--- title: "Dairy Queen vs Salt & Straw: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Dairy Queen or Salt & Straw more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Ice cream 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/dairy-queen-vs-salt-and-straw" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Dairy Queen vs Salt & Straw: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Dairy Queen or Salt & Straw more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Ice cream 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**: Dairy Queen and Salt & Straw - **Competitive set**: Ice cream chains - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Dairy Queen Share of Search**: 46.9% - **Salt & Straw Share of Search**: 2.8% ## Is Dairy Queen or Salt & Straw more popular in search? - In September 2026, Dairy Queen had more branded searches than Salt & Straw among ice cream chains in the United States. Dairy Queen had about 3.4 million branded searches, while Salt & Straw had 201,000. Dairy Queen made up 46.9% of all ice cream chain searches we track, and Salt & Straw accounted for 2.8%. - Dairy Queen was ahead of Salt & Straw in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Dairy Queen’s share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States moved from 48.3% to 46.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 3.4M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Salt & Straw’s share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States moved from 4.3% to 2.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 301K to 201K. ## Top ice cream chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, Salt & Straw was mentioned in two out of four: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in the Google AI Overview. Dairy Queen was mentioned in one out of four: in one of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in the Google AI Overview. Salt & Straw was listed before Dairy Queen in two out of three 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | 1st | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Salt & Straw | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Handel's | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | Cold Stone Creamery | 4th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | Dairy Queen | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 4 | | Baskin-Robbins | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 1 of 4 | | Culver's | 7th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Marble Slab Creamery | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 4 | ## Every AI answer about ice cream chains - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best ice cream chain in the US?": 1. Salt & Straw, 2. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, 3. Handel's, 4. Cold Stone Creamery, 5. Culver's - Asked ChatGPT "Which ice cream shop chain in the US has the best ice cream?": 1. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, 2. Salt & Straw, 3. Handel's, 4. Cold Stone Creamery - Asked ChatGPT "What are the most popular ice cream chains in the US?": 1. Dairy Queen, 2. Baskin-Robbins, 3. Cold Stone Creamery, 4. Culver's, 5. Handel's - Searched Google, AI Overview "soft serve": named none of the brands we track Not named in any answer: Marble Slab Creamery. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 23, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United States ice cream chains in September 2026? - In September 2026, Dairy Queen gained share of searches among ice cream chains in the United States, from 45.6% to 46.9%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Salt & Straw in the United States fell 33.2% over 12 measured months, from 301K to 201K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Dairy Queen estimated searches | Dairy Queen Share of Search | Dairy Queen rank | Salt & Straw estimated searches | Salt & Straw Share of Search | Salt & Straw rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 3.4M | 48.3% | 1 | 301K | 4.3% | 4 | | Nov 2025 | 2.7M | 44.1% | 1 | 246K | 4% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | 2.7M | 46.4% | 1 | 246K | 4.2% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | 3.4M | 50% | 1 | 246K | 3.7% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | 3.4M | 50.4% | 1 | 201K | 3% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | 5M | 51.8% | 1 | 301K | 3.1% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | 4.1M | 47% | 1 | 246K | 2.8% | 4 | | May 2026 | 5M | 49.5% | 1 | 246K | 2.4% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | 4.1M | 45.3% | 1 | 301K | 3.3% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | 4.1M | 44.5% | 1 | 246K | 2.7% | 5 | | Aug 2026 | 4.1M | 45.6% | 1 | 246K | 2.7% | 4 | | Sep 2026 | 3.4M | 46.9% | 1 | 201K | 2.8% | 4 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Dairy Queen’s and Salt & Straw’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. - **Dairy Queen**: Measured on the search term “dairy queen”. - **Salt & Straw**: Measured on the search term “salt and straw”. - [Dairy Queen profile](/demand/us/brands/dairy-queen) - [Salt & Straw profile](/demand/us/brands/salt-and-straw) - [All ice cream chains in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-ice-cream-chains): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 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 Dairy Queen or Salt & Straw more popular in search? In September 2026, Dairy Queen had more branded searches than Salt & Straw among ice cream chains in the United States. Dairy Queen had about 3.4 million branded searches, while Salt & Straw had 201,000. Dairy Queen made up 46.9% of all ice cream chain searches we track, and Salt & Straw accounted for 2.8%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Dairy Queen vs Salt & Straw: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/dairy-queen-vs-salt-and-straw This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/dairy-queen-vs-salt-and-straw. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.