Leader
23%of answers name it
The most visible VPNs in Germany, October 2026
AI: how the engines answer the board's questions; Search: Google's top 10 for the questions' demand keywords; All: both combined. How the Heralded Score works.
Most cited source
2citations
From Gemini and Google AI Overviews
Where engines disagree most
1/4engines put it in their top three
Top three on ChatGPT, not on Google AI Mode, Gemini and Google AI Overviews
Brands
| Rank | Brand | Rank change | Heralded Score | Score trend | Mentioned | Recommended | By engine | Mentioned by | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | New entry | 51 , range 20–60 | 51
| 23% | 18% | None | First reading | |
| 2 | | New entry | 48 , range 15–56 | 48
| 21% | 10% | None | First reading | |
| 3 | | New entry | 48 , range 21–61 | 48
| 25% | 17% | None | First reading | |
| 4 | | New entry | 48 , range 0–74 | 48
| 5% | 5% | None | First reading | |
| 5 | | New entry | 40 , range 21–59 | 40
| 21% | 16% | None | First reading | |
| 6 | | New entry | 23 , range 2–48 | 23
| 7% | 7% | None | First reading | |
| 7 | | New entry | 17 , range 5–37 | 17
| 8% | 7% | None | First reading | |
| 8 | | New entry | 12 , range 0–71 | 12
| 1% | 1% | None | First reading | |
| 9 | | New entry | 10 , range 2–45 | 10
| 7% | 1% | None | First reading | |
| 10 | | New entry | 9 , range 0–69 | 9
| 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. By engine has one dot per engine (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode), darker the more often it names the brand.
This month's moves
First reading. No comparable previous month yet.
Biggest risers
No clear rise.
Biggest fallers
No clear fall.
New entries
54 new entries
- Proton VPN
- ExpressVPN
- NordVPN
- CyberGhost
- Surfshark
- Mullvad
- NordLayer
- Hotspot Shield
- Kaspersky
- Check Point SASE
- Tailscale
- Private Internet Access
- Proton for Business
- Netbird
- ZeroTier
- Windscribe
- TunnelBear
- AdGuard VPN
- AirVPN
- Aura
- Avast SecureLine VPN
- Avira
- Betternet
- Bitdefender VPN
- Brave VPN
- CopVPN
- Cryptostorm
- F-Secure VPN
- FastestVPN
- GOOSE VPN
- hide.me
- HMA
- Hola VPN
- InfoPeak VPN
- IPVanish
- Ivacy VPN
- IVPN
- Mozilla VPN
- Norton VPN
- OVPN
- Panda Security
- Perfect Privacy
- Perimeter 81
- PrivadoVPN
- PrivateVPN
- PureDome
- PureVPN
- Speedify
- Steganos
- StrongVPN
- TorGuard
- VeePN
- VyprVPN
- ZoogVPN
Drop-outs
No drop-outs.
Most cited sources
| Rank | Source | Type | Cited in | Engines | Pages cited | Brands its pages mention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Reference | 3.3% | 2 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
| 2 | Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it. | |||||
| 3 | | Reference | 1.7% | 1 of 4 | 1 | Not read |
| 4 | | Reference | 1.7% | 1 of 4 | 1 | Not read |
The questions, and who wins each
| Question | Language | Wins it |
|---|---|---|
| best vpn service for remote workers | English | |
| secure browsing for people working from home | English | No brand recommended |
| best vpn for streaming fans who travel | English | |
| how can i keep my browsing private on public wi-fi | English | No brand recommended |
| how to protect my internet traffic while traveling | English | |
Each engine's top three
Google AI Mode
- 1
NordVPN
- 2
ExpressVPN
- 3
Proton VPN
Gemini
- = 1
- = 1
Surfshark
- 3
Google AI Overviews
- 1
- 2
- 3
ChatGPT
- 1
- 2
- 3
NordLayer
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Method
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.