--- title: "AFL vs NRL: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?" description: "Which is more popular in search, AFL or NRL? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Sports leagues 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/compare/afl-vs-nrl" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # AFL vs NRL: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand? Which is more popular in search, AFL or NRL? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Sports leagues 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**: AFL and NRL - **Competitive set**: Sports leagues - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Aug 2026 - **AFL Share of Search**: 2.9% - **NRL Share of Search**: 76.1% ## Which is more popular in search, AFL or NRL? - In August 2026, NRL had more branded searches than AFL among sports leagues in New Zealand. NRL was estimated to have 2.9M branded searches compared to AFL’s 108K, and held a 76.1% Share of Search versus AFL’s 2.9%. - NRL was ahead of AFL in every measured month of the 11 months ending August 2026. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, AFL’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand moved from 0.52% to 2.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 13.3K to 108K. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NRL’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand moved from 14.4% to 76.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 374K to 2.9M. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand sports leagues in August 2026? - In August 2026, Premier League overtook AFL to rank 2nd among sports leagues in New Zealand, at 11.5%. - In August 2026, A-League overtook AFL to rank 3rd among sports leagues in New Zealand, at 5.7%. - In August 2026, NRL lost estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand, from 85.2% to 76.1%. - In August 2026, AFL lost estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand, from 4.2% to 2.9%. ## Month by month | Month | AFL estimated searches | AFL Share of Search | AFL rank | NRL estimated searches | NRL Share of Search | NRL rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 13.3K | 0.52% | 6 | 374K | 14.4% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | 8K | 0.27% | 6 | 103K | 3.5% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | 4K | 0.13% | 6 | 54.9K | 1.8% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | 4.9K | 0.16% | 6 | 68.4K | 2.2% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | 8.5K | 0.32% | 6 | 287K | 10.7% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | 71.8K | 1.8% | 5 | 1.3M | 34% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 107K | 2% | 5 | 2M | 38.4% | 1 | | May 2026 | 105K | 1.7% | 5 | 2.1M | 33.8% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 72.3K | 2.4% | 3 | 1.7M | 56.7% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 87.8K | 4.2% | 3 | 1.8M | 85.2% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 108K | 2.9% | 4 | 2.9M | 76.1% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using AFL’s and NRL’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. - **AFL**: Measured on the search terms “afl”, “afl collingwood”, “afl com au”, “afl draw”, “afl fixture”, “afl grand”, “afl ladder”, “afl live”, “afl live scores”, “afl match”, “afl near me”, “afl new zealand”, “afl nz”, “afl online”, “afl results”, “afl results today”, “afl scores”, “afl teams” and “afl w”, summed into one figure. - **NRL**: Measured on the search terms “dolphin nrl”, “nrl”, “nrl com”, “nrl draw”, “nrl finals”, “nrl fixtures”, “nrl gf”, “nrl gf tickets”, “nrl ladder”, “nrl matches”, “nrl matches tonight”, “nrl near me”, “nrl nz”, “nrl online”, “nrl results”, “nrl scores”, “nrl standings”, “nrl teams list”, “nrl tickets”, “nrl tonight” and “nrl w”, summed into one figure. - [AFL profile](/demand/nz/brands/afl) - [NRL profile](/demand/nz/brands/nrl) - [All sports leagues in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-sports-leagues): The set both shares are measured inside, 6 brands. ## Methodology - [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which is more popular in search, AFL or NRL? In August 2026, NRL had more branded searches than AFL among sports leagues in New Zealand. NRL was estimated to have 2.9M branded searches compared to AFL’s 108K, and held a 76.1% Share of Search versus AFL’s 2.9%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "AFL vs NRL: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/afl-vs-nrl This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/afl-vs-nrl. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.