---
title: "Pharmacies in the United States: Which are searched most?"
description: "Compare the pharmacy chains people in the US fill prescriptions at. Share of Search among CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Walmart Pharmacy, Costco and Amazon Pharmacy, the pharmacies 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-pharmacies"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Pharmacies in the United States: Which are searched most?

Compare the pharmacy chains people in the US fill prescriptions at. Share of Search among CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Walmart Pharmacy, Costco and Amazon Pharmacy, the pharmacies 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**: Pharmacies
- **Market**: United States
- **Brands compared**: 5
- **Month measured**: Sep 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: CVS Pharmacy, 52.3%

## Which brand is most popular in search among pharmacies in the United States?

- In September 2026, CVS Pharmacy was the most searched among pharmacies in the United States, with an estimated 26.5M branded searches, 52.3% of all searches for the five we track.
- Walgreens is in 2nd place, 12.1 percentage points behind at 40.2%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, CVS Pharmacy’s share of searches among pharmacies in the United States peaked at 53% in March 2026 and was lowest at 47.6% in January 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Walgreens’ share of searches among pharmacies in the United States peaked at 45.2% in December 2025 and was lowest at 40.1% in August 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Walmart Pharmacy’s share of searches among pharmacies in the United States peaked at 5.8% in April 2026 and was lowest at 4.5% in March 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Walmart Pharmacy, Costco and Amazon Pharmacy held steady: their share of searches among pharmacies in the United States each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Top pharmacies in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and Costco appeared every time. Costco was recommended most often, coming first in two out of three answers. CVS Pharmacy was second, and Walmart Pharmacy was third.

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 | All answers that named it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Costco | 1st | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 |
| CVS Pharmacy | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 |
| Walmart Pharmacy | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 |
| Walgreens | 4th | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 |
| Amazon Pharmacy | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 |

## Every AI answer about pharmacies

- Asked ChatGPT "Which pharmacy should I use for prescriptions in the US?": 1. CVS Pharmacy, 2. Walgreens, 3. Costco, 4. Amazon Pharmacy
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the best pharmacy chains in the US?": 1. Costco, 2. Walmart Pharmacy, 3. CVS Pharmacy, 4. Walgreens, 5. Amazon Pharmacy
- Asked ChatGPT "What's the cheapest pharmacy for prescriptions without insurance in the US?": 1. Costco, 2. Walmart Pharmacy, 3. CVS Pharmacy, 4. Walgreens

Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 22, 2026.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [CVS Pharmacy vs Walgreens: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/cvs-pharmacy-vs-walgreens): 52.3% against 40.2% Share of Search.
- [CVS Pharmacy vs Walmart Pharmacy: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/cvs-pharmacy-vs-walmart-pharmacy): 52.3% against 5.4% Share of Search.
- [Walgreens vs Walmart Pharmacy: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/walgreens-vs-walmart-pharmacy): 40.2% against 5.4% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for United States pharmacies in September 2026?

- Estimated monthly branded searches for Amazon Pharmacy in the United States rose 21.8% over 12 measured months, from 165K 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 | CVS Pharmacy | 52.3% | 26.5M | 0.0% | CVS Health |
| 2 | Walgreens | 40.2% | 20.4M | 0.0% | Walgreens |
| 3 | Walmart Pharmacy | 5.4% | 2.7M | 0.0% | Walmart |
| 4 | Costco | 1.6% | 823K | -17.7% | Costco Wholesale New Zealand |
| 5 | Amazon Pharmacy | 0.4% | 201K | 0.0% | Amazon |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | CVS Pharmacy | 26.5M | 52.4% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Walgreens | 20.4M | 40.3% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.7M | 5.4% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Costco | 823K | 1.6% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Amazon Pharmacy | 165K | 0.33% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | CVS Pharmacy | 21.6M | 47.8% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Walgreens | 20.4M | 45.1% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.2M | 5% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Costco | 823K | 1.8% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Amazon Pharmacy | 135K | 0.3% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | CVS Pharmacy | 26.5M | 48.1% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Walgreens | 24.9M | 45.2% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.7M | 5% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Costco | 823K | 1.5% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Amazon Pharmacy | 165K | 0.3% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | CVS Pharmacy | 21.6M | 47.6% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Walgreens | 20.4M | 45% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.2M | 4.9% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Costco | 823K | 1.8% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Amazon Pharmacy | 301K | 0.66% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | CVS Pharmacy | 21.6M | 52.3% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Walgreens | 16.6M | 40.2% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.2M | 5.4% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Costco | 673K | 1.6% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Amazon Pharmacy | 201K | 0.49% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | CVS Pharmacy | 26.5M | 53% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Walgreens | 20.4M | 40.8% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.2M | 4.5% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Costco | 673K | 1.3% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Amazon Pharmacy | 201K | 0.4% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | CVS Pharmacy | 22.7M | 48.5% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Walgreens | 20.4M | 43.5% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.7M | 5.8% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Costco | 823K | 1.8% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Amazon Pharmacy | 201K | 0.43% | 5 |
| May 2026 | CVS Pharmacy | 26.5M | 52.3% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Walgreens | 20.4M | 40.2% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.7M | 5.4% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Costco | 823K | 1.6% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Amazon Pharmacy | 201K | 0.4% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | CVS Pharmacy | 22.7M | 48.5% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Walgreens | 20.4M | 43.5% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.7M | 5.8% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Costco | 823K | 1.8% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Amazon Pharmacy | 201K | 0.43% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | CVS Pharmacy | 22.7M | 48.5% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Walgreens | 20.4M | 43.5% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.7M | 5.8% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Costco | 823K | 1.8% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Amazon Pharmacy | 201K | 0.43% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | CVS Pharmacy | 26.5M | 52.1% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Walgreens | 20.4M | 40.1% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.7M | 5.4% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Costco | 1M | 2% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Amazon Pharmacy | 201K | 0.4% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | CVS Pharmacy | 26.5M | 52.3% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | Walgreens | 20.4M | 40.2% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | Walmart Pharmacy | 2.7M | 5.4% | 3 |
| Sep 2026 | Costco | 823K | 1.6% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | Amazon Pharmacy | 201K | 0.4% | 5 |

## What is being compared

- **Amazon Pharmacy**: Measured on the search term “amazon pharmacy”.
- **Costco**: Measured on the search term “costco pharmacy”.
- **CVS Pharmacy**: Measured on the search terms “cvs” and “cvs pharmacy”, summed into one figure.
- **Walgreens**: Measured on the search term “walgreens”.
- **Walmart Pharmacy**: Measured on the search term “walmart pharmacy”.

- [Amazon Pharmacy](/demand/us/brands/amazon-pharmacy)
- [Costco](/demand/us/brands/costco)
- [CVS Pharmacy](/demand/us/brands/cvs-pharmacy)
- [Walgreens](/demand/us/brands/walgreens)
- [Walmart Pharmacy](/demand/us/brands/walmart-pharmacy)

## 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 pharmacies in the United States?

In September 2026, CVS Pharmacy was the most searched among pharmacies in the United States, with an estimated 26.5M branded searches, 52.3% of all searches for the five we track.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Pharmacies in the United States: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/categories/us-pharmacies

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