--- title: "Contacts Direct vs Costco: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Contacts Direct or Costco more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Contact lens retailers 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/contacts-direct-vs-costco" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Contacts Direct vs Costco: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Contacts Direct or Costco more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Contact lens retailers 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**: Contacts Direct and Costco - **Competitive set**: Contact lens retailers - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Contacts Direct Share of Search**: 4% - **Costco Share of Search**: 19.3% ## Is Contacts Direct or Costco more popular in search? - In September 2026, Costco had more branded searches than Contacts Direct among contact lens retailers in the United States. Costco had about 160,000 branded searches, while Contacts Direct had 33,100. Costco made up 19.3% of all contact lens retailer searches we track, and Contacts Direct accounted for 4%. - Costco was ahead of Contacts Direct in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Contacts Direct’s share of searches among contact lens retailers in the United States moved from 4.3% to 4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 33.1K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Costco’s share of searches among contact lens retailers in the United States moved from 20.5% to 19.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 160K. ## Top contact lens retailers in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, both Contacts Direct and Costco showed up in all five answers. Costco was listed before Contacts Direct in four of them. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1-800 Contacts | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Costco | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Contacts Direct | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Contact Lens King | 4th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | LensDirect | 5th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Hubble | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about contact lens retailers - Asked ChatGPT "Where should I order contact lenses online in the US?": 1. Costco, 2. 1-800 Contacts, 3. Contact Lens King, 4. Contacts Direct - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best places to buy contacts online in the US?": 1. 1-800 Contacts, 2. Costco, 3. Contacts Direct, 4. Contact Lens King - Asked ChatGPT "What's the cheapest place to buy contact lenses online in the US?": 1. Contact Lens King, 2. Costco, 3. LensDirect, 4. Contacts Direct, 5. 1-800 Contacts - Searched Google, AI Overview "contact lenses online": 1. 1-800 Contacts, 2. Contacts Direct, 3. LensDirect, 4. Costco - Searched Google, AI Overview "buy contacts online": 1. 1-800 Contacts, 2. Costco, 3. Contacts Direct, 4. LensDirect Not named in any answer: Hubble. 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 contact lens retailers in September 2026? - In September 2026, Costco gained share of searches among contact lens retailers in the United States, from 18.3% to 19.3%. - In September 2026, Contacts Direct gained share of searches among contact lens retailers in the United States, from 3.3% to 4%. ## Month by month | Month | Contacts Direct estimated searches | Contacts Direct Share of Search | Contacts Direct rank | Costco estimated searches | Costco Share of Search | Costco rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 33.1K | 4.3% | 4 | 160K | 20.5% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | 33.1K | 4.3% | 3 | 160K | 20.7% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | 49.5K | 5.5% | 3 | 185K | 20.7% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | 40.5K | 4.5% | 3 | 185K | 20.6% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | 33.1K | 3.9% | 3 | 160K | 18.7% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | 40.5K | 4% | 3 | 185K | 18.1% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | 33.1K | 3.7% | 3 | 185K | 20.4% | 2 | | May 2026 | 33.1K | 3.8% | 3 | 160K | 18.1% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 33.1K | 3.6% | 4 | 160K | 17.3% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 33.1K | 3.5% | 3 | 185K | 19.5% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 33.1K | 3.3% | 3 | 185K | 18.3% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 33.1K | 4% | 3 | 160K | 19.3% | 2 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Contacts Direct’s and Costco’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. - **Contacts Direct**: Measured on the search term “contacts direct”. - **Costco**: Measured on the search terms “costco contacts” and “costco optical”, summed into one figure. - [Contacts Direct profile](/demand/us/brands/contacts-direct) - [Costco profile](/demand/us/brands/costco) - [All contact lens retailers in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-contact-lens-retailers): 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 Contacts Direct or Costco more popular in search? In September 2026, Costco had more branded searches than Contacts Direct among contact lens retailers in the United States. Costco had about 160,000 branded searches, while Contacts Direct had 33,100. Costco made up 19.3% of all contact lens retailer searches we track, and Contacts Direct accounted for 4%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Contacts Direct vs Costco: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/contacts-direct-vs-costco This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/contacts-direct-vs-costco. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.