--- title: "Small business accounting software in the United States: Which are searched most?" description: "Compare the accounting software small businesses in the US use for bookkeeping, invoicing and tax. Share of Search among QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books, Wave, Sage Accounting and ZipBooks, the small business accounting software Brandwave compares in the United States, 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/us/categories/us-small-business-accounting-software" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Small business accounting software in the United States: Which are searched most? Compare the accounting software small businesses in the US use for bookkeeping, invoicing and tax. Share of Search among QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books, Wave, Sage Accounting and ZipBooks, the small business accounting software Brandwave compares in the United States, 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 software - **Market**: United States - **Brands compared**: 7 - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Highest Share of Search**: QuickBooks Online, 85% ## Which brand is most popular in search among small business accounting software in the United States? - In September 2026, QuickBooks Online was the most searched among small business accounting software in the United States, with an estimated 1M branded searches, 85% of all searches for the seven we track. - Xero is in 2nd place, 77.3 percentage points behind at 7.7%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, QuickBooks Online’s share of searches among small business accounting software in the United States increased from 82.9% to 85%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, FreshBooks’ share of searches among small business accounting software in the United States decreased from 4.1% to 2.8%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Wave’s share of searches among small business accounting software in the United States decreased from 2.7% to 1.9%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, QuickBooks Online’s share of searches among small business accounting software in the United States peaked at 85.4% in August 2026 and was lowest at 80.1% in January 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Xero’s share of searches among small business accounting software in the United States peaked at 9.1% in May 2026 and was lowest at 7.4% in June 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, FreshBooks’ share of searches among small business accounting software in the United States peaked at 4.1% in October 2025 and was lowest at 2.3% in August 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Wave’s share of searches among small business accounting software in the United States peaked at 4% in January 2026 and was lowest at 1.9% in July 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Zoho Books rose from 5th to 4th among small business accounting software in the United States. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Wave fell from 4th to 5th among small business accounting software in the United States. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Sage Accounting rose from 7th to 6th among small business accounting software in the United States. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, ZipBooks fell from 6th to 7th among small business accounting software in the United States. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Xero held steady: its share of searches among small business accounting software in the United States moved less than 0.5 percentage points. ## Top small business accounting software in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, FreshBooks and Wave appeared every time. QuickBooks Online was recommended most often, coming first in four out of five answers. Wave was second, and Xero was third. ZipBooks, which ranked seventh in searches, was not mentioned at all. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | QuickBooks Online | 1st | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Wave | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Xero | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | FreshBooks | 4th | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Zoho Books | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Sage Accounting | 6th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | ZipBooks | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about small business accounting software - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best accounting software for a small business?": 1. QuickBooks Online, 2. Xero, 3. Wave, 4. FreshBooks, 5. Zoho Books - Asked ChatGPT "Which bookkeeping software should I use for my small business?": 1. QuickBooks Online, 2. Wave, 3. Xero, 4. Zoho Books, 5. FreshBooks - Asked ChatGPT "What's the easiest accounting software for a freelancer?": 1. Wave, 2. FreshBooks - Searched Google, AI Overview "accounting software": 1. QuickBooks Online, 2. Xero, 3. FreshBooks, 4. Zoho Books, 5. Wave - Searched Google, AI Overview "small business accounting software": 1. QuickBooks Online, 2. Xero, 3. FreshBooks, 4. Wave, 5. Zoho Books, 6. Sage Accounting Not named in any answer: ZipBooks. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 27, 2026. ## Compare search popularity between leading brands - [QuickBooks Online vs Xero: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/quickbooks-online-vs-xero): 85% against 7.7% Share of Search. - [QuickBooks Online vs FreshBooks: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/freshbooks-vs-quickbooks-online): 85% against 2.8% Share of Search. - [QuickBooks Online vs Zoho Books: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/quickbooks-online-vs-zoho-books): 85% against 2.3% Share of Search. - [Xero vs FreshBooks: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/freshbooks-vs-xero): 7.7% against 2.8% Share of Search. - [Xero vs Zoho Books: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/xero-vs-zoho-books): 7.7% against 2.3% Share of Search. - [FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: compare search popularity](/demand/us/compare/freshbooks-vs-zoho-books): 2.8% against 2.3% Share of Search. ## How did search popularity change for United States small business accounting software in September 2026? - In September 2026, Sage Accounting rose from 7th to 6th among small business accounting software in the United States. - In September 2026, ZipBooks fell from 6th to 7th among small business accounting software in the United States. - Estimated monthly branded searches for FreshBooks in the United States fell 33.1% over 12 measured months, from 49.5K to 33.1K in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Wave in the United States fell 32.9% over 12 measured months, from 33.1K to 22.2K in September 2026. ## Share of Search ranking | Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | QuickBooks Online | 85% | 1M | 0.0% | Intuit | | 2 | Xero | 7.7% | 90.5K | 0.0% | Xero | | 3 | FreshBooks | 2.8% | 33.1K | +22.1% | FreshBooks | | 4 | Zoho Books | 2.3% | 27.1K | 0.0% | Zoho | | 5 | Wave | 1.9% | 22.2K | 0.0% | Wave | | 6 | Sage Accounting | 0.16% | 1.9K | 0.0% | Sage Accounting | | 7 | ZipBooks | 0.16% | 1.9K | -20.8% | ZipBooks | ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | QuickBooks Online | 1M | 82.9% | 1 | | Oct 2025 | Xero | 90.5K | 7.5% | 2 | | Oct 2025 | FreshBooks | 49.5K | 4.1% | 3 | | Oct 2025 | Wave | 33.1K | 2.7% | 4 | | Oct 2025 | Zoho Books | 27.1K | 2.2% | 5 | | Oct 2025 | ZipBooks | 4.4K | 0.36% | 6 | | Oct 2025 | Sage Accounting | 2.4K | 0.2% | 7 | | Nov 2025 | QuickBooks Online | 823K | 81.2% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | Xero | 90.5K | 8.9% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | FreshBooks | 40.5K | 4% | 3 | | Nov 2025 | Wave | 27.1K | 2.7% | 4 | | Nov 2025 | Zoho Books | 27.1K | 2.7% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | ZipBooks | 3.6K | 0.36% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | Sage Accounting | 1.9K | 0.19% | 7 | | Dec 2025 | QuickBooks Online | 823K | 80.7% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | Xero | 90.5K | 8.9% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | FreshBooks | 40.5K | 4% | 3 | | Dec 2025 | Wave | 33.1K | 3.2% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | Zoho Books | 27.1K | 2.7% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | ZipBooks | 3.6K | 0.35% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | Sage Accounting | 1.9K | 0.19% | 7 | | Jan 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1M | 80.1% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | Xero | 110K | 8.8% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | FreshBooks | 49.5K | 4% | 3 | | Jan 2026 | Wave | 49.5K | 4% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | Zoho Books | 33.1K | 2.7% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | ZipBooks | 4.4K | 0.35% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | Sage Accounting | 2.4K | 0.19% | 7 | | Feb 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1M | 83.6% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | Xero | 90.5K | 7.6% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | FreshBooks | 33.1K | 2.8% | 3 | | Feb 2026 | Wave | 33.1K | 2.8% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | Zoho Books | 33.1K | 2.8% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | ZipBooks | 3.6K | 0.3% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | Sage Accounting | 2.4K | 0.2% | 7 | | Mar 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1M | 83.6% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | Xero | 90.5K | 7.6% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | FreshBooks | 33.1K | 2.8% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | Wave | 33.1K | 2.8% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | Zoho Books | 33.1K | 2.8% | 5 | | Mar 2026 | ZipBooks | 3.6K | 0.3% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | Sage Accounting | 2.4K | 0.2% | 7 | | Apr 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1M | 83.7% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | Xero | 90.5K | 7.6% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | FreshBooks | 33.1K | 2.8% | 3 | | Apr 2026 | Wave | 33.1K | 2.8% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | Zoho Books | 33.1K | 2.8% | 5 | | Apr 2026 | ZipBooks | 3.6K | 0.3% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | Sage Accounting | 1.9K | 0.16% | 7 | | May 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 823K | 82.7% | 1 | | May 2026 | Xero | 90.5K | 9.1% | 2 | | May 2026 | FreshBooks | 27.1K | 2.7% | 3 | | May 2026 | Zoho Books | 27.1K | 2.7% | 4 | | May 2026 | Wave | 22.2K | 2.2% | 5 | | May 2026 | ZipBooks | 2.9K | 0.29% | 6 | | May 2026 | Sage Accounting | 1.9K | 0.19% | 7 | | Jun 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 823K | 82.6% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | Xero | 74K | 7.4% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | FreshBooks | 40.5K | 4.1% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | Wave | 27.1K | 2.7% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | Zoho Books | 27.1K | 2.7% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | Sage Accounting | 2.4K | 0.24% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | ZipBooks | 1.9K | 0.19% | 7 | | Jul 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1M | 84.9% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | Xero | 90.5K | 7.7% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | FreshBooks | 33.1K | 2.8% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | Zoho Books | 27.1K | 2.3% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | Wave | 22.2K | 1.9% | 5 | | Jul 2026 | Sage Accounting | 2.4K | 0.2% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | ZipBooks | 1.9K | 0.16% | 7 | | Aug 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1M | 85.4% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | Xero | 90.5K | 7.7% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | FreshBooks | 27.1K | 2.3% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | Zoho Books | 27.1K | 2.3% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | Wave | 22.2K | 1.9% | 5 | | Aug 2026 | ZipBooks | 2.4K | 0.2% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | Sage Accounting | 1.9K | 0.16% | 7 | | Sep 2026 | QuickBooks Online | 1M | 85% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | Xero | 90.5K | 7.7% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | FreshBooks | 33.1K | 2.8% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | Zoho Books | 27.1K | 2.3% | 4 | | Sep 2026 | Wave | 22.2K | 1.9% | 5 | | Sep 2026 | Sage Accounting | 1.9K | 0.16% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | ZipBooks | 1.9K | 0.16% | 7 | ## What is being compared - **FreshBooks**: Measured on the search term “freshbooks”. - **QuickBooks Online**: Measured on the search term “quickbooks online”. - **Sage Accounting**: Measured on the search term “sage accounting”. - **Wave**: Measured on the search term “wave accounting”. - **Xero**: Measured on the search term “xero”. - **ZipBooks**: Measured on the search term “zipbooks”. - **Zoho Books**: Measured on the search term “zoho books”. - [FreshBooks](/demand/us/brands/freshbooks) - [QuickBooks Online](/demand/us/brands/quickbooks-online) - [Sage Accounting](/demand/us/brands/sage-accounting) - [Wave](/demand/us/brands/wave-accounting) - [Xero](/demand/us/brands/xero) - [ZipBooks](/demand/us/brands/zipbooks) - [Zoho Books](/demand/us/brands/zoho-books) ## 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 ### Which brand is most popular in search among small business accounting software in the United States? In September 2026, QuickBooks Online was the most searched among small business accounting software in the United States, with an estimated 1M branded searches, 85% of all searches for the seven we track. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Small business accounting software in the United States: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/categories/us-small-business-accounting-software This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/categories/us-small-business-accounting-software. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.