The most visible HR and payroll tools 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

Gusto

34Heralded Score, range 31–37

Most cited source

youtube.com

100citations

From Google AI Mode, Gemini and Google AI Overviews

Where engines disagree most

Factorial

1/4engines put it in their top three

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

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 Gusto US New entry 34 , range 31–37 34#1
34
  • : score 34 · #1
23% 12% First reading
2 Factorial ES New entry 31 , range 24–34 31#2
31
  • : score 31 · #2
21% 7% First reading
3 Personio DE New entry 30 , range 19–33 30#3
30
  • : score 30 · #3
19% 7% First reading
4 Rippling US New entry 26 , range 14–32 26#4
26
  • : score 26 · #4
16% 7% First reading
5 BambooHR US New entry 22 , range 12–31 22#5
22
  • : score 22 · #5
17% 4% First reading
6 PayFit FR New entry 12 , range 8–25 12#6
12
  • : score 12 · #6
11% 5% None First reading
7 Sage HR GB New entry 10 , range 7–22 10#7
10
  • : score 10 · #7
11% 4% First reading
8 ADP RUN US New entry 9 , range 6–17 9#8
9
  • : score 9 · #8
11% 3% First reading
9 OnPay US New entry 8 , range 6–15 8#9
8
  • : score 8 · #9
8% 4% First reading
10 Nmbrs New entry 8 , range 6–14 8#10
8
  • : score 8 · #10
8% 3% 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
11 ordio.com Vendor site 2.1% 4 of 4 12 7
12 service-public.gouv.fr Regulator 1.4% 1 of 4 10 1
13 forbes.com Media 3.1% 3 of 4 2 8
14 talenthr.io Vendor site 3.1% 3 of 4 3 Not read
15 elster.de Regulator 1.0% 1 of 4 5 Not read
16 linkedin.com Social 2.6% 2 of 4 8 Not read
17 peoplemanagingpeople.com Media 2.1% 3 of 4 11 Not read
18 smallbusiness.co.uk Media 2.6% 3 of 4 3 Not read
19 zapier.com Vendor site 2.6% 3 of 4 1 9
20 facebook.com Social 1.9% 1 of 4 9 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
Quel est le meilleur logiciel de gestion des RH et de la paie pour les petites entreprises ? French PayFit
Comment une petite entreprise peut-elle gérer ses salariés et la paie ? French No brand recommended
Comment une petite entreprise peut-elle calculer la paie de ses salariés ? French Base and PayFit, tied
Comment suivre les congés et les jours travaillés ? French Combo and Eurécia, tied
Logiciel RH ou tableur pour gérer la paie dans une petite entreprise ? French PayFit and Silae, tied
Gestion du personnel manuelle ou logiciel RH pour les entreprises de taille intermédiaire ? French Cegedim SRH, Cegid, Kelio and Lucca, tied
Quelles solutions peut-on utiliser à la place d’un tableur pour suivre les salariés ? French Combo, Lucca and PayFit, tied
Quelles solutions peut-on utiliser à la place du calcul manuel de la paie dans une petite entreprise ? French PayFit
Je dirige une entreprise de 10 salariés. Comment gérer la paie et les congés ? French No brand recommended
Je dirige une équipe RH et j’ai besoin de suivre le temps de travail de 200 salariés. Quelles sont les solutions possibles ? French Kelio and Lucca, tied

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