The most used payment and billing tools
We track 33 payment and billing tools. The most used is PayPal, found at 33,109 companies as of October 2026, ahead of Stripe (24,466) and Klarna (4,599).
Payments covers processors (Stripe, Adyen, PayPal, Razorpay), subscription billing (Chargebee, Recurly, Recharge), merchants of record that also handle sales tax (Paddle, Lemon Squeezy) and usage-based billing for software (Orb, Metronome).
Stripe leads among software companies by a wide margin; regional processors lead in their home markets, and e-commerce stores often use the payment stack that comes with their store platform.
Payment and billing tools ranked by companies using them
“Share” is each tool's part of all 78,631 matches in this category; a company that uses two tools counts for both.
| # | Tool | Companies | Share | Last 30 days | Most popular with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33,109 | 42% | −1 | Apparel & Fashion (15×) | |
| 2 | 24,466 | 31% | +7 | Non-profit Organization Management (3.6×) | |
| 3 | 4,599 | 5.8% | +1 | Sporting Goods (22×) | |
| 4 |  Amazon Pay | 2,136 | 2.7% | – | Sporting Goods (19×) |
| 5 | 1,698 | 2.2% | +8 | Wholesale (5.2×) | |
| 6 | 1,632 | 2.1% | +1 | Veterinary (46×) | |
| 7 | 1,625 | 2.1% | – | Cosmetics (37×) | |
| 8 | 1,324 | 1.7% | – | Sporting Goods (18×) | |
| 9 | 1,041 | 1.3% | +1 | Luxury Goods & Jewelry (37×) | |
| 10 | 1,033 | 1.3% | – | Clothing (96×) | |
| 11 | 870 | 1.1% | – | Restaurants (52×) | |
| 12 | 800 | 1.0% | – | Cosmetics (22×) | |
| 13 | 586 | 0.75% | −1 | Apparel & Fashion (16×) | |
| 14 | 455 | 0.58% | +11 | Software (5.8×) | |
| 15 | 411 | 0.52% | – | Retail (5.3×) | |
| 16 | 401 | 0.51% | +18−18 | 1–10 employees (7.1×) | |
| 17 | 376 | 0.48% | – | 1–10 employees (6.1×) | |
| 18 | 372 | 0.47% | – | Apparel & Fashion (21×) | |
| 19 | 365 | 0.46% | +2 | 1,001–5,000 employees (4.7×) | |
| 20 | 254 | 0.32% | – | Apparel & Fashion (31×) | |
| 21 | 253 | 0.32% | – | Apparel & Fashion (23×) | |
| 22 | 146 | 0.19% | +8 | 201–1,000 employees (4.1×) | |
| 23 | 130 | 0.17% | – | Food & Beverages (22×) | |
| 24 | 123 | 0.16% | – | Cosmetics (85×) | |
| 25 | 110 | 0.14% | – | 51–200 employees (2.1×) | |
| 26 | 98 | 0.12% | – | – | |
| 27 | 76 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 28 | 65 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 29 | 35 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 30 | 27 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 31 |  Digital River | 8 | <0.1% | – | – |
| 32 | 5 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 33 | 2 | <0.1% | – | – |
“Most popular with” is the industry or company size where the tool is most over-represented compared with all companies we've scanned. Starts and stops compare two scans done the same way.
Who's gaining and losing customers
How to compare payment and billing tools
- Processor or merchant of record: a merchant of record takes on tax and compliance in exchange for a higher fee.
- Pricing model support: subscriptions, usage, seats and invoicing.
- Local payment methods in your markets.
- Fees at your volume, including international cards and currency conversion.
How we find payment and billing tools
Payment tools show up in the checkout scripts a site loads (js.stripe.com), in checkout and billing subdomains that point at the vendor, in domain-verification records and on subprocessor lists.
Every company on a tool's page links to the record behind the match. DNS is rechecked weekly and websites monthly, so tools a company stops using drop off the list.
Payments & Billing FAQ
What are the most popular payment and billing tools?
As of October 2026, the most popular payment and billing tools by number of companies using them are PayPal (33,109 companies), Stripe (24,466 companies) and Klarna (4,599 companies), according to runsonwhat. PayPal alone accounts for 42% of the 78,631 Payments & Billing matches runsonwhat has, and the top three together for 79%. 33 payment and billing tools have at least one confirmed customer.
PayPal vs Stripe: which is more popular?
PayPal is more popular: 33,109 companies show public evidence of PayPal, against 24,466 for Stripe (1.4× as many), according to runsonwhat (October 2026). Among companies with more than 1,000 employees, though, Stripe leads: 860 against 753. Klarna is third with 4,599.
Which payment and billing tools do small businesses use most?
Among companies with up to 50 employees, the most used payment and billing tools are PayPal (18,303 companies), Stripe (12,210 companies) and Klarna (2,135 companies), according to runsonwhat (October 2026). The counts cover companies with a known headcount; see each tool's page for the full size breakdown.
Which payment and billing tools do large companies use most?
Among companies with more than 1,000 employees, the most used payment and billing tools are Stripe (860 companies), PayPal (753 companies) and Klarna (134 companies), according to runsonwhat (October 2026). That differs from the overall ranking, where PayPal leads. Large companies often run more than one tool in a category, so the same company can count for several.
Which payment and billing tools are most popular in the United States?
In the United States, the most used payment and billing tools are PayPal (11,424 companies), Stripe (10,228 companies) and Amazon Pay (1,284 companies), based on companies runsonwhat has located there (October 2026). PayPal has 38% of the Payments & Billing matches among companies based in the United States.
Which payment and billing tools are most popular in the United Kingdom?
In the United Kingdom, the most used payment and billing tools are PayPal (2,973 companies), Stripe (2,421 companies) and Klarna (861 companies), based on companies runsonwhat has located there (October 2026). PayPal has 42% of the Payments & Billing matches among companies based in the United Kingdom.
Which payment and billing tools do retail companies use?
Retail is the industry with the most Payments & Billing matches, and its companies use PayPal (4,427 companies), Klarna (750 companies) and Stripe (721 companies) most, according to runsonwhat (October 2026). Each tool's page breaks its customers down by industry, so you can check where a tool over-indexes.
Which payment and billing tools are companies adopting right now?
In the 30 days to October 2026, the most new adoptions runsonwhat recorded were for Paddle (18 companies), Chargebee (11 companies) and Braintree (8 companies). A start is counted when a recheck finds a tool that the previous check of the same company, done the same way, did not.
How does runsonwhat rank payment and billing tools?
runsonwhat counts the companies where a public record shows each tool in use and ranks by that count. Payment tools show up in the checkout scripts a site loads (js.stripe.com), in checkout and billing subdomains that point at the vendor, in domain-verification records and on subprocessor lists. A company counts only when a direct record backs it up. The full method is at https://www.runsonwhat.com/methodology.