---
title: "Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll: Which is searched more in the United States?"
description: "Is Gusto or QuickBooks Payroll more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses set in the United States. 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/compare/gusto-vs-quickbooks-payroll"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll: Which is searched more in the United States?

Is Gusto or QuickBooks Payroll more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses set in the United States. 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**: Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll
- **Competitive set**: HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses
- **Market**: United States
- **Month measured**: Sep 2026
- **Gusto Share of Search**: 11.8%
- **QuickBooks Payroll Share of Search**: 5.4%

## Is Gusto or QuickBooks Payroll more popular in search?

- In September 2026, Gusto had more branded searches than QuickBooks Payroll among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in the United States. Gusto had about 39,900 branded searches, while QuickBooks Payroll had 18,100. Gusto made up 11.8% of all HR and payroll software for small and midsize business searches we track, and QuickBooks Payroll accounted for 5.4%.
- Gusto was ahead of QuickBooks Payroll in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Gusto’s share of searches among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in the United States moved from 13.7% to 11.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 48.8K to 39.9K.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, QuickBooks Payroll’s share of searches among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in the United States moved from 6.2% to 5.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 22.2K to 18.1K.

## Top HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Gusto appeared in all five answers. QuickBooks Payroll was mentioned in four out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in both Google AI Overviews. Gusto was listed before QuickBooks Payroll in every answer.

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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gusto | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 |
| QuickBooks Payroll | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| Rippling | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| Patriot Software | 4th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| OnPay | 5th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 |
| RUN Powered by ADP | 6th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Paychex | 7th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| Justworks | 8th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| BambooHR | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| HiBob | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |

## Every AI answer about HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses

- Asked ChatGPT "Which small business HR and payroll platform should I use in the US?": 1. Gusto, 2. QuickBooks Payroll, 3. Rippling
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the best small business HR and payroll platforms in the US?": 1. Gusto, 2. RUN Powered by ADP, 3. QuickBooks Payroll, 4. OnPay, 5. Rippling, 6. Justworks
- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best small business HR and payroll platform in the US for a midsize team?": 1. Rippling, 2. Gusto, 3. RUN Powered by ADP
- Searched Google, AI Overview "small business payroll software": 1. Gusto, 2. Patriot Software, 3. QuickBooks Payroll, 4. OnPay, 5. Paychex
- Searched Google, AI Overview "best payroll software": 1. Gusto, 2. QuickBooks Payroll, 3. Patriot Software, 4. OnPay, 5. Paychex, 6. Rippling

Not named in any answer: BambooHR and HiBob.

Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United States on October 19, 2026.

## How did search popularity change for United States HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in September 2026?

- In September 2026, Gusto lost share of searches among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in the United States, from 13.2% to 11.8%.
- In September 2026, QuickBooks Payroll lost share of searches among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in the United States, from 6.3% to 5.4%.

## Month by month

| Month | Gusto estimated searches | Gusto Share of Search | Gusto rank | QuickBooks Payroll estimated searches | QuickBooks Payroll Share of Search | QuickBooks Payroll rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | 48.8K | 13.7% | 2 | 22.2K | 6.2% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | 47.1K | 14.1% | 2 | 18.1K | 5.4% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | 49.7K | 12.6% | 2 | 22.2K | 5.6% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | 69.2K | 16% | 2 | 22.2K | 5.1% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | 64.7K | 17.7% | 2 | 18.1K | 5% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | 71K | 18.1% | 2 | 22.2K | 5.7% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | 67.8K | 18% | 2 | 22.2K | 5.9% | 6 |
| May 2026 | 61.4K | 16.9% | 2 | 22.2K | 6.1% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | 59.5K | 16.2% | 2 | 18.1K | 4.9% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | 50.1K | 14% | 2 | 22.2K | 6.2% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | 46.4K | 13.2% | 2 | 22.2K | 6.3% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | 39.9K | 11.8% | 2 | 18.1K | 5.4% | 6 |

## How each brand is measured

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Gusto’s and QuickBooks Payroll’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.

- **Gusto**: Measured on the search terms “gusto accounting software”, “gusto app”, “gusto benefits”, “gusto company”, “gusto contractor”, “gusto embedded payroll”, “gusto for payroll”, “gusto hr”, “gusto hr software”, “gusto international contractors”, “gusto pay”, “gusto paycheck”, “gusto payment”, “gusto payroll”, “gusto payroll app”, “gusto payroll company”, “gusto payroll processing”, “gusto payroll provider”, “gusto payroll services”, “gusto payroll software”, “gusto payroll solutions”, “gusto payroll system”, “gusto platform”, “gusto software”, “gusto time clock”, “gusto time tracking”, “gusto timetracking” and “gusto zen payroll”, summed into one figure.
- **QuickBooks Payroll**: Measured on the search term “quickbooks payroll”.

- [Gusto profile](/demand/us/brands/gusto)
- [QuickBooks Payroll profile](/demand/us/brands/quickbooks-payroll)
- [All HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in the United States](/demand/us/categories/us-smb-hr-and-payroll-software): The set both shares are measured inside, 10 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 Gusto or QuickBooks Payroll more popular in search?

In September 2026, Gusto had more branded searches than QuickBooks Payroll among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in the United States. Gusto had about 39,900 branded searches, while QuickBooks Payroll had 18,100. Gusto made up 11.8% of all HR and payroll software for small and midsize business searches we track, and QuickBooks Payroll accounted for 5.4%.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/gusto-vs-quickbooks-payroll

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/gusto-vs-quickbooks-payroll. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.