The most visible headless CMS platforms 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

Sanity

71Heralded Score, range 58–75

Most cited source

dupple.com

15citations

From ChatGPT

Where engines disagree most

They agree

Every engine names the same top three.

Brands

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score All AI Search Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
1 Sanity NO New entry 71 , range 58–75 72#1 70#3
71
  • : score 71 · #1
55% 25% First reading
2 Strapi FR New entry 71 , range 67–75 70#2 72#1
71
  • : score 71 · #2
57% 24% First reading
3 Contentful DE New entry 70 , range 63–74 69#3 71#2
70
  • : score 70 · #3
57% 21% First reading
4 Storyblok AT New entry 53 , range 43–67 57#4 45#4
53
  • : score 53 · #4
39% 22% First reading
5 Payload US New entry 36 , range 26–54 39#5 31#7
36
  • : score 36 · #5
20% 13% First reading
6 Directus US New entry 32 , range 21–49 32#6 32#6
32
  • : score 32 · #6
15% 7% First reading
7 Prismic FR New entry 28 , range 14–47 26#7 32#5
28
  • : score 28 · #7
12% 5% First reading
8 Hygraph DE New entry 16 , range 8–41 11#8 24#9
16
  • : score 16 · #8
11% 2% First reading
9 Contentstack US New entry 13 , range 6–32 6#9 25#8
13
  • : score 13 · #9
6% 2% First reading
10 Magnolia CH New entry 9 , range 3–29 2#13 21#10
9
  • : score 9 · #10
3% 1% 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
11 futurepicker.com Media 0.5% 1 of 4 1 Not read
12 headless.nl Media 0.5% 2 of 4 1 3
13 repha.fr Media 0.5% 1 of 4 1 9
14 selfhosting.sh Media 0.5% 1 of 4 1 Not read
15 abondance.com Media 0.2% 1 of 4 1 Not read
16 cloudtweaks.com Media 0.2% 1 of 4 1 Not read
17 cmscritic.com Media 0.2% 1 of 4 1 Not read
18 cybernews.com Media 0.2% 1 of 4 1 Not read
19 diariofinanciero.com Media 0.2% 1 of 4 1 Not read
20 enterprisecms.org Media 0.2% 1 of 4 1 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
Welches Headless CMS eignet sich am besten für eine Marketing-Website? German Strapi
Headless-Content-Management für Entwicklerteams German Payload, Sanity and Strapi, tied
Wie kann ein Unternehmen dieselben Inhalte auf seiner Website und in seiner mobilen App veröffentlichen? German Contentful and Strapi, tied
Wie können Marketingteams Inhalte auf einer Website bearbeiten, die mit einem JavaScript-Framework erstellt wurde? German No brand recommended
Klassisches CMS oder Headless CMS für die Website eines wachsenden Unternehmens? German Contentful and Sanity, tied
Open-Source- oder gehostetes Headless CMS für Start-ups? German Payload, Sanity, Storyblok and Strapi, tied
Alternativen zu einem klassischen CMS für eine Website mit mehreren Kanälen German Sanity, Storyblok and Strapi, tied
Welche Alternativen gibt es dazu, Inhalte direkt in einer Web-App zu hinterlegen? German No brand recommended
Ich bin Frontend-Entwickler und baue eine Marketing-Website. Welches Headless CMS sollte ich verwenden? German Sanity, Storyblok and Strapi, tied
Ich leite den Digitalbereich eines mittelständischen Unternehmens und möchte eine zentrale Content-Plattform für unsere Website, App und Filialen. German 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