--- title: "Funding Circle vs Start Up Loans: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?" description: "Is Funding Circle or Start Up Loans more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Business lenders 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/funding-circle-vs-start-up-loans" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Funding Circle vs Start Up Loans: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom? Is Funding Circle or Start Up Loans more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Business lenders 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**: Funding Circle and Start Up Loans - **Competitive set**: Business lenders - **Market**: United Kingdom - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Funding Circle Share of Search**: 39.5% - **Start Up Loans Share of Search**: 5.3% ## Is Funding Circle or Start Up Loans more popular in search? - In September 2026, Funding Circle had more branded searches than Start Up Loans among business lenders in the United Kingdom. Funding Circle had about 33,100 branded searches, while Start Up Loans had 4,400. Funding Circle made up 39.5% of all business lender searches we track, and Start Up Loans accounted for 5.3%. - Funding Circle was ahead of Start Up Loans in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Funding Circle’s share of searches among business lenders in the United Kingdom moved from 36.8% to 39.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 33.1K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Start Up Loans’ share of searches among business lenders in the United Kingdom moved from 7.3% to 5.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 6.6K to 4.4K. ## Top business lenders in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, both Funding Circle and Start Up Loans showed up in all five answers. Funding Circle was listed before Start Up Loans in three of them. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Funding Circle | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | iwoca | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Start Up Loans | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | NatWest | 4th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Allica Bank | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Fleximize | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about business lenders - Asked ChatGPT "Which business lender should I use in the UK?": 1. Funding Circle, 2. iwoca, 3. Allica Bank, 4. Start Up Loans - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best business lenders in the UK?": 1. Funding Circle, 2. iwoca, 3. Allica Bank, 4. Start Up Loans, 5. NatWest - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best business lender in the UK for startup funding?": 1. Start Up Loans, 2. iwoca, 3. Funding Circle, 4. Fleximize - Searched Google, AI Overview "best business lender": 1. Funding Circle, 2. iwoca, 3. NatWest, 4. Start Up Loans - Searched Google, AI Overview "small business loans uk": 1. Start Up Loans, 2. NatWest, 3. iwoca, 4. Funding Circle Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 19, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom business lenders in September 2026? - In September 2026, Funding Circle gained share of searches among business lenders in the United Kingdom, from 33.6% to 39.5%. - In September 2026, Start Up Loans lost share of searches among business lenders in the United Kingdom, from 10% to 5.3%. ## Month by month | Month | Funding Circle estimated searches | Funding Circle Share of Search | Funding Circle rank | Start Up Loans estimated searches | Start Up Loans Share of Search | Start Up Loans rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 33.1K | 36.8% | 1 | 6.6K | 7.3% | 4 | | Nov 2025 | 27.1K | 36.7% | 1 | 5.4K | 7.3% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | 27.1K | 37.2% | 1 | 4.4K | 6% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | 33.1K | 36.6% | 1 | 6.6K | 7.3% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | 27.1K | 36.3% | 1 | 5.4K | 7.2% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | 33.1K | 36.7% | 1 | 6.6K | 7.3% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | 27.1K | 32.4% | 2 | 5.4K | 6.5% | 4 | | May 2026 | 27.1K | 35.1% | 1 | 4.4K | 5.7% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | 33.1K | 37.7% | 1 | 4.4K | 5% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | 33.1K | 37.8% | 1 | 4.4K | 5% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | 27.1K | 33.6% | 1 | 8.1K | 10% | 4 | | Sep 2026 | 33.1K | 39.5% | 1 | 4.4K | 5.3% | 4 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Funding Circle’s and Start Up Loans’ 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. - **Funding Circle**: Measured on the search term “funding circle”. - **Start Up Loans**: Measured on the search terms “start up loans” and “startup loans”, summed into one figure. - [Funding Circle profile](/demand/uk/brands/funding-circle) - [Start Up Loans profile](/demand/uk/brands/start-up-loans) - [All business lenders in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-business-lenders): The set both shares are measured inside, 6 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 Funding Circle or Start Up Loans more popular in search? In September 2026, Funding Circle had more branded searches than Start Up Loans among business lenders in the United Kingdom. Funding Circle had about 33,100 branded searches, while Start Up Loans had 4,400. Funding Circle made up 39.5% of all business lender searches we track, and Start Up Loans accounted for 5.3%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Funding Circle vs Start Up Loans: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/funding-circle-vs-start-up-loans This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/funding-circle-vs-start-up-loans. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.