--- title: "Sallie Mae vs SoFi: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Sallie Mae 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/sallie-mae-vs-sofi" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Sallie Mae vs SoFi: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Sallie Mae 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**: Sallie Mae and SoFi - **Competitive set**: Student loan lenders - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Sallie Mae Share of Search**: 74.5% - **SoFi Share of Search**: 3% ## Is Sallie Mae or SoFi more popular in search? - In September 2026, Sallie Mae had more branded searches than SoFi among student loan lenders in the United States. Sallie Mae had about 246,000 branded searches, while SoFi had 9,900. Sallie Mae made up 74.5% of all student loan lender searches we track, and SoFi accounted for 3%. - Sallie Mae was ahead of SoFi in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Sallie Mae’s share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States moved from 75.3% to 74.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 246K. - 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, SoFi was mentioned in three out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Sallie Mae was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. SoFi was listed before Sallie Mae 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, Sallie Mae gained share of searches among student loan lenders in the United States, from 70.3% to 74.5%. ## Month by month | Month | Sallie Mae estimated searches | Sallie Mae Share of Search | Sallie Mae rank | SoFi estimated searches | SoFi Share of Search | SoFi rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 246K | 75.3% | 1 | 9.9K | 3% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | 201K | 74.4% | 1 | 9.9K | 3.7% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | 201K | 73.5% | 1 | 12.1K | 4.4% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | 301K | 74% | 1 | 14.8K | 3.6% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | 246K | 74% | 1 | 12.1K | 3.6% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | 301K | 76.8% | 1 | 14.8K | 3.8% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | 301K | 77% | 1 | 12.1K | 3.1% | 3 | | May 2026 | 246K | 73.7% | 1 | 14.8K | 4.4% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | 246K | 72.7% | 1 | 14.8K | 4.4% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | 301K | 68.4% | 1 | 14.8K | 3.4% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | 368K | 70.3% | 1 | 12.1K | 2.3% | 5 | | Sep 2026 | 246K | 74.5% | 1 | 9.9K | 3% | 3 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Sallie Mae’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. - **Sallie Mae**: Measured on the search term “sallie mae”. - **SoFi**: Measured on the search term “sofi student loan refinance”. - [Sallie Mae profile](/demand/us/brands/sallie-mae) - [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 Sallie Mae or SoFi more popular in search? In September 2026, Sallie Mae had more branded searches than SoFi among student loan lenders in the United States. Sallie Mae had about 246,000 branded searches, while SoFi had 9,900. Sallie Mae made up 74.5% of all student loan lender searches we track, and SoFi accounted for 3%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Sallie Mae vs SoFi: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/sallie-mae-vs-sofi This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/sallie-mae-vs-sofi. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.