Brandwave

New Balance vs Vans:Which is more popular?

In September 2026, New Balance had more branded searches than Vans among skate shoes brands in New Zealand. New Balance had about 65,700 branded searches, while Vans had 1,770. New Balance made up 27.8% of all skate shoes brand searches we track, and Vans accounted for 0.75%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about skate shoes brands, both New Balance and Vans appeared in all five answers. Vans was mentioned before New Balance in four out of five answers.

Among skate shoes brands in New Zealand in September 2026

Who do people search for more?

New Balance, about 37 searches for every 1 for Vans

New Balance 65.7K searchesVans 1.8K searches

Who does AI mention more?

Both are mentioned in every answer we collected.

New Balance in 5 of 5Vans in 5 of 5

Who does AI recommend more?

Vans, named ahead of New Balance in 4 of 5 answers

Vans first in 4New Balance first in 1

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Top skate shoes brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, both New Balance and Vans showed up in all five answers. Vans was listed before New Balance in four of them.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Vans1st
  2. Nike2nd
  3. etnies3rd
  4. New Balance4th
  5. Adidas5th
  6. Puma–
  7. DVS–

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Nike5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • New Balance5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • Vans5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • Adidas4 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • etnies4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Puma0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • DVS0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about skate shoes brands

5 answers

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in New Zealand on October 19, 2026.

Is New Balance or Vans more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for New Balance and Vans by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all seven skate shoes brands we track, month by month, from searches in New Zealand.

New Balance and Vans among skate shoes brands in New Zealand, by month

Share of searches by month for New Balance, Vans. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthNikeAdidasNew BalancePumaVansDVSetnies
Oct 202534.6%28.2%25.4%10.5%0.7%0.41%0.18%
Nov 202536.4%29.1%24.1%9.4%0.56%0.26%0.12%
Dec 202538.1%25.8%23.4%11.7%0.64%0.21%0.12%
Jan 202638%25.1%25.6%10.3%0.68%0.33%0.1%
Feb 202635.7%27.5%25.7%9.9%0.62%0.48%0.11%
Mar 202634.4%29.3%24.5%10.6%0.54%0.45%0.14%
Apr 202632.9%28.4%26.6%10.7%0.6%0.72%0.12%
May 202630.7%28.9%29%9.5%0.68%0.96%0.16%
Jun 202629.2%26.6%28.6%13.9%0.57%0.91%0.15%
Jul 202630.9%28.6%25.5%13.3%0.61%0.97%0.13%
Aug 202632.5%27.7%26.6%11.8%0.73%0.52%0.13%
Sep 202630.7%28.3%27.8%12.1%0.75%0.3%0.14%

How has the New Balance and Vans comparison changed over the last 12 months?

3 findings
  • New Balance was ahead of Vans in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, New Balance’s share of searches among skate shoes brands in New Zealand moved from 25.4% to 27.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 54.5K to 65.7K.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Vans’ share of searches among skate shoes brands in New Zealand moved from 0.7% to 0.75%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.5K to 1.8K.

How did search popularity change for New Zealand skate shoes brands in September 2026?

2 changes

  1. In September 2026, New Balance gained share of searches among skate shoes brands in New Zealand, from 26.6% to 27.8%.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Vans in New Zealand rose 17.2% over 12 measured months, from 1.5K to 1.8K in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted?

13 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using New Balance’s and Vans’ 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.

New Balance

11 branded search terms

  • new balance
  • new balance 1080
  • new balance 2002r
  • new balance 530
  • new balance 550
  • new balance 574
  • new balance 740
  • new balance 9060
  • new balance outlets
  • newbalance
  • newbalance 327

Vans

2 branded search terms

  • vans shoes
  • vans skate shoes

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among skate shoes brands

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