401(k) providers · October 2026 Edition
Guideline vs Principal
Three of fourteen models named Guideline first on the direct prompt; zero named Principal. Guideline was named by eleven of the fourteen models and Principal by nine and Guideline carries 32 labels and Principal 13, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share20%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate9%8%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#8A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels3213A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Guideline reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.ADP Retirement Services was named alongside these two in nine of the fourteen direct answers. Human Interest vs Guideline · Human Interest vs Principal · Guideline vs ADP Retirement Services
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the 401(k) providers page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
GuidelineFirst choices, of fourteen modelsPrincipal
Direct30
Paraphrase11
Comparative00
Budget-constrained70
Scale-constrained00
Negative003 against Guideline · 1 against Principal
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Guideline and Principal stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | |||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | ||||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | ||||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | ||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | ||
| Llama 4 Maverick | ||||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | ||||
| Kimi K2 | | | ||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | ||||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | |||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | |
Guideline Principal first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Guideline on the left and Principal on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Guideline and Principal stood in it.
Guideline first, Principal an alternative
3 of 14 modelsPrincipal was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Grok 4.1 FastGuideline, Human Interest alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Charles Schwab, Fidelity Advantage 401, Principal, Vanguard
DeepSeek V4 FlashFidelity Investments, Guideline, Human Interest alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, T. Rowe Price
Qwen 3.7 FlashFidelity Investments, Guideline, Lighthouse Group alternatives: Charles Schwab, Vanguard
Neither was the first choice, one was named
3 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Human Interest alternatives: Fidelity Investments, Principal, Vanguard
GPT-6 LunaADP 401(k) Premier alternatives: Empower Retirement, Fidelity Workplace, Principal
Muse Glimmer 30BEmpower Retirement, Fidelity Investments alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Employee Fiduciary, Guideline, Human Interest, Nationwide, Vanguard
Neither was named
8 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.GPT-5.4 miniADP Retirement Services alternatives: Empower Retirement, Gusto, ShareBuilder 401k
Gemini 3.5 FlashHuman Interest alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Fidelity Investments, Principal Financial Group
Perplexity SonarADP Retirement Services, Human Interest alternatives: Empower Retirement, Fidelity Advantage 401, John Hancock, Securian Financial
Mistral SmallFidelity Advantage 401 alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
Kimi K2Fidelity Investments alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, T. Rowe Price, Vanguard
GLM 4.7 FlashXHuman Interest alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Fidelity Investments, Vanguard
MiniMax M2.5Human Interest alternatives: Empower Retirement, T. Rowe Price
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Guideline leads by forty-three points.
Guideline43%#1 of 9Principal0%#– of 9Mid-marketThe figures above
Guideline leads by eighteen points.
Guideline20%#2 of 12Principal2%#8 of 12Enterprise
What the models said about Guideline
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“BBB customer reviews include stark warnings, e.g.: "Avoid at all costs." "You will never be able to get your money out."” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · hard negative
“Users call it "crooks" and warn against it.” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · hard negative
“reporting high costs, poor service, or rollover/admin problems” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“Guideline is typically the best choice for companies with a limited budget due to its low monthly base fee ($39), no setup costs” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · first choice
“Start with Guideline if you prioritize ease, integrations, and scalability—it's frequently top-rated for budget-conscious SMBs.” Grok 4.1 Fast · budget prompt · first choice
“Guideline is often the strongest pick because it is explicitly positioned as an affordable, fully automated 401(k)” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Principal
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“Common Examples: *Transamerica, Principal, John Hancock, Voya, Equitable, and Lincoln Financial*.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Principal or Fidelity if you want comprehensive features, broad investment options, and strong institutional support” Claude Haiku 4.5 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Principal Financial Group offers 401(k) recordkeeping mostly to small and mid-size businesses.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · direct prompt · alternative
“Want broad plan design options and employee engagement tools? Look at Principal.” GPT-5.4 mini · comparative prompt · alternative
Also compared
Human Interest vs GuidelineHuman Interest vs PrincipalGuideline vs ADP Retirement ServicesGuideline vs Fidelity InvestmentsGuideline vs Fidelity Advantage 401Guideline vs Empower RetirementGuideline vs VanguardADP Retirement Services vs PrincipalFidelity Investments vs PrincipalFidelity Advantage 401 vs PrincipalEmpower Retirement vs PrincipalVanguard vs PrincipalAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full 401(k) providers standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.