--- title: "Cold and flu brands in the United States: Which are searched most?" description: "Compare the cold, flu and cough medicine brands Americans buy. Share of Search among Mucinex, NyQuil, Robitussin, Theraflu, DayQuil, Vicks, Zicam, Delsym and Alka-Seltzer Plus, the cold and flu brands Brandwave compares in the United States, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. 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/categories/us-cold-and-flu-brands" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Cold and flu brands in the United States: Which are searched most? Compare the cold, flu and cough medicine brands Americans buy. Share of Search among Mucinex, NyQuil, Robitussin, Theraflu, DayQuil, Vicks, Zicam, Delsym and Alka-Seltzer Plus, the cold and flu brands Brandwave compares in the United States, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. 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 - **Competitive set**: Cold and flu brands - **Market**: United States - **Brands compared**: 9 - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Highest Share of Search**: Mucinex, 28.9% ## Which brand is most popular in search among cold and flu brands in the United States? - In September 2026, Mucinex was the most searched among cold and flu brands in the United States, with an estimated 450K branded searches, 28.9% of all searches for the nine we track. - NyQuil is in 2nd place, 16 percentage points behind at 12.9%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Mucinex’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States decreased from 30.1% to 28.9%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, NyQuil’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States decreased from 13.5% to 12.9%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Robitussin’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States decreased from 13.5% to 12.9%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Theraflu’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States increased from 11% to 12.9%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, DayQuil’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States increased from 9% to 10.6%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Mucinex’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States peaked at 34.6% in April 2026 and was lowest at 28% in February 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, NyQuil’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States peaked at 14% in August 2026 and was lowest at 12.2% in March 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Robitussin’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States peaked at 13.5% in July 2026 and was lowest at 10.2% in January 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Theraflu’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States peaked at 19.2% in December 2025 and was lowest at 9.1% in July 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, DayQuil’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States peaked at 10.6% in September 2026 and was lowest at 8.1% in March 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Vicks’ share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States peaked at 11.1% in July 2026 and was lowest at 7% in December 2025. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Zicam’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States peaked at 8.4% in February 2026 and was lowest at 5.6% in June 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Delsym’s share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States peaked at 6.1% in July 2026 and was lowest at 4.7% in December 2025. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Vicks, Zicam, Delsym and Alka-Seltzer Plus held steady: their share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States each moved less than 0.5 percentage points. ## Top cold and flu brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Mucinex was mentioned most often, in four of the five answers. Theraflu, which ranked fourth in searches, was not mentioned at all. Too few answers listed options to rank the brands, so only mentions are counted. | Brand | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Mucinex | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | NyQuil | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Robitussin | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Theraflu | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | DayQuil | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Vicks | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Zicam | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Delsym | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about cold and flu brands - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best cold medicine?": 1. Mucinex - Asked ChatGPT "What's good for a stuffy nose?": named none of the brands we track - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best cough medicine for adults?": 1. Delsym, 2. Robitussin, 3. Mucinex - Searched Google, AI Overview "cold medicine": 1. Mucinex - Searched Google, AI Overview "best cold medicine": 1. Vicks, 2. DayQuil, 3. NyQuil, 4. Mucinex, 5. Delsym, 6. Robitussin Not named in any answer: Theraflu, Zicam and Alka-Seltzer Plus. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 27, 2026. ## Compare search popularity between leading brands - [Mucinex vs NyQuil: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/mucinex-vs-nyquil): 28.9% against 12.9% Share of Search. - [Mucinex vs Robitussin: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/mucinex-vs-robitussin): 28.9% against 12.9% Share of Search. - [Mucinex vs Theraflu: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/mucinex-vs-theraflu): 28.9% against 12.9% Share of Search. - [Mucinex vs DayQuil: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/dayquil-vs-mucinex): 28.9% against 10.6% Share of Search. - [NyQuil vs Robitussin: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/nyquil-vs-robitussin): 12.9% Share of Search each. - [NyQuil vs Theraflu: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/nyquil-vs-theraflu): 12.9% Share of Search each. - [NyQuil vs DayQuil: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/dayquil-vs-nyquil): 12.9% against 10.6% Share of Search. - [Robitussin vs Theraflu: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/robitussin-vs-theraflu): 12.9% Share of Search each. - [Robitussin vs DayQuil: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/dayquil-vs-robitussin): 12.9% against 10.6% Share of Search. - [Theraflu vs DayQuil: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/dayquil-vs-theraflu): 12.9% against 10.6% Share of Search. ## How did search popularity change for United States cold and flu brands in September 2026? - In September 2026, Robitussin gained share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States, from 11.4% to 12.9%. - In September 2026, Theraflu gained share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States, from 11.4% to 12.9%. - In September 2026, DayQuil gained share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States, from 9.4% to 10.6%. - In September 2026, Zicam gained share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States, from 6.3% to 7.1%. - In September 2026, Mucinex lost share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States, from 31.3% to 28.9%. - In September 2026, NyQuil lost share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States, from 14% to 12.9%. - In September 2026, Vicks lost share of searches among cold and flu brands in the United States, from 9.4% to 8.7%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Alka-Seltzer Plus in the United States rose 22.7% over 12 measured months, from 18.1K to 22.2K in September 2026. ## Share of Search ranking | Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Mucinex | 28.9% | 450K | +49.5% | Reckitt | | 2 | NyQuil | 12.9% | 201K | +48.9% | Procter & Gamble | | 3 | Robitussin | 12.9% | 201K | +82.7% | Robitussin | | 4 | Theraflu | 12.9% | 201K | +82.7% | Theraflu | | 5 | DayQuil | 10.6% | 165K | +82.3% | Procter & Gamble | | 6 | Vicks | 8.7% | 135K | +49.2% | Vicks | | 7 | Zicam | 7.1% | 110K | +81.8% | Zicam | | 8 | Delsym | 4.7% | 74K | +49.5% | Delsym | | 9 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 1.4% | 22.2K | +50.0% | Alka-Seltzer Plus | ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | Mucinex | 368K | 30.1% | 1 | | Oct 2025 | NyQuil | 165K | 13.5% | 2 | | Oct 2025 | Robitussin | 165K | 13.5% | 3 | | Oct 2025 | Theraflu | 135K | 11% | 4 | | Oct 2025 | DayQuil | 110K | 9% | 5 | | Oct 2025 | Vicks | 110K | 9% | 6 | | Oct 2025 | Zicam | 90.5K | 7.4% | 7 | | Oct 2025 | Delsym | 60.5K | 5% | 8 | | Oct 2025 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 18.1K | 1.5% | 9 | | Nov 2025 | Mucinex | 450K | 30.6% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | NyQuil | 201K | 13.7% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | Theraflu | 201K | 13.7% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | Robitussin | 165K | 11.2% | 4 | | Nov 2025 | DayQuil | 135K | 9.2% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | Vicks | 110K | 7.5% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | Zicam | 110K | 7.5% | 7 | | Nov 2025 | Delsym | 74K | 5% | 8 | | Nov 2025 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 22.2K | 1.5% | 9 | | Dec 2025 | Mucinex | 673K | 28.7% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | Theraflu | 450K | 19.2% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | NyQuil | 301K | 12.8% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | Robitussin | 246K | 10.5% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | DayQuil | 201K | 8.6% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | Vicks | 165K | 7% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | Zicam | 165K | 7% | 7 | | Dec 2025 | Delsym | 110K | 4.7% | 8 | | Dec 2025 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 33.1K | 1.4% | 9 | | Jan 2026 | Mucinex | 550K | 28% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | Theraflu | 368K | 18.7% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | NyQuil | 246K | 12.5% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | Robitussin | 201K | 10.2% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | DayQuil | 165K | 8.4% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | Vicks | 165K | 8.4% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | Zicam | 135K | 6.9% | 7 | | Jan 2026 | Delsym | 110K | 5.6% | 8 | | Jan 2026 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 27.1K | 1.4% | 9 | | Feb 2026 | Mucinex | 450K | 28% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | Theraflu | 246K | 15.3% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | NyQuil | 201K | 12.5% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | DayQuil | 165K | 10.3% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | Robitussin | 165K | 10.3% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | Vicks | 135K | 8.4% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | Zicam | 135K | 8.4% | 7 | | Feb 2026 | Delsym | 90.5K | 5.6% | 8 | | Feb 2026 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 22.2K | 1.4% | 9 | | Mar 2026 | Mucinex | 450K | 33.3% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | NyQuil | 165K | 12.2% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | Robitussin | 165K | 12.2% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | Theraflu | 165K | 12.2% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | DayQuil | 110K | 8.1% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | Vicks | 110K | 8.1% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | Zicam | 90.5K | 6.7% | 7 | | Mar 2026 | Delsym | 74K | 5.5% | 8 | | Mar 2026 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 22.2K | 1.6% | 9 | | Apr 2026 | Mucinex | 368K | 34.6% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | NyQuil | 135K | 12.7% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | Robitussin | 135K | 12.7% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | Theraflu | 110K | 10.3% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | DayQuil | 90.5K | 8.5% | 5 | | Apr 2026 | Vicks | 90.5K | 8.5% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | Delsym | 60.5K | 5.7% | 7 | | Apr 2026 | Zicam | 60.5K | 5.7% | 8 | | Apr 2026 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 14.8K | 1.4% | 9 | | May 2026 | Mucinex | 301K | 30.2% | 1 | | May 2026 | NyQuil | 135K | 13.5% | 2 | | May 2026 | Robitussin | 135K | 13.5% | 3 | | May 2026 | Theraflu | 110K | 11% | 4 | | May 2026 | DayQuil | 90.5K | 9.1% | 5 | | May 2026 | Vicks | 90.5K | 9.1% | 6 | | May 2026 | Delsym | 60.5K | 6.1% | 7 | | May 2026 | Zicam | 60.5K | 6.1% | 8 | | May 2026 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 14.8K | 1.5% | 9 | | Jun 2026 | Mucinex | 246K | 33.9% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | NyQuil | 90.5K | 12.5% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | Robitussin | 90.5K | 12.5% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | Theraflu | 74K | 10.2% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | Vicks | 74K | 10.2% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | DayQuil | 60.5K | 8.3% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | Delsym | 40.5K | 5.6% | 7 | | Jun 2026 | Zicam | 40.5K | 5.6% | 8 | | Jun 2026 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 9.9K | 1.4% | 9 | | Jul 2026 | Mucinex | 201K | 30.1% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | NyQuil | 90.5K | 13.5% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | Robitussin | 90.5K | 13.5% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | Vicks | 74K | 11.1% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | DayQuil | 60.5K | 9.1% | 5 | | Jul 2026 | Theraflu | 60.5K | 9.1% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | Delsym | 40.5K | 6.1% | 7 | | Jul 2026 | Zicam | 40.5K | 6.1% | 8 | | Jul 2026 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 9.9K | 1.5% | 9 | | Aug 2026 | Mucinex | 301K | 31.3% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | NyQuil | 135K | 14% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | Robitussin | 110K | 11.4% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | Theraflu | 110K | 11.4% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | DayQuil | 90.5K | 9.4% | 5 | | Aug 2026 | Vicks | 90.5K | 9.4% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | Zicam | 60.5K | 6.3% | 7 | | Aug 2026 | Delsym | 49.5K | 5.1% | 8 | | Aug 2026 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 14.8K | 1.5% | 9 | | Sep 2026 | Mucinex | 450K | 28.9% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | NyQuil | 201K | 12.9% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | Robitussin | 201K | 12.9% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | Theraflu | 201K | 12.9% | 4 | | Sep 2026 | DayQuil | 165K | 10.6% | 5 | | Sep 2026 | Vicks | 135K | 8.7% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | Zicam | 110K | 7.1% | 7 | | Sep 2026 | Delsym | 74K | 4.7% | 8 | | Sep 2026 | Alka-Seltzer Plus | 22.2K | 1.4% | 9 | ## What is being compared - **Alka-Seltzer Plus**: Measured on the search term “alka seltzer plus”. - **DayQuil**: Measured on the search term “dayquil”. - **Delsym**: Measured on the search term “delsym”. - **Mucinex**: Measured on the search term “mucinex”. - **NyQuil**: Measured on the search term “nyquil”. - **Robitussin**: Measured on the search term “robitussin”. - **Theraflu**: Measured on the search term “theraflu”. - **Vicks**: Measured on the search term “vicks vaporub”. - **Zicam**: Measured on the search term “zicam”. - [Alka-Seltzer Plus](/demand/us/brands/alka-seltzer-plus) - [DayQuil](/demand/us/brands/dayquil) - [Delsym](/demand/us/brands/delsym) - [Mucinex](/demand/us/brands/mucinex) - [NyQuil](/demand/us/brands/nyquil) - [Robitussin](/demand/us/brands/robitussin) - [Theraflu](/demand/us/brands/theraflu) - [Vicks](/demand/us/brands/vicks) - [Zicam](/demand/us/brands/zicam) ## 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 ### Which brand is most popular in search among cold and flu brands in the United States? In September 2026, Mucinex was the most searched among cold and flu brands in the United States, with an estimated 450K branded searches, 28.9% of all searches for the nine we track. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Cold and flu brands in the United States: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/categories/us-cold-and-flu-brands This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/categories/us-cold-and-flu-brands. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.