--- title: "IRIS Payroll vs QuickBooks Online: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?" description: "Is IRIS Payroll or QuickBooks Online more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Payroll software set in the United Kingdom. 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/uk/compare/iris-payroll-vs-quickbooks-online" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # IRIS Payroll vs QuickBooks Online: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom? Is IRIS Payroll or QuickBooks Online more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Payroll software set in the United Kingdom. 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**: IRIS Payroll and QuickBooks Online - **Competitive set**: Payroll software - **Market**: United Kingdom - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **IRIS Payroll Share of Search**: 14.7% - **QuickBooks Online Share of Search**: 1.8% ## Is IRIS Payroll or QuickBooks Online more popular in search? - In September 2026, IRIS Payroll had more branded searches than QuickBooks Online among payroll software in the United Kingdom. IRIS Payroll had about 10,900 branded searches, while QuickBooks Online had 1,300. IRIS Payroll made up 14.7% of all payroll software searches we track, and QuickBooks Online accounted for 1.8%. - IRIS Payroll was ahead of QuickBooks Online in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, IRIS Payroll’s share of searches among payroll software in the United Kingdom moved from 18.6% to 14.7%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 10.8K to 10.9K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, QuickBooks Online’s share of searches among payroll software in the United Kingdom moved from 1.5% to 1.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 880 to 1.3K. ## Top payroll software in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, QuickBooks Online appeared in all five answers. IRIS Payroll did not appear in any of the 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sage Payroll | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Xero | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | BrightPay | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Moneysoft | 4th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | QuickBooks Online | 5th | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | IRIS Payroll | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about payroll software - Asked ChatGPT "Which payroll software should my small business use in the UK?": 1. Sage Payroll, 2. BrightPay, 3. Xero, 4. QuickBooks Online - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best payroll software platforms in the UK?": 1. BrightPay, 2. Xero, 3. Sage Payroll, 4. QuickBooks Online, 5. Moneysoft - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best payroll software in the UK for a small business with ten employees?": 1. Sage Payroll, 2. Moneysoft, 3. Xero, 4. BrightPay, 5. QuickBooks Online - Searched Google, AI Overview "payroll software": 1. Sage Payroll, 2. Xero, 3. BrightPay, 4. QuickBooks Online - Searched Google, AI Overview "payroll software uk": 1. Sage Payroll, 2. Xero, 3. Moneysoft, 4. QuickBooks Online Not named in any answer: IRIS Payroll. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 22, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom payroll software in September 2026? - In September 2026, QuickBooks Online overtook Moneysoft to rank 5th among payroll software in the United Kingdom, with 1.8% of the searches. ## Month by month | Month | IRIS Payroll estimated searches | IRIS Payroll Share of Search | IRIS Payroll rank | QuickBooks Online estimated searches | QuickBooks Online Share of Search | QuickBooks Online rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 10.8K | 18.6% | 2 | 880 | 1.5% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | 9K | 16.2% | 3 | 720 | 1.3% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | 8.8K | 16.6% | 2 | 720 | 1.4% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 10.8K | 16.5% | 2 | 880 | 1.3% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 10.8K | 18.5% | 2 | 1K | 1.7% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | 11.2K | 14.7% | 2 | 1K | 1.3% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 11.2K | 10.9% | 3 | 1K | 0.97% | 6 | | May 2026 | 10.8K | 14.8% | 2 | 720 | 0.99% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | 10.9K | 14.8% | 2 | 590 | 0.8% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 13K | 17.7% | 2 | 590 | 0.8% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 10.8K | 15.1% | 2 | 880 | 1.2% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | 10.9K | 14.7% | 2 | 1.3K | 1.8% | 5 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using IRIS Payroll’s and QuickBooks Online’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. - **IRIS Payroll**: Measured on the search terms “iris payroll” and “staffology”, summed into one figure. - **QuickBooks Online**: Measured on the search term “quickbooks payroll”. - [IRIS Payroll profile](/demand/uk/brands/iris-payroll) - [QuickBooks Online profile](/demand/uk/brands/quickbooks-online) - [All payroll software in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-payroll-software): The set both shares are measured inside, 6 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 IRIS Payroll or QuickBooks Online more popular in search? In September 2026, IRIS Payroll had more branded searches than QuickBooks Online among payroll software in the United Kingdom. IRIS Payroll had about 10,900 branded searches, while QuickBooks Online had 1,300. IRIS Payroll made up 14.7% of all payroll software searches we track, and QuickBooks Online accounted for 1.8%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "IRIS Payroll vs QuickBooks Online: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/iris-payroll-vs-quickbooks-online This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/iris-payroll-vs-quickbooks-online. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.