# Gusto vs Ease: which do AI models recommend for benefits administration, September 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, Benefits administration. Zero of twelve models named Gusto first on the direct prompt; zero named Ease. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/core/benefits-administration/gusto-vs-ease/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto | 18% | #4 of 14 | 16% | 37 | 12 of 12 |
| Ease | 5% | #5 of 14 | 0% | 17 | 10 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: PlanSource) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Benefitfocus, Businessolver, Ease, Employee Navigator, Paycor, Paylocity, Rippling, bswift)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Namely) (alternatives: ADP, Gusto, Justworks, Rippling, Workday HCM)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Namely, Paycor, Paylocity, PlanSource)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Justworks, Paylocity)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither named (first choices: Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Employee Navigator, PlanSource)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither named (first choices: PlanSource, Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Employee Navigator, Paycor, Paylocity)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: ADP Workforce Now) (alternatives: Paycor, Rippling)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Employee Navigator, Paycor, PlanSource)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither named (first choices: PlanSource) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Employee Navigator, Paycor, Rippling)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: PlanSource) (alternatives: Employee Navigator, Paycor, Rippling)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither named (first choices: PlanSource) (alternatives: Employee Navigator, Namely, Paycor, Paylocity, UKG Pro)
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: PlanSource) (alternatives: Employee Navigator, Rippling)

## What the models said about Ease

- "My top recommendation for a limited budget: If you have a broker, ask about Ease or Employee Navigator (potentially free)." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt, first choice)
- "For tightest budget, consider Ease or GoCo (around $4-5/employee)" (MiniMax M2.5, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Employee Navigator or Ease may fit better, but the results note these are more broker-supported than all-in-one systems" (Perplexity Sonar, budget prompt, alternative)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.