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
11 Nexway FR New entry 3 , range 2–5 3#11
3
  • : score 3 · #11
4% 0% None First reading
12 2Checkout RO New entry 2 , range 1–4 2#12
2
  • : score 2 · #12
2% 0% First reading
13 Payhip GB New entry 2 , range 1–4 2#13
2
  • : score 2 · #13
2% 0% None First reading
– Blink US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Digital River US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– RevenueCat US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Sellfy LV Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 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 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
What changes when a provider becomes the seller of record for my digital products? English No brand recommended
How do full-service checkout platforms compare with handling international payments in-house? English No brand recommended
What can replace separate payment, tax, and billing tools for selling software? English Lemon Squeezy and Paddle, tied
How can i move away from managing sales tax filings in every country? English No brand recommended
What can replace a custom checkout when selling subscriptions internationally? English FastSpring

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