37% of first choices, contested.
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
“Frequently criticized for weak 401(k) administration despite low-cost funds... Better for funds via a third-party administrator (TPA) than full service for large plans.” Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt
“If you stick with an underperforming proprietary fund (for instance, a Fidelity active fund or an Empower-owned TDF) simply because it keeps your recordkeeping costs low, your company is exposing itself to massive litigation risks.” Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt
“SMB-Focused Fintechs & Modern Startups (Avoid for Enterprise)” Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt
“consistently receive employer complaints for slow data updates, automated rollouts/distributions upon employment changes, high administrative fees” Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt
79 of 84 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 1183 links across 244 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page. None of the 252 answers across every segment cited this index's own page for the category.
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
| Company and products | Share | Own site cited | Name searches, Google | AI search demand, est. | Organic visits | Paid search a month, est. | Google ads, last 30 days | Best Google position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity Investments fidelity.com Fidelity Investments 37%, Fidelity Advantage 401 13% | 50% | 102 | 673,000 | 10,126 | 54,604,127 | $1,174 | 84 | |
| ADP parent site ADP Retirement Services 9%, ADP 401(k) Premier 2% | 11% | 128 | 2,740,000 | 23,897 | ||||
| Empower Retirement empower.com | 7% | 84 | 246,000 | 2,060 | 2,954,551 | $105 | 53 | |
| Human Interest humaninterest.com | 7% | 105 | 49,500 | 1,879 | 95,886 | $102 | 55 | |
| Vanguard vanguard.com | 4% | 113 | 1,830,000 | 78,984 | 11,906,025 | $673 | 119 | |
| Guideline guideline.com | 4% | 93 | 49,500 | 92,963 | 86,956 | 0 | ||
| Alight alight.com Alight 2%, Alight Solutions 0% | 2% | 45 | 9,900 | 236 | 530,477 | $1,663 | 20 | 5 |
| Principal principal.com Principal 2%, Principal Financial Group 0% | 2% | 29 | 673,000 | 87,083 | 982,836 | 64 | ||
| Mercer mercer.com | 2% | 24 | 49,500 | 23,681 | 98,058 | 18 | ||
| Fidelity Institutional | 2% |
Google's top ten for the three searches hold 21 sites; 2 of them are among the sites the models cited here (forbes.com, spotsaas.com). The first result for “401(k) provider” is tra401k.com.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-10-04 22:32 | yes | 9 | 8 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-10-04 22:32 | yes | 2 | 6 s |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-10-04 22:17 | yes | 16 | 27 s |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-10-04 22:36 | yes | 19 | 3 s |
| Direct recommendation | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-10-04 22:36 | yes | 16 | 9 s |
| Direct recommendation | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-10-04 22:16 | yes | 18 | 10 s |
| Direct recommendation | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-10-04 22:23 | yes | 22 | 31 s |
| Direct recommendation | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-10-04 22:20 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Direct recommendation | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-10-04 22:36 | yes | 10 | 28 s |
| Direct recommendation | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-10-04 22:26 | yes | 11 | 17 s |
| Direct recommendation | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-10-04 22:33 | yes | 21 | 34 s |
| Direct recommendation | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-10-04 22:17 | yes | 16 | 67 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-10-04 22:26 | yes | 4 | 16 s |
| Direct recommendation | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-10-04 22:23 | yes | 20 | 25 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-10-04 22:38 | no | 0 | 5 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-10-04 22:14 | yes | 5 | 6 s |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-10-04 22:22 | yes | 7 | 24 s |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-10-04 22:31 | yes | 19 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-10-04 22:31 | yes | 18 | 10 s |
| Paraphrase | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-10-04 22:39 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-10-04 22:22 | yes | 23 | 37 s |
| Paraphrase | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-10-04 22:17 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Paraphrase | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-10-04 22:23 | yes | 14 | 42 s |
| Paraphrase | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-10-04 22:39 | yes | 18 | 21 s |
| Paraphrase | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-10-04 22:26 | yes | 14 | 14 s |
| Paraphrase | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-10-04 22:27 | yes | 11 | 29 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-10-04 22:37 | yes | 3 | 21 s |
| Paraphrase | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-10-04 22:21 | yes | 15 | 17 s |
| Comparative | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-10-04 22:15 | yes | 10 | 8 s |
| Comparative | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-10-04 22:29 | yes | 6 | 11 s |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-10-04 22:37 | yes | 18 | 32 s |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-10-04 22:24 | yes | 17 | 7 s |
| Comparative | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-10-04 22:18 | yes | 22 | 11 s |
| Comparative | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-10-04 22:25 | yes | 12 | 14 s |
| Comparative | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-10-04 22:20 | yes | 22 | 43 s |
| Comparative | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-10-04 22:23 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Comparative | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-10-04 22:21 | yes | 15 | 51 s |
| Comparative | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-10-04 22:32 | yes | 24 | 26 s |
| Comparative | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-10-04 22:29 | yes | 21 | 117 s |
| Comparative | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-10-04 22:34 | yes | 22 | 77 s |
| Comparative | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-10-04 22:30 | yes | 8 | 32 s |
| Comparative | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-10-04 22:17 | yes | 23 | 46 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-10-04 22:30 | yes | 19 | 9 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-10-04 22:25 | yes | 3 | 6 s |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-10-04 22:29 | yes | 21 | 37 s |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-10-04 22:40 | yes | 18 | 3 s |
| Budget constrained | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-10-04 22:22 | yes | 23 | 11 s |
| Budget constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-10-04 22:28 | yes | 14 | 7 s |
| Budget constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-10-04 22:14 | yes | 21 | 26 s |
| Budget constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-10-04 22:29 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Budget constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-10-04 22:20 | no | 0 | 24 s |
| Budget constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-10-04 22:26 | yes | 16 | 38 s |
| Budget constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-10-04 22:34 | yes | 17 | 36 s |
| Budget constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-10-04 22:34 | yes | 16 | 57 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-10-04 22:25 | yes | 2 | 16 s |
| Budget constrained | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-10-04 22:34 | yes | 17 | 30 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-10-04 22:25 | yes | 18 | 9 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-10-04 22:26 | yes | 3 | 9 s |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-10-04 22:17 | yes | 11 | 31 s |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-10-04 22:17 | yes | 20 | 4 s |
| Scale constrained | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-10-04 22:39 | yes | 20 | 9 s |
| Scale constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-10-04 22:35 | no | 0 | 10 s |
| Scale constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-10-04 22:36 | yes | 24 | 55 s |
| Scale constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-10-04 22:13 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Scale constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-10-04 22:34 | no | 0 | 31 s |
| Scale constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-10-04 22:33 | yes | 24 | 33 s |
| Scale constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-10-04 22:25 | yes | 24 | 47 s |
| Scale constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-10-04 22:31 | no | 0 | 51 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-10-04 22:26 | yes | 4 | 31 s |
| Scale constrained | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-10-04 22:39 | yes | 25 | 36 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-10-04 22:34 | yes | 27 | 15 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-10-04 22:25 | yes | 5 | 6 s |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-10-04 22:30 | yes | 20 | 33 s |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-10-04 22:36 | yes | 19 | 4 s |
| Negative framing | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-10-04 22:28 | yes | 22 | 8 s |
| Negative framing | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-10-04 22:36 | yes | 15 | 9 s |
| Negative framing | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-10-04 22:32 | yes | 24 | 55 s |
| Negative framing | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-10-04 22:22 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Negative framing | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-10-04 22:31 | yes | 10 | 46 s |
| Negative framing | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-10-04 22:17 | yes | 23 | 49 s |
| Negative framing | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-10-04 22:26 | yes | 23 | 45 s |
| Negative framing | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-10-04 22:13 | yes | 22 | 40 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-10-04 22:37 | yes | 4 | 17 s |
| Negative framing | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-10-04 22:30 | yes | 23 | 28 s |
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
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