Brandwave

Captain D's vs Joe's Crab Shack:Which is more popular?

In September 2026, Joe's Crab Shack had more branded searches than Captain D's among seafood chains in the United States. Joe's Crab Shack had about 3,600 branded searches, while Captain D's had 1,900. Joe's Crab Shack made up 0.1% of all seafood chain searches we track, and Captain D's accounted for 0.05%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about seafood chains, Captain D's and Joe's Crab Shack each appeared in two of the five answers. Captain D's was mentioned before Joe's Crab Shack in every answer that named either.

Among seafood chains in the United States in September 2026

Who do people search for more?

Joe's Crab Shack, about 89% more searches than Captain D's

Joe's Crab Shack 3.6K searchesCaptain D's 1.9K searches

Who does AI mention more?

Both were mentioned in 2 of 5 answers.

Captain D's in 2 of 5Joe's Crab Shack in 2 of 5

Who does AI recommend more?

Captain D's, named ahead of Joe's Crab Shack in 2 of 2 answers

Captain D's first in 2Joe's Crab Shack never first

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Top seafood chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Captain D's and Joe's Crab Shack were each mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Captain D's was listed before Joe's Crab Shack in every answer that named either.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Captain D's1st
  2. Red Lobster2nd
  3. Bonefish Grill3rd
  4. Long John Silver's4th
  5. Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen5th
  6. Legal Sea Foods6th
  7. Joe's Crab Shack7th

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Red Lobster3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Long John Silver's2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Bonefish Grill2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Legal Sea Foods2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Joe's Crab Shack2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Captain D's2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about seafood chains

5 answers

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in United States on October 23, 2026.

Is Captain D's or Joe's Crab Shack more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for Captain D's and Joe's Crab Shack by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all seven seafood chains we track, month by month, from searches in United States.

Captain D's and Joe's Crab Shack among seafood chains in the United States, by month

Share of searches by month for Joe's Crab Shack, Captain D's. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthRed LobsterLong John Silver'sBonefish GrillPappadeaux Seafood KitchenLegal Sea FoodsJoe's Crab ShackCaptain D's
Oct 202553%19.5%19.5%7.1%0.78%0.07%0.03%
Nov 202555%20.2%16.5%7.4%0.81%0.05%0.03%
Dec 202554.1%16.3%19.9%8.9%0.8%0.07%0.03%
Jan 202652.2%19.2%19.2%8.6%0.63%0.07%0.03%
Feb 202654.2%19.9%16.3%8.9%0.54%0.09%0.02%
Mar 202654.1%19.9%16.2%8.9%0.8%0.09%0.03%
Apr 202655.1%20.2%16.5%7.4%0.67%0.09%0.03%
May 202661.1%15%15%8.2%0.6%0.1%0.03%
Jun 202659.1%17.7%14.5%7.9%0.59%0.14%0.04%
Jul 202651.8%23.3%15.6%8.5%0.63%0.15%0.05%
Aug 202654.1%19.9%16.3%8.9%0.66%0.13%0.06%
Sep 202649.4%27%14.8%8.1%0.49%0.1%0.05%

How has the Captain D's and Joe's Crab Shack comparison changed over the last 12 months?

3 findings

How did search popularity change for United States seafood chains in September 2026?

2 changes

  1. Estimated monthly branded searches for Captain D's in the United States rose 90% over 12 measured months, from 1K to 1.9K in September 2026.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Joe's Crab Shack in the United States rose 50% over 12 measured months, from 2.4K to 3.6K in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted?

2 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Captain D's’ and Joe's Crab Shack’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.

Captain D's

1 branded search term

  • captain ds

Joe's Crab Shack

1 branded search term

  • joes crab shack

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among seafood chains

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