---
title: "Payment gateway platforms: Which are searched most?"
description: "Compare the payment gateway platforms operators run on. Share of Search among PayPal, Stripe, Adyen, Square, Worldpay and Braintree, the payment gateway platforms Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. 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."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/payment-gateway-platforms"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Payment gateway platforms: Which are searched most?

Compare the payment gateway platforms operators run on. Share of Search among PayPal, Stripe, Adyen, Square, Worldpay and Braintree, the payment gateway platforms Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. 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.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: Payment gateway platforms
- **Market**: Global
- **Brands compared**: 6
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: PayPal, 85.5%

## Which brand is most popular in search among payment gateway platforms worldwide?

- In August 2026, PayPal was the most searched among payment gateway platforms worldwide, with an estimated 20.6M branded searches and 85.5% estimated Share of Search within this set.
- Stripe is in 2nd place, 72.8 percentage points behind at 12.7% Share of Search.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, PayPal’s estimated Share of Search among payment gateway platforms worldwide decreased from 88% to 85.5%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Stripe’s estimated Share of Search among payment gateway platforms worldwide increased from 10.7% to 12.7%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, PayPal’s estimated Share of Search among payment gateway platforms worldwide peaked at 89.8% in December 2025 and was lowest at 83.2% in March 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Stripe’s estimated Share of Search among payment gateway platforms worldwide peaked at 15.1% in March 2026 and was lowest at 9% in December 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Adyen, Square, Worldpay and Braintree held steady: their estimated Share of Search among payment gateway platforms worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [PayPal vs Stripe: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/paypal-vs-stripe): 85.5% against 12.7% Share of Search.

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

- In August 2026, Adyen rose from 4th to 3rd among payment gateway platforms worldwide.
- In August 2026, Square fell from 3rd to 4th among payment gateway platforms worldwide.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Braintree worldwide rose 423.8% over 11 measured months, from 7.2K to 37.9K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Worldpay worldwide fell 18.2% over 11 measured months, from 74K to 60.5K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for PayPal worldwide fell 18.2% over 11 measured months, from 25.1M to 20.6M in August 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | PayPal | 85.5% | 20.6M | -0.1% | PayPal |
| 2 | Stripe | 12.7% | 3.1M | -0.5% | Stripe |
| 3 | Adyen | 0.73% | 175K | +21.0% | Adyen |
| 4 | Square | 0.63% | 151K | -17.0% | Block |
| 5 | Worldpay | 0.25% | 60.5K | 0.0% | Worldpay |
| 6 | Braintree | 0.16% | 37.9K | +483.5% | PayPal |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | PayPal | 25.1M | 88% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Stripe | 3M | 10.7% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Adyen | 175K | 0.61% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Square | 114K | 0.4% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Worldpay | 74K | 0.26% | 5 |
| Oct 2025 | Braintree | 7.2K | 0.03% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | PayPal | 25.1M | 88.2% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Stripe | 3M | 10.6% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Adyen | 144K | 0.51% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Square | 107K | 0.38% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Worldpay | 74K | 0.26% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Braintree | 7.9K | 0.03% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | PayPal | 25.1M | 89.8% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Stripe | 2.5M | 9% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Adyen | 173K | 0.62% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Square | 95.9K | 0.34% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Worldpay | 60.5K | 0.22% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Braintree | 6.8K | 0.02% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | PayPal | 25.1M | 88% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Stripe | 3M | 10.7% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Adyen | 174K | 0.61% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Square | 121K | 0.42% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Worldpay | 74K | 0.26% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Braintree | 7.7K | 0.03% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | PayPal | 20.6M | 85.6% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Stripe | 3.1M | 12.7% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Adyen | 210K | 0.87% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Square | 133K | 0.55% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Worldpay | 60.5K | 0.25% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Braintree | 7.9K | 0.03% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | PayPal | 20.6M | 83.2% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Stripe | 3.7M | 15.1% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Adyen | 176K | 0.71% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Square | 165K | 0.67% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Worldpay | 74K | 0.3% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Braintree | 7.9K | 0.03% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | PayPal | 20.6M | 85.5% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Stripe | 3.1M | 12.7% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Adyen | 174K | 0.72% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Square | 173K | 0.72% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Worldpay | 60.5K | 0.25% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Braintree | 7.6K | 0.03% | 6 |
| May 2026 | PayPal | 20.6M | 85.4% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Stripe | 3.1M | 12.7% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Square | 206K | 0.85% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Adyen | 174K | 0.72% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Worldpay | 60.5K | 0.25% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Braintree | 6.8K | 0.03% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | PayPal | 20.6M | 85.1% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Stripe | 3.1M | 12.8% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Square | 212K | 0.88% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Adyen | 210K | 0.87% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Worldpay | 74K | 0.31% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Braintree | 7K | 0.03% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | PayPal | 20.6M | 85.6% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Stripe | 3.1M | 12.8% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Square | 182K | 0.76% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Adyen | 144K | 0.6% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Worldpay | 60.5K | 0.25% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Braintree | 6.5K | 0.03% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | PayPal | 20.6M | 85.5% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Stripe | 3.1M | 12.7% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Adyen | 175K | 0.73% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Square | 151K | 0.63% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Worldpay | 60.5K | 0.25% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Braintree | 37.9K | 0.16% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | Adyen | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Braintree | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | PayPal | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Square | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Stripe | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Worldpay | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **Adyen**: Measured on the search terms “adyen”, “adyen checkout”, “adyen for platform”, “adyen for platforms”, “adyen pay”, “adyen payment”, “adyen payment gateway”, “adyen payment gateways”, “adyen payment method”, “adyen payment methods”, “adyen payment platform”, “adyen payment processing”, “adyen payment processor”, “adyen payments”, “adyen terminal”, “adyen terminals”, “checkout adyen”, “payment adyen”, “payment gateway adyen”, “payment method adyen” and “payment methods adyen”, summed into one figure.
- **Braintree**: Measured on the search terms “braintree checkout”, “braintree fees”, “braintree gateway”, “braintree merchant account”, “braintree payment”, “braintree payment gateway”, “braintree payment processing”, “braintree payments”, “braintree paypal”, “braintree pricing”, “braintreegateway”, “checkout braintree” and “paypal braintree”, summed into one figure.
- **PayPal**: Measured on the 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” and “paypal to business account”, summed into one figure.
- **Square**: Measured on the search terms “buy square pos”, “cash drawer for square terminal”, “cost of square pos”, “download square pos app”, “free square pos”, “free square pos system”, “handheld square terminal”, “ipad for square pos”, “ipad square pos”, “mobile pos square”, “new square pos”, “pos square”, “pos square app”, “pos square register”, “pos square stand”, “pos square system”, “pos square terminal”, “printer for square pos”, “restaurant square pos”, “retail pos square”, “square app pos”, “square for restaurants pos”, “square for retail plus”, “square for retail plus pricing”, “square for retail pos”, “square kds app”, “square kds pricing”, “square point of sale”, “square point of sale app”, “square point of sale app download”, “square point of sale app for android”, “square point of sale card reader”, “square point of sale cost”, “square point of sale device”, “square point of sale equipment”, “square point of sale for android”, “square point of sale for restaurants”, “square point of sale ipad”, “square point of sale machine”, “square point of sale payment”, “square point of sale pos”, “square point of sale pricing”, “square point of sale printer”, “square point of sale reader”, “square point of sale register”, “square point of sale stand”, “square point of sale system”, “square point of sale terminal”, “square point of sales app”, “square pos”, “square pos account”, “square pos app”, “square pos app android”, “square pos app download”, “square pos app for android”, “square pos app for iphone”, “square pos app for windows”, “square pos apps”, “square pos card reader”, “square pos cash drawer”, “square pos cash register”, “square pos charges”, “square pos company”, “square pos cost”, “square pos device”, “square pos devices”, “square pos download”, “square pos equipment”, “square pos fees”, “square pos for android”, “square pos for bars”, “square pos for food trucks”, “square pos for ipad”, “square pos for iphone”, “square pos for mac”, “square pos for nonprofits”, “square pos for restaurant”, “square pos for restaurants”, “square pos for retail”, “square pos for small business”, “square pos for windows”, “square pos free”, “square pos handheld”, “square pos hardware”, “square pos inventory”, “square pos ipad”, “square pos ipad stand”, “square pos iphone”, “square pos kds”, “square pos kit”, “square pos machine”, “square pos mobile”, “square pos online”, “square pos pc”, “square pos plans”, “square pos price”, “square pos pricing”, “square pos printer”, “square pos products”, “square pos purchase”, “square pos reader”, “square pos receipt”, “square pos receipt printer”, “square pos restaurant”, “square pos retail”, “square pos scanner”, “square pos screen”, “square pos software”, “square pos solutions”, “square pos stand”, “square pos system”, “square pos system cost”, “square pos system for food truck”, “square pos system for restaurant”, “square pos system for restaurants”, “square pos system for retail”, “square pos system for small business”, “square pos system ipad”, “square pos system price”, “square pos system restaurant”, “square pos systems”, “square pos systems for restaurants”, “square pos systems for retail”, “square pos tablet”, “square pos terminal”, “square pos terminals”, “square pos website”, “square pos with cash drawer”, “square reader for ipad”, “square reader point of sale”, “square reader pos”, “square reader pos system”, “square register cash drawer”, “square register ipad”, “square register point of sale system”, “square register pos system”, “square register receipt printer”, “square register system”, “square terminal cash drawer”, “square terminal ipad”, “square terminal pos”, “square terminal pos system”, “square terminal receipt printer”, “square up pos”, “square up pos for restaurants”, “square up pos system”, “the square pos” and “the square pos system”, summed into one figure.
- **Stripe**: Measured on the search terms “ach fees stripe”, “apple pay with stripe”, “billing stripe”, “charge for stripe”, “check out stripe”, “checkout stripe”, “checkoutstripe”, “connect pricing stripe”, “connected accounts stripe”, “creating a stripe account”, “direct debit stripe”, “fees for stripe”, “instant payouts stripe”, “new stripe account”, “payment stripe”, “payments stripe”, “platform stripe”, “secure payment by stripe”, “set up stripe”, “set up stripe account”, “split payment stripe”, “stripe”, “stripe account”, “stripe ach fees”, “stripe ach payments”, “stripe ach pricing”, “stripe atlas”, “stripe billing”, “stripe billing pricing”, “stripe business”, “stripe business account”, “stripe cc processing”, “stripe charge fee”, “stripe charges”, “stripe connect”, “stripe connect charges”, “stripe connect fees”, “stripe connect pricing”, “stripe connected account”, “stripe connected accounts”, “stripe costs”, “stripe direct debit”, “stripe ecommerce”, “stripe fees”, “stripe fees per transaction”, “stripe for international payments”, “stripe for small business”, “stripe gateway”, “stripe hosted checkout”, “stripe instant payouts”, “stripe international payments”, “stripe invoicing”, “stripe invoicing fees”, “stripe issuing”, “stripe marketplace”, “stripe merchant”, “stripe merchant account”, “stripe merchant fees”, “stripe merchant of record”, “stripe merchant services”, “stripe nonprofit pricing”, “stripe online payments”, “stripe pay”, “stripe pay by bank”, “stripe payment”, “stripe payment app”, “stripe payment charges”, “stripe payment company”, “stripe payment cost”, “stripe payment fees”, “stripe payment gateway”, “stripe payment gateway charges”, “stripe payment gateway fees”, “stripe payment platform”, “stripe payment processing”, “stripe payment processing fees”, “stripe payment services”, “stripe payment terminal”, “stripe payments”, “stripe payments company”, “stripe payments processing”, “stripe payouts”, “stripe platform”, “stripe pricing”, “stripe processing”, “stripe processing fees”, “stripe recurring payments”, “stripe secure payment”, “stripe split payments”, “stripe subscription”, “stripe subscription management”, “stripe terminal”, “stripe transaction charges”, “stripe transaction fee”, “stripe usage based billing”, “stripe website” and “terminal stripe”, summed into one figure.
- **Worldpay**: Measured on the search term “worldpay”.

- [Adyen](/demand/global-en/brands/adyen)
- [Braintree](/demand/global-en/brands/braintree)
- [PayPal](/demand/global-en/brands/paypal)
- [Square](/demand/global-en/brands/square)
- [Stripe](/demand/global-en/brands/stripe)
- [Worldpay](/demand/global-en/brands/worldpay)

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among payment gateway platforms worldwide?

In August 2026, PayPal was the most searched among payment gateway platforms worldwide, with an estimated 20.6M branded searches and 85.5% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Payment gateway platforms: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/payment-gateway-platforms

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/payment-gateway-platforms. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.