The most visible merchant of record 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

Paddle

73Heralded Score, range 70–76

Most cited source

europa.eu

84citations

From Google AI Mode and ChatGPT

Where engines disagree most

PayPro Global

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 Paddle GB New entry 73 , range 70–76 73#1
73
  • : score 73 · #1
82% 39% First reading
2 Lemon Squeezy US New entry 66 , range 60–71 66#2
66
  • : score 66 · #2
74% 30% First reading
3 FastSpring US New entry 38 , range 35–42 38#3
38
  • : score 38 · #3
38% 9% First reading
4 Gumroad US New entry 22 , range 12–31 22#4
22
  • : score 22 · #4
18% 4% First reading
5 PayPro Global CA New entry 9 , range 7–16 9#5
9
  • : score 9 · #5
13% 0% First reading
6 Dodo Payments IN New entry 6 , range 4–8 6#6
6
  • : score 6 · #6
8% 0% First reading
7 Polar SE New entry 5 , range 4–8 5#7
5
  • : score 5 · #7
6% 1% First reading
8 Freemius IL New entry 4 , range 3–6 4#8
4
  • : score 4 · #8
6% 0% None First reading
9 Cleverbridge DE New entry 4 , range 3–6 4#9
4
  • : score 4 · #9
5% 0% First reading
10 Creem SK New entry 4 , range 3–6 4#10
4
  • : score 4 · #10
5% 0% 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 7.6% 2 of 4 38 Not read
2 youtube.com Social 8.1% 2 of 4 32 Not read
3 ebrands.com Vendor site 7.1% 3 of 4 2 5
4 linkedin.com Social 5.0% 2 of 4 18 Not read
5 adyen.com Vendor site 3.1% 4 of 4 14 Not read
6 reddit.com Community 4.5% 3 of 4 17 5
7 avalara.com Vendor site 2.9% 3 of 4 12 Not read
8 belastingdienst.nl Regulator 1.7% 4 of 4 16 Not read
9 airwallex.com Vendor site 3.1% 4 of 4 12 Not read
10 gov.uk Regulator 1.9% 3 of 4 10 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
Was sollte ein Softwareunternehmen nutzen, um weltweit Abos zu verkaufen und die Umsatzsteuer abzuwickeln? German Paddle
Welche Plattform kann digitale Produkte weltweit verkaufen und Zahlungen, Steuern und Rückerstattungen verwalten? German Lemon Squeezy and Paddle, tied
Wie kann ein kleines SaaS-Unternehmen in mehreren Ländern verkaufen, ohne ein eigenes Abrechnungsteam aufzubauen? German Lemon Squeezy and Paddle, tied
Welcher Dienst übernimmt Checkout und Steuern für ein Unternehmen, das international Software verkauft? German FastSpring and Paddle, tied
Wie ziehe ich Steuern ein und führe sie ab, wenn Kunden meine Software im Ausland kaufen? German Paddle
Wie kann ich Zahlungen von Kunden in verschiedenen Ländern für mein Abo annehmen? German No brand recommended
Was brauche ich, um digitale Downloads weltweit zu verkaufen, ohne mich selbst um Steuererklärungen kümmern zu müssen? German Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy, tied
Wie kann ein Softwareunternehmen Rückerstattungen und Rückbuchungen bei internationalen Verkäufen verwalten? German Lemon Squeezy and Paddle, tied
Sollte ich für den weltweiten Softwareverkauf einen einzigen Checkout-Dienst oder separate Zahlungs- und Steueranbieter nutzen? German Paddle
Lassen sich Abos weltweit einfacher mit einem Merchant of Record oder einem Zahlungsdienstleister verwalten? German Lemon Squeezy and Paddle, 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