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401(k) providers · November 2026 Edition
Empower Retirement vs Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan
Four of fourteen models named Empower Retirement first on the direct prompt; zero named Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan. Empower Retirement was named by thirteen of the fourteen models and Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan by twelve and Empower Retirement carries 37 labels and Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan 18, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan
accepted challengerNamed in one category this edition.
First-choice share8%6%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate14%0%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#5#7A position in a field of 18; printed, not drawn.
Labels3718A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Empower Retirement reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Human Interest was named alongside these two in ten of the fourteen direct answers. Human Interest vs Empower Retirement · Human Interest vs Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan · Fidelity Workplace Investing vs Empower Retirement
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 401(k) 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.
Empower RetirementFirst choices, of fourteen modelsEmployee Fiduciary 401(k) PlanDirect401 against Empower Retirement
Paraphrase00
Comparative00
Budget-constrained03
Scale-constrained00
Negative004 against Empower Retirement
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.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Empower Retirement and Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan stood in it.
| Model | DirectEF | ParaphraseEF | ComparativeEF | Budget-constrainedEF | Scale-constrainedEF | NegativeEF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | EF | |||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | ||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | EF | EF | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | EF | |||
| Grok 4.20 | | EF | EF | | ||
| Mistral Small | | EF | ||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | EF | | ||
| Llama 4 Maverick | EF | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | |||
| Kimi K2 | | | EF | | ||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | EF | EF | |||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | EF | ||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | EF | | ||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | EF |
Empower RetirementEF Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Empower Retirement on the left and Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Empower Retirement and Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan stood in it.
Empower Retirement first, Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan not the choice
4 of 14 modelsEmployee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-5.4 miniEmpower Retirement alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Guideline, Gusto Retirement, Human Interest
Mistral SmallADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, Fidelity Advantage 401, Vanguard Workplace Solutions alternatives: ForUsAll, Guideline, Human Interest, Paychex Retirement Services, Vestwell
GPT-6 LunaEmpower Retirement, Fidelity Advantage 401 alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Principal
Muse Glimmer 30BEmpower Retirement, Fidelity Workplace Investing alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Betterment at Work, Human Interest, Paychex Retirement Services, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
Neither was the first choice, one was named
5 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Gemini 3.5 FlashFidelity Investments alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, Principal Financial Group
DeepSeek V4 FlashHuman Interest alternatives: Empower Retirement, Fidelity Advantage 401
Qwen 3.7 FlashFidelity Workplace Investing, Human Interest alternatives: Empower Retirement, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
Kimi K2Fidelity Workplace Investing, Human Interest alternatives: Betterment at Work, Empower Retirement, ForUsAll, Vanguard Workplace Solutions, Vestwell
GLM 4.7 FlashXBetterment for Business, Human Interest alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, Fidelity Workplace Investing, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
Neither was named
5 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
Perplexity SonarFidelity Workplace Investing alternatives: Betterment at Work, Human Interest
Grok 4.20Human Interest alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Betterment at Work, Fidelity Workplace Investing, Guideline, Vestwell
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
MiniMax M2.5Human Interest alternatives: Betterment at Work, Fidelity Workplace Investing
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
Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan leads by eleven points.
Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan11%#4 of 11
Empower Retirement0%#– of 11Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Empower Retirement leads at mid-market.
Empower Retirement8%#5 of 18Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan6%#7 of 18
The full mid-market standing →Enterprise
Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan is not named for this buyer.
Empower Retirement7%#4 of 11Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan—not named
The full enterprise standing →What the models said about Empower Retirement
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Be most cautious with: Empower (service meltdowns)” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · hard negative
“the SEC found that Empower entities inadequately disclosed conflicts and financial incentives tied to recommendations to enroll participants in that service” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“remains a mid-tier provider where plan design (chosen by your employer) determines whether you get good or bad options” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Scale / investment choice + fiduciary support: Fidelity Workplace Investing, Empower Retirement” Muse Glimmer 30B · direct prompt · first choice
“Empower, Vanguard, Fidelity, and ADP are frequently cited as top choices” Mistral Small · direct prompt · first choice
“Why I'd lean Empower for a true mid-market B2B company” GPT-5.4 mini · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about Employee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.
“If you have 6–30 employees: Choose Employee Fiduciary. The flat annual fee ($1,500) is the best value proposition in the market.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · budget prompt · first choice
“For most small businesses with limited budgets, Employee Fiduciary offers the best combination of low cost and transparency.” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · first choice
“I'd get a quote from Employee Fiduciary first.” GPT-6 Luna · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared
Human Interest vs Empower RetirementHuman Interest vs Employee Fiduciary 401(k) PlanFidelity Workplace Investing vs Empower RetirementFidelity Workplace Investing vs Employee Fiduciary 401(k) PlanGuideline vs Empower RetirementGuideline vs Employee Fiduciary 401(k) PlanADP Retirement Services vs Empower RetirementADP Retirement Services vs Employee Fiduciary 401(k) PlanEmpower Retirement vs Fidelity Advantage 401Empower Retirement vs Fidelity InvestmentsFidelity Advantage 401 vs Employee Fiduciary 401(k) PlanEmployee Fiduciary 401(k) Plan vs Fidelity InvestmentsAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full 401(k) providers standing
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.