---
title: "Small business accounting platforms: Which brands are most popular in search?"
description: "Compare accounting and invoicing software used by small and midsize businesses. Share of Search among QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books, FreshBooks, Wave, Xero and Sage Accounting, the small business accounting 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/small-business-accounting-platforms"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Small business accounting platforms: Which brands are most popular in search?

Compare accounting and invoicing software used by small and midsize businesses. Share of Search among QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books, FreshBooks, Wave, Xero and Sage Accounting, the small business accounting 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**: Small business accounting platforms
- **Market**: Global
- **Brands compared**: 6
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: QuickBooks Online, 53.6%

## Which brand is most popular in search among small business accounting platforms worldwide?

- In August 2026, QuickBooks Online was the most searched among small business accounting platforms worldwide, with an estimated 1.2M branded searches and 53.6% estimated Share of Search within this set.
- Zoho Books is in 2nd place, 18.1 percentage points behind at 35.6% Share of Search.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, QuickBooks Online’s estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide decreased from 56.4% to 53.6%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Zoho Books’ estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide increased from 30.7% to 35.6%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, FreshBooks’ estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide decreased from 4.2% to 3.2%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Wave’s estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide decreased from 3.9% to 2.9%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, QuickBooks Online’s estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide peaked at 61.6% in March 2026 and was lowest at 52.5% in November 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Zoho Books’ estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide peaked at 36.1% in July 2026 and was lowest at 26.7% in January 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, FreshBooks’ estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide peaked at 4.2% in October 2025 and was lowest at 2.2% in July 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Wave’s estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide peaked at 4.3% in January 2026 and was lowest at 2.5% in July 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Xero’s estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide peaked at 3.5% in February 2026 and was lowest at 2.5% in December 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Xero and Sage Accounting held steady: their estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [QuickBooks Online vs Zoho Books: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/quickbooks-online-vs-zoho-books): 53.6% against 35.6% Share of Search.
- [QuickBooks Online vs FreshBooks: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/freshbooks-vs-quickbooks-online): 53.6% against 3.2% Share of Search.
- [QuickBooks Online vs Wave: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/quickbooks-online-vs-wave-accounting): 53.6% against 2.9% Share of Search.
- [QuickBooks Online vs Xero: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/quickbooks-online-vs-xero): 53.6% against 2.8% Share of Search.
- [Zoho Books vs FreshBooks: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/freshbooks-vs-zoho-books): 35.6% against 3.2% Share of Search.
- [Zoho Books vs Wave: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/wave-accounting-vs-zoho-books): 35.6% against 2.9% Share of Search.
- [Zoho Books vs Xero: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/xero-vs-zoho-books): 35.6% against 2.8% Share of Search.
- [FreshBooks vs Wave: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/freshbooks-vs-wave-accounting): 3.2% against 2.9% Share of Search.
- [FreshBooks vs Xero: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/freshbooks-vs-xero): 3.2% against 2.8% Share of Search.
- [Wave vs Xero: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/wave-accounting-vs-xero): 2.9% against 2.8% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for small business accounting platforms worldwide in August 2026?

- In August 2026, FreshBooks overtook Xero to rank 3rd among small business accounting platforms worldwide, at 3.2%.
- In August 2026, QuickBooks Online lost estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide, from 54.4% to 53.6%.
- In August 2026, Zoho Books lost estimated Share of Search among small business accounting platforms worldwide, from 36.1% to 35.6%.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Wave worldwide fell 21.5% over 11 measured months, from 86.1K to 67.6K in August 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | QuickBooks Online | 53.6% | 1.2M | 0.0% | Intuit |
| 2 | Zoho Books | 35.6% | 827K | -0.1% | Zoho |
| 3 | FreshBooks | 3.2% | 74.9K | +46.5% | FreshBooks |
| 4 | Wave | 2.9% | 67.6K | +17.4% | Wave |
| 5 | Xero | 2.8% | 65.4K | +9.6% | Xero |
| 6 | Sage Accounting | 1.8% | 43K | -14.7% | Sage Accounting |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | QuickBooks Online | 1.2M | 56.4% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Zoho Books | 675K | 30.7% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | FreshBooks | 91.5K | 4.2% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Wave | 86.1K | 3.9% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Xero | 65.2K | 3% | 5 |
| Oct 2025 | Sage Accounting | 43K | 2% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | QuickBooks Online | 1M | 52.5% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Zoho Books | 675K | 34.7% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | FreshBooks | 75.3K | 3.9% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Wave | 72.6K | 3.7% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Xero | 59.1K | 3% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Sage Accounting | 43K | 2.2% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | QuickBooks Online | 1.2M | 57.3% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Zoho Books | 675K | 31.2% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Wave | 86.1K | 4% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | FreshBooks | 75.6K | 3.5% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Xero | 53.1K | 2.5% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Sage Accounting | 35.2K | 1.6% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1.5M | 60.2% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Zoho Books | 676K | 26.7% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Wave | 109K | 4.3% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | FreshBooks | 92.9K | 3.7% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Xero | 78.3K | 3.1% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Sage Accounting | 52.6K | 2.1% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1.2M | 56.9% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Zoho Books | 676K | 30.9% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Xero | 77.1K | 3.5% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Wave | 75.3K | 3.4% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | FreshBooks | 62.1K | 2.8% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Sage Accounting | 52.6K | 2.4% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1.5M | 61.6% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Zoho Books | 676K | 27.3% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Xero | 78.7K | 3.2% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Wave | 78.6K | 3.2% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | FreshBooks | 64.9K | 2.6% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Sage Accounting | 52.6K | 2.1% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1.2M | 57.1% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Zoho Books | 676K | 31% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Wave | 75.3K | 3.5% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Xero | 71.4K | 3.3% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | FreshBooks | 62.1K | 2.8% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Sage Accounting | 50.4K | 2.3% | 6 |
| May 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1.2M | 57.7% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Zoho Books | 677K | 31.3% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Xero | 71.3K | 3.3% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Wave | 64.3K | 3% | 4 |
| May 2026 | FreshBooks | 51.4K | 2.4% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Sage Accounting | 50.4K | 2.3% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1.2M | 57.1% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Zoho Books | 676K | 30.9% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | FreshBooks | 76.4K | 3.5% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Wave | 70.4K | 3.2% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Xero | 64.3K | 2.9% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Sage Accounting | 50.4K | 2.3% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1.2M | 54.4% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Zoho Books | 827K | 36.1% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Xero | 59.7K | 2.6% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Wave | 57.6K | 2.5% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | FreshBooks | 51.1K | 2.2% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Sage Accounting | 50.4K | 2.2% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1.2M | 53.6% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Zoho Books | 827K | 35.6% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | FreshBooks | 74.9K | 3.2% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Wave | 67.6K | 2.9% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Xero | 65.4K | 2.8% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Sage Accounting | 43K | 1.8% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | FreshBooks | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | QuickBooks Online | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Sage Accounting | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Wave | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Xero | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Zoho Books | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **FreshBooks**: Measured on the search terms “freshbooks” and “freshbooks accounting software”, summed into one figure.
- **QuickBooks Online**: Measured on the search terms “quickbooks online” and “quickbooks online accountant”, summed into one figure.
- **Sage Accounting**: Measured on the search terms “sage accounting” and “sage accounting software”, summed into one figure.
- **Wave**: Measured on the search terms “wave accounting” and “wave accounting software”, summed into one figure.
- **Xero**: Measured on the search terms “xero accounting”, “xero accounting software”, “xero invoicing”, “xero payroll”, “xero tax” and “xero tax software”, summed into one figure.
- **Zoho Books**: Measured on the search terms “zoho books” and “zoho books accounting”, summed into one figure.

- [FreshBooks](/demand/global-en/brands/freshbooks)
- [QuickBooks Online](/demand/global-en/brands/quickbooks-online)
- [Sage Accounting](/demand/global-en/brands/sage-accounting)
- [Wave](/demand/global-en/brands/wave-accounting)
- [Xero](/demand/global-en/brands/xero)
- [Zoho Books](/demand/global-en/brands/zoho-books)

## 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 small business accounting platforms worldwide?

In August 2026, QuickBooks Online was the most searched among small business accounting platforms worldwide, with an estimated 1.2M branded searches and 53.6% estimated Share of Search within this set. Worldwide · English terms: these are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Small business accounting platforms: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/small-business-accounting-platforms

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