YouGov Best Brand Rankings 2026 – Nordics edition

The world’s most loved brands, ranked by consumers

The YouGov Best Brand Rankings 2026 reveals the brands with the strongest overall brand health, based on how consumers perceive them over time.

The rankings are based on YouGov’s Index score, which measures performance across Impression, Quality, Value, Satisfaction, Recommendation, and Reputation.

The 2026 YouGov Best Brand Rankings show a strong performance from global digital and consumer brands. WhatsApp leads the list with an Index score of 41.5, holding its top position despite a slight –0.3 percentage point shift from last year. Samsung (41.4) and YouTube (41.1) follow closely, with Samsung showing a stable +0.1 pp increase.

Further down the ranking, Google records one of the sharpest declines at –5.1 pp, landing in 4th place with a score of 38.6. Sports brands show mixed results: adidas reaches 35.3 (–0.4 pp), while Nike stands at 34.5 (–2.3 pp). Among entertainment and consumer goods brands, Netflix posts a strong +2.7 pp, rising to 34.1, whereas Colgate (32.9) and Dettol (33.0) show modest declines.

Rounding out the top 10, Toyota delivers one of the biggest gains with +2.8 pp, reaching an Index score of 32.3, signalling a positive momentum for 2026.

See how brands rank in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland

By exploring the Index score trends - powered by our industry-leading brand health tracker YouGov BrandIndex - you gain a clear view of which brands are strengthening their position and which are facing headwinds. Use these insights to benchmark your own brand, understand market dynamics, and identify strategic opportunities for growth.

Discover which brands truly resonate with consumers in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

Methodology

YouGov Best Brand Rankings 2026 are powered by YouGov’s always-on brand tracker, YouGov BrandIndex.

Based on over six million consumer surveys in 28 markets, rankings are based on brands’ Index scores between January 1st, 2025, and December 31st, 2025. The Index score summarizes six metrics of brand health:

• Impression: Do people have a positive or negative impression of the brand? ​
• Quality: Do people perceive the brand's products or services as good or poor-quality
• Value: Does the brand offer good or poor value for money?​
• Satisfaction: Are consumers satisfied or dissatisfied with their experience of the brand
• Reputation: Would people be proud or embarrassed to work for the brand
• Recommend: Would people recommend the brand to others or tell them to avoid it? ​
  

To qualify for YouGov Best Brand Rankings, brands must be tracked in a minimum of 10 of the 28 markets analyzed in total. The markets are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam. ​Global Index scores are an average of individual market scores. All scores are rounded to one decimal place. If brands have the same rounded score, rank is determined by differences beyond the first decimal place. Percentage point change is calculated for brands that have scores available for at least 18 months (548 days).

Brands that are tracked across multiple sectors are ranked based on their highest-ranking sector per market. Both parent and child brands, such as Google and YouTube, are included to allow for greater granularity in performance tracking. Brands must have a minimum sample size of 300 to be included. For a brand to qualify as a top 10 brand, it must have scores available for at least 6 months (183 days).

Qualitative analysis for top-performing brands comes from YouGov BrandIndex Voices. AI-powered interview conversations and analysis uncover the ‘why’ behind consumer opinion and explore the themes that consumers want to talk about. Responses were collected from a minimum of 100 adults in the U.S. who have a positive impression about the brand between January 2-9, 2026.

Market-level analyses are based on Index scores in the indicated market. Top improvers are ranked based on year-on-year improvement to Index score from 2024 to 2025. All scores are rounded to one decimal place. For brands with the same change in score, ranking is based on the highest 2025 Index score.

For a brand to qualify as a most-improved brand, it must have scores available for at least 18 months (548 days). Improver brands with negative 2025 scores have been omitted from the top 10.