Leader
54Heralded Score, range 46–68
The most visible cloud hosting platforms in Europe, October 2026
Most cited source
41citations
From Google AI Mode, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT
Where engines disagree most
1/4engines put it in their top three
Top three on ChatGPT, not on Google AI Mode, Gemini and Google AI Overviews
Brands
| Rank | Brand | Rank change | Heralded Score All | AI | Search | Score trend | Mentioned | Recommended | By engine | Mentioned by | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  AWS US | New entry | 54 , range 46–68 | 60#1 | 45#1 | 54
| 50% | 14% |   | First reading | |
| 2 | | New entry | 46 , range 38–60 | 48#2 | 43#2 | 46
| 40% | 10% | | First reading | |
| 3 | | New entry | 37 , range 29–58 | 46#3 | 21#6 | 37
| 30% | 15% | | First reading | |
| 4 | | New entry | 36 , range 27–55 | 41#4 | 26#4 | 36
| 29% | 8% | | First reading | |
| 5 | | New entry | 26 , range 22–52 | 37#5 | 8#11 | 26
| 18% | 11% | | First reading | |
| 6 | | New entry | 24 , range 21–50 | 37#6 | 1#57 | 24
| 18% | 10% | | First reading | |
| 7 | | New entry | 23 , range 21–50 | 36#7 | 1= #64 | 23
| 16% | 11% | | First reading | |
| 8 | | New entry | 23 , range 16–48 | 31#9 | 9#10 | 23
| 12% | 7% | | First reading | |
| 9 | | New entry | 20 , range 15–45 | 31#8 | 1= #64 | 20
| 11% | 8% | | First reading | |
| 10 | | New entry | 20 , range 11–46 | 29#10 | 4#30 | 20
| 14% | 2% | None | First reading |
“=” marks brands whose score ranges overlap, so the test cannot separate them. Every brand named in at least three answers is ranked. AI and Search give each brand’s score and rank on that side alone. By engine has one dot per engine (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode), darker the more often it names the brand.
Most cited sources
| Rank | Source | Type | Cited in | Engines | Pages cited | Brands its pages mention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | shopify.com | Vendor site | 6.2% | 4 of 4 | 33 | 20 |
| 2 | | Vendor site | 2.9% | 1 of 4 | 11 | 2 |
| 3 | | Vendor site | 3.1% | 2 of 4 | 1 | 10 |
| 4 | instawp.com | Vendor site | 2.4% | 3 of 4 | 1 | 14 |
| 5 | | Vendor site | 1.9% | 2 of 4 | 1 | Not read |
| 6 | | Vendor site | 0.7% | 1 of 4 | 6 | Not read |
| 7 | | Vendor site | 1.7% | 1 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
| 8 | | Vendor site | 1.4% | 1 of 4 | 1 | 12 |
| 9 | | Vendor site | 1.0% | 1 of 4 | 1 | 11 |
| 10 | | Vendor site | 1.0% | 3 of 4 | 1 | 8 |
Questions asked
| Question | Language | Most recommended |
|---|---|---|
| best cloud hosting platform for independent developers | English | |
| cloud hosting for small software teams | English | |
| how can a developer host an app without managing servers | English | |
| how to keep a startup website online as traffic grows | English | AWS |
| managed cloud hosting vs self-managed servers for startups | English | No brand recommended |
| ¿Cuál es la mejor plataforma de alojamiento en la nube para startups? | Spanish | AWS and |
| Alojamiento en la nube para pequeñas tiendas online | Spanish | |
| ¿Cómo puede una startup mantener su app online sin interrupciones? | Spanish | No brand recommended |
| ¿Cómo puedo alojar una tienda online que cada vez recibe más visitas? | Spanish | AWS and |
| ¿Servidor propio o alojamiento en la nube para startups? | Spanish | |
Each engine's top three
Google AI Mode
- 1
- 2
DigitalOcean
- 3
Google Cloud
Gemini
- 1
- 2
- 3
Google AI Overviews
- 1
- 2
- 3
ChatGPT
- 1
- 2
- 3
Microsoft Azure
Related leaderboards
Method
Each leaderboard ranks brands on two sides. AI is how ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode answer the board's buyer questions. Search is Google's top 10 results for the keywords behind those questions. All combines the two, where Search is measured.
For the AI side, each month Heralded asks every engine the same buyer questions, twice each, and reads every answer. An answer counts 0 for a brand it leaves out, 50 for a brand it names and 100 for a brand it recommends, and the Heralded Score is built from those. A brand named in at least three answers gets a score and a place.