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401(k) providers · November 2026 Edition
Guideline vs Fidelity Advantage 401
Zero of fourteen models named Guideline first on the direct prompt; two named Fidelity Advantage 401. Guideline was named by twelve of the fourteen models and Fidelity Advantage 401 by thirteen and Guideline carries 25 labels and Fidelity Advantage 401 29, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share10%6%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate4%7%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#3#6A position in a field of 18; printed, not drawn.
Labels2529A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Guideline 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 Guideline · Human Interest vs Fidelity Advantage 401 · Fidelity Workplace Investing vs Guideline
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.
GuidelineFirst choices, of fourteen modelsFidelity Advantage 401
Direct02
Paraphrase11
Comparative12
Budget-constrained401 against Fidelity Advantage 401
Scale-constrained00
Negative031 against Guideline · 1 against Fidelity Advantage 401
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, Guideline and Fidelity Advantage 401 were named in the same answer forty times, of the 81 answers naming Guideline and the 91 naming Fidelity Advantage 401. In those answers Fidelity Advantage 401 took the first choice seven times and Guideline thirteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Guideline and Fidelity Advantage 401 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 | |
Guideline Fidelity Advantage 401 first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Guideline on the left and Fidelity Advantage 401 on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Guideline and Fidelity Advantage 401 stood in it.
Fidelity Advantage 401 first, Guideline an alternative
2 of 14 modelsGuideline was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.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
Neither was the first choice, one was named
3 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.GPT-5.4 miniEmpower Retirement alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Guideline, Gusto Retirement, Human Interest
Grok 4.20Human Interest alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Betterment at Work, Fidelity Workplace Investing, Guideline, Vestwell
DeepSeek V4 FlashHuman Interest alternatives: Empower Retirement, Fidelity Advantage 401
Neither was named
9 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
Gemini 3.5 FlashFidelity Investments alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, Principal Financial Group
Perplexity SonarFidelity Workplace Investing alternatives: Betterment at Work, Human Interest
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
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
MiniMax M2.5Human Interest alternatives: Betterment at Work, Fidelity Workplace Investing
Muse Glimmer 30BEmpower Retirement, Fidelity Workplace Investing alternatives: ADP Retirement Services, Betterment at Work, Human Interest, Paychex Retirement Services, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
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
Guideline leads by sixteen points.
Guideline25%#1 of 11Fidelity Advantage 4019%#5 of 11Mid-marketThe figures above
Guideline leads by four points.
Guideline10%#3 of 18Fidelity Advantage 4016%#6 of 18Enterprise
The order flips: Fidelity Advantage 401 leads at enterprise.
Fidelity Advantage 4019%#3 of 11Guideline2%#– of 11What the models said about Guideline
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“execution and service seem unreliable—avoid if you value responsive support.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Guideline is frequently ranked first for cost/automation, with $89 base + $8/employee in current provider listings, and no setup fee.” Muse Glimmer 30B · budget prompt · first choice
“Choose a Tech-Forward Provider (Guideline, Human Interest, Betterment) if you have under 50 employees” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Guideline looks like the strongest low-budget option for many small businesses” GPT-5.4 mini · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Fidelity Advantage 401
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.
“Recent class action lawsuits have been brought against Fidelity, BlackRock and T. Rowe Price.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“may involve more asset-based elements and isn't always the cheapest for very tight budgets” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · soft negative
“Fidelity - Excellent for mid-market companies with comprehensive plan options (401(k), SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA), strong investment choices, and robust employer tools.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Consistently praised for low-cost index funds, excellent customer service, and robust online tools (top recommendation from HR professionals)” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · first choice
“Overall Top for Most Businesses: Fidelity, Vanguard, Charles Schwab (low-cost leaders with strong tools).” Grok 4.20 · comparative prompt · first choice
Also compared
Human Interest vs GuidelineHuman Interest vs Fidelity Advantage 401Fidelity Workplace Investing vs GuidelineFidelity Workplace Investing vs Fidelity Advantage 401Guideline vs ADP Retirement ServicesGuideline vs Empower RetirementGuideline vs Employee Fiduciary 401(k) PlanGuideline vs Fidelity InvestmentsADP Retirement Services vs Fidelity Advantage 401Empower Retirement vs Fidelity Advantage 401Fidelity Advantage 401 vs Employee Fiduciary 401(k) PlanFidelity Advantage 401 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.