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

45Heralded Score, range 37–68

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

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score All AI Search Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
– Stripe Managed Payments US Unranked Too few answers Not measured 3#2
–
  • : Unranked
3% 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 and Search give each brand’s score and rank on that side alone. 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 8.3% 1 of 4 9 Not read
2 youtube.com Social 11.7% 2 of 4 11 Not read
3 ebrands.com Vendor site 11.7% 3 of 4 2 5
4 fungies.io Vendor site 3.3% 1 of 4 4 6
5 chargebee.com Vendor site 1.7% 1 of 4 4 Not read
6 checkout.com Vendor site 6.7% 3 of 4 4 Not read
7 linkedin.com Social 6.7% 2 of 4 4 Not read
8 nuvei.com Vendor site 6.7% 3 of 4 2 Not read
9 artisangrowthstrategies.com Consultancy 5.0% 2 of 4 1 3
10 checkoutpage.com Vendor site 3.3% 2 of 4 3 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