# Skills Base vs Lightcast Open Skills: 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; zero named Lightcast Open Skills. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/performance/skills-intelligence/skills-base-vs-lightcast-open-skills/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skills Base | 17% | #2 of 16 | 0% | 12 | 8 of 12 |
| Lightcast Open Skills | 9% | #4 of 16 | 8% | 12 | 10 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

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

- "Enterprise platforms like ... Lightcast, etc. tend to be stronger but usually not the best fit for a tight budget." (GPT-5.4 mini, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "The Industry Standard: Lightcast Skills Taxonomy (formerly Emsi Burning Glass)... The absolute gold standard in labor market data." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "I'd recommend Lightcast Open Skills as the skills taxonomy paired with TechWolf as the inference tool" (Grok 4.1 Fast, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "I'd usually recommend Lightcast Skills Taxonomy + a Lightcast-based inference layer as the default choice" (GPT-5.4 mini, paraphrase 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.