Brandwave

How popular isPayPal in search?

In August 2026, there were an estimated 20.6M branded searches for PayPal worldwide which is down 18.2% over the last 11 months. PayPal holds 84.9% estimated Share of Search among online payment platforms worldwide and is ranked 1st of 8 competitors for search popularity. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. PayPal84.9%
  2. Stripe12.7%
  3. Airwallex0.86%
  4. Adyen0.72%
  5. GoCardless0.59%
  6. Braintree0.16%
  7. Mollie0.05%
  8. Checkout.com0.03%
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Which online payment platforms compete with PayPal?

PayPal against online payment platforms worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for PayPal, Stripe. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthPayPalStripeAirwallexAdyenGoCardlessBraintreeMollieCheckout.com
Oct 202587.7%10.6%0.49%0.61%0.5%0.03%0.05%0.02%
Nov 202587.8%10.6%0.49%0.5%0.5%0.03%0.05%0.02%
Dec 202589.1%9%0.73%0.61%0.5%0.02%0.05%0.02%
Jan 202687.4%10.6%0.72%0.6%0.61%0.03%0.05%0.02%
Feb 202684.9%12.6%0.85%0.87%0.72%0.03%0.06%0.03%
Mar 202682.7%15%0.83%0.71%0.7%0.03%0.06%0.03%
Apr 202685.1%12.7%0.85%0.72%0.6%0.03%0.05%0.02%
May 202685%12.7%0.86%0.72%0.59%0.03%0.05%0.02%
Jun 202684.8%12.8%0.85%0.86%0.59%0.03%0.05%0.03%
Jul 202685.1%12.7%0.86%0.6%0.59%0.03%0.05%0.03%
Aug 202684.9%12.7%0.86%0.72%0.59%0.16%0.05%0.03%
Sep 2026————————

  1. 1.PayPal

    84.9%

    Held 1st. 20.6M estimated branded searches, -0.14% vs prior month. Share -0.2 points.

  2. 2.Stripe

    12.7%

    Held 2nd. 3.1M estimated branded searches, -0.55% vs prior month. Share -0.1 points.

  3. 3.Airwallex

    0.86%

    Held 3rd. 207K estimated branded searches, -0.08% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  4. 4.Adyen

    0.72%

    Held 4th. 175K estimated branded searches, +21% vs prior month. Share +0.1 points.

  5. 5.GoCardless

    0.59%

    Held 5th. 143K estimated branded searches, -0.06% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  6. 6.Braintree

    0.16%

    Moved from 8th to 6th. 37.9K estimated branded searches, +483.5% vs prior month. Share +0.1 points.

  7. 7.Mollie

    0.05%

    Moved from 6th to 7th. 12.6K estimated branded searches, +0.24% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  8. 8.Checkout.com

    0.03%

    Moved from 7th to 8th. 7K estimated branded searches, -0.85% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Compare search popularity between PayPal and its closest rivals

How has branded search demand for PayPal changed worldwide over the last 12 months?

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for PayPal worldwide fell from 25.1M to 20.6M.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, PayPal’s estimated Share of Search among online payment platforms worldwide decreased from 87.7% to 84.9%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, PayPal’s estimated Share of Search among online payment platforms worldwide peaked at 89.1% in December 2025 and was lowest at 82.7% in March 2026.

How did search popularity change for online payment platforms worldwide in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, Braintree rose from 8th to 6th among online payment platforms worldwide.

  2. In August 2026, Checkout.com fell from 7th to 8th among online payment platforms worldwide.

  3. In August 2026, Mollie fell from 6th to 7th among online payment platforms worldwide.

  4. Estimated monthly branded searches for Airwallex worldwide rose 47.9% over 11 measured months, from 140K to 207K in August 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for PayPal worldwide fell 18.2% over 11 measured months, from 25.1M to 20.6M in August 2026.

Where does PayPal compete?

PayPal is ranked in four competitor sets. Each share is worked out among that set's brands, so it differs from set to set.
Competitor setRankShare of SearchRanking
Money transfer apps1st of 669.5%Show ranking
Creator payout platforms1st of 581%Show ranking
Online payment platforms1st of 884.9%Shown above
Payment gateway platforms1st of 685.5%Show ranking

How is PayPal measured?

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using PayPal’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading.

24 branded search terms

  • paypal
  • paypal business
  • paypal business account
  • paypal business account charges
  • paypal business account cost
  • paypal business account fees
  • paypal business account price
  • paypal business app
  • paypal business charges
  • paypal business cost
  • paypal business fees
  • paypal checkout
  • paypal commercial account
  • paypal company account
  • paypal corporate account
  • paypal express checkout
  • paypal for business
  • paypal for company
  • paypal merchant
  • paypal merchant account
  • paypal merchant services
  • paypal payment processing
  • paypal payments
  • paypal to business account

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How the Brand Demand Index is measured

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