--- title: "Instagram vs YouTube: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?" description: "Which is more popular in search, Instagram or YouTube? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Social media platforms 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/instagram-vs-youtube" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Instagram vs YouTube: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand? Which is more popular in search, Instagram or YouTube? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Social media platforms 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**: Instagram and YouTube - **Competitive set**: Social media platforms - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Aug 2026 - **Instagram Share of Search**: 7.2% - **YouTube Share of Search**: 43% ## Which is more popular in search, Instagram or YouTube? - In August 2026, YouTube had more branded searches than Instagram among social media platforms in New Zealand. YouTube was estimated to have 3.5M branded searches compared to Instagram’s 582K, and held a 43% Share of Search versus Instagram’s 7.2%. - YouTube was ahead of Instagram in every measured month of the 11 months ending August 2026. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Instagram’s estimated Share of Search among social media platforms in New Zealand moved from 8.9% to 7.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 709K to 582K. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, YouTube’s estimated Share of Search among social media platforms in New Zealand moved from 43.8% to 43%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 3.5M. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand social media platforms in August 2026? - In August 2026, YouTube lost estimated Share of Search among social media platforms in New Zealand, from 44.2% to 43%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Instagram in New Zealand fell 17.9% over 11 measured months, from 709K to 582K in August 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Instagram estimated searches | Instagram Share of Search | Instagram rank | YouTube estimated searches | YouTube Share of Search | YouTube rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 709K | 8.9% | 3 | 3.5M | 43.8% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 583K | 7.5% | 3 | 3.5M | 44.6% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 585K | 7.6% | 3 | 3.5M | 45.5% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 586K | 7.5% | 3 | 3.5M | 44.8% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 582K | 7.5% | 3 | 3.5M | 44.5% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 707K | 7.8% | 3 | 4.2M | 46.9% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 582K | 7.3% | 3 | 3.5M | 43.8% | 1 | | May 2026 | 707K | 8.6% | 3 | 3.5M | 42.6% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 583K | 7.2% | 3 | 3.5M | 43.3% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 583K | 7.4% | 3 | 3.5M | 44.2% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 582K | 7.2% | 3 | 3.5M | 43% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Instagram’s and YouTube’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. - **Instagram**: Measured on the search terms “free instagram followers”, “instagram”, “instagram advertising”, “instagram app”, “instagram c”, “instagram download”, “instagram followers”, “instagram followers tracker”, “instagram hacked”, “instagram kim kardashian”, “instagram likes free”, “instagram lite”, “instagram mp3”, “instagram near me”, “instagram nz”, “instagram online”, “instagram photo download”, “instagram plus”, “instagram search”, “instagram social media”, “instagram to mp4”, “instagram video download”, “instagram view”, “instagram website” and “snap instagram”, summed into one figure. - **YouTube**: Measured on the search terms “bluey youtube”, “open youtube”, “peppa youtube”, “www youtube co”, “youtube”, “youtube app”, “youtube c”, “youtube downloading”, “youtube home”, “youtube kids app”, “youtube mo3”, “youtube movies”, “youtube mp3”, “youtube near me”, “youtube new zealand”, “youtube nz”, “youtube online”, “youtube premium”, “youtube shorts”, “youtube social media”, “youtube studio” and “youtube to mp4”, summed into one figure. - [Instagram profile](/demand/nz/brands/instagram) - [YouTube profile](/demand/nz/brands/youtube) - [All social media platforms in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-social-media-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 9 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, Instagram or YouTube? In August 2026, YouTube had more branded searches than Instagram among social media platforms in New Zealand. YouTube was estimated to have 3.5M branded searches compared to Instagram’s 582K, and held a 43% Share of Search versus Instagram’s 7.2%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Instagram vs YouTube: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/instagram-vs-youtube This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/instagram-vs-youtube. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.