--- title: "Authorize.net vs PayPal: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Authorize.net 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/compare/authorize-net-vs-paypal" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Authorize.net vs PayPal: Which is searched more? Is Authorize.net 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**: Authorize.net and PayPal - **Competitive set**: Payment gateways - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Authorize.net Share of Search**: 0.06% - **PayPal Share of Search**: 86.3% ## Is Authorize.net or PayPal more popular in search? - In September 2026, PayPal had more branded searches than Authorize.net among payment gateways worldwide. PayPal had about 20.4 million branded searches, while Authorize.net had 13,400. PayPal made up 86.3% of all payment gateway searches we track, and Authorize.net accounted for 0.06%. - PayPal was ahead of Authorize.net in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Authorize.net’s share of searches among payment gateways worldwide held steady at 0.06%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 16.4K to 13.4K. - 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. Authorize.net 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 Authorize.net in four out of five answers. 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 Authorize.net worldwide fell 18.3% over 12 measured months, from 16.4K to 13.4K 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 | Authorize.net estimated searches | Authorize.net Share of Search | Authorize.net rank | PayPal estimated searches | PayPal Share of Search | PayPal rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 16.4K | 0.06% | 6 | 24.9M | 88.4% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 16.4K | 0.06% | 6 | 24.9M | 88.6% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 13.7K | 0.05% | 6 | 24.9M | 90.2% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 16.4K | 0.06% | 6 | 24.9M | 88.5% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 13.7K | 0.06% | 6 | 20.4M | 86.1% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 16.7K | 0.07% | 6 | 20.4M | 83.9% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 13.7K | 0.06% | 6 | 20.4M | 86.2% | 1 | | May 2026 | 13.4K | 0.06% | 6 | 20.4M | 86.2% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 13.4K | 0.06% | 6 | 20.4M | 85.9% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 13.4K | 0.06% | 6 | 20.4M | 86.3% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 13.4K | 0.06% | 7 | 20.4M | 86.1% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 13.4K | 0.06% | 7 | 20.4M | 86.3% | 1 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Authorize.net’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. - **Authorize.net**: Measured on the search terms “authorize net” and “authorizenet”, summed into one figure. - **PayPal**: Measured on the search term “paypal”. - [Authorize.net profile](/demand/global-en/brands/authorize-net) - [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 Authorize.net or PayPal more popular in search? In September 2026, PayPal had more branded searches than Authorize.net among payment gateways worldwide. PayPal had about 20.4 million branded searches, while Authorize.net had 13,400. PayPal made up 86.3% of all payment gateway searches we track, and Authorize.net accounted for 0.06%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Authorize.net vs PayPal: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/authorize-net-vs-paypal This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/authorize-net-vs-paypal. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.