--- title: "Google Maps vs Waze: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?" description: "Which is more popular in search, Google Maps or Waze? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Maps and navigation apps 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/google-maps-vs-waze" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Google Maps vs Waze: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand? Which is more popular in search, Google Maps or Waze? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Maps and navigation apps 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**: Google Maps and Waze - **Competitive set**: Maps and navigation apps - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Aug 2026 - **Google Maps Share of Search**: 98.7% - **Waze Share of Search**: 0.42% ## Which is more popular in search, Google Maps or Waze? - In August 2026, Google Maps had more branded searches than Waze among maps and navigation apps in New Zealand. Google Maps was estimated to have 754K branded searches compared to Waze’s 3.2K, and held a 98.7% Share of Search versus Waze’s 0.42%. - Google Maps was ahead of Waze in every measured month of the 11 months ending August 2026. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Google Maps’ estimated Share of Search among maps and navigation apps in New Zealand held steady at 98.7%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 768K to 754K. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Waze’s estimated Share of Search among maps and navigation apps in New Zealand moved from 0.47% to 0.42%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 3.6K to 3.2K. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand maps and navigation apps in August 2026? - In August 2026, Waze fell from 2nd to 3rd among maps and navigation apps in New Zealand. ## Month by month | Month | Google Maps estimated searches | Google Maps Share of Search | Google Maps rank | Waze estimated searches | Waze Share of Search | Waze rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 768K | 98.7% | 1 | 3.6K | 0.47% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | 768K | 98.7% | 1 | 3.3K | 0.42% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | 632K | 98.2% | 1 | 4.6K | 0.72% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | 650K | 98.1% | 1 | 4.2K | 0.63% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | 772K | 98.6% | 1 | 4K | 0.51% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | 771K | 98.4% | 1 | 4.8K | 0.61% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | 631K | 98.2% | 1 | 3.5K | 0.54% | 4 | | May 2026 | 757K | 98.6% | 1 | 4.3K | 0.55% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 753K | 98.7% | 1 | 3.3K | 0.43% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | 631K | 98.5% | 1 | 3.5K | 0.55% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 754K | 98.7% | 1 | 3.2K | 0.42% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Google Maps’ and Waze’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. - **Google Maps**: Measured on the search terms “google maps”, “google maps a”, “google maps app”, “google maps directions”, “google maps driving directions”, “google maps maps”, “google maps near me”, “google maps new zealand”, “google maps offline”, “google maps online”, “google maps restaurants”, “google maps satellite”, “google maps satellite view”, “google maps street view”, “googlemaps”, “googlemaps app”, “googlemaps directions”, “googlemaps maps”, “maps google com”, “maps google maps”, “my google maps”, “route planning google maps” and “ww google maps”, summed into one figure. - **Waze**: Measured on the search terms “on waze”, “waze”, “waze app”, “waze app download”, “waze com”, “waze maps”, “waze navigation app”, “waze near me”, “waze nz”, “waze offline maps”, “waze online”, “waze traffic app” and “z waze”, summed into one figure. - [Google Maps profile](/demand/nz/brands/google-maps) - [Waze profile](/demand/nz/brands/waze) - [All maps and navigation apps in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-navigation-apps): The set both shares are measured inside, 4 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, Google Maps or Waze? In August 2026, Google Maps had more branded searches than Waze among maps and navigation apps in New Zealand. Google Maps was estimated to have 754K branded searches compared to Waze’s 3.2K, and held a 98.7% Share of Search versus Waze’s 0.42%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Google Maps vs Waze: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/google-maps-vs-waze This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/google-maps-vs-waze. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.