# Principal alternatives: what AI models name instead, October 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. 239 of the 252 answers in the 1 category where Principal holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/vendors/principal/alternatives/

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- Guideline: 46
- Fidelity Investments: 32
- Human Interest: 24
- Fidelity Advantage 401: 23
- ADP Retirement Services: 16
- Vanguard: 12

## 401(k) providers

**Small business**: 83 of 84 answers did not name Principal.

- Guideline: first choice in 34 of those 83
- Human Interest: first choice in 12 of those 83
- Fidelity Advantage 401: first choice in 8 of those 83
- ADP Retirement Services: first choice in 3 of those 83
- ADP Starter-k Complete: first choice in 2 of those 83
- Employee Fiduciary: first choice in 2 of those 83
- Vanguard: first choice in 2 of those 83
- ADP Starter 401(k) Complete: first choice in 1 of those 83

**Mid-market**: 78 of 84 answers did not name Principal (Principal is #8 of 12 at 2%).

- Fidelity Investments: first choice in 10 of those 78
- Guideline: first choice in 10 of those 78
- Fidelity Advantage 401: first choice in 9 of those 78
- Human Interest: first choice in 9 of those 78
- ADP Retirement Services: first choice in 8 of those 78
- Vanguard: first choice in 7 of those 78
- Empower Retirement: first choice in 5 of those 78
- Charles Schwab: first choice in 2 of those 78

**Enterprise**: 78 of 84 answers did not name Principal (Principal is #8 of 11 at 2%).

- Fidelity Investments: first choice in 22 of those 78
- Fidelity Advantage 401: first choice in 6 of those 78
- ADP Retirement Services: first choice in 5 of those 78
- Empower Retirement: first choice in 4 of those 78
- Human Interest: first choice in 3 of those 78
- Vanguard: first choice in 3 of those 78
- Guideline: first choice in 2 of those 78
- T. Rowe Price: first choice in 2 of those 78

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.