Brandwave

HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, Paychex was the most searched among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide, with an estimated 922K branded searches and 40.9% estimated Share of Search within this set. Worldwide · English terms: these are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. Paychex40.9%
  2. Rippling22.1%
  3. BambooHR11.1%
  4. RUN Powered by ADP8.4%
  5. Personio6.1%
  6. HiBob5.2%
  7. Gusto3.4%
  8. Justworks2.8%

Follow HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses and get free monthly updates on what changed

By continuing you'll get index updates and occasional product news from Brandwave. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy

Track your brand in this set →

Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare HR, payroll, and people-management software sold to small and midsize businesses, measured through worldwide English-language branded search demand. 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 among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for Paychex, Rippling, BambooHR, RUN Powered by ADP, Personio, HiBob, Gusto, Justworks. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthPaychexRipplingBambooHRRUN Powered by ADPPersonioHiBobGustoJustworks
Oct 202540%23.8%11.2%7.9%6.7%4.7%3.1%2.5%
Nov 202537.9%22.6%11.3%8.6%7.8%5.4%3.4%2.9%
Dec 202541.4%22.8%10.1%9.4%5.7%4.8%3.1%2.6%
Jan 202644.4%20.2%10.2%8.3%6.1%4.3%3.7%2.8%
Feb 202642.4%23.5%8.6%8%5.9%5%4%2.7%
Mar 202636.6%21.5%13%9.1%6.7%5.7%4.4%3.1%
Apr 202639.1%21.9%12%8.5%5.9%5%4.3%3.3%
May 202639.1%20.2%11.7%8.9%6.6%5.6%4.8%3%
Jun 202638.8%21%11.9%8.4%7.1%6%4.1%2.7%
Jul 202640.8%21.8%10.5%9.1%6.1%5.2%3.7%2.8%
Aug 202640.9%22.1%11.1%8.4%6.1%5.2%3.4%2.8%
Sep 2026————————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.Paychex

    40.9%

    held 1st · 922K estimated branded searches · -0.03% vs prior month · +0.1 points

  2. 2.Rippling

    22.1%

    held 2nd · 497K estimated branded searches · +0.83% vs prior month · +0.3 points

  3. 3.BambooHR

    11.1%

    held 3rd · 249K estimated branded searches · +5% vs prior month · +0.6 points

  4. 4.RUN Powered by ADP

    8.4%

    held 4th · 189K estimated branded searches · -8.1% vs prior month · -0.7 points

  5. 5.Personio

    6.1%

    held 5th · 138K estimated branded searches · -0.32% vs prior month · 0 points

  6. 6.HiBob

    5.2%

    held 6th · 117K estimated branded searches · -0.2% vs prior month · 0 points

  7. 7.Gusto

    3.4%

    held 7th · 76.3K estimated branded searches · -8.9% vs prior month · -0.3 points

  8. 8.Justworks

    2.8%

    held 8th · 64.1K estimated branded searches · +0.27% vs prior month · 0 points

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide?

In August 2026, Paychex was the most searched among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide, with an estimated 922K branded searches and 40.9% estimated Share of Search within this set. Rippling is in 2nd place, 18.9 percentage points behind at 22.1% Share of Search.

Global HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
Paychex40% → 40.9%44.4%Jan 202636.6%Mar 20261st
Rippling23.8% → 22.1%23.8%Oct 202520.2%Jan 20262nd
BambooHR11.2% → 11.1%13%Mar 20268.6%Feb 20263rd
RUN Powered by ADP7.9% → 8.4%9.4%Dec 20257.9%Oct 20254th
Personio6.7% → 6.1%7.8%Nov 20255.7%Dec 20255th
HiBob4.7% → 5.2%6%Jun 20264.3%Jan 20266th
Gusto3.1% → 3.4%4.8%May 20263.1%Dec 20257th
Justworks2.5% → 2.8%3.3%Apr 20262.5%Oct 20258th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Paychex’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide increased from 40% to 40.9%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Rippling’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide decreased from 23.8% to 22.1%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Personio’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide decreased from 6.7% to 6.1%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, HiBob’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide increased from 4.7% to 5.2%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Paychex’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide peaked at 44.4% in January 2026 and was lowest at 36.6% in March 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Rippling’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide peaked at 23.8% in October 2025 and was lowest at 20.2% in January 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, BambooHR’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide peaked at 13% in March 2026 and was lowest at 8.6% in February 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, RUN Powered by ADP’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide peaked at 9.4% in December 2025 and was lowest at 7.9% in October 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Personio’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide peaked at 7.8% in November 2025 and was lowest at 5.7% in December 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, HiBob’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide peaked at 6% in June 2026 and was lowest at 4.3% in January 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Gusto’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide peaked at 4.8% in May 2026 and was lowest at 3.1% in December 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, BambooHR, RUN Powered by ADP, Gusto and Justworks held steady: their estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, BambooHR gained estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide, from 10.5% to 11.1%.

  2. In August 2026, RUN Powered by ADP lost estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide, from 9.1% to 8.4%.

  3. Rippling’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide has gained ground for 3 months in a row, from 20.2% to 22.1% in August 2026.

  4. Gusto’s estimated Share of Search among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses worldwide has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 4.8% to 3.4% in August 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Personio worldwide fell 18.3% over 11 measured months, from 169K to 138K in August 2026.

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Creator with pink hair and a pink jacket

See your own brand in this picture

Brandwave tracks your branded demand next to your campaigns, spend and outcomes, so you can see what moved your numbers, not just that they moved.

Start your marketing record