AI recruiting assistants · Mid-market
GoPerfect→
Manatal33%New leader · moved
31 points clear of GoPerfect's current 2%.
October 2026 Edition
October 2026 Edition
Published . This page is the permanent record of the October 2026 Edition: the standing of every category as measured in it, under vendor table v2026-11.3. The unqualified category addresses and the home page carry the latest edition.
58 categories · 14 models · 348 prompts · 4,872 answers · 25,742 judge labels, all published
The leaderboard
The first choice in all 58 categories · 51 unsettledShare is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all fourteen models. Each row opens that category's page for this edition.What the verdicts mean
Talent acquisition
Candidate assessmentSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Learning and development
Learning management systemsSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Onboarding and employee experience
Frontline employee appsSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
SMB
37%↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: Udemy Business (34%) replaces LinkedIn Learning (24% then, 23% now), 11 points clear, inside the 13-point floor.Contested
Mid-market
48%▲+18Since September 2026: 32% → 50%, +18 points. Past the 13-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.Clear leader
Enterprise
25%↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: Udemy Business (27%) replaces LinkedIn Learning (30% then, 17% now), 10 points clear, inside the 13-point floor.Contested
Compensation and total rewards
Flexible benefits and lifestyle spending accountsSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Talent acquisition
Applicant tracking systemsMid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.
Workforce planning and analytics
Workforce planningSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Onboarding and employee experience
Employee engagement surveysMid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.
Talent acquisition
AI recruiting assistantsSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Learning and development
Course authoring toolsMid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.
Core HR and payroll
Global payroll and employer of recordSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Onboarding and employee experience
Recognition and rewardsSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
SMB
60%▼−1Since September 2026: 60% → 59%, −1 point. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.Clear leader
Mid-market
29%↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: Nectar (26%) replaces Bonusly (22% then, 23% now), 3 points clear, inside the 13-point floor.Contested
Compensation and total rewards
HSA and FSA administratorsMid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.
Performance and talent management
Talent intelligenceSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Core HR and payroll
Whistleblowing and investigationsSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Compensation and total rewards
Financial wellness platformsMid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.
Talent acquisition
Job advertising and distributionSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Onboarding and employee experience
Employee giving and volunteeringA different leader in every segment
Talent acquisition
Staffing agency platformsSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Onboarding and employee experience
Employee wellbeing and mental healthSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Talent acquisition
Interview schedulingSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Core HR and payroll
Benefits administrationSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
SMB
62%▼−7Since September 2026: 68% → 61%, −7 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.Clear leader
Mid-market
20%↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: ADP Workforce Now (21%) replaces PlanSource (23% then, 5% now), 16 points clear, past the 13-point floor.Contested
Onboarding and employee experience
HR help desk and case managementA different leader in every segment
Compensation and total rewards
Compensation benchmarking dataSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Performance and talent management
Skills intelligenceSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
SMB
45%▲+5Since September 2026: 35% → 40%, +5 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.Clear leader
Mid-market
18%↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: Skills Base (16%) replaces TalentGuard (19% then, 10% now), 6 points clear, inside the 13-point floor.Contested
Compensation and total rewards
Compensation managementSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
Talent acquisition
Technical hiring assessmentsMid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.
Mid-market
17%▼−12Since September 2026: 28% → 16%, −12 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.Contested
Enterprise
51%▲+7Since September 2026: 42% → 49%, +7 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.Clear leader
Workforce planning and analytics
Contingent workforce managementSmall business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.
SMB
26%↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: VectorVMS (26%) replaces SimpleVMS (31% then, 17% now), 9 points clear, inside the 13-point floor.
Mid-market
16%↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: VectorVMS (16%) replaces SimpleVMS (35% then, 4% now), 12 points clear, inside the 13-point floor.
Onboarding and employee experience
Internal communications and intranetA different leader in every segment
Compensation and total rewards
Pay equityMid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.
Mid-market
12%▼−4Since September 2026: 17% → 13%, −4 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.Contested
Enterprise
62%▲+9Since September 2026: 53% → 62%, +9 points. Inside the 13-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.Clear leader
Movement since September 2026
Between the September 2026 Edition and the October 2026 Edition the leader changed in twelve of fifty categories, four of them by more than the noise floor of 13 points. Fourteen of 498 changes in first-choice share clear the floor. 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.
50Categories compared
498Products changed
14Moved past the floor
12Leader changes
6Verdict changes
Leader changes, mid-market buyers · 12, of which 4 cleared the floor
GoPerfect→Manatal33%Benefits administration · Mid-market
PlanSource→
ADP Workforce Now21%New leader · moved
16 points clear of PlanSource's current 5%.
Internal communications and intranet · Mid-market
Happeo→
Microsoft Teams14%New leader · moved
14 points clear of Happeo's current 0%.
Learning experience platforms · Mid-market
Learn Amp→
360Learning25%New leader · moved
14 points clear of Learn Amp's current 11%.
Names swapped within the floor · 8, read as unsettled
- HR AI assistants · Mid-marketWorkativ Assistant→MeBeBot 22%13 points apart, inside the floor
- Contingent workforce management · Mid-marketSimpleVMS→VectorVMS 16%12 points apart, inside the floor
- Skills intelligence · Mid-marketTalentGuard→Skills Base 16%6 points apart, inside the floor
- Time and attendance · Mid-marketUKG Ready→Paylocity 13%6 points apart, inside the floor
- Employee onboarding · Mid-marketBambooHR→Rippling 24%4 points apart, inside the floor
- Recruiting CRM and sourcing · Mid-marketLever→Gem 15%4 points apart, inside the floor
- Workforce management suites · Mid-marketADP Workforce Now→Rippling 18%4 points apart, inside the floor
- Recognition and rewards · Mid-marketBonusly→Nectar 26%3 points apart, inside the floor
Verdict changes{for_seg}
- Applicant tracking systems · Mid-marketClear leader→Contested
Greenhouse leads at 39% - Background screening · Mid-marketClear leader→Contested
Checkr leads at 30% - Employee engagement surveys · Mid-marketClear leader→Contested
Culture Amp leads at 35% - Internal talent marketplace · Mid-marketContested→Clear leader
Fuel50 leads at 45% - Online course libraries · Mid-marketContested→Clear leader
Udemy Business leads at 50% - Video interviewing · Mid-marketConsensus→Clear leader
Spark Hire leads at 49%
Biggest movers in first-choice share, mid-market buyers
−3135% → 4%
MovedCleared the floor by 18 points · rank 1 → 9 of 110
+2112% → 33%
MovedCleared the floor by 8 points · rank 3 → 1 of 84
+1926% → 45%
MovedCleared the floor by 6 points · rank 1 of 93, unchanged
+192% → 21%
MovedCleared the floor by 6 points · rank 6 → 1 of 60
−1868% → 50%
MovedCleared the floor by 5 points · rank 1 of 115, unchanged
−1823% → 5%
MovedCleared the floor by 5 points · rank 1 → 6 of 60
+1832% → 50%
MovedCleared the floor by 5 points · rank 1 of 89, unchanged
−1728% → 11%
MovedCleared the floor by 4 points · rank 1 → 5 of 83
−1719% → 2%
MovedCleared the floor by 4 points · rank 1 → 10 of 84
−1616% → 0%
MovedCleared the floor by 3 points · rank 1 → 19 of 83
−1622% → 6%
MovedCleared the floor by 3 points · rank 2 → 4 of 117
−1517% → 2%
MovedCleared the floor by 2 points · rank 3 → 8 of 55
0Floor 13 pts · measured
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 can't be told apart from repeat variation, and both are shown. Each index measures its own floor from its own repeat, over its own categories, so the floor differs from one index to the next. 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 · Every change resolves to its category page.
The models asked
Fourteen models: the generally available models a buyer meets as a default in an assistant, with search on. Two joined this edition and zero left. A model joins at an edition boundary and stays at least three editions; movement is read over the models both editions asked, so a join never moves a share on its own. The roster rule.
| Model | Version asked for | Lab | How it searches | In the set since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5 | Anthropic | native search | October 2026 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini | OpenAI | native search | October 2026 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | native search | October 2026 | |
| Perplexity Sonar | sonar | Perplexity | native search | October 2026 |
| Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning | xAI | gateway, Perplexity search | November 2026 |
| Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small | Mistral | gateway, Perplexity search | October 2026 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash | DeepSeek | gateway, Perplexity search | October 2026 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick | Meta | gateway, Perplexity search | October 2026 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash | Alibaba | gateway, Perplexity search | October 2026 |
| Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 | Moonshot | gateway, Perplexity search | October 2026 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx | Z.AI | gateway, Perplexity search | October 2026 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 | MiniMax | gateway, Perplexity search | October 2026 |
| GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | OpenAI | native search | October 2026 · joined this edition |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b | Meta | gateway, Perplexity search | October 2026 · joined this edition |