Small business=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
0%from 0% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 13 pointsRank 35 → 21 of 57
13 categories · RankedNamely
59Judge labels
4First choices
19Negative labels
13 / 14Models named it
13Categories
October 2026 Edition. Every number here is derived from the raw labels under vendor table v2026-10.7, every buyer segment counted.
Best standing
6% in Benefits administration for mid-market buyers
Rank 7 of 67 in the mid-market standingaccepted challenger
0 of 14 models made it the first choice on the direct prompt; 21% of its 14 labels there were negative.
What the models named instead of Namely →By buyer segmentRead the same way at every buyer size.
Small business14 of 57
0%2 labels
under the label threshold
Mid-market7 of 67
6%14 labels
accepted challenger
Enterprise57 of 61
0%2 labels
under the label threshold
In benefits administration · each standing computed within its segment · bars are 0 to 100 · the accent bar is the product's own best reading
Standing by category
Every category where a model named Namely for a mid-market B2B company. Share is first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts; rank is within every product named in that category.
| Category | Function | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Quadrant | Since September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benefits administration | Core HR and payroll | 6% | 7 of 67 | 21% | 14 | accepted challenger | ▲+2Since September 2026: 2% → 5%, +2 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| HR help desk and case management | Onboarding and employee experience | 2% | 21 of 108 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Zoho Desk at 19% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 2% now. |
| HRIS and HCM platforms | Core HR and payroll | 0% | 66 of 66 | 71% | 7 | under 10 labels · led by Rippling at 26% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| Leave and absence management | Core HR and payroll | 0% | 31 of 95 | 20% | 5 | under 10 labels · led by BambooHR at 28% | ▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| Payroll software | Core HR and payroll | 0% | 29 of 58 | 25% | 4 | under 10 labels · led by Rippling at 20% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| Flexible benefits and lifestyle spending accounts | Compensation and total rewards | 0% | 20 of 90 | 0% | 2 | under 10 labels · led by Compt at 40% | ▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| 360 feedback | Performance and talent management | 0% | 42 of 73 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Lattice at 34% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. |
| Employee onboarding | Onboarding and employee experience | 0% | 46 of 87 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Rippling at 25% | ▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| HR compliance and policy management | Core HR and payroll | 0% | 70 of 97 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Rippling at 19% | ▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| HSA and FSA administrators | Compensation and total rewards | 0% | 54 of 111 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by HealthEquity at 29% | |
| People analytics | Workforce planning and analytics | 0% | 47 of 114 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Crunchr at 22% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. |
| Performance management | Performance and talent management | 0% | 34 of 85 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Lattice at 43% | goneNot named this edition; 0% in September 2026. |
| Workforce management suites | Core HR and payroll | 0% | 71 of 78 | 100% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Rippling at 17% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. |
Movement
Since September 2026, Namely held within the floor in all thirteen categories: no change cleared 13 points.
Best category · Benefits administration · by segment
Mid-market▲+2Since September 2026: 2% → 5%, +2 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
5%from 2% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 11 pointsRank 11 → 7 of 62
Enterprise=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
0%from 0% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 13 pointsRank 41 → 48 of 52
All categories · Mid-market
| Category | September 2026 | Now | Change | Reading | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benefits administration | 2% | 5% | ▲+2Since September 2026: 2% → 5%, +2 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 11 → 7 of 67 |
| HR help desk | 0% | 2% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 2% now. | New this edition | Rank 21 of 108, unchanged |
| Employee onboarding | 2% | 0% | ▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 11 → 46 of 87 |
| Leave | 2% | 0% | ▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 12 → 31 of 95 |
| Flexible benefits | 2% | 0% | ▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 9 → 20 of 90 |
| HR compliance | 2% | 0% | ▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 20 → 70 of 97 |
| HRIS and HCM platforms | 0% | 0% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 40 → 66 of 66 |
| Payroll software | 0% | 0% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 42 → 29 of 58 |
| 360 feedback | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 42 of 73, unchanged |
| HSA & FSA admin | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 54 of 111, unchanged |
| People analytics | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 47 of 114, unchanged |
| Performance management | 0% | 0% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 49 → 34 of 85 |
| Workforce management sui | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 71 of 78, unchanged |
Shares here are read over the models both editions asked, so they can differ by a point or two from the standing above, which counts every model in this edition.
The floor is 13 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one is noise, and both are shown. Movement is read over the twelve models both editions asked; GPT-6 Luna, Muse Glimmer 30B joined this edition and are in the standing but not yet in the comparison. How the floor is measured · The editions
By model
How each model treated Namely across every prompt where it was named for a mid-market B2B company. Fourteen models, six prompts per category.ShowHide
By model
How each model treated Namely across every prompt where it was named for a mid-market B2B company. Fourteen models, six prompts per category.
ShowHide| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Negative | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Grok 4.1 Fast | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Mistral Small | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kimi K2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
By framing
Which of the six questions produced the naming. By model says how often; this says asked what. The first-choice count on the right carries the marks of the models that produced it.
FramingLabels by classFirst choices
Direct12 labelsNone
Paraphrase15 labels4
Comparative8 labelsNone
Budget-constrained2 labelsNone
Scale-constrained4 labelsNone
Negative18 labelsNone
First choiceAlternativeMentionNegative59 labels in all, every segment counted; 4 of the 4 first choices count toward share, since the comparative and negative framings do not. The bar is one segment per label class, to scale within the framing.
What the models said for it
Verbatim evidence the judge attached to positive labels.
“Namely is repeatedly called out as a mid-size fit when you want benefits enrollment tied to HR records and payroll deductions.” Muse Glimmer 30B · Benefits administration · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“I would particularly recommend Namely because: 1. It's built specifically for midsized companies” MiniMax M2.5 · HR help desk · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Request demos from ADP, Gusto, and Namely (most frequently recommended for your size)” MiniMax M2.5 · Benefits administration · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Namely – Best Overall for Mid-Sized Companies” Kimi K2 · Benefits administration · paraphrase prompt · first choice
And against it
Verbatim evidence attached to negative labels. A warning on a product with few labels is a warning; on a product with many, it is one voice among them.
“PlanSource & Namely ... force users to spend excessive time troubleshooting reporting errors” Qwen 3.7 Flash · Benefits administration · negative prompt · hard negative
“Multiple sources (Reddit, HiBob analysis) explicitly advise against it” Grok 4.1 Fast · HRIS and HCM platforms · negative prompt · hard negative
“Reddit users specifically warn against Namely and Paycom” Perplexity Sonar · HRIS and HCM platforms · negative prompt · hard negative
“Users specifically advise against using Namely” Kimi K2 · HRIS and HCM platforms · negative prompt · hard negative
Named alongside
The products named in the same answers as Namely, over the 59 answers that named it. Took the first choice instead counts the answers where the other product was the first choice and Namely was named but was not.ShowHide
Named alongside
The products named in the same answers as Namely, over the 59 answers that named it. Took the first choice instead counts the answers where the other product was the first choice and Namely was named but was not.
ShowHideProductSame answerTook the first choice insteadHead to head
A head-to-head page exists where both products are among a category's top eight. The other rows are the same fact without a page behind them, so they link to the product instead.
What carried it into the answer
The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Namely. A fact about retrieval, not a lever on the model.
Citations exist only for the models that return a source list, five of the fourteen in this edition, so these counts come from 57 of the 59 answers that named Namely and are not a share of its labels.
Domains cited
guideflow.com31
hibob.com30
forbes.com18
g2.com18
peoplemanagingpeople.com18
capterra.com15
hr.software14
hrtechsaas.com14
gusto.com11
rippling.com11
180 of the 180 domain citations in answers naming Namely came from somebody else's page.
Pages cited
Pages are listed as the models cited them.
Search and answers
namely.com is not in Google's top ten for any of the category's searches. In the answers, Namely takes 6% of first choices and Gusto takes 20%.ShowHide
Search and answers
namely.com is not in Google's top ten for any of the category's searches. In the answers, Namely takes 6% of first choices and Gusto takes 20%.
ShowHideIn search
Google, US estimatesPosition for “benefits administration platform”
–
not in the top ten
Position for “benefits administration platforms”
–
not in the top ten
- Searches for its name, Google
- 8,100 a month (“namely”)
- AI search demand for its name, est.
- 4,616,131 a month
- Organic visits to its site
- about 42,113 a month
- Searches its site ranks for
- 9,192 · 239 in the top three
- Sites linking to it
- 3,311
- Paid Google search
- No ads found in the estimate; that does not mean it runs none
In answers
This editionShare of first choices
6%
rank 7 of 67 in benefits administration
Segment leader
20%
Gusto
- First choices
- 4 across its categories
- Named in
- 59 answers
- Its own site cited
- in 57 of the answers that named it
Search figures are US estimates from DataForSEO, read September 28, 2026; AI search demand is its modeled, directional estimate, not a count of queries to any assistant. The answers are this edition's. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
What it publishes
ShowHide
What it publishes
ShowHideAddresses on namely.com
755
subdomains included
Content
616
counted in the table below
Documentation
4
Product · Integration
3 · 1
| Kind | Pages | Last 90 days | 2025-10 to 2026-09 | Latest | Categories named |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blog | 560 | 1 | 2026-07-23 | Payroll software, HRIS and HCM platforms | |
| News or press | 15 | 0 | 2023-12-14 | Employee onboarding | |
| Comparison | 12 | 0 | 2022-12-12 | ||
| Glossary or explainer | 12 | 0 | 2024-07-30 | HRIS and HCM platforms | |
| Template or tool | 11 | 0 | 2025-12-17 | Employee onboarding | |
| Case study | 3 | undated | |||
| Podcast or video | 2 | 0 | 2023-02-01 | ||
| Webinar or virtual event | 1 | undated |
Most recent
- 2026-07-23Namely time magazine top worktech companies 2026 blog
- 2026-06-02Hidden costs black box ai midsize business blog
- 2026-05-20How 401k payroll integration makes hr easy blog
- 2026-02-27Tips for 27 pay periods in 2026 blog
- 2026-01-206 compliance issues hr leaders prepare 2026 blog
- 2026-01-20Us minimum wage rates state by state updates blog
How it is countedHide how it is counted
Every page namely.com exposes, subdomains included. Kind is read from the address and title. The last 90 days, the latest date and the twelve months count pages by when they were published, from the site's feeds, a date in the address, or the page's own publication date, read from up to a hundred of its most recently changed pages; a page that says only when it last changed is counted in its kind but not in when, so the recent counts are a floor, and a kind none of whose pages gives a publication date reads undated. An event counts as online when its address or title says so (webinar, on demand, virtual or online summit); a conference, summit, trade show, expo or roadshow that does not say so is counted as a conference or event, which on a vendor's site is mostly in person. Read September 29, 2026.
Follow Namely
An email the morning each edition publishes: where this product moved, where it held, and by how much against the noise floor. One address, confirmed by a click; a stop link in every email.
Already following? Everything you follow, with a stop for each.
The company
Namely is its own company.ShowHide
The company
Namely is its own company.
ShowHideIn its own words
Stated by the vendor, not checked- Positioning
- All-In-One HCM Platform, Payroll & Managed Services
- For
- midsized companies
- Price stated
- Starting at $9 per employee per month; pricing based on complexity, modules, and services required namely.com/lp/pricing
- Starting price
- 9 namely.com/lp/pricing
- Free plan or trial
- We are happy to offer a guided tour of Namely anytime you need. namely.com/lp/pricing
- Not stated on the pages read
- Integrations, certifications, hosting, customers
What Namely's own pages state, read September 28, 2026: namely.com, namely.com/lp/pricing, namely.com/compliance, namely.com/platform, namely.com/partners. A claimed page can correct any of them.
Is this your product?
Claim this page
Claiming is free and changes nothing in the data. A claimed page shows a verified contact who is told when each edition publishes and when Namely's standing changes by more than the noise floor; the right to propose corrections to the vendor table, meaning names the judge wrote that should or should not read as Namely, applied by version and listed in the change log; and a one-line description supplied by the vendor and marked as such.
What a new claim receivesHide what a new claim receives
A new claim receives the current edition's vendor brief for Namely by email, built from the raw record of the edition. It shows:
- where Namely is named, by buyer and by framing, and which cells hold its first choices;
- the claims the models make when they name it, ranked, with the strongest and the weakest quoted;
- its vocabulary against the segment leader's, and the pages the models cited;
- who was chosen in the answers that did not name Namely, and every reason the record gives;
- a battlecard for each top rival: the head-to-head split, why they win, and the reservation quoted against them;
- one page of published figures cleared to show a buyer.