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PEO providers · November 2026 Edition

ADP TotalSource vs Justworks

Eleven of fourteen models named ADP TotalSource first on the direct prompt; one named Justworks. Both were named by all fourteen models and ADP TotalSource carries 50 labels and Justworks 43, so the shares are not directly comparable.

ADP TotalSource

endorsed leader

Named in five categories this edition.

Justworks

accepted challenger

Named in eleven categories this edition.

First-choice share37%28%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate16%7%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#2A position in a field of 7; printed, not drawn.
Labels5043A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, ADP TotalSource reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.TriNet was named alongside these two in fourteen of the fourteen direct answers. ADP TotalSource vs TriNet · ADP TotalSource vs Rippling · ADP TotalSource vs Insperity

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 PEO 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.
ADP TotalSourceFirst choices, of fourteen modelsJustworks
Direct1112 against Justworks
Paraphrase60
Comparative96
Budget-constrained0124 against ADP TotalSource
Scale-constrained00
Negative014 against ADP TotalSource · 1 against Justworks
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 November 2026 Edition, ADP TotalSource and Justworks were named in the same answer 118 times, of the 191 answers naming ADP TotalSource and the 313 naming Justworks. In those answers Justworks took the first choice fifty-two times and ADP TotalSource twenty-five.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where ADP TotalSource and Justworks stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
Claude Haiku 4.5
GPT-5.4 mini
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Perplexity Sonar
Grok 4.20
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
ADP TotalSource Justworks first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, ADP TotalSource on the left and Justworks on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where ADP TotalSource and Justworks stood in it.

ADP TotalSource first, Justworks an alternative

11 of 14 modelsJustworks was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
Claude Haiku 4.5ADP TotalSource alternatives: Engage PEO, Insperity, TriNet
GPT-5.4 miniADP TotalSource alternatives: Justworks, TriNet
Perplexity SonarADP TotalSource alternatives: Deel PEO, Rippling, TriNet
Mistral SmallADP TotalSource, TriNet alternatives: Insperity, Rippling
DeepSeek V4 FlashADP TotalSource alternatives: Insperity, Rippling, TriNet
Qwen 3.7 FlashADP TotalSource alternatives: Insperity, Rippling, TriNet
Kimi K2ADP TotalSource alternatives: Insperity, Paychex PEO, Rippling, TriNet
GLM 4.7 FlashXADP TotalSource alternatives: Paychex PEO, Rippling, TriNet
MiniMax M2.5ADP TotalSource alternatives: Insperity, Paychex PEO, Rippling, TriNet
GPT-6 LunaADP TotalSource alternatives: Insperity, TriNet
Muse Glimmer 30BADP TotalSource, Paychex PEO alternatives: Insperity, TriNet

Justworks first, ADP TotalSource an alternative

1 of 14 modelsADP TotalSource was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
Grok 4.20Justworks alternatives: ADP TotalSource, Rippling, TriNet

Neither was the first choice, one was named

2 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.
Gemini 3.5 FlashRippling alternatives: ADP TotalSource, Insperity, TriNet
Llama 4 MaverickRippling alternatives: ADP TotalSource, Paychex PEO, TriNet

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
Justworks leads by sixty-nine points.
Justworks76%#1 of 7
ADP TotalSource7%#4 of 7
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: ADP TotalSource leads at mid-market.
ADP TotalSource37%#1 of 7
Justworks28%#2 of 7
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
ADP TotalSource leads by sixty points.
ADP TotalSource67%#1 of 8
Justworks6%#4 of 8
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about ADP TotalSource

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.

“cite serious issues such as failure to submit employment taxes and state reports... Many former clients recommend switching to alternatives” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Multiple reports of payroll tax errors and filing mistakes” MiniMax M2.5 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Many others (e.g., TriNet, ADP TotalSource, Insperity, Paychex) require custom quotes, often resulting in $100–$150+ per employee/month” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · soft negative
“Most businesses (small to enterprise) | Custom pricing | #1 market share (22.8%)... For most small/midsize businesses: ADP TotalSource or Paychex PEO” GLM 4.7 FlashX · comparative prompt · first choice
“ADP TotalSource and TriNet are top choices due to their scalability, industry expertise, and comprehensive service offerings” Mistral Small · direct prompt · first choice
“ADP TotalSource is widely considered the gold standard for mid-market companies transitioning away from smaller providers.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · direct prompt · first choice

What the models said about Justworks

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of four in this category shown.

“Be cautious with: Tech-first or startup-oriented PEOs (e.g., Justworks, Rippling).” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Choose Justworks or Rippling if you have fewer than 50 employees, want a modern software interface, and desire transparent flat rates.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Justworks is widely regarded as the best PEO (Professional Employer Organization) option for companies with a limited budget” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · first choice
“Choose Justworks if you are a startup or small business wanting transparent pricing and a clean interface.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
Also compared

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.