--- title: "Makita vs Stihl: Which is searched more in New Zealand?" description: "Is Makita or Stihl more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Hedge cutter brands set in New Zealand. 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/nz/categories/nz-hedge-cutter-brands/compare/makita-vs-stihl" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Makita vs Stihl: Which is searched more in New Zealand? Is Makita or Stihl more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Hedge cutter brands set in New Zealand. 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**: Makita and Stihl - **Competitive set**: Hedge cutter brands - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Makita Share of Search**: 25.2% - **Stihl Share of Search**: 33% ## Is Makita or Stihl more popular in search? - In September 2026, Stihl had more branded searches than Makita among hedge cutter brands in New Zealand. Stihl had about 10,600 branded searches, while Makita had 8,100. Stihl made up 33% of all hedge cutter brand searches we track, and Makita accounted for 25.2%. - Stihl was ahead of Makita in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Makita’s share of searches among hedge cutter brands in New Zealand moved from 22.5% to 25.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 6.6K to 8.1K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Stihl’s share of searches among hedge cutter brands in New Zealand moved from 38% to 33%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 11.2K to 10.6K. ## Top hedge cutter brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, both Makita and Stihl showed up in all five answers. Stihl was listed before Makita in every answer. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stihl | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Makita | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Ryobi | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | DeWalt | 4th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about hedge cutter brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which hedge cutter brand should I buy in New Zealand?": 1. Stihl, 2. Ryobi, 3. Makita - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best hedge cutter brands in New Zealand?": 1. Stihl, 2. Makita, 3. Ryobi - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best hedge cutter brand in New Zealand for garden trimming?": 1. Stihl, 2. Makita, 3. Ryobi - Searched Google, AI Overview "hedge trimmer nz": 1. Stihl, 2. Ryobi, 3. Makita - Searched Google, AI Overview "electric hedge cutter": 1. Stihl, 2. Makita, 3. Ryobi, 4. DeWalt Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand hedge cutter brands in September 2026? - In September 2026, Makita gained share of searches among hedge cutter brands in New Zealand, from 23.2% to 25.2%. - In September 2026, Stihl lost share of searches among hedge cutter brands in New Zealand, from 34.7% to 33%. ## Month by month | Month | Makita estimated searches | Makita Share of Search | Makita rank | Stihl estimated searches | Stihl Share of Search | Stihl rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 6.6K | 22.5% | 3 | 11.2K | 38% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 6.6K | 17.4% | 3 | 14.1K | 37.2% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 6.6K | 18.7% | 3 | 13.1K | 37.1% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 6.6K | 20.3% | 3 | 12.8K | 39.4% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 6.6K | 21.2% | 3 | 12.6K | 40.6% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 6.6K | 21.7% | 3 | 10.8K | 35.6% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 6.6K | 22.9% | 3 | 10.7K | 37.2% | 1 | | May 2026 | 6.6K | 22.8% | 2 | 12.1K | 41.9% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 6.6K | 23.9% | 2 | 9.8K | 35.4% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 6.6K | 25.1% | 2 | 9.6K | 36.7% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 6.6K | 23.2% | 3 | 9.9K | 34.7% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 8.1K | 25.2% | 3 | 10.6K | 33% | 1 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Makita’s and Stihl’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. - **Makita**: Measured on the search term “makita”. - **Stihl**: Measured on the search terms “500i stihl”, “stihl”, “stihl air blower”, “stihl blower”, “stihl brush cutter”, “stihl concrete saw”, “stihl hedge trimmer”, “stihl pole saw” and “stihl weed eater”, summed into one figure. - [Makita profile](/demand/nz/brands/makita) - [Stihl profile](/demand/nz/brands/stihl) - [All hedge cutter brands in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-hedge-cutter-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 4 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 Makita or Stihl more popular in search? In September 2026, Stihl had more branded searches than Makita among hedge cutter brands in New Zealand. Stihl had about 10,600 branded searches, while Makita had 8,100. Stihl made up 33% of all hedge cutter brand searches we track, and Makita accounted for 25.2%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Makita vs Stihl: Which is searched more in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-hedge-cutter-brands/compare/makita-vs-stihl This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-hedge-cutter-brands/compare/makita-vs-stihl. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.