--- title: "Caribou Coffee vs Starbucks: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Caribou Coffee or Starbucks more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Coffee chains 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/caribou-coffee-vs-starbucks" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Caribou Coffee vs Starbucks: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Caribou Coffee or Starbucks more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Coffee chains 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**: Caribou Coffee and Starbucks - **Competitive set**: Coffee chains - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Caribou Coffee Share of Search**: 1.9% - **Starbucks Share of Search**: 48.1% ## Is Caribou Coffee or Starbucks more popular in search? - In September 2026, Starbucks had more branded searches than Caribou Coffee among coffee chains in the United States. Starbucks had about 13.6 million branded searches, while Caribou Coffee had 550,000. Starbucks made up 48.1% of all coffee chain searches we track, and Caribou Coffee accounted for 1.9%. - Starbucks was ahead of Caribou Coffee in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Caribou Coffee’s share of searches among coffee chains in the United States moved from 1.2% to 1.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 550K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Starbucks’ share of searches among coffee chains in the United States moved from 64.4% to 48.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 30.4M to 13.6M. ## Top coffee chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions, Starbucks appeared in all three answers. Caribou Coffee was mentioned in one out of three: in one of the three ChatGPT answers. Starbucks was listed before Caribou Coffee in every answer. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Starbucks | 1st | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Dunkin' | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Peet's Coffee | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Dutch Bros | 4th | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 | | Caribou Coffee | 5th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 3 | | Tim Hortons | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | ## Every AI answer about coffee chains - Asked ChatGPT "Which coffee chain is best in the US?": 1. Starbucks, 2. Dunkin', 3. Peet's Coffee, 4. Dutch Bros - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best coffee chains in the US?": 1. Starbucks, 2. Peet's Coffee, 3. Dunkin', 4. Dutch Bros, 5. Caribou Coffee - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best US coffee chain for iced coffee?": 1. Dunkin', 2. Starbucks, 3. Dutch Bros, 4. Peet's Coffee Not named in any answer: Tim Hortons. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 22, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United States coffee chains in September 2026? - In September 2026, Starbucks gained share of searches among coffee chains in the United States, from 43.3% to 48.1%. ## Month by month | Month | Caribou Coffee estimated searches | Caribou Coffee Share of Search | Caribou Coffee rank | Starbucks estimated searches | Starbucks Share of Search | Starbucks rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 550K | 1.2% | 5 | 30.4M | 64.4% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 550K | 1.1% | 5 | 30.4M | 62.9% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 550K | 1.2% | 5 | 30.4M | 63.7% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 450K | 1.3% | 6 | 20.4M | 57.7% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 368K | 1.3% | 6 | 13.6M | 49.1% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 450K | 1.5% | 5 | 13.6M | 45.6% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 450K | 1.7% | 5 | 11.1M | 42.6% | 1 | | May 2026 | 550K | 2% | 5 | 11.1M | 39.7% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 550K | 2% | 5 | 11.1M | 39.9% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 550K | 2% | 5 | 11.1M | 39.9% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 550K | 1.8% | 5 | 13.6M | 43.3% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 550K | 1.9% | 5 | 13.6M | 48.1% | 1 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Caribou Coffee’s and Starbucks’ 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. - **Caribou Coffee**: Measured on the search term “caribou coffee”. - **Starbucks**: Measured on the search term “starbucks”. - [Caribou Coffee profile](/demand/us/brands/caribou-coffee) - [Starbucks profile](/demand/us/brands/starbucks) - [All coffee chains in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-coffee-chains): The set both shares are measured inside, 6 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 Caribou Coffee or Starbucks more popular in search? In September 2026, Starbucks had more branded searches than Caribou Coffee among coffee chains in the United States. Starbucks had about 13.6 million branded searches, while Caribou Coffee had 550,000. Starbucks made up 48.1% of all coffee chain searches we track, and Caribou Coffee accounted for 1.9%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Caribou Coffee vs Starbucks: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/caribou-coffee-vs-starbucks This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/caribou-coffee-vs-starbucks. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.