Leader
48Heralded Score, range 40–62
The most visible HR and payroll tools in Germany, October 2026
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 | | New entry | 48 , range 40–62 | 48#1 | 48
| 53% | 20% | None | First reading | |
| 2 | | New entry | 47 , range 39–61 | 47#2 | 47
| 50% | 20% | | First reading | |
| 3 | | New entry | 41 , range 34–52 | 41#3 | 41
| 37% | 17% | None | First reading | |
| 4 | | New entry | 32 , range 15–41 | 32#4 | 32
| 25% | 7% | | First reading | |
| 5 | | New entry | 32 , range 11–41 | 32#5 | 32
| 21% | 9% | None | First reading | |
| 6 | | New entry | 30 , range 9–39 | 30#6 | 30
| 19% | 7% | None | First reading | |
| 7 | | New entry | 30 , range 8–39 | 30#7 | 30
| 17% | 9% | None | First reading | |
| 8 | | New entry | 22 , range 7–37 | 22#8 | 22
| 19% | 3% | None | First reading | |
| 9 | | New entry | 21 , range 7–37 | 21#9 | 21
| 16% | 5% | None | First reading | |
| 10 | | New entry | 18 , range 6–36 | 18#10 | 18
| 14% | 6% | 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 | | Vendor site | 3.3% | 1 of 4 | 4 | Not read |
| 2 | | Vendor site | 5.0% | 3 of 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | | Vendor site | 5.0% | 2 of 4 | 3 | Not read |
| 4 | | Vendor site | 1.7% | 1 of 4 | 3 | Not read |
| 5 | | Vendor site | 3.3% | 1 of 4 | 1 | Not read |
| 6 | | Vendor site | 1.7% | 1 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
| 7 | | Vendor site | 3.3% | 2 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
| 8 | | Vendor site | 1.7% | 1 of 4 | 1 | Not read |
| 9 | | Vendor site | 1.7% | 1 of 4 | 1 | Not read |
| 10 | | Vendor site | 1.7% | 1 of 4 | 1 | Not read |
Questions asked
| Question | Language | Most recommended |
|---|---|---|
| best hr and payroll software for small businesses | English | |
| pay employees and manage hr for small businesses | English | |
| how can a small business pay employees and manage hr | English | |
| how to run payroll and keep employee records up to date | English | No brand recommended |
| payroll software vs hr software for small businesses | English | |
Each engine's top three
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.