--- title: "First Direct vs Santander: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?" description: "Is First Direct or Santander more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Banks set in the United Kingdom. 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/uk/compare/first-direct-vs-santander-uk" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # First Direct vs Santander: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom? Is First Direct or Santander more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Banks set in the United Kingdom. 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**: First Direct and Santander - **Competitive set**: Banks - **Market**: United Kingdom - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **First Direct Share of Search**: 1.5% - **Santander Share of Search**: 20.9% ## Is First Direct or Santander more popular in search? - In September 2026, Santander had more branded searches than First Direct among banks in the United Kingdom. Santander had about 2.1 million branded searches, while First Direct had 150,000. Santander made up 20.9% of all bank searches we track, and First Direct accounted for 1.5%. - Santander was ahead of First Direct in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, First Direct’s share of searches among banks in the United Kingdom moved from 1.6% to 1.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 180K to 150K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Santander’s share of searches among banks in the United Kingdom moved from 18.4% to 20.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 2.1M. ## Top banks in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, First Direct was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Santander was mentioned in one out of five: not in any of the three ChatGPT answers, but in one of the two Google AI Overviews. First Direct was listed before Santander 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Barclays | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | First Direct | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Starling Bank | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Monzo | 4th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | HSBC | 5th | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Chase UK | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Nationwide | 7th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Lloyds Bank | 8th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Santander | 9th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | NatWest | 10th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Halifax | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | TSB | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about banks - Asked ChatGPT "Which bank should I open a current account with in the UK?": 1. Monzo, 2. Starling Bank, 3. First Direct, 4. Nationwide, 5. Barclays, 6. HSBC - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best banks in the UK?": 1. Starling Bank, 2. Monzo, 3. First Direct, 4. Chase UK, 5. Nationwide, 6. Barclays, 7. HSBC - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best UK bank account for switching incentives?": 1. Barclays, 2. Lloyds Bank, 3. HSBC, 4. First Direct, 5. NatWest - Searched Google, AI Overview "bank account": named none of the brands we track - Searched Google, AI Overview "best bank account": 1. Barclays, 2. HSBC, 3. First Direct, 4. Chase UK, 5. Santander, 6. Starling Bank, 7. Monzo Not named in any answer: Halifax and TSB. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 22, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom banks in September 2026? - In September 2026, Santander lost share of searches among banks in the United Kingdom, from 21.9% to 20.9%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for First Direct in the United Kingdom fell 16.7% over 12 measured months, from 180K to 150K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | First Direct estimated searches | First Direct Share of Search | First Direct rank | Santander estimated searches | Santander Share of Search | Santander rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 180K | 1.6% | 9 | 2.1M | 18.4% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | 177K | 1.7% | 9 | 2.1M | 19.6% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | 177K | 1.8% | 8 | 2.1M | 21.2% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | 216K | 1.9% | 9 | 2.6M | 23% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | 177K | 1.9% | 9 | 2.1M | 22.7% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | 177K | 1.7% | 9 | 2.2M | 21.1% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | 177K | 1.7% | 9 | 2.3M | 21.5% | 2 | | May 2026 | 177K | 1.8% | 9 | 2.2M | 22% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 177K | 1.8% | 9 | 2.1M | 21.8% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 180K | 1.9% | 9 | 2.1M | 22.3% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 150K | 1.6% | 9 | 2.1M | 21.9% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 150K | 1.5% | 9 | 2.1M | 20.9% | 2 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using First Direct’s and Santander’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. - **First Direct**: Measured on the search terms “first direct” and “first direct bank”, summed into one figure. - **Santander**: Measured on the search terms “santander” and “santander uk”, summed into one figure. - [First Direct profile](/demand/uk/brands/first-direct) - [Santander profile](/demand/uk/brands/santander-uk) - [All banks in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-banks): The set both shares are measured inside, 12 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 First Direct or Santander more popular in search? In September 2026, Santander had more branded searches than First Direct among banks in the United Kingdom. Santander had about 2.1 million branded searches, while First Direct had 150,000. Santander made up 20.9% of all bank searches we track, and First Direct accounted for 1.5%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "First Direct vs Santander: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/first-direct-vs-santander-uk This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/first-direct-vs-santander-uk. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.