Leader
49Heralded Score, range 37–56
The most visible VPNs in Europe, October 2026
Most cited source
142citations
From Google AI Mode, Gemini and Google AI Overviews
Where engines disagree most
1/4engines put it in their top three
Top three on Google AI Mode, not on Gemini, Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT
Brands
| Rank | Brand | Rank change | Heralded Score All | AI | Search | Score trend | Mentioned | Recommended | By engine | Mentioned by | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | New entry | 49 , range 37–56 | 41#2 | 61#1 | 49
| 24% | 16% | | First reading | |
| 2 | | New entry | 43 , range 33–56 | 42#1 | 46#2 | 43
| 23% | 17% | | First reading | |
| 3 | | New entry | 40 , range 30–53 | 38#3 | 42#4 | 40
| 19% | 15% | | First reading | |
| 4 | | New entry | 39 , range 30–52 | 36#4 | 44#3 | 39
| 19% | 12% | | First reading | |
| 5 | | New entry | 26 , range 19–49 | 33#5 | 15#6 | 26
| 12% | 10% | | First reading | |
| 6 | | New entry | 14 , range 7–45 | 16#6 | 10#8 | 14
| 7% | 6% | | First reading | |
| 7 | | New entry | 12 , range 6–44 | 15#7 | 6#13 | 12
| 7% | 5% | | First reading | |
| 8 | | New entry | 9 , range 3–30 | 3#11 | 20#5 | 9
| 2% | 2% | | First reading | |
| 9 | | New entry | 8 , range 4–33 | 7#8 | 10#9 | 8
| 4% | 3% | | First reading | |
| 10 | | New entry | 6 , range 3–30 | 3#9 | 10#10 | 6
| 3% | 1% | 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Social | 18.1% | 3 of 4 | 86 | Not read |
| 2 | | Regulator | 6.7% | 1 of 4 | 20 | Not read |
| 3 | | Community | 9.8% | 3 of 4 | 41 | Not read |
| 4 | | Media | 8.1% | 4 of 4 | 16 | 19 |
| 5 | | Regulator | 4.0% | 1 of 4 | 8 | Not read |
| 6 | | Media | 6.7% | 3 of 4 | 6 | 11 |
| 7 | | Social | 5.0% | 2 of 4 | 24 | Not read |
| 8 | | Media | 5.5% | 2 of 4 | 8 | 3 |
| 9 | | Regulator | 2.4% | 1 of 4 | 11 | Not read |
| 10 | | Media | 5.2% | 3 of 4 | 5 | 16 |
Questions asked
| Question | Language | Most recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Welches VPN eignet sich am besten für Mitarbeitende im Homeoffice? | German | |
| Welches VPN können Reisende nutzen, um ihre Daten online zu schützen? | German | |
| Welches VPN eignet sich am besten für kleine Unternehmen mit Mitarbeitenden an verschiedenen Standorten? | German | |
| Wie können Mitarbeitende im Homeoffice sicher auf das Unternehmensnetzwerk zugreifen? | German | No brand recommended |
| Wie kann ich meine Daten in öffentlichen WLANs schützen? | German | No brand recommended |
| VPN-Verbindung oder Fernzugriff für kleine Teams? | German | |
| Welche Alternativen zu öffentlichem WLAN gibt es für Mitarbeitende, die im Café arbeiten? | German | No brand recommended |
| Welche Alternativen zum Hotel-WLAN gibt es für Reisende? | German | No brand recommended |
| Ich leite ein Unternehmen mit 10 Mitarbeitenden im Homeoffice. Wie kann ich ihre Verbindungen absichern? | German | No brand recommended |
| Ich arbeite in der Buchhaltung und greife von zu Hause auf Kundendaten zu. Wie kann ich sie schützen? | German | No brand recommended |
Each engine's top three
Google AI Mode
- 1
NordVPN
- 2
ExpressVPN
- 3
Proton VPN
Gemini
- 1
- 2
Surfshark
- 3
Google AI Overviews
- 1
- 2
- 3
ChatGPT
- 1
- 2
- 3
NordLayer
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.