--- title: "Paychex vs QuickBooks Payroll: Which is searched more in the United States?" description: "Is Paychex 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/paychex-vs-quickbooks-payroll" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Paychex vs QuickBooks Payroll: Which is searched more in the United States? Is Paychex 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**: Paychex and QuickBooks Payroll - **Competitive set**: HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses - **Market**: United States - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Paychex Share of Search**: 0.73% - **QuickBooks Payroll Share of Search**: 5.4% ## Is Paychex or QuickBooks Payroll more popular in search? - In September 2026, QuickBooks Payroll had more branded searches than Paychex among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in the United States. QuickBooks Payroll had about 18,100 branded searches, while Paychex had 2,470. QuickBooks Payroll made up 5.4% of all HR and payroll software for small and midsize business searches we track, and Paychex accounted for 0.73%. - QuickBooks Payroll was ahead of Paychex in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Paychex’s share of searches among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in the United States moved from 1.8% to 0.73%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 6.3K to 2.5K. - 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, QuickBooks Payroll was mentioned in four out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in both Google AI Overviews. Paychex was mentioned in two out of five: not in any of the three ChatGPT answers, but in both Google AI Overviews. QuickBooks Payroll was listed before Paychex in every answer that named either. 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, 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%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Paychex in the United States fell 60.7% over 12 measured months, from 6.3K to 2.5K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Paychex estimated searches | Paychex Share of Search | Paychex rank | QuickBooks Payroll estimated searches | QuickBooks Payroll Share of Search | QuickBooks Payroll rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 6.3K | 1.8% | 8 | 22.2K | 6.2% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | 3.8K | 1.1% | 8 | 18.1K | 5.4% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | 3.4K | 0.86% | 8 | 22.2K | 5.6% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 4K | 0.92% | 8 | 22.2K | 5.1% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 4K | 1.1% | 8 | 18.1K | 5% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | 4.2K | 1.1% | 8 | 22.2K | 5.7% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 4.3K | 1.1% | 8 | 22.2K | 5.9% | 6 | | May 2026 | 2.7K | 0.73% | 8 | 22.2K | 6.1% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | 2.5K | 0.67% | 8 | 18.1K | 4.9% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 2.6K | 0.72% | 8 | 22.2K | 6.2% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 2.5K | 0.7% | 8 | 22.2K | 6.3% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | 2.5K | 0.73% | 8 | 18.1K | 5.4% | 6 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Paychex’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. - **Paychex**: Measured on the search terms “paychex hr”, “paychex payroll” and “paychex payroll services”, summed into one figure. - **QuickBooks Payroll**: Measured on the search term “quickbooks payroll”. - [Paychex profile](/demand/us/brands/paychex) - [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 Paychex or QuickBooks Payroll more popular in search? In September 2026, QuickBooks Payroll had more branded searches than Paychex among HR and payroll software for small and midsize businesses in the United States. QuickBooks Payroll had about 18,100 branded searches, while Paychex had 2,470. QuickBooks Payroll made up 5.4% of all HR and payroll software for small and midsize business searches we track, and Paychex accounted for 0.73%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Paychex vs QuickBooks Payroll: Which is searched more in the United States?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/paychex-vs-quickbooks-payroll This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/us/compare/paychex-vs-quickbooks-payroll. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.