--- title: "Cricket Wireless vs Metro by T-Mobile: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Cricket Wireless or Metro by T-Mobile more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Prepaid phone carriers 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/cricket-wireless-vs-metro-by-t-mobile" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Cricket Wireless vs Metro by T-Mobile: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Cricket Wireless or Metro by T-Mobile more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Prepaid phone carriers 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**: Cricket Wireless and Metro by T-Mobile - **Competitive set**: Prepaid phone carriers - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Cricket Wireless Share of Search**: 13.1% - **Metro by T-Mobile Share of Search**: 16% ## Is Cricket Wireless or Metro by T-Mobile more popular in search? - In September 2026, Metro by T-Mobile had more branded searches than Cricket Wireless among prepaid phone carriers in the United States. Metro by T-Mobile had about 1.2 million branded searches, while Cricket Wireless had 1 million. Metro by T-Mobile made up 16% of all prepaid phone carrier searches we track, and Cricket Wireless accounted for 13.1%. - Metro by T-Mobile was ahead of Cricket Wireless in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Cricket Wireless’ share of searches among prepaid phone carriers in the United States moved from 13.3% to 13.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.2M to 1M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Metro by T-Mobile’s share of searches among prepaid phone carriers in the United States moved from 16.3% to 16%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.5M to 1.2M. ## Top prepaid phone carriers in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Cricket Wireless was mentioned in one out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Metro by T-Mobile did not appear in any of the 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Mint Mobile | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | US Mobile | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Visible | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | T-Mobile Prepaid | 4th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Total Wireless | 5th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Tello | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Cricket Wireless | 7th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Straight Talk | 8th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Boost Mobile | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Metro by T-Mobile | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Consumer Cellular | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Google Fi | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about prepaid phone carriers - Asked ChatGPT "Which prepaid phone carrier should I switch to in the US?": 1. US Mobile, 2. Visible, 3. Mint Mobile - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best prepaid phone carriers in the US?": 1. US Mobile, 2. Visible, 3. Mint Mobile, 4. Cricket Wireless, 5. T-Mobile Prepaid - Asked ChatGPT "What's the cheapest good phone plan in the US for one person?": 1. US Mobile, 2. Tello, 3. Mint Mobile, 4. Visible - Searched Google, AI Overview "prepaid phone plans": 1. Mint Mobile, 2. Total Wireless, 3. Visible, 4. T-Mobile Prepaid, 5. Straight Talk - Searched Google, AI Overview "best prepaid phone plans": 1. Mint Mobile, 2. Visible, 3. T-Mobile Prepaid Not named in any answer: Boost Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Consumer Cellular and Google Fi. 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 prepaid phone carriers in September 2026? - In September 2026, Cricket Wireless gained share of searches among prepaid phone carriers in the United States, from 11.7% to 13.1%. - In September 2026, Metro by T-Mobile lost share of searches among prepaid phone carriers in the United States, from 17.6% to 16%. ## Month by month | Month | Cricket Wireless estimated searches | Cricket Wireless Share of Search | Cricket Wireless rank | Metro by T-Mobile estimated searches | Metro by T-Mobile Share of Search | Metro by T-Mobile rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1.2M | 13.3% | 4 | 1.5M | 16.3% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | 1.2M | 13.7% | 3 | 1.2M | 13.7% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | 1.2M | 13.7% | 3 | 1.2M | 13.7% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | 1M | 12.7% | 4 | 1.2M | 15.5% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | 1M | 13.1% | 4 | 1.2M | 16% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | 1M | 12% | 4 | 1.2M | 14.6% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | 1M | 12.9% | 4 | 1.2M | 15.8% | 2 | | May 2026 | 1M | 12.8% | 4 | 1.2M | 15.7% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 1M | 12.3% | 4 | 1.5M | 18.5% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 1M | 11.9% | 4 | 1.5M | 17.8% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 1M | 11.7% | 4 | 1.5M | 17.6% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 1M | 13.1% | 4 | 1.2M | 16% | 2 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Cricket Wireless’ and Metro by T-Mobile’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. - **Cricket Wireless**: Measured on the search term “cricket wireless”. - **Metro by T-Mobile**: Measured on the search term “metro by t-mobile”. - [Cricket Wireless profile](/demand/us/brands/cricket-wireless) - [Metro by T-Mobile profile](/demand/us/brands/metro-by-t-mobile) - [All prepaid phone carriers in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-prepaid-phone-carriers): The set both shares are measured inside, 12 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 Cricket Wireless or Metro by T-Mobile more popular in search? In September 2026, Metro by T-Mobile had more branded searches than Cricket Wireless among prepaid phone carriers in the United States. Metro by T-Mobile had about 1.2 million branded searches, while Cricket Wireless had 1 million. Metro by T-Mobile made up 16% of all prepaid phone carrier searches we track, and Cricket Wireless accounted for 13.1%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Cricket Wireless vs Metro by T-Mobile: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/cricket-wireless-vs-metro-by-t-mobile This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/cricket-wireless-vs-metro-by-t-mobile. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.