--- title: "Straight Talk: search popularity in the United States" description: "Straight Talk is a prepaid phone carrier owned by Verizon. 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/straight-talk" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Straight Talk: search popularity in the United States Straight Talk is a prepaid phone carrier owned by Verizon. 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**: Straight Talk - **Owned by**: Verizon - **Market**: United States - **Measured month**: Sep 2026 - **Share of Search among prepaid phone carriers**: 16% ## Where the brand sits | Competitive set | Rank | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Prepaid phone carriers | 3 | 16% | 1.2M | - [Prepaid phone carriers](/demand/us/categories/us-prepaid-phone-carriers) ## Top prepaid phone carriers in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Straight Talk was mentioned in one out of five: not in any of the three ChatGPT answers, but in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Straight Talk is the eighth most recommended of the 12. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Mint Mobile | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | US Mobile | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Visible | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | T-Mobile Prepaid | 4th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Total Wireless | 5th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Tello | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Cricket Wireless | 7th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Straight Talk | 8th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Boost Mobile | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Metro by T-Mobile | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Consumer Cellular | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Google Fi | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about prepaid phone carriers - Asked ChatGPT "Which prepaid phone carrier should I switch to in the US?": 1. US Mobile, 2. Visible, 3. Mint Mobile - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best prepaid phone carriers in the US?": 1. US Mobile, 2. Visible, 3. Mint Mobile, 4. Cricket Wireless, 5. T-Mobile Prepaid - Asked ChatGPT "What's the cheapest good phone plan in the US for one person?": 1. US Mobile, 2. Tello, 3. Mint Mobile, 4. Visible - Searched Google, AI Overview "prepaid phone plans": 1. Mint Mobile, 2. Total Wireless, 3. Visible, 4. T-Mobile Prepaid, 5. Straight Talk - Searched Google, AI Overview "best prepaid phone plans": 1. Mint Mobile, 2. Visible, 3. T-Mobile Prepaid Not named in any answer: Boost Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Consumer Cellular and Google Fi. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 22, 2026. ## How has branded search demand for Straight Talk changed in the United States over the last 12 months? - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for Straight Talk in the United States fell from 1.5M to 1.2M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Straight Talk’s share of searches among prepaid phone carriers in the United States peaked at 16.9% in November 2025 and was lowest at 14.3% in August 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United States prepaid phone carriers in September 2026? - In September 2026, Consumer Cellular overtook Mint Mobile to rank 5th among prepaid phone carriers in the United States, with 8.8% of the searches. - In September 2026, Straight Talk gained share of searches among prepaid phone carriers in the United States, from 14.3% to 16%. - In September 2026, Cricket Wireless gained share of searches among prepaid phone carriers in the United States, from 11.7% to 13.1%. - In September 2026, Total Wireless gained share of searches among prepaid phone carriers in the United States, from 6.4% to 7.2%. - In September 2026, Boost Mobile lost share of searches among prepaid phone carriers in the United States, from 21.4% to 19.6%. - In September 2026, Metro by T-Mobile lost share of searches among prepaid phone carriers in the United States, from 17.6% to 16%. ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Competitive set | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.5M | 16.3% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.5M | 16.9% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.5M | 16.8% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.2M | 15.5% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.2M | 16% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.2M | 14.6% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.2M | 15.8% | 3 | | May 2026 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.2M | 15.7% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.2M | 15.1% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.2M | 14.5% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.2M | 14.3% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | Prepaid phone carriers | 1.2M | 16% | 3 | ## How are Straight Talk’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Straight Talk’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. - “straight talk” ## Which prepaid phone carriers compete with Straight Talk? - [Boost Mobile](/demand/us/brands/boost-mobile): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/boost-mobile-vs-straight-talk - [Metro by T-Mobile](/demand/us/brands/metro-by-t-mobile): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/metro-by-t-mobile-vs-straight-talk - [Cricket Wireless](/demand/us/brands/cricket-wireless): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/cricket-wireless-vs-straight-talk - [Consumer Cellular](/demand/us/brands/consumer-cellular): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/consumer-cellular-vs-straight-talk - [Mint Mobile](/demand/us/brands/mint-mobile): Head-to-head: /demand/us/compare/mint-mobile-vs-straight-talk - [Total Wireless](/demand/us/brands/total-wireless) - [US Mobile](/demand/us/brands/us-mobile) - [Google Fi](/demand/us/brands/google-fi) - [T-Mobile Prepaid](/demand/us/brands/t-mobile-prepaid) - [Tello](/demand/us/brands/tello-mobile) - [Visible](/demand/us/brands/visible-wireless) ## Who owns Straight Talk? Straight Talk is owned by Verizon. Brandwave also tracks Visible, Total Wireless, Verizon and Verizon Fios, owned by the same company, in the United States. - [Verizon](/demand/us/companies/verizon): Owns 5 tracked 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 ### Who owns Straight Talk? Straight Talk is owned by Verizon. Brandwave also tracks Visible, Total Wireless, Verizon and Verizon Fios, owned by the same company, in the United States. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Straight Talk: search popularity in the United States". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/brands/straight-talk This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/brands/straight-talk. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.