Introduction
What makes a brand truly stand out in 2026? YouGov just published their 2026 rankings to reveal which brands consumers actually feel best about. Based on over six million consumer surveys across 28 global markets, the 2026 rankings offer a data-led snapshot of brand health around the world. From global giants shaping culture to household names winning loyalty closer to home.
Below, we break down how the rankings work, before diving into the Top 10 global brands, the best-performing brands in the UK, and the UK brands that made the biggest gains year-on-year. Whether you’re a marketer, brand strategist, or just curious about who’s winning consumer trust right now, this is a definitive look at the brands leading the pack in 2026.
📋 Methodology: How the YouGov Best Brand Rankings Work
The YouGov Best Brand Rankings 2026 are powered by YouGov BrandIndex, YouGov’s always-on brand tracking tool.
The rankings are based on over six million consumer surveys collected across 28 global markets from Jan-Dec 2025.
How brands are scored
Each brand receives an Index score, which combines six key measures of brand health:
- Impression – Overall positive or negative perception
- Quality – Perceived quality of products or services
- Value – Value for money
- Satisfaction – Consumer satisfaction with the brand
- Reputation – Pride in working for the brand
- Recommendation – Likelihood to recommend (or avoid)
Global scores are calculated by averaging a brand’s individual market scores.
Which brands qualify
To be included in the rankings, brands must:
- Be tracked in at least 10 of the 28 markets
- Have a minimum sample size of 300 respondents
- Have at least 6 months of data to qualify for the Top 10
Scores are rounded to one decimal place. Where scores are tied, rankings are decided using more precise underlying data.
Markets covered
The study spans 28 countries, including the UK, US, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Improvers & year-on-year change
- Top improvers are ranked based on year-on-year Index score growth from 2024 to 2025
- Brands must have at least 18 months of tracking data to qualify
- Brands with negative 2025 scores are excluded from the improvers list
Sector & brand structure
- Brands tracked across multiple sectors are ranked using their strongest-performing sector per market
- Both parent and child brands (e.g. Google and YouTube) are included for more detailed analysis
Qualitative insights
To understand why consumers feel the way they do, YouGov used BrandIndex Voices – AI-powered interviews with 100+ U.S. adults who had a positive impression of top-performing brands in early January 2026.
🥇 Top 10 Global Brands in 2026
Here are the brands that came out on top globally:
🥇 Top 10 Brands in the UK in 2026
The top 10 brands in the UK based on average Impression, Quality, Value, Reputation, Satisfaction and Recommend scores for the last 12 months.
🥇 Top 10 Most Improved Brands in the UK
Here are the most improved brands in the UK based on year-on-year increase to index scores:
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