---
title: "Credit builder apps in the United States: Which are most popular?"
description: "Compare the apps and accounts Americans use to build or repair a credit score. Share of Search among Kikoff, Credit Strong, Self, Chime and Grow Credit, the credit builder apps 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-credit-builder-apps"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Credit builder apps in the United States: Which are most popular?

Compare the apps and accounts Americans use to build or repair a credit score. Share of Search among Kikoff, Credit Strong, Self, Chime and Grow Credit, the credit builder apps 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**: Credit builder apps
- **Market**: United States
- **Brands compared**: 5
- **Month measured**: Oct 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Kikoff, 49.5%

## Which brand is most popular in search among credit builder apps in the United States?

- In October 2026, Kikoff was the most searched among credit builder apps in the United States, with an estimated 49.5K branded searches, 49.5% of all searches for the five tracked by the Brandwave Brand Demand Index.
- Credit Strong is in 2nd place, 16.4 percentage points behind at 33.1%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Kikoff’s share of searches among credit builder apps in the United States increased from 48.5% to 49.5%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Credit Strong’s share of searches among credit builder apps in the United States increased from 32.5% to 33.1%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Self’s share of searches among credit builder apps in the United States decreased from 11.9% to 9.9%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Chime’s share of searches among credit builder apps in the United States increased from 5.3% to 6.6%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Grow Credit’s share of searches among credit builder apps in the United States decreased from 1.9% to 1%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Kikoff’s share of searches among credit builder apps in the United States peaked at 57.6% in July 2026 and was lowest at 44.3% in March 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Credit Strong’s share of searches among credit builder apps in the United States peaked at 36.2% in March 2026 and was lowest at 25.1% in June 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Self’s share of searches among credit builder apps in the United States peaked at 14.2% in February 2026 and was lowest at 9.9% in October 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Chime’s share of searches among credit builder apps in the United States peaked at 6.6% in October 2026 and was lowest at 3.8% in April 2026.

## Top credit builder apps in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Kikoff was mentioned most often, in three of the five answers. Kikoff was recommended most often, coming first in one out of three answers that gave a list. Self was second, and Chime was third. Credit Strong, which ranked second in searches, was not mentioned at all.

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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Kikoff | 1st | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 |
| Self | 2nd | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Chime | 3rd | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| Grow Credit | 4th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| Credit Strong | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |

## Every AI answer about credit builder apps

- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best way to build credit from scratch?": named none of the brands we track
- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best credit builder app?": 1. Kikoff, 2. Self, 3. Grow Credit
- Asked ChatGPT "How can I raise my credit score quickly?": named none of the brands we track
- Searched Google, AI Overview "credit builder": 1. Chime, 2. Kikoff
- Searched Google, AI Overview "best credit builder": 1. Self, 2. Kikoff

Not named in any answer: Credit Strong.

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

- [Kikoff vs Credit Strong: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/credit-strong-vs-kikoff): 49.5% against 33.1% Share of Search.
- [Kikoff vs Self: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/kikoff-vs-self-credit-builder): 49.5% against 9.9% Share of Search.
- [Kikoff vs Chime: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/chime-vs-kikoff): 49.5% against 6.6% Share of Search.
- [Credit Strong vs Self: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/credit-strong-vs-self-credit-builder): 33.1% against 9.9% Share of Search.
- [Credit Strong vs Chime: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/chime-vs-credit-strong): 33.1% against 6.6% Share of Search.
- [Self vs Chime: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/chime-vs-self-credit-builder): 9.9% against 6.6% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for United States credit builder apps in October 2026?

- In October 2026, Chime gained share of searches among credit builder apps in the United States, from 4.4% to 6.6%.
- In October 2026, Self lost share of searches among credit builder apps in the United States, from 12.1% to 9.9%.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Grow Credit in the United States fell 47.4% over 12 measured months, from 1.9K to 1K in October 2026.

## Which credit builder apps do people search for most?

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Kikoff | 49.5% | 49.5K | 0.0% | Kikoff |
| 2 | Credit Strong | 33.1% | 33.1K | 0.0% | Credit Strong |
| 3 | Self | 9.9% | 9.9K | -18.2% | Self |
| 4 | Chime | 6.6% | 6.6K | +50.0% | Chime |
| 5 | Grow Credit | 1% | 1K | 0.0% | Grow Credit |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nov 2025 | Kikoff | 49.5K | 48.5% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Credit Strong | 33.1K | 32.5% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Self | 12.1K | 11.9% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Chime | 5.4K | 5.3% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Grow Credit | 1.9K | 1.9% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Kikoff | 49.5K | 47.4% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Credit Strong | 33.1K | 31.7% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Self | 14.8K | 14.2% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Chime | 5.4K | 5.2% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Grow Credit | 1.6K | 1.5% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Kikoff | 49.5K | 47.4% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Credit Strong | 33.1K | 31.7% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Self | 14.8K | 14.2% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Chime | 5.4K | 5.2% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Grow Credit | 1.6K | 1.5% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Kikoff | 49.5K | 47.6% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Credit Strong | 33.1K | 31.8% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Self | 14.8K | 14.2% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Chime | 5.4K | 5.2% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Grow Credit | 1.3K | 1.2% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Kikoff | 49.5K | 44.3% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Credit Strong | 40.5K | 36.2% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Self | 14.8K | 13.2% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Chime | 5.4K | 4.8% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Grow Credit | 1.6K | 1.4% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Kikoff | 60.5K | 52.9% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Credit Strong | 33.1K | 28.9% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Self | 14.8K | 12.9% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Chime | 4.4K | 3.8% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Grow Credit | 1.6K | 1.4% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Kikoff | 60.5K | 52.6% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Credit Strong | 33.1K | 28.8% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Self | 14.8K | 12.9% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Chime | 5.4K | 4.7% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Grow Credit | 1.3K | 1.1% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Kikoff | 60.5K | 56.1% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Credit Strong | 27.1K | 25.1% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Self | 14.8K | 13.7% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Chime | 4.4K | 4.1% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Grow Credit | 1K | 0.93% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Kikoff | 60.5K | 57.6% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Credit Strong | 27.1K | 25.8% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Self | 12.1K | 11.5% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Chime | 4.4K | 4.2% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Grow Credit | 1K | 0.95% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Kikoff | 60.5K | 54.3% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Credit Strong | 33.1K | 29.7% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Self | 12.1K | 10.9% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Chime | 4.4K | 3.9% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Grow Credit | 1.3K | 1.2% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | Kikoff | 49.5K | 49.5% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | Credit Strong | 33.1K | 33.1% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | Self | 12.1K | 12.1% | 3 |
| Sep 2026 | Chime | 4.4K | 4.4% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | Grow Credit | 1K | 1% | 5 |
| Oct 2026 | Kikoff | 49.5K | 49.5% | 1 |
| Oct 2026 | Credit Strong | 33.1K | 33.1% | 2 |
| Oct 2026 | Self | 9.9K | 9.9% | 3 |
| Oct 2026 | Chime | 6.6K | 6.6% | 4 |
| Oct 2026 | Grow Credit | 1K | 1% | 5 |

## How are branded searches counted for credit builder apps?

- **Chime**: Measured on the search term “chime credit builder”.
- **Credit Strong**: Measured on the search term “credit strong”.
- **Grow Credit**: Measured on the search term “grow credit”.
- **Kikoff**: Measured on the search term “kikoff”.
- **Self**: Measured on the search term “self credit builder”.

- [Chime](/demand/us/brands/chime)
- [Credit Strong](/demand/us/brands/credit-strong)
- [Grow Credit](/demand/us/brands/grow-credit)
- [Kikoff](/demand/us/brands/kikoff)
- [Self](/demand/us/brands/self-credit-builder)

## 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 credit builder apps in the United States?

In October 2026, Kikoff was the most searched among credit builder apps in the United States, with an estimated 49.5K branded searches, 49.5% of all searches for the five tracked by the Brandwave Brand Demand Index.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Credit builder apps in the United States: Which are most popular?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/categories/us-credit-builder-apps

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