The most visible employer of record services in Europe, October 2026

October 2026 · 105 questions asked from 7 countries · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 420 answers read

Leader

Deel

56Heralded Score, range 51–61

Most cited source

europa.eu

112citations

From Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT

Where engines disagree most

Boundless

1/4engines put it in their top three

Top three on Google AI Mode, not on Gemini, Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT

Brands

Search is not measured for this board yet, so it ranks on AI answers.

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score All AI Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
1 Deel US New entry 56 , range 51–61 56#1
56
  • : score 56 · #1
65% 22% First reading
2 Remote US New entry 53 , range 49–59 53#2
53
  • : score 53 · #2
60% 22% First reading
3 Oyster US New entry 41 , range 38–44 41#3
41
  • : score 41 · #3
42% 11% First reading
4 Rippling US New entry 33 , range 31–36 33#4
33
  • : score 33 · #4
25% 9% First reading
5 Papaya Global IL New entry 30 , range 18–33 30#5
30
  • : score 30 · #5
17% 8% First reading
6 Multiplier SG New entry 25 , range 14–32 25#6
25
  • : score 25 · #6
16% 7% First reading
7 Atlas US New entry 8 , range 6–13 8#7
8
  • : score 8 · #7
12% 0% First reading
8 Boundless IE New entry 5 , range 4–7 5#8
5
  • : score 5 · #8
7% 0% First reading
9 G-P US New entry 4 , range 3–7 4#9
4
  • : score 4 · #9
5% 1% First reading
10 Safeguard Global US New entry 3 , range 2–5 3#10
3
  • : score 3 · #10
4% 0% 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 gives each brand’s score and rank from the engines’ answers; Search is not measured for this board yet. 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 europa.eu Regulator 9.0% 2 of 4 43 Not read
2 youtube.com Social 9.8% 3 of 4 32 Not read
3 reddit.com Community 7.4% 4 of 4 22 9
4 remotepass.com Vendor site 6.9% 4 of 4 9 4
5 peoplemanagingpeople.com Media 6.4% 3 of 4 17 6
6 teamed.global Vendor site 7.1% 3 of 4 15 7
7 workmotion.com Vendor site 6.7% 4 of 4 11 10
8 gov.uk Regulator 3.3% 1 of 4 12 Not read
9 linkedin.com Social 5.2% 2 of 4 19 Not read
10 dupple.com Media 4.3% 3 of 4 2 8

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
best employer of record services for startups English Deel and Oyster, tied
hire employees abroad without a local entity English Deel, Oyster, Papaya Global and Remote, tied
how to hire remote employees in another country English No brand recommended
how to run international payroll for remote employees English Deel, Papaya Global and Remote, tied
employer of record vs contractor for remote hires English Remote
What are the best employer of record services for hiring abroad? English Deel and Remote, tied
Hiring employees in another country without a local entity English No brand recommended
How can a startup legally hire a developer in another country? English No brand recommended
How do I pay and provide benefits to employees abroad? English Deel and Remote, tied
Employer of record vs. setting up a local entity for international hiring English No brand recommended

Each engine's top three

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.

How the leaderboards are measured