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Share of search26 Oct 20265 min read

Jio vs Airtel vs Vi: share of search in India, 2021 to 2026

Measured on recharge searches rather than brand names, this category reads what existing customers do as much as whom people choose. From the Colleviate Share of Search Index, with the data free to download.

Written by the Colleviate Strategy desk

Short answer

Jio has the largest share of prepaid recharge searches by network in India: 44.4% over the three months to September 2026, against Airtel at 34.9%. It has led every month since August 2024. Over the past year Airtel gained most, +2.3 points, while BSNL lost most, -4.3.

Download this category (CSV) Monthly, November 2021 to September 2026. Free to use with attribution. All nine categories

Who leads mobile networks search now

Shares are the average of the last three months, set against the same three months a year earlier and the first three months of the series.

BrandStart of seriesA year agoLast three monthsChange in a year
Jio37.6%43.2%44.4%+1.2 pts
Airtel37.3%32.6%34.9%+2.3 pts
Vi8.1%9.7%10.6%+0.9 pts
BSNL17.0%14.5%10.2%-4.3 pts
JioAirtelViBSNL
Mobile networks (prepaid recharge): monthly share of search, Nov 2021 to Sep 20260%25%50%75%100%20222023202420252026Jio 44%Airtel 35%Vi 11%BSNL 10%
Share of branded search within the set, by month, India, November 2021 to September 2026. Source: Google Trends; Colleviate analysis.

What changed

Bare searches for Jio or Airtel also match streaming, banking and finance brands, so this category uses prepaid recharge searches instead. Jio leads with 44.4%, Airtel follows with 34.9%. BSNL briefly led in July 2024, the month the private operators raised tariffs, and has since fallen to 10.2%. Vi holds 10.6%.

Who has led, and for how long

The lead has changed hands 7 times in 59 months. Counting every month since November 2021: Jio for 46 months, Airtel for 12 months and BSNL for 1 month.

LeaderFromToMonthsPublic event that month
AirtelNov 2021Nov 20211 
JioDec 2021May 20226 
AirtelJun 2022Jul 20222 
JioAug 2022Sep 20222 
AirtelOct 2022Jun 20239 
JioJul 2023Jun 202412 
BSNLJul 2024Jul 20241The month the private operators raised tariffs
JioAug 2024Sep 202626 

The months that moved it

The largest month-on-month changes in any brand's share. A spike needs a cause before it is read as demand: where a public, dated event explains one, it is named; the rest are reported as they are.

Each brand's single highest week of search interest: Jio in June 2024, Airtel in November 2021, Vi in June 2024 and BSNL in July 2024 (the month the private operators raised tariffs).

Search share and market share

TRAI publishes subscriber numbers by operator every month. Because this category is measured on prepaid recharge searches, it reads existing customers' activity as much as switching, and a tariff change moves it more than a campaign does.

This is attention, not sales: see share of search and market share, and what is a good share of search for how to read a number like this one.

How this category is measured

The search terms are “Jio recharge”, “Airtel recharge”, “Vi recharge” and “BSNL recharge”. They were pulled together, so they share one scale. Data retrieved 14 October 2026; the full method is on the index page.

The monthly data

Share of search by month, November 2021 to September 2026 (%)
MonthJioAirtelViBSNL
Sep 202644.633.910.710.7
Aug 202643.236.210.210.5
Jul 202645.334.510.89.4
Jun 202645.434.410.69.6
May 202645.034.211.29.6
Apr 202644.034.411.510.0
Mar 202643.434.710.910.9
Feb 202642.934.210.712.2
Jan 202645.129.911.813.2
Dec 202546.129.510.613.8
Nov 202545.230.110.814.0
Oct 202543.132.010.714.2
Sep 202543.333.09.414.2
Aug 202543.032.110.015.0
Jul 202543.332.69.814.3
Jun 202543.534.010.212.2
May 202543.934.19.412.6
Apr 202543.033.210.313.6
Mar 202543.532.110.014.4
Feb 202542.732.99.814.5
Jan 202542.232.010.215.6
Dec 202442.131.29.916.8
Nov 202440.132.19.518.3
Oct 202440.333.58.617.6
Sep 202440.931.79.218.2
Aug 202437.530.39.123.1
Jul 202430.626.26.636.6
Jun 202442.032.19.516.4
May 202438.837.210.613.3
Apr 202438.537.510.413.5
Mar 202440.535.110.813.5
Feb 202439.834.011.015.2
Jan 202439.835.210.614.4
Dec 202340.135.511.013.5
Nov 202338.636.311.213.9
Oct 202338.835.911.214.1
Sep 202338.135.411.714.8
Aug 202337.234.313.614.9
Jul 202337.536.911.614.0
Jun 202336.436.911.914.8
May 202336.637.511.214.7
Apr 202336.037.610.915.5
Mar 202334.339.210.915.5
Feb 202333.241.210.615.0
Jan 202335.237.510.217.2
Dec 202236.036.310.916.9
Nov 202235.937.411.115.6
Oct 202236.937.29.916.1
Sep 202237.335.910.616.2
Aug 202236.435.410.118.2
Jul 202235.335.59.419.8
Jun 202236.136.410.117.4
May 202237.035.89.118.0
Apr 202236.935.48.918.8
Mar 202237.636.08.418.0
Feb 202238.235.18.817.9
Jan 202237.436.08.817.8
Dec 202137.436.28.018.4
Nov 202137.939.67.614.9

Cite this data

Free to use, quote and republish under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, with a link to this page.

Colleviate Share of Search Index, India: Mobile networks (prepaid recharge), October 2026, colleviate.com/blog/share-of-search-telecom-india.html

Questions we get asked

Who has the highest share of search in mobile networks in India?

Jio, with 44.4% of prepaid recharge searches by network over the three months to September 2026, ahead of Airtel at 34.9%. It has led every month since August 2024.

How often has the lead changed?

The lead has changed hands 7 times in 59 months. Counting every month since November 2021: Jio for 46 months, Airtel for 12 months and BSNL for 1 month.

Is share of search the same as market share in mobile networks?

No. It measures attention: the share of branded searches, which tends to move before market share but is not sales. TRAI publishes subscriber numbers by operator every month.

Can I use this data?

Yes. It is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Download the CSV from this page and cite it as: Colleviate Share of Search Index, India: Mobile networks (prepaid recharge), October 2026, colleviate.com/blog/share-of-search-telecom-india.html.

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