Leader
11Heralded Score, range 2–31
The most visible software development companies in Europe, October 2026
Brands
| Rank | Brand | Rank change | Heralded Score All | AI | Search | Score trend | Mentioned | Recommended | By engine | Mentioned by | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | New entry | 11 , range 2–31 | 4#1 | 24#1 | 11
| 4% | 2% | None | First reading | |
| 2 | | New entry | 5 , range 1–30 | 3#3 | 7#2 | 5
| 2% | 1% | None | First reading | |
| 3 | | New entry | 3 , range 2–30 | 4#2 | 3#4 | 3
| 3% | 1% | None | First reading | |
| 4 | | New entry | 3 , range 1–29 | 2#5 | 4#3 | 3
| 2% | 0% | | First reading | |
| 5 | | New entry | 2 , range 1–29 | 3#4 | 1#8 | 2
| 2% | 0% | None | First reading | |
| 6 | | New entry | 1 , range 1–28 | 2#7 | 1= #9 | 1
| 1% | 0% | | First reading | |
| 7 | | New entry | 1 , range 1–28 | 2#8 | 1= #9 | 1
| 1% | 0% | None | First reading | |
| 8 | | New entry | 1 , range 1–28 | 2#9 | 1= #9 | 1
| 1% | 0% | | First reading | |
| 9 | | New entry | 1 , range 1–28 | 2#10 | 1= #9 | 1
| 1% | 0% | | First reading | |
| 10 | | New entry | 1 , range 1–28 | 1#11 | 1= #9 | 1
| 1% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | | Review site | 2.6% | 3 of 4 | 7 | Not read |
| 12 | | Consultancy | 2.6% | 3 of 4 | 1 | Not read |
| 13 | | Consultancy | 2.4% | 1 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
| 14 | | Vendor site | 1.4% | 1 of 4 | 4 | Not read |
| 15 | | Consultancy | 2.4% | 1 of 4 | 1 | Not read |
| 16 | | Directory | 1.9% | 4 of 4 | 5 | Not read |
| 17 | | Consultancy | 2.4% | 3 of 4 | 1 | Not read |
| 18 | | Consultancy | 2.1% | 2 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
| 19 | | Consultancy | 2.1% | 2 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
| 20 | | Industry authority | 1.0% | 3 of 4 | 7 | 7 |
Questions asked
| Question | Language | Most recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Welche Softwareentwicklungsunternehmen eignen sich am besten für die Entwicklung eines maßgeschneiderten Produkts? | German | No brand recommended |
| Outsourcing der individuellen Softwareentwicklung für Start-ups | German | No brand recommended |
| Wie kann ein Unternehmen individuelle Software ohne eigenes Entwicklungsteam entwickeln lassen? | German | No brand recommended |
| Wie finde ich einen zuverlässigen Softwareentwicklungspartner? | German | No brand recommended |
| Eigene Entwickler oder ein Softwareentwicklungsunternehmen für ein Start-up? | German | No brand recommended |
| Nearshore- oder Offshore-Softwareentwicklung für ein mittelständisches Unternehmen? | German | No brand recommended |
| Welche Alternativen gibt es zur Einstellung eines eigenen Entwicklungsteams? | German | No brand recommended |
| Welche Alternativen gibt es zu Freelance-Entwicklern, wenn ich eine App entwickeln lassen möchte? | German | No brand recommended |
| Ich bin Gründer ohne technischen Hintergrund und möchte eine Web-App entwickeln lassen. Welches Softwareentwicklungsunternehmen sollte ich beauftragen? | German | No brand recommended |
| Ich leite die IT in einem mittelständischen Unternehmen und suche einen Partner, der unsere Altsysteme modernisiert. | German | No brand recommended |
Each engine's top three
Google AI Mode
- 1
Toptal
Gemini
- 1
- 2
Thoughtworks
- 3
N-iX
Google AI Overviews
- 1
- 2
ScienceSoft
- 3
ChatGPT
- 1
Netguru
Related leaderboards
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.