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Hertz | 4th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Avis | 5th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Sixt | 6th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Europcar | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Turo | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Thrifty | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about rental car companies - Asked ChatGPT "Which rental car company should I book?": 1. Budget, 2. Hertz, 3. Avis - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best rental car companies?": 1. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 2. National Car Rental, 3. Hertz, 4. Avis, 5. Budget - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best rental car company for airport trip?": 1. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 2. Budget, 3. National Car Rental - Searched Google, AI Overview "rental car companies": 1. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 2. Hertz, 3. Avis, 4. National Car Rental, 5. Budget - Searched Google, AI Overview "best car rental": 1. National Car Rental, 2. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 3. Budget, 4. Sixt Not named in any answer: Europcar, Turo and Thrifty. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 19, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for rental car companies worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, National Car Rental overtook Turo to rank 7th among rental car companies worldwide, with 8.1% of the searches. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Thrifty worldwide fell 18.3% over 12 measured months, from 246K to 201K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | National Car Rental estimated searches | National Car Rental Share of Search | National Car Rental rank | Thrifty estimated searches | Thrifty Share of Search | Thrifty rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1M | 7.5% | 7 | 246K | 1.9% | 9 | | Nov 2025 | 823K | 6.9% | 7 | 201K | 1.7% | 9 | | Dec 2025 | 823K | 6.8% | 7 | 201K | 1.7% | 9 | | Jan 2026 | 823K | 6.6% | 8 | 246K | 2% | 9 | | Feb 2026 | 1M | 8.3% | 7 | 246K | 2% | 9 | | Mar 2026 | 1M | 6.7% | 8 | 301K | 2% | 9 | | Apr 2026 | 1M | 7.2% | 8 | 301K | 2.2% | 9 | | May 2026 | 1.2M | 8.7% | 7 | 246K | 1.8% | 9 | | Jun 2026 | 1.2M | 8.5% | 7 | 246K | 1.7% | 9 | | Jul 2026 | 1M | 6.7% | 8 | 246K | 1.7% | 9 | | Aug 2026 | 1M | 6.9% | 8 | 246K | 1.7% | 9 | | Sep 2026 | 1M | 8.1% | 7 | 201K | 1.6% | 9 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using National Car Rental’s and Thrifty’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. - **National Car Rental**: Measured on the search term “national car rental”. - **Thrifty**: Measured on the search term “thrifty car rental”. - [National Car Rental profile](/demand/global-en/brands/national-car-rental) - [Thrifty profile](/demand/global-en/brands/thrifty) - [All rental car companies worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/rental-car-companies): The set both shares are measured inside, 9 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 National Car Rental or Thrifty more popular in search? In September 2026, National Car Rental had more branded searches than Thrifty among rental car companies worldwide. National Car Rental had about 1 million branded searches, while Thrifty had 201,000. National Car Rental made up 8.1% of all rental car company searches we track, and Thrifty accounted for 1.6%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "National Car Rental vs Thrifty: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/national-car-rental-vs-thrifty This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/national-car-rental-vs-thrifty. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.