---
title: "Which came first, Apple or Google?"
description: "Apple vs Google: Apple came first, by 22 years — 1976 against 1998. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-google/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Apple or Google?

**Which came first, Apple or Google?: Apple**

1976 — 22 years before Google

Apple came first, by 22 years. Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company.

## Side by side

|  | Apple | Google |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 1976 | 1998 |
| Date | 1976-04-01 | 1998-09-04 |
| Category | company | technology |
| What happened | Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company. | Google Inc. was incorporated in a garage in Menlo Park. |

## Apple

Apple was founded on 1 April 1976, a year and a day after Microsoft. Ronald Wayne, the third founder, sold his 10% stake back for $800 twelve days later. The Apple I was a bare circuit board sold for $666.66; the Apple II of 1977 was the machine that made the company.

## Google

The date used here is the incorporation, 4 September 1998. Two others compete: the research project called BackRub began at Stanford in 1996, and the google.com domain was registered on 15 September 1997. Google itself has celebrated its birthday on four different September dates over the years, which is a fair indication that no single one is correct. It is younger than Amazon, eBay and Netflix.

## Common questions

### Which came first, Apple or Google?

Apple, by 22 years — 1976 against 1998.

### When did Apple start?

1976. Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company.

### When did Google start?

1998. Google Inc. was incorporated in a garage in Menlo Park.

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## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]
- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)