Leader
3Heralded Score, range 2–5
The most visible software development companies in Europe, October 2026
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | | Unranked | Too few answers | Not measured | –
| 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 | | Consultancy | 2.4% | 3 of 4 | 6 | Not read |
| 12 | | Regulator | 1.2% | 1 of 4 | 8 | Not read |
| 13 | | Vendor site | 1.9% | 1 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
| 14 | | Consultancy | 2.1% | 3 of 4 | 4 | Not read |
| 15 | | Directory | 2.1% | 4 of 4 | 4 | Not read |
| 16 | | Media | 2.1% | 3 of 4 | 5 | 4 |
| 17 | | Social | 1.7% | 2 of 4 | 8 | Not read |
| 18 | | Consultancy | 1.4% | 2 of 4 | 8 | Not read |
| 19 | | Regulator | 1.0% | 1 of 4 | 7 | Not read |
| 20 | | Consultancy | 1.9% | 4 of 4 | 4 | Not read |
Questions asked
| Question | Language | Most recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Nearshore- of offshore-softwareontwikkeling voor een middelgroot bedrijf in Nederland? | Dutch | No brand recommended |
| Alternatieven voor het aannemen van een eigen ontwikkelteam in Nederland | Dutch | No brand recommended |
| Alternatieven voor freelance developers om een app te laten bouwen in Nederland | Dutch | No brand recommended |
| Ik ben een niet-technische oprichter in Nederland en wil een webapp laten bouwen. Welk softwarebedrijf kan ik het beste inhuren? | Dutch | No brand recommended |
| Ik geef leiding aan IT bij een middelgroot bedrijf in Nederland en zoek een partner om onze verouderde systemen te moderniseren. | Dutch | No brand recommended |
| best software development companies for startups in the Netherlands | English | No brand recommended |
| custom software development outsourcing in the Netherlands | English | No brand recommended |
| how to choose a software development partner in the Netherlands | English | No brand recommended |
| how much does custom software development cost in the Netherlands | English | No brand recommended |
| nearshore vs offshore software development in the Netherlands | English | No brand recommended |
Each engine's top three
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.