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

Zitec

3Heralded Score, range 2–5

Most cited source

clutch.co

77citations

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

Where engines disagree most

Toptal

1/4engines put it in their top three

Top three on Gemini, not on Google AI Mode, 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
– Accesa RO Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% First reading
– Cognizant US 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
– EPAM Systems 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% None First reading
– Itransition US Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Luxoft CH Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Netguru PL Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– SoftServe US 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 appinventiv.com Consultancy 2.4% 3 of 4 6 Not read
12 gov.uk Regulator 1.2% 1 of 4 8 Not read
13 bubble.io Vendor site 1.9% 1 of 4 2 Not read
14 cruxdigits.nl Consultancy 2.1% 3 of 4 4 Not read
15 sortlist.it Directory 2.1% 4 of 4 4 Not read
16 themanifest.com Media 2.1% 3 of 4 5 4
17 youtube.com Social 1.7% 2 of 4 8 Not read
18 appfront.nl Consultancy 1.4% 2 of 4 8 Not read
19 ico.org.uk Regulator 1.0% 1 of 4 7 Not read
20 sevensolvers.com Consultancy 1.9% 4 of 4 4 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
best software development companies for startups in Italy English No brand recommended
custom software development outsourcing in Italy English No brand recommended
how to choose a software development partner in Italy English No brand recommended
how much does custom software development cost in Italy English No brand recommended
nearshore vs offshore software development in Italy English No brand recommended
Wat zijn de beste softwareontwikkelaars voor het bouwen van een product op maat in Nederland? Dutch No brand recommended
Softwareontwikkeling op maat uitbesteden voor startups in Nederland Dutch No brand recommended
Hoe kan een bedrijf in Nederland software op maat laten bouwen zonder eigen ontwikkelteam? Dutch No brand recommended
Hoe vind ik een betrouwbare partner voor softwareontwikkeling in Nederland? Dutch No brand recommended
Eigen developers of een softwarebedrijf voor een startup in Nederland? Dutch No brand recommended

Each engine's top three

Google AI Mode

No brand named in at least three answers.

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