---
title: "Student loan lenders in the United States: Which are searched most?"
description: "Compare the lenders that offer private student loans and refinancing. Share of Search among Sallie Mae, College Ave, SoFi, Earnest, Ascent and Citizens, the student loan lenders 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-student-loan-lenders"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Student loan lenders in the United States: Which are searched most?

Compare the lenders that offer private student loans and refinancing. Share of Search among Sallie Mae, College Ave, SoFi, Earnest, Ascent and Citizens, the student loan lenders 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**: Student loan lenders
- **Market**: United States
- **Brands compared**: 6
- **Month measured**: Sep 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Sallie Mae, 74.5%

## Which brand is most popular in search among student loan lenders in the United States?

- In September 2026, Sallie Mae was the most searched among student loan lenders in the United States, with an estimated 246K branded searches, 74.5% of all searches for the six we track.
- College Ave is in 2nd place, 56.2 percentage points behind at 18.3%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Sallie Mae’s share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States decreased from 75.3% to 74.5%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Earnest’s share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States increased from 1.3% to 2%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Sallie Mae’s share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States peaked at 77% in April 2026 and was lowest at 68.4% in July 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, College Ave’s share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States peaked at 21% in August 2026 and was lowest at 15.4% in March 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, SoFi’s share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States peaked at 4.4% in May 2026 and was lowest at 2.3% in August 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Earnest’s share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States peaked at 3.4% in July 2026 and was lowest at 1.3% in November 2025.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Ascent’s share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States peaked at 2.8% in July 2026 and was lowest at 1.1% in January 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, College Ave, SoFi, Ascent and Citizens held steady: their share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Top student loan lenders in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Earnest was mentioned most often, in four of the five answers. Earnest was recommended most often, coming first in one out of four answers that gave a list. SoFi was second, and College Ave 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 | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Earnest | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| SoFi | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 |
| College Ave | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Sallie Mae | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Ascent | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Citizens | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 |

## Every AI answer about student loan lenders

- Asked ChatGPT "Which private student loan lender should I use in the US?": 1. College Ave, 2. Earnest, 3. Sallie Mae, 4. Ascent
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the best private student loan lenders in the US?": 1. College Ave, 2. Earnest, 3. SoFi, 4. Sallie Mae, 5. Ascent, 6. Citizens
- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best lender in the US to refinance my student loans?": 1. Earnest, 2. SoFi
- Searched Google, AI Overview "private student loans": named none of the brands we track
- Searched Google, AI Overview "student loan refinance": 1. SoFi, 2. Earnest

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

- [Sallie Mae vs College Ave: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/college-ave-vs-sallie-mae): 74.5% against 18.3% Share of Search.
- [Sallie Mae vs SoFi: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/sallie-mae-vs-sofi): 74.5% against 3% Share of Search.
- [College Ave vs SoFi: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/college-ave-vs-sofi): 18.3% against 3% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for United States student loan lenders in September 2026?

- In September 2026, SoFi overtook Earnest and Ascent to rank 3rd among student loan lenders in the United States, with 3% of the searches.
- In September 2026, Sallie Mae gained share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States, from 70.3% to 74.5%.
- In September 2026, College Ave lost share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States, from 21% to 18.3%.
- In September 2026, Ascent lost share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States, from 2.3% to 1.3%.
- In September 2026, Earnest lost share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States, from 2.8% to 2%.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Citizens in the United States rose 20.8% over 12 measured months, from 2.4K to 2.9K in September 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Sallie Mae | 74.5% | 246K | -33.2% | Sallie Mae |
| 2 | College Ave | 18.3% | 60.5K | -45.0% | College Ave |
| 3 | SoFi | 3% | 9.9K | -18.2% | SoFi |
| 4 | Earnest | 2% | 6.6K | -55.4% | Earnest |
| 5 | Ascent | 1.3% | 4.4K | -63.6% | Ascent Funding |
| 6 | Citizens | 0.88% | 2.9K | -56.1% | Citizens Financial Group |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Sallie Mae | 246K | 75.3% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | College Ave | 60.5K | 18.5% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | SoFi | 9.9K | 3% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Earnest | 4.4K | 1.3% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Ascent | 3.6K | 1.1% | 5 |
| Oct 2025 | Citizens | 2.4K | 0.73% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | Sallie Mae | 201K | 74.4% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | College Ave | 49.5K | 18.3% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | SoFi | 9.9K | 3.7% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Ascent | 3.6K | 1.3% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Earnest | 3.6K | 1.3% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Citizens | 2.4K | 0.89% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | Sallie Mae | 201K | 73.5% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | College Ave | 49.5K | 18.1% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | SoFi | 12.1K | 4.4% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Earnest | 4.4K | 1.6% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Ascent | 3.6K | 1.3% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Citizens | 2.9K | 1.1% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | Sallie Mae | 301K | 74% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | College Ave | 74K | 18.2% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | SoFi | 14.8K | 3.6% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Earnest | 8.1K | 2% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Ascent | 4.4K | 1.1% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Citizens | 4.4K | 1.1% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | Sallie Mae | 246K | 74% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | College Ave | 60.5K | 18.2% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | SoFi | 12.1K | 3.6% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Earnest | 6.6K | 2% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Ascent | 3.6K | 1.1% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Citizens | 3.6K | 1.1% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | Sallie Mae | 301K | 76.8% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | College Ave | 60.5K | 15.4% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | SoFi | 14.8K | 3.8% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Earnest | 6.6K | 1.7% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Ascent | 5.4K | 1.4% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Citizens | 3.6K | 0.92% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | Sallie Mae | 301K | 77% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | College Ave | 60.5K | 15.5% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | SoFi | 12.1K | 3.1% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Earnest | 8.1K | 2.1% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Ascent | 5.4K | 1.4% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Citizens | 3.6K | 0.92% | 6 |
| May 2026 | Sallie Mae | 246K | 73.7% | 1 |
| May 2026 | College Ave | 60.5K | 18.1% | 2 |
| May 2026 | SoFi | 14.8K | 4.4% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Earnest | 5.4K | 1.6% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Ascent | 4.4K | 1.3% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Citizens | 2.9K | 0.87% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | Sallie Mae | 246K | 72.7% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | College Ave | 60.5K | 17.9% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | SoFi | 14.8K | 4.4% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Earnest | 8.1K | 2.4% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Ascent | 4.4K | 1.3% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Citizens | 4.4K | 1.3% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | Sallie Mae | 301K | 68.4% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | College Ave | 90.5K | 20.6% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Earnest | 14.8K | 3.4% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | SoFi | 14.8K | 3.4% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Ascent | 12.1K | 2.8% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Citizens | 6.6K | 1.5% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | Sallie Mae | 368K | 70.3% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | College Ave | 110K | 21% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Earnest | 14.8K | 2.8% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Ascent | 12.1K | 2.3% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | SoFi | 12.1K | 2.3% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Citizens | 6.6K | 1.3% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | Sallie Mae | 246K | 74.5% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | College Ave | 60.5K | 18.3% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | SoFi | 9.9K | 3% | 3 |
| Sep 2026 | Earnest | 6.6K | 2% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | Ascent | 4.4K | 1.3% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | Citizens | 2.9K | 0.88% | 6 |

## What is being compared

- **Ascent**: Measured on the search term “ascent student loans”.
- **Citizens**: Measured on the search term “citizens student loans”.
- **College Ave**: Measured on the search term “college ave”.
- **Earnest**: Measured on the search term “earnest student loans”.
- **Sallie Mae**: Measured on the search term “sallie mae”.
- **SoFi**: Measured on the search term “sofi student loan refinance”.

- [Ascent](/demand/us/brands/ascent-funding)
- [Citizens](/demand/us/brands/citizens-student-loans)
- [College Ave](/demand/us/brands/college-ave)
- [Earnest](/demand/us/brands/earnest-loans)
- [Sallie Mae](/demand/us/brands/sallie-mae)
- [SoFi](/demand/us/brands/sofi)

## 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 student loan lenders in the United States?

In September 2026, Sallie Mae was the most searched among student loan lenders in the United States, with an estimated 246K branded searches, 74.5% of all searches for the six we track.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Student loan lenders in the United States: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/categories/us-student-loan-lenders

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