UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting - PPC Market Share Analysis February 2026

Leveraging Adthena’s Whole Market View, this analysis explores recent trends in Google Ads for the UK Payroll / Accounting category from the last month. Our Data Analyst, Ask Arlo provides commentary on key findings.

Google AI Overview visibility for Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting UK

See how often AIOs appear and how search intent is distributed across buying signals.

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AIO Frequency

How often a Google AI overview appears on search terms relevant to this category.

Frequency	Percentage
Frequency	32.3647851613
	67.6352148387

32%

Complex Query Frequency

A complex query is a longer, more detailed search that often contains multiple keywords, specific conditions, or multi-part questions.

Frequency	Percentage
Frequency	39
	61

39%

Search Intent Distribution

Breakdown of search queries by their underlying goal.

Intent	Distribution
Investigational	16%
Transactional	6%
Navigational	14%
Seasonal	0%
Local	0%
Problem Solving	12%

Market Exposure

Share of Clicks for top 10 UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting brands

Here are the Top 10 competitors in the industry by Share of Clicks for the last month.

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Share of Clicks - Last month

Share of Clicks - Last month
Domain	Share of clicks
xero.com	65
quickbooks.intuit.com	13.59
sage.com	11.9
invoicehome.com	1.27
bizimply.com	0.84
iris.co.uk	0.53
ciphr.com	0.39
remote.com	0.36
ukg.co.uk	0.33
capterra.com	0.27
others	5.52

xero.com - 65%
quickbooks.intuit.com - 13.59%
sage.com - 11.9%
invoicehome.com - 1.27%
bizimply.com - 0.84%
iris.co.uk - 0.53%
ciphr.com - 0.39%
remote.com - 0.36%
ukg.co.uk - 0.33%
capterra.com - 0.27%
others - 5.52%

Xero.com dominates with 65% click share, followed by QuickBooks at 13.59% and Sage at 11.9%. Others collectively hold 5.52%.

Market Exposure

Share of Spend for the top 10 UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting brands

Curious about your market position? Here you can see the Top 10 competitors in the industry by Share of Spend for the last month.

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Share of Spend - Last Month

Share of Spend - Last Month
Date	xero.com	quickbooks.intuit.com	sage.com	stripe.com	invoicehome.com	iris.co.uk	brighthr.com	tide.co	remote.com	theaccountancy.co.uk
2026/02/01	30.27%	20.87%	24.91%	3.67%	1.19%	1.2%	0.36%	0.51%	0.56%	0.96%
2026/02/02	26.44%	22.49%	24.19%	2.61%	1.71%	1.17%	0.41%	1.35%	1.49%	0.5%
2026/02/03	31.26%	23.46%	21.17%	0.56%	2.35%	1.51%	0.63%	0.58%	1.1%	0.9%
2026/02/04	32.75%	22.54%	20.13%	0.91%	2.28%	1.28%	0.53%	0.56%	0.67%	0.8%
2026/02/05	35.97%	19.65%	19.81%	0.59%	1.15%	1.26%	0.66%	0.86%	0.68%	0.86%
2026/02/06	36.17%	19.92%	18.79%	0.82%	1.09%	1.31%	0.57%	0.58%	1.32%	0.94%
2026/02/07	36.71%	16.56%	23.48%	0.73%	1.1%	1.32%	0.64%	1.19%	1.77%	0.88%
2026/02/08	37.94%	15.36%	24.75%	0.44%	1.08%	1.18%	0.54%	0.93%	0.9%	0.91%
2026/02/09	33.93%	16.15%	22.56%	0.22%	1.21%	1.14%	0.58%	0.81%	1.79%	0.65%
2026/02/10	34.26%	14.98%	21.68%	0.78%	1.59%	1.33%	0.85%	0.51%	2%	0.81%
2026/02/11	34.59%	14.82%	21.84%	0.84%	2%	1.16%	0.83%	0.8%	0.97%	0.87%
2026/02/12	36.71%	14.08%	22.34%	0.43%	2.18%	1.27%	0.78%	0.58%	1.85%	0.73%
2026/02/13	35.8%	19.71%	18.6%	0.81%	1.08%	1.3%	0.56%	0.57%	1.31%	0.93%
2026/02/14	36.57%	16.5%	23.39%	0.73%	1.09%	1.31%	0.64%	1.21%	1.77%	0.88%
2026/02/15	37.85%	15.32%	24.69%	0.44%	1.08%	1.17%	0.54%	0.93%	0.9%	0.9%
2026/02/16	33.65%	16.02%	22.37%	0.22%	1.2%	1.13%	0.58%	0.8%	1.78%	0.64%
2026/02/17	32.4%	11.65%	26.51%	0.33%	1.21%	1%	0.81%	0.38%	1.04%	0.38%
2026/02/18	37.23%	11.96%	24.35%	0.43%	1.44%	1.03%	0.54%	0.43%	0.73%	0.49%
2026/02/19	36.76%	12.83%	22.88%	0.29%	1.07%	0.93%	0.75%	0.39%	0.86%	0.33%
2026/02/20	40.29%	12.08%	24.26%	0.27%	1.24%	0.89%	0.66%	0.51%	0.64%	0.28%
2026/02/21	39.02%	11.71%	31.27%	0.17%	0.38%	0.77%	0.58%	0.48%	0.46%	0.27%
2026/02/22	41.02%	10.8%	27.61%	0.17%	1.43%	0.63%	0.59%	0.55%	0.6%	0.24%
2026/02/23	40.52%	12.39%	22.77%	0.1%	1.17%	0.71%	0.51%	0.73%	1.55%	0.25%
2026/02/24	40.33%	11.81%	22.23%	0.67%	1.81%	0.71%	0.65%	0.77%	1.14%	0.24%
2026/02/25	36.67%	15.96%	22.73%	0.62%	1.43%	0.94%	0.68%	0.66%	1.56%	0.62%
2026/02/26	39.14%	13.15%	22.2%	1.1%	1.1%	0.93%	0.65%	0.86%	1.02%	0.5%
2026/02/27	40.49%	15.42%	18.38%	1.08%	0.6%	0.83%	0.67%	0.67%	1.8%	0.2%
2026/02/28	45.11%	17.78%	13.19%	2.18%	1.45%	0.98%	0.68%	0.45%	0.43%	0.15%

xero.com
quickbooks.intuit.com
sage.com
stripe.com
invoicehome.com
iris.co.uk
brighthr.com
tide.co
remote.com
theaccountancy.co.uk

In February 2026, Xero’s PPC spend share surged, peaking at 45.11% on the 28th. QuickBooks saw a decline, ending at 17.78%. Sage fluctuated, closing at 13.19%. Stripe’s share rose slightly, finishing at 2.18%.

Market Exposure

Competitor Count for UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting

Ever wondered how many competitors you’re up against in your industry? Well look no further, here we can see the number of advertisers bidding over the last month.

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Competitor Count - Last month

Competitor Count - Last month
Date	Competitor Count
2026/02/01	341
2026/02/02	344
2026/02/03	323
2026/02/04	318
2026/02/05	327
2026/02/06	314
2026/02/07	304
2026/02/08	297
2026/02/09	301
2026/02/10	310
2026/02/11	314
2026/02/12	308
2026/02/13	314
2026/02/14	304
2026/02/15	297
2026/02/16	301
2026/02/17	289
2026/02/18	301
2026/02/19	320
2026/02/20	304
2026/02/21	287
2026/02/22	313
2026/02/23	342
2026/02/24	339
2026/02/25	332
2026/02/26	329
2026/02/27	315
2026/02/28	307

February began with 341 advertisers, fluctuating throughout the month. A notable dip to 287 on the 21st was followed by a recovery, ending at 307.

Campaign Efficiency

Market Loss & Market Gains for UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting

Here we’re looking at the Top 10 biggest industry movers by market share gains and losses for the last 30 days.

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Market Loss & Market Gains - Last month

Market Loss & Market Gains - Last month
Name	Market Trend
xero.com	1.4%
intuit.com	0.2%
quickbooks.intuit.com	0.16%
ukg.co.uk	0.15%
money.co.uk	0.14%
ciphr.com	-0.16%
theaccountancy.co.uk	-0.17%
invoicehome.com	-0.18%
bizimply.com	-0.23%
sage.com	-0.83%

Xero.com surged with a 1.40% click share increase, while sage.com faced a decline of 0.83%. Intuit.com and quickbooks.intuit.com also saw positive growth, contrasting with bizimply.com and invoicehome.com.

Campaign Efficiency

UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting Share of Impressions

Take a look at the Top 10 competitors in the industry by Share of Impressions over the last month.

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Date	xero.com	quickbooks.intuit.com	sage.com	invoicehome.com	brighthr.com	remote.com	accountsiq.com	ukg.co.uk	hibob.com	ciphr.com
2026/02/01	36.41%	24.4%	16.9%	0.87%	0.53%	0.53%	0.74%	0.04%	0.01%	0%
2026/02/02	33.37%	27.93%	12.15%	1.27%	0.54%	2.24%	1.8%	1%	1.34%	0.92%
2026/02/03	37.22%	30.43%	9.11%	1.57%	0.93%	1.43%	1.86%	0.08%	1.2%	0.1%
2026/02/04	38.99%	22.93%	8.89%	1.5%	0.93%	0.68%	0.82%	1.34%	1.45%	0.65%
2026/02/05	41.49%	20.58%	9.86%	0.78%	1.21%	0.73%	3.22%	2.09%	1.57%	0%
2026/02/06	37.94%	23.21%	8.21%	0.77%	0.91%	1.72%	2%	0.18%	2.37%	1.45%
2026/02/07	42.89%	21.45%	13.81%	0.76%	0.94%	2.17%	2.42%	0.03%	0.03%	0.01%
2026/02/08	41.13%	21.53%	15.03%	0.85%	0.82%	0.92%	4.72%	0.03%	0.03%	0.01%
2026/02/09	39.47%	21.61%	11.29%	0.9%	1.11%	2.43%	1.41%	0.88%	1.31%	2.41%
2026/02/10	43.27%	15.12%	9.82%	1.12%	1.62%	2.8%	0.94%	1.58%	3.09%	1.53%
2026/02/11	44.7%	11.25%	10.6%	1.32%	1.54%	1.43%	2.6%	0.08%	1.17%	3.14%
2026/02/12	45.93%	10.92%	12.51%	1.64%	1.34%	2.46%	0.96%	0.84%	1.32%	4%
2026/02/13	37.94%	23.21%	8.21%	0.77%	0.91%	1.72%	2%	0.18%	2.37%	1.45%
2026/02/14	42.89%	21.45%	13.81%	0.76%	0.94%	2.17%	2.42%	0.03%	0.03%	0.01%
2026/02/15	41.13%	21.53%	15.03%	0.85%	0.82%	0.92%	4.72%	0.03%	0.03%	0.01%
2026/02/16	39.47%	21.61%	11.29%	0.9%	1.11%	2.43%	1.41%	0.88%	1.31%	2.41%
2026/02/17	46.05%	8.04%	15.39%	0.98%	1.19%	1.58%	0.89%	4.37%	0.74%	0.11%
2026/02/18	48.32%	10.08%	13.01%	1.05%	1.01%	0.85%	0.13%	2.26%	0.23%	0.15%
2026/02/19	43.83%	10.39%	10.87%	0.75%	1.31%	1.28%	2.38%	1.51%	0.4%	3.02%
2026/02/20	54.04%	8.95%	13.84%	1.11%	1.1%	0.71%	1.01%	2.74%	1.05%	0.13%
2026/02/21	47.66%	8.67%	27.38%	0.38%	0.77%	0.42%	0.13%	0.05%	0.01%	0.02%
2026/02/22	49.27%	7.37%	22.06%	1.05%	1.04%	0.66%	0.03%	0.04%	0%	0.02%
2026/02/23	47.78%	10.8%	12.04%	0.9%	0.89%	2.24%	1.43%	4.01%	0.27%	0.8%
2026/02/24	45.8%	15.03%	12.74%	1.27%	1.1%	1.56%	0.47%	2.03%	0.7%	0.03%
2026/02/25	41.54%	17.71%	13.72%	1.07%	1.2%	2.26%	2.69%	0.12%	0.23%	0.89%
2026/02/26	47.86%	9.88%	13.77%	0.89%	1.12%	1.36%	2.87%	0.09%	0.24%	1.77%
2026/02/27	47.32%	15.65%	7.59%	0.51%	0.93%	2.43%	3.09%	0.08%	0.29%	2.15%
2026/02/28	49.15%	23.59%	7.78%	1.03%	0.92%	0.42%	0.05%	0.04%	0.03%	0.01%

xero.com
quickbooks.intuit.com
sage.com
invoicehome.com
brighthr.com
remote.com
accountsiq.com
ukg.co.uk
hibob.com
ciphr.com

In February 2026, Xero.com led with a steady rise, peaking at 54.04%. Quickbooks.intuit.com saw a decline, ending at 23.59%. Sage.com fluctuated, finishing at 7.78%. Invoicehome.com and Brighthr.com maintained low shares, while Remote.com and Accountsiq.com showed sporadic peaks. UKG.co.uk, Hibob.com, and Ciphr.com had minimal impact.

Campaign Efficiency

Google Text Ad Copy Insights & Creative Trends for UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting

Ever wondered how your rivals’ ads are doing? Here we can see the top-performing ads in the industry over the last month.

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Google Text Ad Copy Insights & Creative Trends for UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting - Last month

1
Enhanced accounting software | Intelligent Accounting https://www.accountsiq.com
Cloud accounting platform with all the tools you need to move quicker and work better. Better...
2
HR and Payroll, Always in Sync - Real-Time Calculations https://www.ciphr.com
Get stress free pay runs with an integrated HR and Payroll system. Reduce admin, improve data accuracy, tighten security and better understand...
3
QuickBooks Accounting Software | New All in One Platform https://quickbooks.intuit.com › accounting › software
Accounting Software - Keep Your Books Accurate and Have More Time For What Matters.
4
90% Off 6 Months Accounting | Accounting Software https://www.sage.com › sage™ › accounting
Get 90% Off For 6 Months of Sage Accounting Software | Limited-Time Accounting Offer. Simplify...
5
Xero https://www.xero.com
Xero Accounting Software — Xero accounting software is made for SMBs. Automate admin and work from anywhere, anytime.

In the competitive landscape of accounting and payroll software, five top-performing ads stand out. AccountsIQ highlights speed and efficiency, while Ciphr emphasizes seamless HR and payroll integration. QuickBooks offers an all-in-one platform, Sage tempts with a 90% discount, and Xero focuses on automation for SMBs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report useful and how should I use it?

Why is the UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report useful?

Imagine being able to instantly see your competitors Market Share, Share of Spend and their top performing ad copy so you can effectively benchmark your own performance.

Adthena’s PPC Market Share reports provide an instant view of performance insights across hundreds of sub-industries – so you can do just that.

How to use the UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report
Think of these reports as a cheat sheet for your industry’s search landscape. Check out this short article for a breakdown of each report and how they can benefit your strategy.
How often is the data updated?

Data within the UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report is aggregated every month, highlighting the most significant changes from the previous period.
How does Adthena collect this data?

We use observed data from Google’s search results pages. With 20 million Google SERPs indexed per day. Adthena forms a global index of publicly available searches on Google.

On top of observed data, our data science models and patented technology expand on the insights through estimated metrics like market share, share of spend, and more.

We have 12 years of historical data across industries and our custom-built AI models learn from continuously updated data every day.
How accurate is the UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report?

The UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report is powered by Adthena’s Whole Market View, which is the patented technology that drives value for our 300 enterprise customers.

Our unique approach to search intelligence ingests Google’s Keyword Planner into its learning models, providing a more accurate and up-to-date view of keyword data compared to traditional panel data methods.

With daily data collection and updates, Adthena offers a closer-to-real-time view of the Google Ads auction, enabling timely insights and adjustments.

Adthena focuses specifically on Google Ads, providing a deep dive into the channel and offering detailed insights into its workings. By processing 10 TB of new data daily and employing AI and machine learning models to analyze millions of Google Ads searches per second, Adthena provides a comprehensive and in-depth view of the competitive landscape.

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Does this include mobile, desktop and Google Shopping data?

Yes. The UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report aggregates data from across both device types and Google Shopping.
Who is this UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report for?

The UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report is for enterprise brands and agencies who want quick and high-level, historical benchmarks that are easily digestible and reveal insights, trends and market winners relevant to their own industry.
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AIO Frequency

Complex Query Frequency

Search Intent Distribution

Share of Clicks for top 10 UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting brands

Share of Spend for the top 10 UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting brands

Competitor Count for UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting

Market Loss & Market Gains for UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting

UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting Share of Impressions

Google Text Ad Copy Insights & Creative Trends for UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report useful and how should I use it?

Why is the UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report useful?

How often is the data updated?

How does Adthena collect this data?

How accurate is the UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report?

Does this include mobile, desktop and Google Shopping data?

Who is this UK Software & Technology Payroll / Accounting February 2026 Report for?

Can I get a custom report for my brand?

What is Ask Arlo?

Customer Success Stories

Get the full picture

See this data specific to your brand performance

Related reports

US Payroll / Accounting

AUS Payroll / Accounting