# Pave vs Aeqium: which do AI models recommend for pay equity, September 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, Pay equity. Zero of twelve models named Pave first on the direct prompt; one named Aeqium. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/rewards/pay-equity/pave-vs-aeqium/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pave | 10% | #4 of 9 | 0% | 12 | 8 of 12 |
| Aeqium | 2% | #6 of 9 | 6% | 17 | 10 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- GLM 4.7 FlashX: aeqium first (first choices: Aeqium) (alternatives: ChartHop, Compport, Figures, HiBob, Pave, PayAnalytics, Salary.com CompAnalyst, Syndio)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: Payscale) (alternatives: Aeqium, Compport, PayAnalytics)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Syndio) (alternatives: Aeqium, HiBob, Pave, PayAnalytics, Trusaic PayParity)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: PayAnalytics, Syndio) (alternatives: ChartHop, Pave, Trusaic PayParity)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (first choices: OpenComp) (alternatives: Barley, CompUp, Compport, Comprehensive.io, HRSoft, Ravio)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Syndio) (alternatives: PayAnalytics, Payscale, beqom)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither named (first choices: PayAnalytics, Pequity) (alternatives: Syndio, Workleap Compensation)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: Payscale) (alternatives: Barley, Compport, Salary.com Pay Equity, Syndio)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: PayAnalytics) (alternatives: Barley, Payscale, Salary.com, Syndio, Trusaic PayParity)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: Syndio) (alternatives: Payscale, Trusaic PayParity)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: PayAnalytics, Syndio) (alternatives: Payscale, Trusaic PayParity)

## What the models said about Aeqium

- "a full regression analysis suite like Aeqium or Syndio (which are powerful but typically reserved for much larger budgets)" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "Best overall dedicated platform: Aeqium – strong statistical rigor, traceable variance, and governance‑ready reporting." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, direct prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve 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.