--- title: "Beats vs Sony: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Beats or Sony more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Headphone brands set in the United States. 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/compare/beats-vs-sony" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Beats vs Sony: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Beats or Sony more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Headphone brands set in the United States. 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 - **Compared**: Beats and Sony - **Competitive set**: Headphone brands - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Beats Share of Search**: 10.6% - **Sony Share of Search**: 4.8% ## Is Beats or Sony more popular in search? - In September 2026, Beats had more branded searches than Sony among headphone brands in the United States. Beats had about 301,000 branded searches, while Sony had 137,000. Beats made up 10.6% of all headphone brand searches we track, and Sony accounted for 4.8%. - Beats was ahead of Sony in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Beats’ share of searches among headphone brands in the United States moved from 10.4% to 10.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 301K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Sony’s share of searches among headphone brands in the United States moved from 5.8% to 4.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 168K to 137K. ## Top headphone brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Sony was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Beats was mentioned in one out of five: not in any of the three ChatGPT answers, but in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Sony was listed before Beats in four out of five answers. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sony | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Bose | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Soundcore | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Apple AirPods | 4th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Sennheiser | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | JLab | 6th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Beats | 7th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Audio-Technica | 8th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | JBL | 9th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Skullcandy | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Shokz | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Raycon | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Jabra | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Marshall | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Bowers & Wilkins | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about headphone brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which headphones should I buy?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best headphone brands?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser, 4. Apple AirPods, 5. Audio-Technica, 6. JBL, 7. Soundcore - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best wireless earbuds?": 1. Sony, 2. Apple AirPods, 3. Bose, 4. Soundcore - Searched Google, AI Overview "headphones": 1. Soundcore, 2. Beats, 3. Bose - Searched Google, AI Overview "wireless earbuds": 1. JLab, 2. Soundcore, 3. Apple AirPods, 4. Bose, 5. Sony Not named in any answer: Skullcandy, Shokz, Raycon, Jabra, Marshall and Bowers & Wilkins. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 26, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United States headphone brands in September 2026? - In September 2026, Beats overtook Bose to rank 2nd among headphone brands in the United States, with 10.6% of the searches. - In September 2026, Sony lost share of searches among headphone brands in the United States, from 5.7% to 4.8%. ## Month by month | Month | Beats estimated searches | Beats Share of Search | Beats rank | Sony estimated searches | Sony Share of Search | Sony rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 301K | 10.4% | 2 | 168K | 5.8% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | 550K | 12.3% | 2 | 242K | 5.4% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | 550K | 10.9% | 2 | 234K | 4.6% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 301K | 11.3% | 2 | 162K | 6.1% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 246K | 10.1% | 2 | 137K | 5.6% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | 246K | 10% | 2 | 137K | 5.6% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 201K | 9.2% | 3 | 137K | 6.3% | 6 | | May 2026 | 201K | 9.2% | 3 | 137K | 6.3% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | 201K | 9.4% | 3 | 137K | 6.4% | 5 | | Jul 2026 | 201K | 9.4% | 3 | 137K | 6.4% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 201K | 8.3% | 3 | 137K | 5.7% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | 301K | 10.6% | 2 | 137K | 4.8% | 6 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Beats’ and Sony’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Beats**: Measured on the search term “beats headphones”. - **Sony**: Measured on the search terms “sony earbuds” and “sony headphones”, summed into one figure. - [Beats profile](/demand/us/brands/beats) - [Sony profile](/demand/us/brands/sony) - [All headphone brands in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-headphone-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 15 brands. ## 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 ### Is Beats or Sony more popular in search? In September 2026, Beats had more branded searches than Sony among headphone brands in the United States. Beats had about 301,000 branded searches, while Sony had 137,000. Beats made up 10.6% of all headphone brand searches we track, and Sony accounted for 4.8%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Beats vs Sony: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/beats-vs-sony This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/beats-vs-sony. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.