Three of fourteen models named ZayZoon first on the direct prompt; zero named Branch. ZayZoon was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Branch by thirteen and ZayZoon carries 39 labels and Branch 22, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
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 earned wage access page.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, ZayZoon and Branch were named in the same answer thirty-one times, of the 133 answers naming ZayZoon and the 69 naming Branch. In those answers Branch took the first choice zero times and ZayZoon nine.
| 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 |
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.
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of five in this category shown.
“Fees can be material for frequent users: one ZayZoon employer-support page lists a $5 transaction fee for a payout” GPT-6 Luna · comparative prompt · soft negative
“More suited to SMBs (<200 employees) than mid-sized companies” DeepSeek V4 Flash · paraphrase prompt · soft negative
“The best earned wage access provider for a company with a limited budget is ZayZoon, which is free for employers to offer with a flat employee fee.” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
“the best earned wage access (EWA) provider for a company with a limited budget is typically ZayZoon” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
“ZayZoon and Rain are widely considered the top choices for mid-market B2B companies” Qwen 3.7 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of five in this category shown.
“Branch (especially the “Flex”/direct‑to‑consumer model) | • Poor customer‑service reviews” MiniMax M2.5 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Core access may be conditional on switching banking to the Branch app; higher fees for withdrawals outside the Branch ecosystem” DeepSeek V4 Flash · comparative prompt · soft negative
“Branch stands out as the best option because: 1. Completely free for employers with no hidden costs” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · first choice
“For a company with a very limited benefits budget, I’d start with Branch.” GPT-6 Luna · budget prompt · first choice
“Choose DailyPay or Branch if: You are a large employer looking for a reliable, scalable solution” GLM 4.7 FlashX · comparative prompt · alternative
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.