---
title: "Ice cream chains in the United States: Which are searched most?"
description: "Compare the ice cream shop chains people in the US buy from. Share of Search among Dairy Queen, Cold Stone Creamery, Baskin-Robbins, Salt & Straw, Culver's, Handel's, Marble Slab Creamery and Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, the ice cream chains 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-ice-cream-chains"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Ice cream chains in the United States: Which are searched most?

Compare the ice cream shop chains people in the US buy from. Share of Search among Dairy Queen, Cold Stone Creamery, Baskin-Robbins, Salt & Straw, Culver's, Handel's, Marble Slab Creamery and Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, the ice cream chains 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**: Ice cream chains
- **Market**: United States
- **Brands compared**: 8
- **Month measured**: Sep 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Dairy Queen, 46.9%

## Which brand is most popular in search among ice cream chains in the United States?

- In September 2026, Dairy Queen was the most searched among ice cream chains in the United States, with an estimated 3.4M branded searches, 46.9% of all searches for the eight we track.
- Cold Stone Creamery is in 2nd place, 23.5 percentage points behind at 23.4%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Dairy Queen’s share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States decreased from 48.3% to 46.9%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Cold Stone Creamery’s share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States decreased from 24.1% to 23.4%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Baskin-Robbins’ share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States increased from 17.6% to 21%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Salt & Straw’s share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States decreased from 4.3% to 2.8%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Dairy Queen’s share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States peaked at 51.8% in March 2026 and was lowest at 44.1% in November 2025.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Cold Stone Creamery’s share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States peaked at 27.2% in July 2026 and was lowest at 21.2% in March 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Baskin-Robbins’ share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States peaked at 24.1% in November 2025 and was lowest at 17.6% in October 2025.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Salt & Straw’s share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States peaked at 4.3% in October 2025 and was lowest at 2.4% in May 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Culver's, Handel's, Marble Slab Creamery and Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams held steady: their share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Top ice cream chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, Cold Stone Creamery and Handel's were mentioned most often, in three of the four answers. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams was recommended most often, coming first in one out of three answers that gave a list. Salt & Straw was second, and Handel's was third. Marble Slab Creamery, which ranked seventh 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 1st | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 |
| Salt & Straw | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 |
| Handel's | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 |
| Cold Stone Creamery | 4th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 |
| Dairy Queen | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 4 |
| Baskin-Robbins | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 4 |
| Culver's | 7th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 |
| Marble Slab Creamery | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 4 |

## Every AI answer about ice cream chains

- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best ice cream chain in the US?": 1. Salt & Straw, 2. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, 3. Handel's, 4. Cold Stone Creamery, 5. Culver's
- Asked ChatGPT "Which ice cream shop chain in the US has the best ice cream?": 1. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, 2. Salt & Straw, 3. Handel's, 4. Cold Stone Creamery
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the most popular ice cream chains in the US?": 1. Dairy Queen, 2. Baskin-Robbins, 3. Cold Stone Creamery, 4. Culver's, 5. Handel's
- Searched Google, AI Overview "soft serve": named none of the brands we track

Not named in any answer: Marble Slab Creamery.

Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 23, 2026.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [Dairy Queen vs Cold Stone Creamery: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/cold-stone-creamery-vs-dairy-queen): 46.9% against 23.4% Share of Search.
- [Dairy Queen vs Baskin-Robbins: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/baskin-robbins-vs-dairy-queen): 46.9% against 21% Share of Search.
- [Dairy Queen vs Salt & Straw: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/dairy-queen-vs-salt-and-straw): 46.9% against 2.8% Share of Search.
- [Dairy Queen vs Culver's: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/culvers-vs-dairy-queen): 46.9% against 2.4% Share of Search.
- [Cold Stone Creamery vs Baskin-Robbins: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/baskin-robbins-vs-cold-stone-creamery): 23.4% against 21% Share of Search.
- [Cold Stone Creamery vs Salt & Straw: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/cold-stone-creamery-vs-salt-and-straw): 23.4% against 2.8% Share of Search.
- [Cold Stone Creamery vs Culver's: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/cold-stone-creamery-vs-culvers): 23.4% against 2.4% Share of Search.
- [Baskin-Robbins vs Salt & Straw: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/baskin-robbins-vs-salt-and-straw): 21% against 2.8% Share of Search.
- [Baskin-Robbins vs Culver's: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/baskin-robbins-vs-culvers): 21% against 2.4% Share of Search.
- [Salt & Straw vs Culver's: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/culvers-vs-salt-and-straw): 2.8% against 2.4% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for United States ice cream chains in September 2026?

- In September 2026, Dairy Queen gained share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States, from 45.6% to 46.9%.
- In September 2026, Baskin-Robbins gained share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States, from 20.4% to 21%.
- In September 2026, Cold Stone Creamery lost share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States, from 25.9% to 23.4%.
- In September 2026, Culver's rose from 6th to 5th among ice cream chains in the United States.
- In September 2026, Handel's fell from 5th to 6th among ice cream chains in the United States.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Salt & Straw in the United States fell 33.2% over 12 measured months, from 301K to 201K in September 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Dairy Queen | 46.9% | 3.4M | -18.1% | Dairy Queen |
| 2 | Cold Stone Creamery | 23.4% | 1.7M | -28.0% | Cold Stone Creamery |
| 3 | Baskin-Robbins | 21% | 1.5M | -18.0% | Baskin-Robbins |
| 4 | Salt & Straw | 2.8% | 201K | -18.3% | Salt & Straw |
| 5 | Culver's | 2.4% | 170K | -0.7% | Culver's |
| 6 | Handel's | 2.4% | 169K | -20.1% | Handel's |
| 7 | Marble Slab Creamery | 0.57% | 40.5K | -18.2% | Marble Slab Creamery |
| 8 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 0.51% | 36.7K | -24.5% | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Dairy Queen | 3.4M | 48.3% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Cold Stone Creamery | 1.7M | 24.1% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.2M | 17.6% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Salt & Straw | 301K | 4.3% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Culver's | 170K | 2.5% | 5 |
| Oct 2025 | Handel's | 142K | 2% | 6 |
| Oct 2025 | Marble Slab Creamery | 40.5K | 0.58% | 7 |
| Oct 2025 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 38.5K | 0.56% | 8 |
| Nov 2025 | Dairy Queen | 2.7M | 44.1% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.5M | 24.1% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Cold Stone Creamery | 1.4M | 22.1% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Salt & Straw | 246K | 4% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Handel's | 140K | 2.3% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Culver's | 139K | 2.2% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | Marble Slab Creamery | 40.5K | 0.65% | 7 |
| Nov 2025 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 32.5K | 0.52% | 8 |
| Dec 2025 | Dairy Queen | 2.7M | 46.4% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Cold Stone Creamery | 1.4M | 23.2% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.2M | 20.7% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Salt & Straw | 246K | 4.2% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Handel's | 140K | 2.4% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Culver's | 114K | 1.9% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | Marble Slab Creamery | 40.5K | 0.69% | 7 |
| Dec 2025 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 32.5K | 0.55% | 8 |
| Jan 2026 | Dairy Queen | 3.4M | 50% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Cold Stone Creamery | 1.5M | 22.3% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.2M | 18.2% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Salt & Straw | 246K | 3.7% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Culver's | 169K | 2.5% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Handel's | 142K | 2.1% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | Marble Slab Creamery | 40.5K | 0.6% | 7 |
| Jan 2026 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 32.5K | 0.49% | 8 |
| Feb 2026 | Dairy Queen | 3.4M | 50.4% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Cold Stone Creamery | 1.5M | 22.5% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.2M | 18.3% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Salt & Straw | 201K | 3% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Culver's | 169K | 2.5% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Handel's | 142K | 2.1% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | Marble Slab Creamery | 40.5K | 0.61% | 7 |
| Feb 2026 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 32.5K | 0.49% | 8 |
| Mar 2026 | Dairy Queen | 5M | 51.8% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Cold Stone Creamery | 2M | 21.2% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.8M | 19% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Salt & Straw | 301K | 3.1% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Handel's | 211K | 2.2% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Culver's | 172K | 1.8% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | Marble Slab Creamery | 49.5K | 0.51% | 7 |
| Mar 2026 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 48.6K | 0.5% | 8 |
| Apr 2026 | Dairy Queen | 4.1M | 47% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Cold Stone Creamery | 2M | 23.5% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.8M | 21% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Salt & Straw | 246K | 2.8% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Handel's | 211K | 2.4% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Culver's | 172K | 2% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 57.6K | 0.66% | 7 |
| Apr 2026 | Marble Slab Creamery | 49.5K | 0.57% | 8 |
| May 2026 | Dairy Queen | 5M | 49.5% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Cold Stone Creamery | 2.5M | 24.8% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.8M | 18.1% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Salt & Straw | 246K | 2.4% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Handel's | 213K | 2.1% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Culver's | 208K | 2.1% | 6 |
| May 2026 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 50.4K | 0.5% | 7 |
| May 2026 | Marble Slab Creamery | 49.5K | 0.49% | 8 |
| Jun 2026 | Dairy Queen | 4.1M | 45.3% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Cold Stone Creamery | 2.3M | 25.7% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.8M | 20.3% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Salt & Straw | 301K | 3.3% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Handel's | 211K | 2.3% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Culver's | 172K | 1.9% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 50.4K | 0.56% | 7 |
| Jun 2026 | Marble Slab Creamery | 49.5K | 0.55% | 8 |
| Jul 2026 | Dairy Queen | 4.1M | 44.5% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Cold Stone Creamery | 2.5M | 27.2% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.8M | 19.9% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Handel's | 258K | 2.8% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Salt & Straw | 246K | 2.7% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Culver's | 172K | 1.9% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | Marble Slab Creamery | 49.5K | 0.54% | 7 |
| Jul 2026 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 45.2K | 0.49% | 8 |
| Aug 2026 | Dairy Queen | 4.1M | 45.6% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Cold Stone Creamery | 2.3M | 25.9% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.8M | 20.4% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Salt & Straw | 246K | 2.7% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Handel's | 211K | 2.4% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Culver's | 172K | 1.9% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | Marble Slab Creamery | 49.5K | 0.55% | 7 |
| Aug 2026 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 48.6K | 0.54% | 8 |
| Sep 2026 | Dairy Queen | 3.4M | 46.9% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | Cold Stone Creamery | 1.7M | 23.4% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | Baskin-Robbins | 1.5M | 21% | 3 |
| Sep 2026 | Salt & Straw | 201K | 2.8% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | Culver's | 170K | 2.4% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | Handel's | 169K | 2.4% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | Marble Slab Creamery | 40.5K | 0.57% | 7 |
| Sep 2026 | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 36.7K | 0.51% | 8 |

## What is being compared

- **Baskin-Robbins**: Measured on the search term “baskin robbins”.
- **Cold Stone Creamery**: Measured on the search terms “cold stone” and “cold stone creamery”, summed into one figure.
- **Culver's**: Measured on the search terms “culvers custard” and “culvers flavor of the day”, summed into one figure.
- **Dairy Queen**: Measured on the search term “dairy queen”.
- **Handel's**: Measured on the search terms “handels” and “handels ice cream”, summed into one figure.
- **Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams**: Measured on the search terms “jenis” and “jenis ice cream”, summed into one figure.
- **Marble Slab Creamery**: Measured on the search term “marble slab”.
- **Salt & Straw**: Measured on the search term “salt and straw”.

- [Baskin-Robbins](/demand/us/brands/baskin-robbins)
- [Cold Stone Creamery](/demand/us/brands/cold-stone-creamery)
- [Culver's](/demand/us/brands/culvers)
- [Dairy Queen](/demand/us/brands/dairy-queen)
- [Handel's](/demand/us/brands/handels)
- [Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams](/demand/us/brands/jenis)
- [Marble Slab Creamery](/demand/us/brands/marble-slab-creamery)
- [Salt & Straw](/demand/us/brands/salt-and-straw)

## 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 ice cream chains in the United States?

In September 2026, Dairy Queen was the most searched among ice cream chains in the United States, with an estimated 3.4M branded searches, 46.9% of all searches for the eight we track.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Ice cream chains in the United States: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/categories/us-ice-cream-chains

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