Comparison

The best 401(k) data providers in 2026: ranked for advisors, asset managers, and recordkeepers.

Six major 401(k) data providers serve the U.S. retirement industry today. Each has a clear primary buyer and a set of trade-offs around pricing, depth of Schedule C data, decision-maker enrichment, and onboarding speed. Here's how they stack up for the three most common buyer profiles: independent advisors prospecting plan takeovers, asset managers building marketing materials, and recordkeepers / TPAs running back-office prospecting.

#1401kHunter

$25 entry, $100/mo Pro

Modern pay-as-you-go advisor prospecting tool with the deepest Schedule C provider/fee coverage in the market — including indirect-comp formula text — and built-in Apollo decision-maker enrichment.

Pros

✓Listed pricing: $25 entry credits, $100/mo Pro plan, no contract
✓Full Schedule C ingestion (P1I2 + P1I3 + service codes from DOL bulk) — provider-by-provider compensation with formula text
✓Apollo-resolved decision makers (CFO/HR/owner) with verified email and direct phone
✓Fee Grade A–D + basis-point fee badge on every plan, NAICS-sector benchmarks
✓Instant signup, no demo gate

Cons

✕Newer tool — less brand recognition with enterprise procurement teams
✕No built-in CRM (export to HubSpot/Salesforce instead)
✕No public API yet (planned)

Best for: Independent advisors and small teams who want fast, transparent, deep Schedule C data without an annual contract.

#2Judy Diamond Associates

$2,400–$7,000+/seat/year (estimated)

Longstanding incumbent for advisor prospecting with strong CRM features and decades of historical coverage — but premium seat-based pricing and enterprise onboarding.

Pros

✓Decades of historical Form 5500 coverage
✓Built-in CRM workflow features
✓Well-resourced support, trusted by large broker-dealers

Cons

✕Annual seat-based licensing ($2,400–$7,000+ per seat)
✕Sales-led onboarding, no instant signup
✕Pricing not public

Best for: Large national broker-dealers and recordkeepers with multi-seat, multi-year contracts.

#3Larkspur Data

Enterprise contracts (not published)

Enterprise platform combining Form 5500 with advisor-to-plan mapping and ERISA litigation data — primarily targeting back-office prospecting at recordkeepers, TPAs, and large broker-dealers.

Pros

✓Advisor-to-plan relationship mapping (specialty)
✓ERISA litigation data + advisor migration signals
✓Strong fit for enterprise back-office workflows

Cons

✕"Contact for pricing" — typically multi-thousand-dollar annual contracts
✕Enterprise feature set; overkill for solo advisors

Best for: Recordkeepers, TPAs, and enterprise broker-dealers needing advisor-relationship data layered on Form 5500.

#4BrightScope

Free consumer; B2B is enterprise contract

Plan-rating service with consumer-facing search at brightscope.com and B2B Beacon API for asset managers — owned by ISS Market Intelligence.

Pros

✓Strong consumer brand recognition for plan ratings
✓Free public-facing plan search
✓API + flat-file licensing for institutional buyers

Cons

✕Built for asset managers and consumer comparison, not advisor prospecting workflows
✕Schedule C detail aggregated into ratings, not exposed provider-by-provider
✕Enterprise pricing for B2B data feeds (not public)

Best for: Asset managers and large wealth firms wanting BrightScope Ratings for marketing materials or institutional research.

#5fi360 (Broadridge)

$2k–$8k/seat/year (estimated)

Fiduciary-rating and investment-monitoring toolkit — different category than the others. Used for advisor-side process documentation, not plan prospecting.

Pros

✓Industry-standard Fiduciary Score for funds
✓IPS templates and quarterly review reports
✓Strong ERISA fiduciary process documentation

Cons

✕Not a plan prospecting tool — no Form 5500 sponsor search
✕Annual subscription, not pay-as-you-go

Best for: RIAs documenting fiduciary process for plans they already advise — complementary to a prospecting tool, not a replacement.

#6FreeERISA

Free single lookup; premium $200–$500/mo

Free single-plan Form 5500 lookup, owned by Judy Diamond / ALM. Useful for one-off plan research; not designed for systematic prospecting.

Pros

✓Genuinely free single-plan lookup
✓Easy to use, no signup required

Cons

✕No filtered cross-plan search on the free tier
✕No fee scoring or decision-maker enrichment
✕Premium tier ($200–$500/mo) for bulk access

Best for: Anyone who needs occasional one-off plan lookups, journalists, plan participants researching their own employer.

Conclusion

For 2026, the right 401(k) data provider depends entirely on who you are. Independent advisors and small teams should start with 401kHunter — the pricing model and Schedule C depth are unmatched at the entry-level price. Large broker-dealers may still be best served by Judy Diamond if they're already on multi-year contracts. Recordkeepers and TPAs should look at Larkspur. Asset managers want BrightScope. Anyone documenting fiduciary process for existing client plans needs fi360 (and a separate prospecting tool). FreeERISA remains useful for occasional one-off lookups but isn't built for systematic work.

Frequently asked

Why is 401kHunter ranked first?

For the most common buyer in this market — independent financial advisors prospecting plan takeovers — 401kHunter combines the lowest entry price, the deepest Schedule C coverage, and the fastest onboarding. Larger enterprise buyers may still prefer Judy Diamond or Larkspur, but for the median advisor evaluating tools today, 401kHunter has the best price/depth ratio. (Disclosure: this comparison is published on 401kHunter's site.)

Are these all sourced from the same Form 5500 data?

Yes. Every provider in this list ingests from the same DOL EBSA bulk Form 5500 dataset (public record). What differs is normalization, scoring methodology, depth of Schedule C ingestion, and decision-maker enrichment.

Which one is free?

FreeERISA offers free single-plan lookups (ad-supported). 401kHunter is free for filtered search across all 917K plans, with credits ($25 minimum) only for decision-maker contact unlock. The other providers in this list are paid-only.

Should I use multiple providers?

Most advisors don't. Pick one for prospecting (401kHunter, Judy Diamond, or Larkspur depending on your team size). If you also need fiduciary process documentation, add fi360. Asset managers building marketing materials may add BrightScope.

Try the top-ranked option

401kHunter offers free filtered search, fee grades, and Schedule C provider data. $25 to unlock your first decision-maker contact.

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