Pay equity for small business buyers
Asked as “pay equity analysis software”, and as “pay transparency compliance tool”, on behalf of a small B2B company. 43 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, twelve models each.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.
01The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all twelve models, for a small B2B company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrant
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its vendor page.
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative40%
Key
01Gusto21%
Gusto21%02Pave7%
Pave7%03Figures7%
Figures7%04Payscale7%
Payscale7%05BambooHR5%
BambooHR5%06PayAnalytics5%
PayAnalytics5%07Trusaic PayParity2%
Trusaic PayParity2%08Syndio2%
Syndio2%02What they warned about
Two of twelve models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.4 mini, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Perplexity Sonar, Mistral Small, DeepSeek V4 Flash, Qwen 3.7 Flash, Kimi K2, GLM 4.7 FlashX and MiniMax M2.5 changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
Syndio69%
22 of 32 labels negative · 7 of 12 models · 6 hard negative
“Small businesses should **avoid enterprise‑grade, complex tools** (like Syndio) that demand dedicated rewards staff and quote‑based pricing” GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt
Trusaic PayParity45%
10 of 22 labels negative · 7 of 12 models · 1 hard negative
“What to Avoid on a Tight Budget - ... **Trusaic PayParity** — these are enterprise/statistical audit platforms priced for large organizations” DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt
beqom67%
6 of 9 labels negative · 5 of 12 models · 2 hard negative
“beqom – Enterprise total-compensation management suite, typically $100,000–$500,000+ per year. Massive implementation overhead” DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt
Gusto19%
5 of 27 labels negative · 5 of 12 models
“Gusto is a pay equity tool that is suitable for small businesses... However, it has some limitations, such as not having statistical regression or intersectional analysis” Llama 4 Maverick, negative prompt
03What they cite
Citations exist only for the models that return a source list: twelve of the twelve in this edition, and all six flagship models on the expanded tier.
Sites the answers cite
67 of 72 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 6 of those lists are Google grounding redirects that name no site and are left out of the counts. 919 links across 161 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page.
vendor site · Gartner44 answers · 45 citations · 10 models
vendor site · People Managing People38 answers · 58 citations · 10 models
38 answers · 42 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Soteria HR37 answers · 39 citations · 10 models
vendor site · PayAnalytics27 answers · 43 citations · 10 models
25 answers · 42 citations · 10 models
20 answers · 28 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Guideflow20 answers · 20 citations · 8 models
20 answers · 20 citations · 10 models
18 answers · 22 citations · 9 models
vendor site · beqom17 answers · 18 citations · 10 models
14 answers · 20 citations · 8 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
44 answers · 10 models
37 answers · 9 models
37 answers · 10 models
37 answers · 10 models
21 answers · 9 models
20 answers · 8 models
20 answers · 9 models
19 answers · 10 models
15 answers · 8 models
13 answers · 9 models
04How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ModelDirect“What is the best pay equity analysis software for a small B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which pay transparency compliance tool would you recommend to a small business that sells to other businesses?”Comparative“What are the top pay equity tools for a small team and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best pay equity analysis software for a small company with a tight budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 30 person company evaluating a pay equity analysis software. What should we look at?”Negative“Which pay equity tools should a small business avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Haiku 4.5EEOPayCompUpChangedBambooHR, Compeaseagainst: Payscale, beqomHRSoftagainst: Syndiono first choicenothing named
Three alternatives
Parity Software, Payscale, beqomTwo alternatives
HiBob, SixFifty's Pay Transparency Policy BuilderOne alternative
CompportTwo alternatives
Compport, Salary.com CompAnalystGPT-5.4 miniSalary.com's Pay Equity Suite / CompAnalystno first choiceChangedSalary.com Pay EquityPaycoragainst: Salary.com CompAnalyst / Pay Equity Suiteno first choicenothing named
Two alternatives
OutSolve, PayscaleThree alternatives
ADP DataCloud, Payscale, SysarbOne alternative
Trusaic PayParityGemini 3.5 FlashOpenCompagainst: SyndioPaveChangedagainst: Syndio, beqomWorkleap CompensationAeqium, Parity Softwareagainst: Syndio, Trusaic PayParity, beqomPayAnalyticsagainst: Syndio, Trusaic PayParityagainst: Affirmity, Syndio, Trusaic PayParity
Four alternatives
Pave, PayAnalytics, Soteria HR, Workleap CompensationTwo alternatives
Complete, Workleap CompensationFour alternatives
CandorIQ, Compease, Pave, PequityTwo alternatives
CompUp, The LEEP ToolkitThree alternatives
ChartHop, Figures, PayscalePerplexity SonarFiguresagainst: Gusto, VisierTalentUpChangedPave, PayAnalyticsPaveno first choicenothing named
One alternative
PayAnalyticsTwo alternatives
Trusaic PayParity, beqomThree alternatives
BambooHR, Syndio, SysarbOne alternative
Comprehensive.ioGrok 4.1 FastGustoagainst: SyndioGustoHeldagainst: Payscale, RavioGustoagainst: Syndio, Workday HCMGustoagainst: Figures, PayAnalytics, SyndioBambooHR, Payscaleagainst: Syndio, Trusaic PayParityagainst: BetterComp, Mercer, Payscale, Visier
Two alternatives
BambooHR, OpenCompOne alternative
BambooHRFour alternatives
BambooHR, ChartHop, Figures, OpenCompFive alternatives
Comprehensive.io, Excel/Google Sheets, OpenComp, Pave, RavioThree alternatives
Compport, SalaryCube, Workleap CompensationMistral SmallBambooHRRavioChangedagainst: Sysarb, beqomGusto, PaveCompport, Figuresno first choiceagainst: Gusto
Two alternatives
Figures, Trusaic PayParityOne alternative
DeelTwo alternatives
PayAnalytics, SyndioOne alternative
Trusaic PayParityDeepSeek V4 FlashPayAnalyticsagainst: SyndioSalary Range BuilderChangedagainst: PayAnalytics, PayscalePayAnalyticsagainst: SyndioGustoagainst: Payscale, Syndio, Trusaic PayParityno first choiceagainst: Barley, CaptivateIQ, Compport, Gusto, Pave, Payscale, Syndio, Varicent, Xactly, beqom
Two alternatives
Figures, Soteria HRThree alternatives
BetterComp, Figures, SalaryCubeThree alternatives
Aeqium, Gusto + OpenComp, PaveThree alternatives
Green Mountain / Vermont Women's Fund Toolkit, HiBob's Pay Equity Audit Template, PayAnalyticsOne alternative
Soteria HRLlama 4 Maverickno first choiceno first choiceHeldno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceagainst: Gusto
Qwen 3.7 FlashGusto + OpenCompGustoChangedagainst: PayAnalytics, Payscale, Syndio, beqomChartHopagainst: PayAnalytics, Trusaic PayParityGustoagainst: Syndio, Workday Pay Equityno first choicenothing named
Three alternatives
Deel, Payscale, RipplingTwo alternatives
BambooHR, RipplingThree alternatives
BambooHR, OptionImpact / Vantage Point, PaveThree alternatives
Deel, Excel/Google Sheets + Public Data, Salary.comKimi K2OpenCompCompUp, PayscaleChangedPaveagainst: PayAnalytics, Syndio, Trusaic PayParityGustoagainst: SyndioCompport, Figures, Paveagainst: SAP SuccessFactors, Workday HCMagainst: Affirmity, Government-provided DIY toolkits, Syndio, Trusaic PayParity
Two alternatives
Gusto, Trusaic PayParityTwo alternatives
Figures, RavioFour alternatives
ChartHop, Figures, Gusto, OpenComp Market PulseTwo alternatives
PayAnalytics, SalaryCubeTwo alternatives
BambooHR, GustoGLM 4.7 FlashXPayscaleEU Pay Transparency Obligations Checker, Pay Transparency Compliance CheckerChangedPaveagainst: SyndioGustoagainst: Syndio, Trusaic PayParityno first choiceagainst: Deel Payroll, Gusto, Soteria HR, Syndio
Three alternatives
Deel, Gusto, Salary Equity AnalyzerThree alternatives
Gusto + OpenComp Integration, Payscale, SysarbThree alternatives
ChartHop, Deel, Gusto + OpenCompThree alternatives
Deel, OpenComp Market Pulse, PayscaleMiniMax M2.5Syndio, Trusaic PayParityPay Transparency Compliance CheckerChangedPaveGustoagainst: Trusaic PayParityno first choicenothing named
Two alternatives
Deel, PayAnalyticsTwo alternatives
PayAnalytics, PayscaleThree alternatives
Figures, Gusto, SyndioOne alternative
StrideBold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
05The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency. Full answer text is in the free responses file. Download the record
Seventy-two rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 18:47 | yes | 13 | 8 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 20:24 | yes | 3 | 6 s |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 19:24 | yes | 22 | 26 s |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 20:18 | yes | 20 | 7 s |
| Direct recommendation | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 20:46 | yes | 33 | 20 s |
| Direct recommendation | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 19:47 | yes | 8 | 28 s |
| Direct recommendation | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 20:08 | yes | 13 | 25 s |
| Direct recommendation | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 20:57 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Direct recommendation | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 18:15 | yes | 19 | 39 s |
| Direct recommendation | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 19:06 | yes | 13 | 41 s |
| Direct recommendation | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 20:15 | yes | 25 | 30 s |
| Direct recommendation | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 21:26 | yes | 6 | 17 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 19:48 | yes | 17 | 8 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 21:42 | no | 0 | 4 s |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 22:06 | yes | 15 | 60 s |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 19:06 | yes | 20 | 4 s |
| Paraphrase | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 19:40 | yes | 35 | 18 s |
| Paraphrase | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 21:44 | yes | 13 | 8 s |
| Paraphrase | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 18:00 | yes | 22 | 31 s |
| Paraphrase | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 18:40 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 20:18 | yes | 12 | 70 s |
| Paraphrase | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 18:29 | yes | 11 | 21 s |
| Paraphrase | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 20:35 | yes | 20 | 38 s |
| Paraphrase | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 18:32 | yes | 11 | 28 s |
| Comparative | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 20:51 | yes | 9 | 7 s |
| Comparative | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 19:30 | yes | 6 | 10 s |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 18:46 | yes | 18 | 27 s |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 21:13 | yes | 20 | 7 s |
| Comparative | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 19:05 | yes | 22 | 18 s |
| Comparative | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 20:23 | yes | 10 | 8 s |
| Comparative | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 18:59 | yes | 25 | 34 s |
| Comparative | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 21:21 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Comparative | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 17:58 | yes | 28 | 106 s |
| Comparative | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 20:42 | yes | 19 | 33 s |
| Comparative | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 19:21 | yes | 22 | 280 s |
| Comparative | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 21:16 | yes | 20 | 36 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 20:54 | yes | 9 | 5 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 18:04 | yes | 4 | 5 s |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 18:55 | yes | 18 | 24 s |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 21:19 | yes | 18 | 6 s |
| Budget constrained | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 18:02 | yes | 40 | 20 s |
| Budget constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 20:46 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Budget constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 18:39 | yes | 29 | 21 s |
| Budget constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 18:29 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Budget constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 20:17 | yes | 9 | 21 s |
| Budget constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 19:35 | yes | 20 | 46 s |
| Budget constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 18:08 | yes | 25 | 39 s |
| Budget constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 20:10 | yes | 8 | 17 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 20:49 | no | 0 | 5 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 21:04 | no | 0 | 11 s |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 19:36 | yes | 18 | 23 s |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 18:08 | yes | 20 | 9 s |
| Scale constrained | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 21:31 | yes | 11 | 10 s |
| Scale constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 19:42 | no | 0 | 6 s |
| Scale constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 18:18 | yes | 19 | 22 s |
| Scale constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 21:26 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Scale constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 21:24 | yes | 14 | 32 s |
| Scale constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 20:47 | yes | 7 | 24 s |
| Scale constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 19:37 | yes | 14 | 75 s |
| Scale constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 20:20 | yes | 5 | 17 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 18:47 | yes | 16 | 8 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 21:07 | no | 0 | 6 s |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 22:04 | yes | 15 | 50 s |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 19:34 | yes | 20 | 5 s |
| Negative framing | Grok 4.1 Fast | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex | 2026-09-17 20:03 | yes | 16 | 10 s |
| Negative framing | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 21:20 | yes | 5 | 6 s |
| Negative framing | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-09-17 18:02 | yes | 21 | 70 s |
| Negative framing | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 19:05 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Negative framing | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 20:09 | yes | 10 | 22 s |
| Negative framing | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 21:25 | yes | 19 | 50 s |
| Negative framing | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 21:13 | yes | 13 | 76 s |
| Negative framing | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 19:35 | yes | 17 | 66 s |
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
Category-scoped readings
Affirmity PayStat read as Affirmity
BambooHR Elite read as BambooHR
CompAnalyst read as Salary.com CompAnalyst
Comprehensive read as Comprehensive.io
Figures HR read as Figures
Figures.hr read as Figures
Lattice read as Lattice Compensate
PayScale Insight read as Payscale
Payscale Ascent read as Payscale
SAP read as SAP SuccessFactors
Syndio PayEQ read as Syndio
Trusaic read as Trusaic PayParity
Workday read as Workday HCM
Workleap read as Workleap Compensation
Unresolved, counted raw
Anchored
Canadian CHRC Pay Equity Plan Toolkit
CompBldr
Composer
EDGE Certified Foundation
EU Pay Transparency Obligations Checker
Excel/Google Sheets + Public Data
Excel/Sheets + Power Query
Government-provided DIY toolkits (like Ontario's)
Green Mountain / Vermont Women's Fund Toolkit
Gusto + OpenComp Integration
HiBob's Pay Equity Audit Template
KPMG's Pay Transparency Tool
OptionImpact / Vantage Point
OutSolve
RevEng Consulting
Salary Range Builder
Salary.com CompAnalyst / Pay Equity Suite
Salary.com's Pay Equity Suite / CompAnalyst
SixFifty's Pay Transparency Policy Builder
TalentUp
The LEEP Toolkit
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.