Buy now pay later:Which brands are most popular in search?
In August 2026, Klarna was the most searched among buy now pay later worldwide, with an estimated 2.7M branded searches and 50% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.
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Share of SearchLeaderboard
Compare the buy now pay later services shoppers use. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.
Share of Search by month for Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay, Sezzle. The figures are in the table below the chart.
View monthly share of search table
| Month | Klarna | Affirm | Afterpay | Sezzle | Zip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 53% | 23.7% | 19.3% | 2.6% | 1.4% |
| Nov 2025 | 52.7% | 23.6% | 19.2% | 3.2% | 1.4% |
| Dec 2025 | 57.6% | 21.1% | 17.2% | 2.8% | 1.3% |
| Jan 2026 | 54.7% | 24.5% | 16.3% | 3.3% | 1.2% |
| Feb 2026 | 51.8% | 28.4% | 15.6% | 3.1% | 1.1% |
| Mar 2026 | 50% | 27.4% | 18.3% | 3% | 1.4% |
| Apr 2026 | 51.7% | 28.3% | 15.5% | 3.1% | 1.4% |
| May 2026 | 50% | 27.4% | 18.3% | 3% | 1.4% |
| Jun 2026 | 51.7% | 28.3% | 15.5% | 3.1% | 1.4% |
| Jul 2026 | 50% | 27.4% | 18.3% | 3% | 1.4% |
| Aug 2026 | 50% | 27.4% | 18.3% | 3% | 1.4% |
| Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — |
This month’s ranking, August 2026
| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | vs prior month | Share change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, held 1st | 50% | 2.7M | 0% | 0 points | |
| 2, held 2nd | 27.4% | 1.5M | 0% | 0 points | |
| 3, held 3rd | 18.3% | 1M | 0% | 0 points | |
| 4, held 4th | 3% | 165K | 0% | 0 points | |
| 5, held 5th | 1.4% | 74K | 0% | 0 points |
1.
Klarna50%
Held 1st. 2.7M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
2.
Affirm27.4%
Held 2nd. 1.5M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
3.
Afterpay18.3%
Held 3rd. 1M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
4.
Sezzle3%
Held 4th. 165K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
5.
Zip1.4%
Held 5th. 74K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.
Compare search popularity between leading brands
Which brand is most popular in search among buy now pay later worldwide?
5 brands
In August 2026, Klarna was the most searched among buy now pay later worldwide, with an estimated 2.7M branded searches and 50% estimated Share of Search within this set. Affirm is in 2nd place, 22.6 percentage points behind at 27.4% Share of Search.
| Brand | Share of Search | Peak | Low | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klarna | 53% → 50% | 57.6%Dec 2025 | 50%Mar 2026 | 1st |
| Affirm | 23.7% → 27.4% | 28.4%Feb 2026 | 21.1%Dec 2025 | 2nd |
| Afterpay | 19.3% → 18.3% | 19.3%Oct 2025 | 15.5%Apr 2026 | 3rd |
| Sezzle | 2.6% → 3% | 3.3%Jan 2026 | 2.6%Oct 2025 | 4th |
| Zip | 1.4% | 1.4%Oct 2025 | 1.1%Feb 2026 | 5th |
Each finding as a sentence
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Klarna’s estimated Share of Search among buy now pay later worldwide decreased from 53% to 50%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Affirm’s estimated Share of Search among buy now pay later worldwide increased from 23.7% to 27.4%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Afterpay’s estimated Share of Search among buy now pay later worldwide decreased from 19.3% to 18.3%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Klarna’s estimated Share of Search among buy now pay later worldwide peaked at 57.6% in December 2025 and was lowest at 50% in March 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Affirm’s estimated Share of Search among buy now pay later worldwide peaked at 28.4% in February 2026 and was lowest at 21.1% in December 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Afterpay’s estimated Share of Search among buy now pay later worldwide peaked at 19.3% in October 2025 and was lowest at 15.5% in April 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Sezzle and Zip held steady: their estimated Share of Search among buy now pay later worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.
How did search popularity change for buy now pay later worldwide in August 2026?
3 changes
Estimated monthly branded searches for Zip worldwide fell 18.2% over 11 measured months, from 90.5K to 74K in August 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Klarna worldwide fell 18.2% over 11 measured months, from 3.4M to 2.7M in August 2026.
Estimated monthly branded searches for Afterpay worldwide fell 18% over 11 measured months, from 1.2M to 1M in August 2026.
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