Compensation management · November 2026 Edition
Pave vs CaptivateIQ
Seven of fourteen models named Pave first on the direct prompt; two named CaptivateIQ. Pave was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and CaptivateIQ by eight and Pave carries 40 labels and CaptivateIQ 12, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in five categories this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
First-choice share25%4%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate2%8%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#6A position in a field of 18; printed, not drawn.
Labels4012A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Pave reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Pave vs Aeqium · Pave vs CompUp · Pave vs Lattice Compensation
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 compensation management page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
PaveFirst choices, of fourteen modelsCaptivateIQ
Direct72
Paraphrase60
Comparative20
Budget-constrained001 against CaptivateIQ
Scale-constrained10
Negative001 against Pave
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 Pave and CaptivateIQ 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 | | | |
Pave CaptivateIQ first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Pave on the left and CaptivateIQ on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Pave and CaptivateIQ stood in it.
Both were the first choice
1 of 14 modelsThe answer named them together, and the judge labeled each a first choice.Gemini 3.5 FlashCaptivateIQ, Pave alternatives: CompLogix, Comprehensive.io, Everstage, HiBob, Rippling, Salesforce Spiff
Pave first, CaptivateIQ not the choice
6 of 14 modelsCaptivateIQ was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Grok 4.20Pave alternatives: Aeqium, HRSoft Compensation Management, Lattice Compensation, beqom
Mistral SmallAeqium, Pave, Ravio alternatives: Compport, Decusoft Compose, HRSoft Compensation Management, beqom
DeepSeek V4 FlashPave alternatives: Aeqium, OpenComp
Qwen 3.7 FlashPave alternatives: Decusoft Compose, Everstage, Payscale, QuotaPath, beqom
Kimi K2Aeqium, Pave alternatives: HRSoft Compensation Management, Lattice Compensation, beqom
GLM 4.7 FlashXHRSoft Compensation Management, Pave alternatives: Aeqium, beqom
CaptivateIQ first, Pave not the choice
1 of 14 modelsPave was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-6 LunaCaptivateIQ alternatives: QuotaPath, Salesforce Spiff
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.Perplexity SonarAeqium alternatives: CaptivateIQ, Comprehensive.io, Deel, Pave
MiniMax M2.5CompUp alternatives: Deel, Pave
Muse Glimmer 30BHRSoft Compensation Management, SalaryCube Comp Planning alternatives: CaptivateIQ, CompUp, Everstage, Pave, QuotaPath, Ravio, Salary.com CompAnalyst, beqom
Neither was named
3 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
GPT-5.4 miniComprehensive.io alternatives: Compport, Lattice Compensation, Paycom, Payscale Ascent, Salary.com CompAnalyst
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
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
Pave leads by twenty-seven points.
Pave27%#1 of 19CaptivateIQ0%#13 of 19Mid-marketThe figures above
Enterprise
The order flips: CaptivateIQ leads at enterprise.
CaptivateIQ5%#4 of 17Pave4%#6 of 17What the models said about Pave
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of three in this category shown.
“Pave for benchmarking if you're outside its core tech/startup niche” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Choose a Modern Tech Platform (Pave, Comprehensive, Barley) if: You are a high-growth or tech company where equity is a significant portion of total rewards.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Pave is frequently cited as the top choice for mid-market companies that need to unify both sales commissions and corporate compensation” Qwen 3.7 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about CaptivateIQ
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“dedicated enterprise tools (like Beqom, Workday Compensation, or CaptivateIQ) are usually cost-prohibitive and overly complex” Gemini 3.5 Flash · budget prompt · soft negative
“CaptivateIQ (Best overall for mid-market B2B sales teams)” Gemini 3.5 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“CaptivateIQ is my default pick for a mid-market B2B company” GPT-6 Luna · direct prompt · first choice
“Add an ICM Platform (CaptivateIQ, QuotaPath) if: Your finance or sales ops team is losing days every month calculating sales commissions” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · alternative
Also compared
Pave vs AeqiumPave vs CompUpPave vs Lattice CompensationPave vs HRSoft Compensation ManagementPave vs QuotaPathPave vs DeelAeqium vs CaptivateIQCompUp vs CaptivateIQLattice Compensation vs CaptivateIQHRSoft Compensation Management vs CaptivateIQCaptivateIQ vs QuotaPathCaptivateIQ vs DeelAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full compensation management 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.