The most visible merchant of record platforms in Germany, October 2026

October 2026 · 15 questions asked from Germany in German and English · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 60 answers read

Leader

Paddle

72Heralded Score, range 59–79

Most cited source

europa.eu

14citations

From ChatGPT

Where engines disagree most

Gumroad

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
– Airwallex AU Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
4% 0% None First reading
– Blink US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
1% 0% None First reading
– CopeCart DE Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
2% 0% None First reading
– Creem SK Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
3% 0% None First reading
– Digital River US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% First reading
– Dodo Payments IN Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
3% 0% First reading
– Nexway FR Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
3% 0% None First reading
– Payhip GB 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
11 gappgroup.com Vendor site 5.0% 1 of 4 3 Not read
12 ihk.de Regulator 3.3% 2 of 4 3 Not read
13 mollie.com Vendor site 1.7% 1 of 4 3 Not read
14 nordync.com Unclassified 5.0% 2 of 4 1 2
15 pcisecuritystandards.org Regulator 1.7% 1 of 4 3 Not read
16 shopify.com Vendor site 3.3% 2 of 4 3 Not read
17 chargeflow.io Vendor site 3.3% 1 of 4 2 Not read
18 contracollective.com Consultancy 3.3% 1 of 4 1 2
19 easy.tools Vendor site 1.7% 1 of 4 2 Not read
20 findalternatives.net Review site 3.3% 1 of 4 1 7

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 FastSpring, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle and Polar, 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, 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