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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | | Vendor site | 4.0% | 4 of 4 | 6 | 7 |
| 12 | | Regulator | 2.1% | 3 of 4 | 12 | Not read |
| 13 | | Vendor site | 3.3% | 2 of 4 | 15 | Not read |
| 14 | | Regulator | 2.4% | 1 of 4 | 9 | Not read |
| 15 | | Vendor site | 2.4% | 2 of 4 | 12 | Not read |
| 16 | | Media | 3.6% | 3 of 4 | 6 | 11 |
| 17 | | Regulator | 2.1% | 3 of 4 | 10 | Not read |
| 18 | | Reference | 2.4% | 1 of 4 | 4 | Not read |
| 19 | | Media | 3.1% | 3 of 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 20 | | Media | 3.1% | 4 of 4 | 5 | 13 |
Questions asked
| Question | Language | Most recommended |
|---|---|---|
| cel mai bun vpn pentru angajați care lucrează de la distanță | Romanian | |
| vpn pentru călători care vor să își protejeze datele online | Romanian | |
| vpn pentru firme mici cu angajați în mai multe locații | Romanian | |
| cum poate un angajat remote să acceseze în siguranță rețeaua firmei? | Romanian | No brand recommended |
| cum să îmi protejez datele când folosesc wi-fi public | Romanian | |
| conexiune vpn sau acces la distanță pentru echipe mici | Romanian | |
| alternative la wi-fi public pentru angajații care lucrează din cafenele | Romanian | No brand recommended |
| alternative la rețelele wi-fi de hotel pentru călători | Romanian | |
| sunt manager într-o firmă cu 10 angajați remote; cum le protejez conexiunile? | Romanian | |
| lucrez în contabilitate și accesez datele clienților de acasă; cum le protejez? | Romanian | 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.