--- title: "Earnest vs SoFi: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Earnest or SoFi more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Student loan lenders 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/earnest-loans-vs-sofi" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Earnest vs SoFi: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Earnest or SoFi more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Student loan lenders 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**: Earnest and SoFi - **Competitive set**: Student loan lenders - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Earnest Share of Search**: 2% - **SoFi Share of Search**: 3% ## Is Earnest or SoFi more popular in search? - In September 2026, SoFi had more branded searches than Earnest among student loan lenders in the United States. SoFi had about 9,900 branded searches, while Earnest had 6,600. SoFi made up 3% of all student loan lender searches we track, and Earnest accounted for 2%. - The lead changed hands 2 times in the 12 months ending September 2026: Earnest took it in August 2026, SoFi took it in September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Earnest’s share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States moved from 1.3% to 2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 4.4K to 6.6K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, SoFi’s share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States held steady at 3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 9.9K. ## Top student loan lenders in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Earnest was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. SoFi was mentioned in three out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Earnest was listed before SoFi in three out of four 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Earnest | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | SoFi | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | College Ave | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Sallie Mae | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Ascent | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Citizens | 6th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about student loan lenders - Asked ChatGPT "Which private student loan lender should I use in the US?": 1. College Ave, 2. Earnest, 3. Sallie Mae, 4. Ascent - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best private student loan lenders in the US?": 1. College Ave, 2. Earnest, 3. SoFi, 4. Sallie Mae, 5. Ascent, 6. Citizens - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best lender in the US to refinance my student loans?": 1. Earnest, 2. SoFi - Searched Google, AI Overview "private student loans": named none of the brands we track - Searched Google, AI Overview "student loan refinance": 1. SoFi, 2. Earnest 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 student loan lenders in September 2026? - In September 2026, SoFi overtook Earnest and Ascent to rank 3rd among student loan lenders in the United States, with 3% of the searches. - In September 2026, Earnest lost share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States, from 2.8% to 2%. ## Month by month | Month | Earnest estimated searches | Earnest Share of Search | Earnest rank | SoFi estimated searches | SoFi Share of Search | SoFi rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 4.4K | 1.3% | 4 | 9.9K | 3% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | 3.6K | 1.3% | 5 | 9.9K | 3.7% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | 4.4K | 1.6% | 4 | 12.1K | 4.4% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | 8.1K | 2% | 4 | 14.8K | 3.6% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | 6.6K | 2% | 4 | 12.1K | 3.6% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | 6.6K | 1.7% | 4 | 14.8K | 3.8% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | 8.1K | 2.1% | 4 | 12.1K | 3.1% | 3 | | May 2026 | 5.4K | 1.6% | 4 | 14.8K | 4.4% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | 8.1K | 2.4% | 4 | 14.8K | 4.4% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | 14.8K | 3.4% | 3 | 14.8K | 3.4% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | 14.8K | 2.8% | 3 | 12.1K | 2.3% | 5 | | Sep 2026 | 6.6K | 2% | 4 | 9.9K | 3% | 3 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Earnest’s and SoFi’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. - **Earnest**: Measured on the search term “earnest student loans”. - **SoFi**: Measured on the search term “sofi student loan refinance”. - [Earnest profile](/demand/us/brands/earnest-loans) - [SoFi profile](/demand/us/brands/sofi) - [All student loan lenders in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-student-loan-lenders): 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 Earnest or SoFi more popular in search? In September 2026, SoFi had more branded searches than Earnest among student loan lenders in the United States. SoFi had about 9,900 branded searches, while Earnest had 6,600. SoFi made up 3% of all student loan lender searches we track, and Earnest accounted for 2%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Earnest vs SoFi: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/earnest-loans-vs-sofi This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/earnest-loans-vs-sofi. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.