--- title: "Rip Curl vs Xcel: Which is searched more in New Zealand?" description: "Is Rip Curl or Xcel more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Wetsuit 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/compare/rip-curl-vs-xcel-wetsuits" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Rip Curl vs Xcel: Which is searched more in New Zealand? Is Rip Curl or Xcel more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Wetsuit 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**: Rip Curl and Xcel - **Competitive set**: Wetsuit brands - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Rip Curl Share of Search**: 42.6% - **Xcel Share of Search**: 0.52% ## Is Rip Curl or Xcel more popular in search? - In September 2026, Rip Curl had more branded searches than Xcel among wetsuit brands in New Zealand. Rip Curl had about 5,780 branded searches, while Xcel had 70. Rip Curl made up 42.6% of all wetsuit brand searches we track, and Xcel accounted for 0.52%. - Rip Curl was ahead of Xcel in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Rip Curl’s share of searches among wetsuit brands in New Zealand moved from 46% to 42.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 7K to 5.8K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Xcel’s share of searches among wetsuit brands in New Zealand moved from 0.59% to 0.52%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 90 to 70. ## Top wetsuit brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, both Rip Curl and Xcel showed up in all five answers. Rip Curl was listed before Xcel 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Rip Curl | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | O'Neill | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Xcel | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Billabong | 4th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Seventhwave | 4th | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Roxy | 6th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Quiksilver | 7th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Cressi | 8th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about wetsuit brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which wetsuit brand should I buy in New Zealand?": 1. O'Neill, 2. Rip Curl, 3. Xcel, 4. Seventhwave - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best wetsuit brands in New Zealand?": 1. O'Neill, 2. Rip Curl, 3. Xcel, 4. Billabong, 5. Quiksilver, 6. Seventhwave - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best wetsuit brand in New Zealand for cold water surfing?": 1. O'Neill, 2. Rip Curl, 3. Xcel, 4. Seventhwave - Searched Google, AI Overview "women's wetsuit nz": 1. Rip Curl, 2. Roxy, 3. Xcel, 4. O'Neill - Searched Google, AI Overview "wetsuit brands": 1. Rip Curl, 2. O'Neill, 3. Billabong, 4. Seventhwave, 5. Xcel, 6. Cressi 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 wetsuit brands in September 2026? - In September 2026, Rip Curl gained share of searches among wetsuit brands in New Zealand, from 40.5% to 42.6%. - Xcel’s share of searches among wetsuit brands in New Zealand has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 1% to 0.52% in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Rip Curl estimated searches | Rip Curl Share of Search | Rip Curl rank | Xcel estimated searches | Xcel Share of Search | Xcel rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 7K | 46% | 1 | 90 | 0.59% | 8 | | Nov 2025 | 10.6K | 46.2% | 1 | 170 | 0.74% | 8 | | Dec 2025 | 10.7K | 49.2% | 1 | 140 | 0.64% | 8 | | Jan 2026 | 8.6K | 47.2% | 1 | 140 | 0.77% | 8 | | Feb 2026 | 5.8K | 44.6% | 1 | 140 | 1.1% | 8 | | Mar 2026 | 5.7K | 45.7% | 1 | 170 | 1.4% | 7 | | Apr 2026 | 5.7K | 42.4% | 1 | 210 | 1.6% | 7 | | May 2026 | 4.7K | 40.4% | 2 | 210 | 1.8% | 7 | | Jun 2026 | 4.8K | 45.2% | 1 | 110 | 1% | 8 | | Jul 2026 | 4.8K | 44.6% | 1 | 90 | 0.84% | 8 | | Aug 2026 | 4.8K | 40.5% | 2 | 90 | 0.77% | 8 | | Sep 2026 | 5.8K | 42.6% | 2 | 70 | 0.52% | 8 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Rip Curl’s and Xcel’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. - **Rip Curl**: Measured on the search terms “rip curl”, “rip curl outlet”, “rip curl sale”, “rip curl shirts”, “rip curl swimwear”, “rip curl togs”, “ripcurl” and “ripcurl rashvest”, summed into one figure. - **Xcel**: Measured on the search term “xcel wetsuit”. - [Rip Curl profile](/demand/nz/brands/rip-curl) - [Xcel profile](/demand/nz/brands/xcel-wetsuits) - [All wetsuit brands in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-wetsuit-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 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 Rip Curl or Xcel more popular in search? In September 2026, Rip Curl had more branded searches than Xcel among wetsuit brands in New Zealand. Rip Curl had about 5,780 branded searches, while Xcel had 70. Rip Curl made up 42.6% of all wetsuit brand searches we track, and Xcel accounted for 0.52%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Rip Curl vs Xcel: Which is searched more in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/rip-curl-vs-xcel-wetsuits This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/rip-curl-vs-xcel-wetsuits. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.