# Skills Base vs Fuel50: which do AI models recommend for skills intelligence, September 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, Skills intelligence. Zero of twelve models named Skills Base first on the direct prompt; one named Fuel50. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/performance/skills-intelligence/skills-base-vs-fuel50/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skills Base | 17% | #2 of 16 | 0% | 12 | 8 of 12 |
| Fuel50 | 2% | #8 of 16 | 8% | 12 | 7 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- DeepSeek V4 Flash: fuel50 first (first choices: Fuel50, TalentGuard) (alternatives: MuchSkills, Skills Base)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: Eightfold AI, SkillPanel) (alternatives: Fuel50, Retrain.ai, Workday Skills Cloud)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Career Bird) (alternatives: Docebo, Fuel50, Workera)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: TalentGuard) (alternatives: INOP, SkillPanel, Skills Base, iMocha)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither first, one named (first choices: TalentGuard, iMocha) (alternatives: Fuel50)
- Kimi K2: neither first, one named (first choices: TalentGuard) (alternatives: 365Talents, Engagedly, Fuel50, TechWolf)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: iMocha) (alternatives: MuchSkills, Skills Base, TalentGuard)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (first choices: TalentGuard) (alternatives: Amplemarket, iMocha)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: TalentGuard, iMocha) (alternatives: Bryq, INOP)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: TalentGuard) (alternatives: Criteria Corp, Engagedly, iMocha)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither named (first choices: Eightfold AI) (alternatives: Clad.io, DeepSkill, Gloat, Lightcast Open Skills)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: TalentGuard) (alternatives: 365Talents, Gloat)

## What the models said about Skills Base

- "the best practical choice is usually Skills Base if you want a dedicated skills management platform with strong value for SMBs" (Perplexity Sonar, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Best Overall Value & "Spreadsheet Killer": Skills Base ... is the industry standard for budget-conscious companies" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Skills Base (starting at ~$2–$2.25 per user per month with a free tier) ... are the most practical entry points." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, budget prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Fuel50

- "Best overall for enterprise — maps employee skills, career paths, and internal mobility, with gap analysis tied to learning evidence." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "I'd shortlist TalentGuard ... and Fuel50 (if you want higher-fidelity skills intelligence with proven inference)" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)

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.