--- title: "Braintree vs PayPal: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Braintree or PayPal more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Payment gateways set worldwide. 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-gateways/compare/braintree-vs-paypal" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Braintree vs PayPal: Which is searched more? Is Braintree or PayPal more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Payment gateways set worldwide. 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 - **Compared**: Braintree and PayPal - **Competitive set**: Payment gateways - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Braintree Share of Search**: 0.13% - **PayPal Share of Search**: 86.3% ## Is Braintree or PayPal more popular in search? - In September 2026, PayPal had more branded searches than Braintree among payment gateways worldwide. PayPal had about 20.4 million branded searches, while Braintree had 31,600. PayPal made up 86.3% of all payment gateway searches we track, and Braintree accounted for 0.13%. - PayPal was ahead of Braintree in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Braintree’s share of searches among payment gateways worldwide moved from 0.02% to 0.13%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 7K to 31.6K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, PayPal’s share of searches among payment gateways worldwide moved from 88.4% to 86.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 24.9M to 20.4M. ## Top payment gateways in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, PayPal appeared in all five answers. Braintree was mentioned in one out of five: not in any of the three ChatGPT answers, but in one of the two Google AI Overviews. PayPal was listed before Braintree in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stripe | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | PayPal | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Square | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Authorize.net | 4th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Helcim | 5th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Adyen | 6th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Braintree | 7th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Worldpay | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about payment gateways - Asked ChatGPT "Which payment gateway should I use?": 1. Stripe, 2. PayPal, 3. Square - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best payment gateways?": 1. Stripe, 2. PayPal, 3. Square, 4. Adyen, 5. Helcim - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best payment gateway for online card payments?": 1. Stripe, 2. PayPal, 3. Square, 4. Adyen - Searched Google, AI Overview "payment gateway": 1. Stripe, 2. Square, 3. Helcim, 4. PayPal - Searched Google, AI Overview "online payment gateway": 1. Stripe, 2. Authorize.net, 3. PayPal, 4. Braintree Not named in any answer: Worldpay. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for payment gateways worldwide in September 2026? - Estimated monthly branded searches for Braintree worldwide rose 352.1% over 12 measured months, from 7K to 31.6K in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for PayPal worldwide fell 18.1% over 12 measured months, from 24.9M to 20.4M in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Braintree estimated searches | Braintree Share of Search | Braintree rank | PayPal estimated searches | PayPal Share of Search | PayPal rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 7K | 0.02% | 7 | 24.9M | 88.4% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 7.6K | 0.03% | 7 | 24.9M | 88.6% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 6.6K | 0.02% | 7 | 24.9M | 90.2% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 7.5K | 0.03% | 7 | 24.9M | 88.5% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 7.6K | 0.03% | 7 | 20.4M | 86.1% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 7.7K | 0.03% | 7 | 20.4M | 83.9% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 7.5K | 0.03% | 7 | 20.4M | 86.2% | 1 | | May 2026 | 6.7K | 0.03% | 7 | 20.4M | 86.2% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 6.8K | 0.03% | 7 | 20.4M | 85.9% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 6.3K | 0.03% | 7 | 20.4M | 86.3% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 37.7K | 0.16% | 5 | 20.4M | 86.1% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 31.6K | 0.13% | 5 | 20.4M | 86.3% | 1 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Braintree’s and PayPal’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Braintree**: Measured on the search terms “braintree checkout”, “braintree fees”, “braintree gateway”, “braintree payment”, “braintree payment gateway”, “braintree payment processing”, “braintree payments”, “braintree paypal”, “braintreegateway”, “checkout braintree” and “paypal braintree”, summed into one figure. - **PayPal**: Measured on the search term “paypal”. - [Braintree profile](/demand/global-en/brands/braintree) - [PayPal profile](/demand/global-en/brands/paypal) - [All payment gateways worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/payment-gateways): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Braintree or PayPal more popular in search? In September 2026, PayPal had more branded searches than Braintree among payment gateways worldwide. PayPal had about 20.4 million branded searches, while Braintree had 31,600. PayPal made up 86.3% of all payment gateway searches we track, and Braintree accounted for 0.13%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Braintree vs PayPal: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/payment-gateways/compare/braintree-vs-paypal This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/payment-gateways/compare/braintree-vs-paypal. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.