Bridgestone vs. Pirelli: Which tire brand is better for 2026? We compare JD Power scores and track tests to see which brand wins for luxury, trucks, and winter.
Japanese tiremaker Bridgestone has been around since the 1930s and has manufacturing facilities worldwide. Pirelli is even older than Bridgestone, and has a similarly diverse range of factories, stretching from Argentina to its home country of Italy. Both Bridgestone and Pirelli are major names in the industry, but is one brand a better choice? According to the latest data, neither brand is definitively above the other. Instead, data suggests that each brand has some models that perform particularly well in certain segments, so let’s break down exactly which segments each brand excels in.
We can start by looking at JD Power’s 2025 study, which examined customer satisfaction with new-car and truck tires. The study broke down satisfaction scores by segment, with Pirelli scoring well in the luxury tires segment. It was ranked third most satisfying, while Bridgestone was ranked at the bottom of the table, in sixth place. Pirelli also beat Bridgestone in the passenger car tire segment, ranking fourth out of 11 manufacturers, while Bridgestone came in seventh place.
In the performance-sport segment, both brands lagged the segment average, though Bridgestone was slightly ahead of Pirelli. Bridgestone also achieved an impressive third-place ranking in the truck/utility segment, while Pirelli was not ranked. In general, JD Power survey respondents favored Pirelli’s car tires over Bridgestone’s in the luxury segment, while Bridgestone was the better choice for truck and utility tires.
