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Share of search26 Oct 20265 min read

PhonePe vs Paytm vs Google Pay: share of search in India, 2021 to 2026

UPI apps are opened every day and searched for far less, which makes this the category where search share and actual use part company most. From the Colleviate Share of Search Index, with the data free to download.

Written by the Colleviate Strategy desk

Short answer

PhonePe has the largest share of UPI payment app brand search in India: 37.0% over the three months to September 2026, against Paytm at 35.6%. It has led every month since May 2026. Over the past year Google Pay gained most, +3.7 points, while Paytm lost most, -3.6.

Download this category (CSV) Monthly, November 2021 to September 2026. Free to use with attribution. All nine categories

Who leads UPI apps search now

Shares are the average of the last three months, set against the same three months a year earlier and the first three months of the series.

BrandStart of seriesA year agoLast three monthsChange in a year
PhonePe13.6%36.5%37.0%+0.5 pts
Google Pay15.8%17.8%21.5%+3.7 pts
Paytm67.8%39.2%35.6%-3.6 pts
CRED2.7%6.5%5.9%-0.6 pts
PhonePeGoogle PayPaytmCRED
UPI payment apps: monthly share of search, Nov 2021 to Sep 20260%25%50%75%100%20222023202420252026PhonePe 37%Paytm 36%Google Pay 22%CRED 6%
Share of branded search within the set, by month, India, November 2021 to September 2026. Source: Google Trends; Colleviate analysis.

What changed

Paytm fell from 67.8% to 35.6%. PhonePe rose from 13.6% to 37.0%, first overtook Paytm in October 2025 and has led since May 2026. Paytm's own peak, 75.6% in February 2024, was the month the RBI restricted Paytm Payments Bank: attention, not demand. Google Pay holds 21.5% and CRED 5.9%. Search share is not payment share: Paytm's searches include its share price and its banking news, and an app used daily from the home screen rarely needs searching for.

Who has led, and for how long

The lead has changed hands 5 times in 59 months. Counting every month since November 2021: Paytm for 49 months and PhonePe for 10 months.

LeaderFromToMonthsPublic event that month
PaytmNov 2021Sep 202547 
PhonePeOct 2025Oct 20251 
PaytmNov 2025Nov 20251 
PhonePeDec 2025Mar 20264 
PaytmApr 2026Apr 20261 
PhonePeMay 2026Sep 20265 

The months that moved it

The largest month-on-month changes in any brand's share. A spike needs a cause before it is read as demand: where a public, dated event explains one, it is named; the rest are reported as they are.

Each brand's single highest week of search interest: PhonePe in July 2024, Google Pay in February 2022, Paytm in November 2021 and CRED in June 2026.

Search share and market share

NPCI publishes the monthly volume and value of UPI transactions by app, the cleanest market-share series for any category in the index. It is also the clearest case of search share and use parting company: an app opened from the home screen every day rarely needs searching for, and Paytm's searches include its share price and its banking news.

This is attention, not sales: see share of search and market share, and what is a good share of search for how to read a number like this one.

How this category is measured

The search terms are “PhonePe”, “Google Pay”, “Paytm” and “CRED”. They were pulled together, so they share one scale. Data retrieved 14 October 2026; the full method is on the index page.

The monthly data

Share of search by month, November 2021 to September 2026 (%)
MonthPhonePeGoogle PayPaytmCRED
Sep 202637.222.634.35.8
Aug 202636.821.136.35.8
Jul 202636.920.836.26.2
Jun 202636.622.132.19.2
May 202637.120.535.86.6
Apr 202634.622.336.96.2
Mar 202637.721.634.76.0
Feb 202637.220.935.76.2
Jan 202638.120.935.35.8
Dec 202537.622.034.85.7
Nov 202536.320.836.96.0
Oct 202537.119.737.16.1
Sep 202536.417.838.07.8
Aug 202536.217.840.25.7
Jul 202537.017.839.35.9
Jun 202536.218.438.76.7
May 202537.017.339.46.3
Apr 202536.718.039.16.2
Mar 202536.217.540.16.2
Feb 202537.016.740.65.8
Jan 202534.416.243.85.6
Dec 202433.217.144.94.9
Nov 202431.616.845.85.8
Oct 202431.217.646.64.5
Sep 202432.016.245.95.9
Aug 202430.916.048.05.1
Jul 202431.115.048.95.0
Jun 202427.915.451.25.5
May 202424.615.655.14.8
Apr 202424.615.253.86.4
Mar 202420.412.962.64.1
Feb 202413.08.975.62.5
Jan 202416.411.269.53.0
Dec 202318.914.962.53.6
Nov 202322.416.756.84.2
Oct 202321.716.857.04.5
Sep 202321.715.958.24.2
Aug 202321.015.659.53.9
Jul 202321.416.158.54.0
Jun 202320.116.759.33.9
May 202318.416.361.24.1
Apr 202319.317.359.04.4
Mar 202318.117.260.83.9
Feb 202318.516.261.34.1
Jan 202318.115.961.74.3
Dec 202217.817.860.73.7
Nov 202217.317.361.14.4
Oct 202218.918.957.84.4
Sep 202217.317.361.83.6
Aug 202218.118.160.03.7
Jul 202217.718.560.13.7
Jun 202216.917.761.93.5
May 202216.017.362.93.8
Apr 202215.416.962.75.0
Mar 202211.914.170.83.2
Feb 202215.217.464.52.8
Jan 202214.916.665.43.1
Dec 202116.018.662.43.0
Nov 202110.012.375.62.1

Cite this data

Free to use, quote and republish under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, with a link to this page.

Colleviate Share of Search Index, India: UPI payment apps, October 2026, colleviate.com/blog/share-of-search-upi-payments-india.html

Questions we get asked

Who has the highest share of search in UPI apps in India?

PhonePe, with 37.0% of UPI payment app brand search over the three months to September 2026, ahead of Paytm at 35.6%. It has led every month since May 2026.

How often has the lead changed?

The lead has changed hands 5 times in 59 months. Counting every month since November 2021: Paytm for 49 months and PhonePe for 10 months.

Is share of search the same as market share in UPI apps?

No. It measures attention: the share of branded searches, which tends to move before market share but is not sales. NPCI publishes the monthly volume and value of UPI transactions by app, the cleanest market-share series for any category in the index.

Can I use this data?

Yes. It is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Download the CSV from this page and cite it as: Colleviate Share of Search Index, India: UPI payment apps, October 2026, colleviate.com/blog/share-of-search-upi-payments-india.html.

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