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401(k) providers · November 2026 Edition
Empower Retirement vs Fidelity Investments
Four of fourteen models named Empower Retirement first on the direct prompt; one named Fidelity Investments. Empower Retirement was named by thirteen of the fourteen models and Fidelity Investments by nine and Empower Retirement carries 37 labels and Fidelity Investments 13, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named 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#8A position in a field of 18; printed, not drawn.
Labels3713A 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 Fidelity Investments · 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 modelsFidelity Investments
Direct411 against Empower Retirement
Paraphrase02
Comparative05
Budget-constrained00
Scale-constrained00
Negative014 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.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Empower Retirement and Fidelity Investments were named in the same answer forty-five times, of the 100 answers naming Empower Retirement and the 62 naming Fidelity Investments. In those answers Fidelity Investments took the first choice forty times and Empower Retirement zero.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Empower Retirement and Fidelity Investments stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | | |
Empower Retirement Fidelity Investments first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Empower Retirement on the left and Fidelity Investments on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Empower Retirement and Fidelity Investments stood in it.
Empower Retirement first, Fidelity Investments not the choice
4 of 14 modelsFidelity Investments 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
Fidelity Investments first, Empower Retirement an alternative
1 of 14 modelsEmpower Retirement was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Gemini 3.5 FlashFidelity Investments alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, Principal Financial Group
Neither was the first choice, one was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.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
Level: the same share of first choices.
Empower Retirement0%#– of 11Fidelity Investments0%#– of 11Mid-marketThe figures above
Empower Retirement leads by two points.
Empower Retirement8%#5 of 18Fidelity Investments6%#8 of 18Enterprise
The order flips: Fidelity Investments leads at enterprise.
Fidelity Investments48%#1 of 11Empower Retirement7%#4 of 11What 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 Fidelity Investments
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.
“Fidelity consistently ranks #1 across independent comparison platforms due to its combination of technology, service, and breadth of offerings.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Fidelity is the largest 401(k) provider in the U.S., managing plans for over 35,000 businesses” Claude Haiku 4.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
“Fidelity Investments (9.5/10) - Industry leader with extensive mutual fund options” MiniMax M2.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
Also compared
Human Interest vs Empower RetirementHuman Interest vs Fidelity InvestmentsFidelity Workplace Investing vs Empower RetirementFidelity Workplace Investing vs Fidelity InvestmentsGuideline vs Empower RetirementGuideline vs Fidelity InvestmentsADP Retirement Services vs Empower RetirementADP Retirement Services vs Fidelity InvestmentsEmpower Retirement vs Fidelity Advantage 401Empower Retirement vs Employee Fiduciary 401(k) PlanFidelity Advantage 401 vs Fidelity InvestmentsEmployee 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.