YouGov’s 2026 Best Brand Rankings revealed

• Marks & Spencer is the strongest Brand in the UK over the past year, as measured by YouGov's market leading BrandIndex tool
• WhatsApp leads the global rankings
• Post Office is the UK's most improved brand, followed by Royal Mail and Fujitsu, as they recover from the sub-postmaster scandal
• Adidas just beats Nike in the global rankings
  

YouGov today unveils its Best Brand Rankings 2026, the definitive annual index of the world's strongest brands, based on over six million interviews conducted across 28 global markets.

The rankings are derived from YouGov's BrandIndex brand tracking tool, which delivers "always-on" tracking across key brand health metrics to give a complete and granular picture of brands' public perception over time.

YouGov's global analysis looks at the brands with the highest 'Index' score, which combines metrics for Impression, Quality, Value, Satisfaction, Recommend and Reputation scores to give an overall picture of brand health. The rankings also measure which brands made the greatest improvements to their Index score during 2025.

Marks & Spencer leads in the UK

In the UK, Marks & Spencer stands out as the UK's strongest brand in 2026, topping the national rankings with an Index score of 52.7.

The key to Marks & Spencer's success is broad based strength across multiple BrandIndex measures. It has achieved the highest score in the top ten for Impression, Quality, Reputation, Satisfaction and Recommend. That strength in depth is a key indicator of long term brand resilience.

The achievement is all the more impressive given that Marks & Spencer suffered a cyber-attack in 2025 which left shoppers unable to buy online from the company for months. The fact that the brand was able to withstand the damage from this attack shows just how strong it is in the UK.

After Marks & Spencer, IKEA, Samsung, John Lewis and Netflix follow in the top five.

1. Marks & Spencer
2. IKEA
3. Samsung
4. John Lewis
5. Netflix
6. WhatsApp
7. Sony
8. Lindt
9. Boots
10. Cadbury

The UK's most improved brand is the Post Office, which recorded an 8.9 point year on year increase. This has been driven by rising satisfaction and improved public perception as it recovers from the sub-postmaster scandal.

Royal Mail and Fujitsu take the second and third most improved spots. All three brands were involved in the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, where sub-postmasters and others were wrongly accused of stealing money and false accounting, based on incorrect data. Their place at the top of the most improved brands shows that they are recovering from the reputation hit they suffered as a result.

The top ten most improved brands in the UK are:

1. Post Office
2. Royal Mail
3. Fujitsu
4. J D Wetherspoon
5. Henry
6. British Gas
7. Nationwide
8. Octopus Energy
9. Tesco Clubcard
10. Cruzcampo

WhatsApp tops Global Best Brand Rankings 2026 as tech giants dominate

This year's results show a clear global trend: technology brands continue to command exceptional consumer trust and affinity, with WhatsApp, Samsung, YouTube and Google securing four of the top five positions worldwide.

Global Top 10 Brands 2026

1. WhatsApp
2. Samsung
3. YouTube
4. Google
5. Adidas
6. Nike
7. Netflix
8. Dettol
9. Colgate
10. Toyota

WhatsApp leads the global list with an average Index score of 41.5, driven by particularly strong performance in India and Indonesia. Samsung follows closely, helped by a high Quality score of 47.2.

Stephan Shakespeare, CEO and Co-founder, YouGov, said: "Strong brands don't just perform, they connect. YouGov's Best Brand Rankings highlight the companies that have enjoyed lasting consumer appeal over the past 12 months. Based on over six million interviews conducted across 28 markets, this report looks at overall brand health as measured by YouGov BrandIndex's daily tracking. Congratulations to all recognised brands."