# 401(k) providers for enterprise buyers: what AI models recommend, October 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. Asked as "401(k) provider" and as "workplace retirement plan provider", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of an enterprise B2B company. Added to the October 2026 Edition on October 4, 2026; its answers are read by the distilled judge (ai-indexes-judge-qwen3-14b-run3), not the claude-opus-5 judge of the earlier categories. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/rewards/401k-providers/enterprise/

**Standing:** Fidelity Investments leads with 37% of first choices; verdict contested. 46 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| # | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fidelity Investments | 37% | 0% | 27 |
| 2 | Fidelity Advantage 401 | 13% | 12% | 26 |
| 3 | ADP Retirement Services | 9% | 8% | 40 |
| 4 | Empower Retirement | 7% | 11% | 45 |
| 5 | Human Interest | 7% | 31% | 13 |
| 6 | Vanguard | 4% | 28% | 46 |
| 7 | Guideline | 4% | 36% | 11 |
| 8 | Principal | 2% | 17% | 12 |
| 9 | T. Rowe Price | 0% | 7% | 15 |
| 10 | Charles Schwab | 0% | 7% | 15 |
| 11 | Principal Financial Group | 0% | 18% | 11 |

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Human Interest, Vanguard
- GPT-5.4 mini: ADP Retirement Services; alternatives Fidelity Advantage 401, Paychex Retirement Services, Vanguard
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Fidelity Investments; alternatives Charles Schwab, Human Interest, Principal Financial Group
- Perplexity Sonar: ADP 401(k) Enhanced; alternatives Fidelity Advantage 401
- Grok 4.1 Fast: Fidelity Advantage 401; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Alight Solutions, Empower Retirement, Vanguard
- Mistral Small: ADP Retirement Services, Mercer; alternatives Fidelity Investments
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, Vanguard
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: ADP Retirement Services, Alight, Fidelity Institutional; alternatives Empower Retirement, MassMutual, Vanguard Retirement Plan Services
- Kimi K2: Empower Retirement, Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, T. Rowe Price, Vanguard
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, Vanguard
- MiniMax M2.5: Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Vanguard
- GPT-6 Luna: Fidelity Advantage 401; alternatives Alight, Empower Retirement, Principal
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Fidelity Investments Institutional Services; alternatives Charles Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Empower Retirement, Mercer, Vanguard Institutional 401k

## Sources the answers cite

79 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- spotsaas.com: 44 answers, 79 citations
- adp.com: 44 answers, 53 citations
- forbes.com: 33 answers, 35 citations
- goldenwealthcapital.com: 29 answers, 41 citations
- worldmetrics.org: 25 answers, 46 citations
- myshortlister.com: 25 answers, 28 citations
- zipdo.co: 24 answers, 36 citations
- gitnux.org: 22 answers, 35 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://adp.com/what-we-offer/benefits/retirement/401k.aspx (40 answers)
- https://spotsaas.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-best-401k-provider (38 answers)
- https://spotsaas.com/blog/10-best-401k-providers-2026 (31 answers)
- https://forbes.com/advisor/retirement/best-401k-plans (30 answers)
- https://goldenwealthcapital.com/blog/the-top-401k-providers-proven-list-from-a-401-k-expert (26 answers)
- https://myshortlister.com/401-k-plan/vendor-list (23 answers)
- https://aol.com/finance/best-401-k-plans-2023-215234539.html (17 answers)
- https://goldenwealthcapital.com/blog/best-401k-providers-2026-comparison-guide-latest (15 answers)
- https://fitsmallbusiness.com/best-401k-companies (13 answers)
- https://finantrix.com/buyer-guides/401k-management-software-recordkeepers (12 answers)

## Warned against

- Vanguard: 13 of 46 labels negative. "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)
- Empower Retirement: 5 of 45 labels negative. "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)
- Guideline: 4 of 11 labels negative. "SMB-Focused Fintechs & Modern Startups (Avoid for Enterprise)" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt)
- ForUsAll: 3 of 3 labels negative. "consistently receive employer complaints for slow data updates, automated rollouts/distributions upon employment changes, high administrative fees" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://hr-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://hr-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as HR AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, hr-ai-index.com.