---
title: "Cars.com: search popularity in United States"
description: "Cars.com is a car marketplace. 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/us/brands/cars-com"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Cars.com: search popularity in United States

Cars.com is a car marketplace. 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

- **Brand**: Cars.com
- **Market**: United States
- **Measured month**: Sep 2026
- **Share of Search among car marketplaces**: 2.9%

## Where the brand sits

| Competitive set | Rank | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Car marketplaces | 5 | 2.9% | 368K |

- [Car marketplaces](/demand/us/categories/us-car-marketplaces)

## How has branded search demand for Cars.com changed in United States over the last 12 months?

- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for Cars.com in United States held steady at 368K.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Cars.com’s estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces in United States held steady, from 3.1% to 2.9%.

## How did search popularity change for United States car marketplaces in September 2026?

- In September 2026, Carvana overtook CarMax to become the leader among car marketplaces in United States, with 32.3% estimated Share of Search.
- In September 2026, CarGurus overtook CarMax to rank 2nd among car marketplaces in United States, with 26.5% estimated Share of Search.
- In September 2026, Carfax gained estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces in United States, from 11.1% to 11.9%.
- In September 2026, CarMax lost estimated Share of Search among car marketplaces in United States, from 30.3% to 26.5%.

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Competitive set | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Car marketplaces | 368K | 3.1% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Car marketplaces | 368K | 3.3% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Car marketplaces | 368K | 3.1% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Car marketplaces | 368K | 2.9% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Car marketplaces | 368K | 3.1% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Car marketplaces | 450K | 3.1% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Car marketplaces | 450K | 3.3% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Car marketplaces | 450K | 3.3% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Car marketplaces | 368K | 2.9% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Car marketplaces | 368K | 2.7% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Car marketplaces | 450K | 3.3% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | Car marketplaces | 368K | 2.9% | 5 |

## How is Cars.com measured?

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Cars.com’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for this branded term can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading.

- “cars.com”

## Which car marketplaces compete with Cars.com?

- [Carvana](/demand/us/brands/carvana): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/cars-com-vs-carvana
- [CarGurus](/demand/us/brands/cargurus): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/cargurus-vs-cars-com
- [CarMax](/demand/us/brands/carmax): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/carmax-vs-cars-com
- [Carfax](/demand/us/brands/carfax): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/carfax-vs-cars-com

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Cars.com: search popularity in United States". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/brands/cars-com

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/brands/cars-com. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.