--- title: "Northgate vs Thrifty: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?" description: "Is Northgate or Thrifty more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Van hire companies 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/northgate-vehicle-hire-vs-thrifty" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Northgate vs Thrifty: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom? Is Northgate or Thrifty more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Van hire companies 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**: Northgate and Thrifty - **Competitive set**: Van hire companies - **Market**: United Kingdom - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Northgate Share of Search**: 15.1% - **Thrifty Share of Search**: 0.73% ## Is Northgate or Thrifty more popular in search? - In September 2026, Northgate had more branded searches than Thrifty among van hire companies in the United Kingdom. Northgate had about 9,900 branded searches, while Thrifty had 480. Northgate made up 15.1% of all van hire company searches we track, and Thrifty accounted for 0.73%. - Northgate was ahead of Thrifty in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Northgate’s share of searches among van hire companies in the United Kingdom moved from 9.7% to 15.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 6.6K to 9.9K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Thrifty’s share of searches among van hire companies in the United Kingdom moved from 1.5% to 0.73%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1K to 480. ## Top van hire companies in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions, neither Northgate nor Thrifty showed up in any of the three answers. Too few answers listed options to rank the brands, so only mentions are counted. | Brand | ChatGPT answers that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | | Enterprise Rent-A-Car | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Arnold Clark | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 | | Northgate | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | | Hertz | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | | Europcar | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | | Thrifty | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | ## Every AI answer about van hire companies - Asked ChatGPT "Where's the best place to hire a van in the UK?": 1. Enterprise Rent-A-Car - Asked ChatGPT "Which van hire company should I use for moving house?": 1. Enterprise Rent-A-Car - Asked ChatGPT "Who has the cheapest van hire in the UK?": 1. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 2. Arnold Clark Not named in any answer: Northgate, Hertz, Europcar and Thrifty. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 27, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom van hire companies in September 2026? - In September 2026, Northgate gained share of searches among van hire companies in the United Kingdom, from 11.5% to 15.1%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Thrifty in the United Kingdom fell 52% over 12 measured months, from 1K to 480 in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Northgate estimated searches | Northgate Share of Search | Northgate rank | Thrifty estimated searches | Thrifty Share of Search | Thrifty rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 6.6K | 9.7% | 3 | 1K | 1.5% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | 6.6K | 10.5% | 3 | 880 | 1.4% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | 5.4K | 9.9% | 3 | 590 | 1.1% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | 6.6K | 9.9% | 3 | 880 | 1.3% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | 6.6K | 11.5% | 3 | 720 | 1.3% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | 6.6K | 9.6% | 4 | 880 | 1.3% | 5 | | Apr 2026 | 6.6K | 10.3% | 4 | 720 | 1.1% | 5 | | May 2026 | 6.6K | 9.6% | 4 | 720 | 1% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | 6.6K | 10.4% | 4 | 590 | 0.93% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 8.1K | 11.5% | 3 | 590 | 0.84% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 8.1K | 11.5% | 3 | 590 | 0.84% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | 9.9K | 15.1% | 3 | 480 | 0.73% | 6 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Northgate’s and Thrifty’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. - **Northgate**: Measured on the search term “northgate van hire”. - **Thrifty**: Measured on the search term “thrifty van hire”. - [Northgate profile](/demand/uk/brands/northgate-vehicle-hire) - [Thrifty profile](/demand/uk/brands/thrifty) - [All van hire companies in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-van-hire-companies): 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 Northgate or Thrifty more popular in search? In September 2026, Northgate had more branded searches than Thrifty among van hire companies in the United Kingdom. Northgate had about 9,900 branded searches, while Thrifty had 480. Northgate made up 15.1% of all van hire company searches we track, and Thrifty accounted for 0.73%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Northgate vs Thrifty: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/northgate-vehicle-hire-vs-thrifty This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/northgate-vehicle-hire-vs-thrifty. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.