401(k) providers · October 2026 Edition
Human Interest vs Vanguard
Seven of fourteen models named Human Interest first on the direct prompt; zero named Vanguard. Human Interest was named by thirteen of the fourteen models and Vanguard by fourteen and Human Interest carries 42 labels and Vanguard 46, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in three categories this edition.
First-choice share20%5%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate7%4%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#7A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels4246A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Human Interest reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.ADP Retirement Services was named alongside these two in nine of the fourteen direct answers. Human Interest vs Guideline · Human Interest vs ADP Retirement Services · Human Interest vs Fidelity Investments
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 401(k) providers page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Human InterestFirst choices, of fourteen modelsVanguard
Direct701 against Human Interest
Paraphrase11
Comparative01
Budget-constrained32
Scale-constrained00
Negative042 against Human Interest · 2 against Vanguard
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Human Interest and Vanguard were named in the same answer sixty-one times, of the 105 answers naming Human Interest and the 122 naming Vanguard. In those answers Vanguard took the first choice five times and Human Interest thirteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Human Interest and Vanguard stood in it.
| 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 | | |
Human Interest Vanguard first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Human Interest on the left and Vanguard on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Human Interest and Vanguard stood in it.
Human Interest first, Vanguard an alternative
7 of 14 modelsVanguard was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Human Interest alternatives: Fidelity Investments, Principal, Vanguard
Gemini 3.5 FlashHuman Interest alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Fidelity Investments, Principal Financial Group
Perplexity SonarADP Retirement Services, Human Interest alternatives: Empower Retirement, Fidelity Advantage 401, John Hancock, Securian Financial
Grok 4.1 FastGuideline, Human Interest alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Charles Schwab, Fidelity Advantage 401, Principal, Vanguard
DeepSeek V4 FlashFidelity Investments, Guideline, Human Interest alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, T. Rowe Price
GLM 4.7 FlashXHuman Interest alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Fidelity Investments, Vanguard
MiniMax M2.5Human Interest alternatives: Empower Retirement, T. Rowe Price
Neither was the first choice, one was named
3 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Qwen 3.7 FlashFidelity Investments, Guideline, Lighthouse Group alternatives: Charles Schwab, Vanguard
Kimi K2Fidelity Investments alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, T. Rowe Price, Vanguard
Muse Glimmer 30BEmpower Retirement, Fidelity Investments alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Employee Fiduciary, Guideline, Human Interest, Nationwide, Vanguard
Neither was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.GPT-5.4 miniADP Retirement Services alternatives: Empower Retirement, Gusto, ShareBuilder 401k
Mistral SmallFidelity Advantage 401 alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
GPT-6 LunaADP 401(k) Premier alternatives: Empower Retirement, Fidelity Workplace, Principal
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.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Human Interest leads by thirteen points.
Human Interest15%#2 of 9Vanguard2%#7 of 9Mid-marketThe figures above
Human Interest leads by fifteen points.
Human Interest20%#1 of 12Vanguard5%#7 of 12Enterprise
Human Interest leads by two points.
Human Interest7%#5 of 11Vanguard4%#6 of 11What the models said about Human Interest
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“slam poor support, payroll delays/errors, and communication issues” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · hard negative
“Human Interest, Slavic401k, Guideline, and Ubiquity/Online 401(k) in various user reviews or forum posts reporting high costs, poor service” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“notable player, but it has historically been more focused on smaller businesses than true mid-market complexity” GPT-5.4 mini · direct prompt · soft negative
“Best Tech-Forward & Automated: Human Interest ... If you use Rippling, Gusto, or BambooHR and want the lowest administrative burden: Go with Human Interest.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“Human Interest is recommended as the best fit for mid-market employers that want managed 401k administration with structured onboarding and conversion support.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · direct prompt · first choice
“Human Interest: Best Overall Value & Ease of Use ... go with Human Interest or Guideline” Gemini 3.5 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Vanguard
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.
“Vanguard is excellent for investing but not recommended for 401(k) administration” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · hard negative
“their 401(k) administration has drawn criticism... recommended using Vanguard funds through another provider instead” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“For Large/Midsize Businesses: Vanguard, Fidelity Investments, and Charles Schwab are renowned for offering excellent low-cost institutional index funds.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · first choice
“consider providers like Vanguard or Fidelity, which are known for lower fees and better investment options” Mistral Small · negative prompt · first choice
“Want lowest-cost investing and a very large, established provider? Look at Vanguard.” GPT-5.4 mini · comparative prompt · first choice
Also compared
Human Interest vs GuidelineHuman Interest vs ADP Retirement ServicesHuman Interest vs Fidelity InvestmentsHuman Interest vs Fidelity Advantage 401Human Interest vs Empower RetirementHuman Interest vs PrincipalGuideline vs VanguardADP Retirement Services vs VanguardFidelity Investments vs VanguardFidelity Advantage 401 vs VanguardEmpower Retirement vs VanguardVanguard vs PrincipalAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full 401(k) providers standing
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.