PayPal vs Stripe:Which is searched more?
In September 2026, PayPal had more branded searches than Stripe among payment processors worldwide. PayPal was estimated to have 20.5M branded searches compared to Stripe’s 2.9M, and held a 69.4% Share of Search versus Stripe’s 10%. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.
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Which is more popular in search, PayPal or Stripe?
Compare the payment processors people choose between. 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 PayPal, Stripe. The figures are in the table below the chart.
View monthly share of search table
| Month | PayPal | Revolut | Stripe | Wise | Adyen | Airwallex | GoCardless | Square | Worldline | Braintree | Shopify POS | Mollie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 75.4% | 11.7% | 8.9% | 1.8% | 0.53% | 0.42% | 0.43% | 0.29% | 0.41% | 0.02% | 0.08% | 0.04% |
| Nov 2025 | 77% | 10% | 9.1% | 1.8% | 0.44% | 0.42% | 0.44% | 0.28% | 0.42% | 0.02% | 0.08% | 0.04% |
| Dec 2025 | 78.1% | 10.1% | 7.7% | 1.8% | 0.54% | 0.64% | 0.44% | 0.25% | 0.34% | 0.02% | 0.07% | 0.04% |
| Jan 2026 | 75.1% | 11.7% | 8.9% | 2% | 0.52% | 0.61% | 0.52% | 0.31% | 0.33% | 0.02% | 0.08% | 0.04% |
| Feb 2026 | 72.9% | 11.5% | 10.6% | 2% | 0.75% | 0.73% | 0.61% | 0.4% | 0.39% | 0.03% | 0.1% | 0.05% |
| Mar 2026 | 69.4% | 13.2% | 12.3% | 2% | 0.6% | 0.69% | 0.58% | 0.48% | 0.56% | 0.03% | 0.09% | 0.04% |
| Apr 2026 | 72.8% | 11.5% | 10.6% | 2.2% | 0.62% | 0.72% | 0.5% | 0.53% | 0.39% | 0.03% | 0.1% | 0.04% |
| May 2026 | 71.1% | 13.4% | 10.4% | 2.1% | 0.61% | 0.71% | 0.49% | 0.63% | 0.38% | 0.02% | 0.09% | 0.04% |
| Jun 2026 | 70.9% | 13.4% | 10.5% | 2.1% | 0.73% | 0.71% | 0.49% | 0.66% | 0.38% | 0.02% | 0.09% | 0.04% |
| Jul 2026 | 71.2% | 13.6% | 10.4% | 2.1% | 0.5% | 0.71% | 0.49% | 0.55% | 0.31% | 0.02% | 0.09% | 0.04% |
| Aug 2026 | 71% | 13.6% | 10.3% | 2.3% | 0.61% | 0.71% | 0.48% | 0.46% | 0.31% | 0.13% | 0.06% | 0.04% |
| Sep 2026 | 69.4% | 16% | 10% | 2.1% | 0.59% | 0.57% | 0.47% | 0.35% | 0.31% | 0.11% | 0.06% | 0.03% |
How has the PayPal and Stripe comparison changed over the last 12 months?
3 findings
- PayPal was ahead of Stripe in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, PayPal’s estimated Share of Search among payment processors worldwide moved from 75.4% to 69.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 25M to 20.5M.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Stripe’s estimated Share of Search among payment processors worldwide moved from 8.9% to 10%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 3M to 2.9M.
How did search popularity change for payment processors worldwide in September 2026?
1 change
In September 2026, PayPal lost estimated Share of Search among payment processors worldwide, from 71% to 69.4%.
Other head-to-heads among payment processors
How each brand is measured
Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using PayPal’s and Stripe’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.
PayPal
13 branded search terms
- paypal
- paypal business
- paypal business app
- paypal business charges
- paypal business cost
- paypal business fees
- paypal checkout
- paypal express checkout
- paypal for company
- paypal merchant
- paypal merchant services
- paypal payment processing
- paypal payments
Stripe
43 branded search terms
- billing stripe
- charge for stripe
- check out stripe
- checkout stripe
- checkoutstripe
- direct debit stripe
- fees for stripe
- instant payouts stripe
- payment stripe
- payments stripe
- set up stripe
- stripe
- stripe ach payments
- stripe atlas
- stripe billing
- stripe business
- stripe cc processing
- stripe charge fee
- stripe charges
- stripe connect
- stripe direct debit
- stripe fees
- stripe instant payouts
- stripe invoicing
- stripe issuing
- stripe merchant services
- stripe pay
- stripe payment
- stripe payment app
- stripe payment company
- stripe payment gateway
- stripe payment processing
- stripe payment services
- stripe payments
- stripe payments company
- stripe payments processing
- stripe payouts
- stripe processing fees
- stripe recurring payments
- stripe terminal
1–40 of 43
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