Index › HR › Onboarding and employee experience › Employee onboarding › Small business · September 2026 Edition
Employee onboarding for small business buyers
Asked as “employee onboarding software”, and as “new hire onboarding platform”, on behalf of a small B2B company. 47 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, twelve models each.
Standing · first-choice share
38%
Contested · Gusto 21%
38BambooHR21Gusto13Zoho People28others
38% of first choices, contested.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.
The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all twelve models, for a small B2B company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrant
Show the one product at 0%, ordered by negative rate
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its product page.
Head to headHead-to-head pages are published for mid-market buyers, so these open on mid-market figures, not small business.
All ten head-to-head pages: the top five products, each against each
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative50%
Key
01BambooHR38%
BambooHR38%02Gusto21%
Gusto21%03Zoho People13%
Zoho People13%04Rippling9%
Rippling9%05FirstHR4%
FirstHR4%06Trainual2%
Trainual2%07Homebase2%
Homebase2%08Deel0%
Deel0%What they warned about
Seven of twelve models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Perplexity Sonar, DeepSeek V4 Flash, Qwen 3.7 Flash, Kimi K2 and GLM 4.7 FlashX changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
Rippling35%
14 of 40 labels negative · 9 of 12 models · 3 hard negative
“Things to avoid on a tight budget... Rippling \u2014 $40 base + $8/employee, plus sales-led pricing” DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt
BambooHR11%
6 of 53 labels negative · 5 of 12 models · 2 hard negative
“Things to avoid on a tight budget- BambooHR \u2014 excellent but has a $250/month minimum” DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt
SAP SuccessFactors100%
5 of 5 labels negative · 4 of 12 models · 5 hard negative
“Enterprise-First Platforms (Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle) Why avoid for small business:” Kimi K2, negative prompt
Workday83%
5 of 6 labels negative · 4 of 12 models · 5 hard negative
“Why avoid for small business: - Massively overbuilt and overpriced for teams under 50 employees” Kimi K2, negative prompt
What they cite
Twelve of the twelve models returned a source list in this edition: four return the pages they cited and eight the search results they consulted.
Sites the answers cite
65 of 72 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 811 links across 207 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page.
36 answers · 37 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Softr32 answers · 32 citations · 10 models
vendor site · FirstHR28 answers · 42 citations · 11 models
25 answers · 27 citations · 9 models
25 answers · 27 citations · 9 models
22 answers · 29 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Gusto22 answers · 24 citations · 9 models
vendor site · G219 answers · 20 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Rippling19 answers · 19 citations · 10 models
vendor site · HR Cloud17 answers · 18 citations · 11 models
16 answers · 16 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Siit16 answers · 16 citations · 7 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
36 answers · 10 models
30 answers · 10 models
25 answers · 9 models
24 answers · 8 models
22 answers · 9 models
18 answers · 8 models
18 answers · 8 models
18 answers · 9 models
16 answers · 9 models
16 answers · 7 models
Search against answers
Each company's standing in the answers beside its site's footprint in Google search, one row a site: the products the models named on it with their shares, and the share they add up to; monthly searches on Google, and DataForSEO's estimate of AI search demand (modeled from search signals, directional, not a count of queries to any assistant), for the most-searched of the company's and its products' names (the name is in each row's hover text); estimated monthly organic visits to the site; and its best position in Google's top ten for “best employee onboarding software”, “employee onboarding software”, “onboarding platforms”. US estimates from DataForSEO and Google's Ads Transparency Center. A small company's site, or a mid-sized company's site for its flagship, is marked company; a product on a large parent's site (Google, Microsoft) has no site figures. A column with no figures for this category is left out, and an empty cell means none were seen, not none exist. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
| Company and products | Share | Own site cited | Name searches, Google | AI search demand, est. | Organic visits | Paid search a month, est. | Google ads, last 30 days | Best Google position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BambooHR bamboohr.com | 38% | 1074 | 90,500 | 551 | 1,055,247 | $44,698 | 106 | 1 |
| Gusto gusto.com | 21% | 742 | 673,000 | 10,560 | 1,629,483 | 118 | ||
| Zoho parent site Zoho People 13% | 13% | 309 | 6,600 | 50 | ||||
| Rippling rippling.com | 9% | 1438 | 301,000 | 17,886 | 712,399 | $42,013 | 115 | |
| FirstHR firsthr.app | 4% | 29 | 70 | 0 | 20,963 | |||
| Trainual trainual.com | 2% | 107 | 22,200 | 94 | 40,498 | 10 | ||
| Homebase joinhomebase.com | 2% | 353 | 201,000 | 3,839 | 472,253 | $793 | 120 | |
| Connecteam connecteam.com | 2% | 693 | 49,500 | 288 | 312,449 | $13,504 | 120 | |
| Dock dock.us | 2% | 1 | 90,500 | 81,222 | 39,016 | 0 | ||
| GoCo goco.io | 2% | 33 | 14,800 | 102 | 40,283 |
Google's top ten for the three searches hold 20 sites; 1 of them are among the sites the models cited here (fitsmallbusiness.com). The first result for “best employee onboarding software” is paycor.com.
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.ShowHide
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ShowHideModelDirect“What is the best employee onboarding software for a small B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which new hire onboarding platform would you recommend to a small business that sells to other businesses?”Comparative“What are the top onboarding platforms for a small team and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best employee onboarding software for a small company with a tight budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 30 person company evaluating an employee onboarding software. What should we look at?”Negative“Which onboarding platforms should a small business avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Haiku 4.5BambooHRagainst: RipplingBambooHRHeldGustoGoCono first choiceagainst: Paychex Flex
Two alternatives
Gusto, TrainualFour alternatives
Dock, Gusto, OnRamp, RipplingSeven alternatives
BambooHR, Deel, GoCo, Oyster, SkyPrep, Trainual, WorkwizeTwo alternatives
CharlieHR, Zoho PeopleGPT-5.4 miniGustoagainst: RipplingGustoHeldGustoagainst: Justworks, RipplingGustoagainst: Deelno first choicenothing named
One alternative
BambooHRThree alternatives
ADP RUN, BambooHR, RipplingTwo alternatives
ADP RUN, BambooHROne alternative
BambooHRGemini 3.5 FlashRipplingRipplingHeldGustoZoho Peopleagainst: FreshteamRipplingagainst: SAP SuccessFactors, Workdayagainst: ADP, Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM, Paychex Flex, SAP SuccessFactors, WorkBright, Workday
Five alternatives
BambooHR, Deel, Gusto, Remote, TrainualThree alternatives
Deel, Gusto, TrainualSeven alternatives
Connecteam, Deel, Donut, Remote, Rippling, Teamflect, TrainualThree alternatives
Connecteam, Gusto, OnPayFive alternatives
BambooHR, Doozy, Gusto, HiBob, TrainualPerplexity SonarBambooHRArrows, DockChangedagainst: Gainsight, Precursive, RocketlaneBambooHRGustono first choiceagainst: Gainsight, Precursive, Rocketlane
Three alternatives
Gusto, Rippling, WorkBrightOne alternative
OnRampFour alternatives
Gusto, Homebase, Rippling, TrainualThree alternatives
Eddy, Homebase, Zoho PeopleGrok 4.20BambooHRBambooHRHeldagainst: Ripplingno first choiceConnecteam, TalentHRagainst: BambooHR, Ripplingno first choiceagainst: Appcues, Enboarder, Pendo, Rippling, UserGuiding, WalkMe
Three alternatives
Gusto, Rippling, Zoho PeopleTwo alternatives
Gusto, Zoho PeopleFour alternatives
BambooHR, FirstHR, Gusto, RipplingThree alternatives
Deel, FirstHR, GustoMistral SmallBambooHRBambooHRHeldBambooHRGusto, Homebaseno first choiceagainst: ADP Workforce Now, BambooHR, Gusto, Paychex Flex, Rippling
Two alternatives
JazzHR, Zoho PeopleOne alternative
GustoFour alternatives
FirstHR, Gusto, Homebase, RipplingOne alternative
BambooHRDeepSeek V4 FlashBambooHRTrainualChangedBambooHR, Gustoagainst: RipplingZoho Peopleagainst: BambooHR, Click Boarding, Rippling, TangoBambooHRagainst: Asana, BambooHR, Monday.com, Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM, Paycom, Paycor, Paylocity, Rippling, SAP SuccessFactors, Trainual, Trello, Workday
Three alternatives
Gusto, Process Street, RipplingThree alternatives
BambooHR, Gusto, PipedriveThree alternatives
Enboarder, Trainual, WorkBrightThree alternatives
Eddy, FirstHR, GustoThree alternatives
Connecteam, Gusto, WorkBrightLlama 4 MaverickBambooHRBambooHRHeldno first choiceZoho Peopleno first choiceagainst: Rippling
Two alternatives
ADP RUN, JazzHRThree alternatives
ADP RUN, Gusto, Workforce.comThree alternatives
BambooHR, FirstHR, GustoQwen 3.7 FlashGusto, RipplingBambooHRChangedBambooHR, GustoZoho Peopleagainst: BambooHRno first choiceagainst: Asana, Deel, Notion, Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM, Oyster, Paylocity, Rippling, SAP SuccessFactors, Slack, Trello, UKG Pro, Workday
Two alternatives
Deel, EnboarderTwo alternatives
FirstHR, GustoThree alternatives
Homebase, Rippling, TalentHRFour alternatives
Click Boarding, Gusto, Homebase, QualeeKimi K2BambooHR, GustoFirstHR, GustoChangedBambooHR, GustoFirstHR, Zoho PeopleBambooHRagainst: ADP RUN, Oracle HCM Onboarding, Rippling, SAP SuccessFactors, Workday
Three alternatives
Process Street, Rippling, Zoho PeopleTwo alternatives
BambooHR, HomebaseFive alternatives
Deel, Donut, Rippling, Sapling, WorkBrightThree alternatives
BambooHR, Gusto, HomebaseTwo alternatives
Gusto, Workable HRGLM 4.7 FlashXBambooHRGustoChangedBambooHRZoho Peopleno first choiceagainst: ADP, Rippling
Four alternatives
FirstHR, Gusto, Rippling, Zoho PeopleThree alternatives
BambooHR, CharlieHR, RipplingSeven alternatives
Connecteam, Deel, Gusto, Rippling, Trainual, Waybook, Zoho PeopleSix alternatives
BambooHR, Google Forms + Sheets, Gusto, OnPay, QuickBooks Workforce, RipplingMiniMax M2.5BambooHRBambooHRHeldFirstHR, GustoBambooHR, Gustono first choiceagainst: ADP RUN, BambooHR, Gusto
Three alternatives
Gusto, Rippling, Zoho PeopleThree alternatives
Gusto, Rippling, WorkdayThree alternatives
BambooHR, Enboarder, InnformOne alternative
HR CloudBold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency.
Seventy-two rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 18:46 | yes | 9 | 9 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 21:46 | yes | 2 | 6 s |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 19:53 | yes | 8 | 17 s |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 19:30 | yes | 20 | 6 s |
| Direct recommendation | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 20:04 | yes | 15 | 11 s |
| Direct recommendation | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 19:55 | yes | 8 | 7 s |
| Direct recommendation | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 19:11 | yes | 8 | 17 s |
| Direct recommendation | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 18:55 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Direct recommendation | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 20:17 | no | 0 | 25 s |
| Direct recommendation | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 20:00 | yes | 18 | 52 s |
| Direct recommendation | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 19:11 | yes | 12 | 57 s |
| Direct recommendation | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 20:47 | yes | 15 | 24 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 21:41 | yes | 17 | 7 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 20:48 | yes | 5 | 5 s |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 22:06 | yes | 11 | 48 s |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 21:45 | yes | 20 | 4 s |
| Paraphrase | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 17:53 | yes | 24 | 14 s |
| Paraphrase | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 19:32 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Paraphrase | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 21:42 | yes | 10 | 10 s |
| Paraphrase | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 18:14 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Paraphrase | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 19:30 | yes | 5 | 18 s |
| Paraphrase | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 18:09 | yes | 8 | 28 s |
| Paraphrase | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 19:00 | yes | 10 | 21 s |
| Paraphrase | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 19:48 | yes | 14 | 34 s |
| Comparative | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 20:57 | yes | 9 | 9 s |
| Comparative | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 18:23 | yes | 5 | 6 s |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 18:00 | yes | 10 | 22 s |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 18:27 | yes | 18 | 8 s |
| Comparative | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 20:48 | yes | 24 | 14 s |
| Comparative | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 21:46 | yes | 5 | 6 s |
| Comparative | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 19:02 | yes | 20 | 19 s |
| Comparative | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 20:14 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Comparative | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 19:55 | yes | 5 | 17 s |
| Comparative | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 18:26 | yes | 14 | 52 s |
| Comparative | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 21:16 | yes | 10 | 33 s |
| Comparative | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 20:24 | yes | 5 | 15 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 20:05 | yes | 10 | 8 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 20:40 | yes | 3 | 5 s |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 21:56 | yes | 15 | 42 s |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 19:40 | yes | 20 | 5 s |
| Budget constrained | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 20:17 | yes | 25 | 15 s |
| Budget constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 17:57 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Budget constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 20:44 | yes | 9 | 10 s |
| Budget constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 20:33 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Budget constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 19:39 | yes | 10 | 18 s |
| Budget constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 21:31 | yes | 10 | 17 s |
| Budget constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 20:34 | yes | 21 | 79 s |
| Budget constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 21:40 | yes | 5 | 11 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 21:36 | no | 0 | 5 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 18:36 | no | 0 | 8 s |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 22:04 | yes | 12 | 50 s |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 19:01 | yes | 20 | 9 s |
| Scale constrained | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 21:12 | yes | 13 | 10 s |
| Scale constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 19:36 | no | 0 | 5 s |
| Scale constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 21:23 | yes | 10 | 16 s |
| Scale constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 20:23 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Scale constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 20:16 | no | 0 | 22 s |
| Scale constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 20:11 | yes | 10 | 16 s |
| Scale constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 18:39 | yes | 10 | 93 s |
| Scale constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 21:33 | no | 0 | 11 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 18:16 | yes | 18 | 9 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 21:08 | yes | 3 | 7 s |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 21:53 | yes | 25 | 36 s |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 19:42 | yes | 20 | 7 s |
| Negative framing | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 20:11 | yes | 41 | 19 s |
| Negative framing | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 21:12 | yes | 5 | 5 s |
| Negative framing | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-09-17 20:07 | yes | 30 | 71 s |
| Negative framing | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 18:52 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Negative framing | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 18:29 | no | 0 | 30 s |
| Negative framing | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 20:56 | yes | 15 | 23 s |
| Negative framing | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 20:26 | yes | 23 | 62 s |
| Negative framing | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 19:14 | yes | 24 | 28 s |
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
ShowHide
Category-scoped readings
Deel HR read as Deel
Oracle read as Oracle HCM Onboarding
Oracle Cloud HCM read as Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM
Oracle HCM read as Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM
Oracle HCM Cloud read as Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM
Paychex read as Paychex Flex
RUN Powered by ADP read as ADP RUN
Workable read as Workable HR
Unresolved, counted raw
Boardon
Google Workspace checklists
Workwize
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.