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

HR AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, HSA and FSA administrators. Two of fourteen models named Lively first on the direct prompt; one named WEX Benefits. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/rewards/hsa-and-fsa-administration/lively-vs-wex-benefits/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lively | 15% | #2 of 12 | 6% | 34 | 13 of 14 |
| WEX Benefits | 6% | #4 of 12 | 25% | 32 | 12 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

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

## 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)

## What the models said about WEX Benefits

- "Avoid for tight budgets: Larger players like WEX or Navia (~$4+ PEPM)" (Grok 4.1 Fast, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "Frequently criticized on platforms like Reddit and Trustpilot" (MiniMax M2.5, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "B2B brokers often recommend massive legacy platforms (like WEX or HealthEquity) because they are easy to bundle. However, these legacy players often charge employees "transfer-out" fees" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, direct prompt, soft negative)
- "For a mid-sized B2B company, WEX is the strongest overall recommendation." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "A good default recommendation for a mid-sized B2B company is WEX" (GPT-5.4 mini, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "I'd put WEX first for a combined HSA/FSA program" (GPT-6 Luna, 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.