The most visible software development companies 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

Toptal

4Heralded Score, range 3–6

Most cited source

reddit.com

30citations

From Google AI Mode, Gemini and Google AI Overviews

Where engines disagree most

Netguru

1/4engines put it in their top three

Top three on ChatGPT, not on Google AI Mode, Gemini and Google AI Overviews

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 Toptal US New entry 4 , range 3–6 4#1
4
  • : score 4 · #1
4% 1% None First reading
2 N-iX UA New entry 4 , range 2–6 4#2
4
  • : score 4 · #2
4% 1% None First reading
3 Netguru PL New entry 3 , range 2–5 3#3
3
  • : score 3 · #3
3% 1% None First reading
4 ScienceSoft US New entry 3 , range 2–5 3#4
3
  • : score 3 · #4
3% 1% None First reading
5 Globant LU New entry 2 , range 1–4 2#5
2
  • : score 2 · #5
2% 0% None First reading
6 EPAM Systems US New entry 2 , range 1–4 2#6
2
  • : score 2 · #6
1% 1% None First reading
7 Endava GB New entry 2 , range 1–4 2#7
2
  • : score 2 · #7
1% 1% None First reading
8 Pentalog FR New entry 2 , range 1–3 2#8
2
  • : score 2 · #8
1% 1% None First reading
9 Itransition US New entry 2 , range 1–3 2#9
2
  • : score 2 · #9
1% 0% None First reading
10 Thoughtworks US New entry 2 , range 1–3 2#10
2
  • : score 2 · #10
1% 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 reddit.com Community 6.2% 3 of 4 26 Not read
2 medium.com Community 3.3% 3 of 4 8 Not read
3 quora.com Community 1.0% 1 of 4 6 Not read
4 ourcodeworld.com Community 0.5% 1 of 4 1 Not read
5 owasp.org Community 0.5% 1 of 4 2 Not read
6 danieleteti.it Community 0.2% 1 of 4 1 Not read
7 omidsaffari.com Community 0.2% 1 of 4 1 Not read
8 omt.de Community 0.2% 1 of 4 1 Not read
9 wikipedia.org Community 0.2% 1 of 4 1 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
Desarrollo de software nearshore frente a offshore para una empresa mediana Spanish No brand recommended
Alternativas a contratar un equipo interno de desarrollo Spanish No brand recommended
Alternativas a los desarrolladores freelance para crear una app Spanish No brand recommended
Soy fundador sin perfil técnico y necesito crear una aplicación web. ¿Qué empresa de desarrollo de software debería contratar? Spanish No brand recommended
Dirijo el departamento de TI de una empresa mediana y necesito un partner para modernizar nuestros sistemas heredados. Spanish No brand recommended
best software development companies for startups English No brand recommended
custom software development outsourcing English No brand recommended
how to choose a software development partner English No brand recommended
how much does custom software development cost English No brand recommended
nearshore vs offshore software development English No brand recommended

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