# HealthEquity vs Lively: which do AI models recommend for HSA & FSA admin, October 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, HSA and FSA administrators. Six of fourteen models named HealthEquity first on the direct prompt; two named Lively. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/rewards/hsa-and-fsa-administration/healthequity-vs-lively/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HealthEquity | 29% | #1 of 12 | 20% | 59 | 14 of 14 |
| Lively | 15% | #2 of 12 | 6% | 34 | 13 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Grok 4.1 Fast: both first (first choices: HealthEquity, Lively) (alternatives: Fidelity HSA)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: healthequity first (first choices: HealthEquity) (alternatives: Ameriflex, Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group, WEX Benefits)
- Perplexity Sonar: healthequity first (first choices: HealthEquity) (alternatives: Associated Benefits Connection / Associated Bank, Benepass, WEX Benefits)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: healthequity first (first choices: HealthEquity, WEX Health) (alternatives: Fidelity HSA, Lively, Navia Benefit Solutions)
- MiniMax M2.5: healthequity first (first choices: HealthEquity) (alternatives: Businessolver, Further, WEX Health)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: healthequity first (first choices: HealthEquity) (alternatives: Allegiance, Lively, WEX Health)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: lively first (first choices: Lively) (alternatives: Fidelity HSA, Further Health, HSA Bank, HealthEquity, Navia Benefit Solutions)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: Forma) (alternatives: Lively, WEX Benefits)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Benepass, Forma) (alternatives: Fidelity HSA, Lively, Navia Benefit Solutions, Sentinel Benefits)
- Kimi K2: neither first, one named (first choices: Flores Financial Services) (alternatives: Businessolver, HealthEquity, WEX Health)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Businessolver) (alternatives: Alegeus, Fidelity HSA, Flores, HSA Bank, HealthEquity, Lively, WEX Health)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither first, one named (first choices: WEX Benefits) (alternatives: HealthEquity)
- Mistral Small: neither named
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named

## What the models said about HealthEquity

- "HealthEquity has a very low rating (1.2/5) on Trustpilot, with many users reporting issues with customer service, account access, and problems with payments and refunds." (Mistral Small, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "High volume of complaints (900+ on BBB in 3 years); claim denials, poor customer service, long hold times, app glitches, refund delays" (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Rates HealthEquity as Fair (2.5/5) with a strong emphasis on negative reviews and a recommendation against using the service." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Largest independent HSA custodian in the U.S. ... Best For: Large employers wanting a single vendor for all consumer-directed benefits" (Kimi K2, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Recognized as America's top HSA administrator, with a significant market share and millions of accounts under management." (Mistral Small, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "HealthEquity stands out as a scalable HSA platform with strong integration capabilities and robust reporting tools." (Muse Glimmer 30B, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Lively

- "Avoid if budget is tight: Lively for very small teams, because of the minimum monthly fee." (Perplexity Sonar, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "Why not Lively? Their $200 minimum means if you have 5 employees, you pay $40/person/month" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "Fidelity and Lively stand out as the strongest HSA administrators based on low or no fees" (Grok 4.1 Fast, budget prompt, first choice)
- "For HSAs, look at Lively (4.4/5 Trustpilot), Fidelity (strong investing, better service)." (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt, first choice)
- "Lively: A top choice for mid-market companies that want a "tech-first" approach." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)

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. 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.