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

clutch.co

63citations

From Google AI Mode, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT

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
11 Cognizant US New entry 1 , range 1–3 1#11
1
  • : score 1 · #11
1% 0% First reading
– Accesa RO Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– DataArt US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Fortech RO Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Infosys IN Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% First reading
– Luxoft CH Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– SoftServe Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% First reading
– STX Next PL Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Tremend RO Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
1% 1% None First reading
– Wolfpack Digital RO 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 goodfirms.co Review site 2.6% 3 of 4 7 Not read
12 shimirait.com Consultancy 2.6% 3 of 4 1 Not read
13 faintechsolutions.com Consultancy 2.4% 1 of 4 2 Not read
14 flutterflow.io Vendor site 1.4% 1 of 4 4 Not read
15 raithub.com Consultancy 2.4% 1 of 4 1 Not read
16 sortlist.it Directory 1.9% 4 of 4 5 Not read
17 x-team.com Consultancy 2.4% 3 of 4 1 Not read
18 blackthorn-vision.com Consultancy 2.1% 2 of 4 2 Not read
19 fullstack.com Consultancy 2.1% 2 of 4 2 Not read
20 gartner.com Industry authority 1.0% 3 of 4 7 7

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