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
– STX Next PL 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
1 clutch.co Directory 13.8% 4 of 4 33 Not read
2 europa.eu Regulator 3.3% 1 of 4 18 Not read
3 linkedin.com Social 5.0% 3 of 4 20 Not read
4 sortlist.fr Directory 3.3% 4 of 4 9 Not read
5 google.com Vendor site 1.9% 3 of 4 14 Not read
6 innowise.com Consultancy 3.1% 4 of 4 10 Not read
7 goodfirms.co Review site 2.4% 3 of 4 6 2
8 reddit.com Community 2.6% 3 of 4 12 Not read
9 hiberusbooster.com Consultancy 1.9% 4 of 4 3 Not read
10 magora-systems.com Consultancy 1.4% 1 of 4 7 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
best software development companies for startups in france English Pentalog
custom software development outsourcing in france English No brand recommended
how to choose a software development partner in france English No brand recommended
how much does custom software development cost in france English No brand recommended
nearshore vs offshore software development in france English No brand recommended
What are the best software development companies for building a bespoke product in the UK? English No brand recommended
Outsourcing bespoke software development for startups in the UK English No brand recommended
How can a company build bespoke software without an in-house team in the UK? English No brand recommended
How do I find a reliable software development partner in the UK? English No brand recommended
In-house developers vs a software development company for a startup in the UK English 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