--- title: "PenFed Credit Union: search popularity in the United States" description: "PenFed Credit Union is a credit union offering savings, credit cards, mortgages and auto loans. 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/penfed" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # PenFed Credit Union: search popularity in the United States PenFed Credit Union is a credit union offering savings, credit cards, mortgages and auto loans. 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**: PenFed Credit Union - **Market**: United States - **Measured month**: Sep 2026 - **Share of Search among auto loan brands**: 1.5% ## Where the brand sits | Competitive set | Rank | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Auto loan brands | 4 | 1.5% | 211K | | Credit unions | 6 | 3.5% | 201K | - [Auto loan brands](/demand/us/categories/us-auto-loan-brands) - [Credit unions in the US](/demand/us/categories/us-credit-unions) ## Top auto loan brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, PenFed Credit Union was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. PenFed Credit Union is the most recommended of the eight. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | PenFed Credit Union | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Capital One | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Navy Federal Credit Union | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Bank of America | 4th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | myAutoloan | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Carvana | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Discover | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | LightStream | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about auto loan brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which auto loan brand should I use in the US?": 1. PenFed Credit Union, 2. Capital One, 3. Navy Federal Credit Union - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best auto loan brands in the US?": 1. PenFed Credit Union, 2. Capital One, 3. Navy Federal Credit Union, 4. myAutoloan - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best auto loan brand in the US for a used car?": 1. PenFed Credit Union, 2. Capital One, 3. Navy Federal Credit Union, 4. myAutoloan, 5. Bank of America - Searched Google, AI Overview "auto loan rates": 1. PenFed Credit Union, 2. Navy Federal Credit Union, 3. Bank of America, 4. Capital One - Searched Google, AI Overview "car loan rates": named none of the brands we track Not named in any answer: Carvana, Discover and LightStream. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 19, 2026. ## How has branded search demand for PenFed Credit Union changed in the United States over the last 12 months? - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for PenFed Credit Union in the United States fell from 250K to 211K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, PenFed Credit Union’s share of searches among auto loan brands in the United States held steady, from 1.8% to 1.5%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, PenFed Credit Union fell from 5th to 6th among credit unions in the United States. ## How did search popularity change for United States auto loan brands in September 2026? - In September 2026, Capital One gained share of searches among auto loan brands in the United States, from 62.9% to 64%. - In September 2026, Carvana gained share of searches among auto loan brands in the United States, from 28.1% to 28.6%. - In September 2026, Discover lost share of searches among auto loan brands in the United States, from 5.6% to 4.7%. - In September 2026, Navy Federal Credit Union rose from 7th to 6th among auto loan brands in the United States. - In September 2026, Bank of America fell from 6th to 7th among auto loan brands in the United States. - Estimated monthly branded searches for myAutoloan in the United States rose 47.7% over 12 measured months, from 880 to 1.3K in September 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United States credit unions in September 2026? - In September 2026, Navy Federal Credit Union gained share of searches among credit unions in the United States, from 63% to 64.6%. - In September 2026, BECU lost share of searches among credit unions in the United States, from 7.6% to 6.4%. - In September 2026, PenFed Credit Union lost share of searches among credit unions in the United States, from 4.1% to 3.5%. - In September 2026, State Employees' Credit Union rose from 3rd to 2nd among credit unions in the United States. - Estimated monthly branded searches for SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union in the United States rose 22.4% over 12 measured months, from 246K to 301K in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Quorum Federal Credit Union in the United States rose 22.2% over 12 measured months, from 9.9K to 12.1K in September 2026. ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Competitive set | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | Auto loan brands | 250K | 1.8% | 4 | | Nov 2025 | Auto loan brands | 206K | 1.6% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | Auto loan brands | 211K | 1.5% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | Auto loan brands | 261K | 1.9% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | Auto loan brands | 216K | 1.6% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | Auto loan brands | 261K | 1.8% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | Auto loan brands | 261K | 1.8% | 4 | | May 2026 | Auto loan brands | 213K | 1.4% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | Auto loan brands | 211K | 1.5% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | Auto loan brands | 254K | 1.7% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | Auto loan brands | 256K | 1.8% | 4 | | Sep 2026 | Auto loan brands | 211K | 1.5% | 4 | | Oct 2025 | Credit unions | 246K | 3.6% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | Credit unions | 201K | 3.5% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | Credit unions | 201K | 3.3% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | Credit unions | 246K | 4.1% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | Credit unions | 201K | 3.4% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | Credit unions | 246K | 4.1% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | Credit unions | 246K | 4.1% | 6 | | May 2026 | Credit unions | 201K | 3.5% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | Credit unions | 201K | 3.3% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | Credit unions | 246K | 4.2% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | Credit unions | 246K | 4.1% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | Credit unions | 201K | 3.5% | 6 | ## How are PenFed Credit Union’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using PenFed Credit Union’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading. - “penfed” - “penfed auto loan” ## Which auto loan brands compete with PenFed Credit Union? - [Capital One](/demand/us/brands/capital-one): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/capital-one-vs-penfed - [Carvana](/demand/us/brands/carvana): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/carvana-vs-penfed - [Discover](/demand/us/brands/discover): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/discover-vs-penfed - [LightStream](/demand/us/brands/lightstream): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/lightstream-vs-penfed - [Navy Federal Credit Union](/demand/us/brands/navy-federal): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/navy-federal-vs-penfed - [Bank of America](/demand/us/brands/bank-of-america) - [myAutoloan](/demand/us/brands/myautoloan) ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "PenFed Credit Union: search popularity in the United States". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/brands/penfed This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/brands/penfed. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.