9 Best 401K Providers of 2026

Fidelity's Self-employed 401(k) is the strongest pick if you have no employees besides yourself, a spouse or partners. Fidelity states there is no opening cost, closing cost or annual fee for the plan, so the only costs are the expenses of the investments you choose. The page lists combined employer and employee contributions of up to $72,000 for 2026, with a $24,500 salary deferral limit and catch-up contributions of $8,000 for ages 50 to 59 or 64 and up and $11,250 for ages 60 to 63. Fidelity now offers an optional Roth feature for salary deferrals, which matters because some high earners must make catch-up contributions as Roth starting January 1, 2026. Moving an existing solo plan is simple: Fidelity accepts in-kind transfers of stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Each April it sends an Annual Valuation Statement so you can check whether a Form 5500 filing is due. The limit is scope: once you hire an eligible employee, this plan no longer fits and you need a group 401(k).

Human Interest ranks first for businesses with staff because it publishes every part of its price and puts payroll sync on the cheapest plan. Essentials costs $80 a month plus $5 per eligible employee, Complete costs $180 plus $7 and Concierge costs $280 plus $9, and the pricing page notes that a one-time setup fee of $499 may apply. On top of the flat fees, plan assets pay 0.05% for recordkeeping and custody and 0.01% for investment advice when Human Interest Advisors acts as a 3(38) fiduciary. Every plan connects to more than 600 payroll systems and charges $0 transaction fees for amendments, profit sharing and annual IRS form preparation. The Complete plan is the point where Human Interest signs and files Form 5500, provides an ERISA fidelity bond and acts as a 3(16) fiduciary, so most owners who want to hand off compliance will land there. Concierge adds a named account manager, DOL Audit Defense of up to $50k and Audit Relief for plans with more than 100 participants. Solo owners pay for features they will not use.

Schwab's Individual 401(k) matches Fidelity on cost: its page states there is no fee to open or maintain an account, a $0 minimum opening deposit and $0 account open or maintenance fees, with the usual caveat that fund expenses and commissions may apply. It is open to sole proprietors, owner-only corporations, partnerships and independent consultants with no employees other than a spouse. Both traditional and Roth versions are offered. Schwab lists the 2026 elective deferral at $24,500 and the maximum annual limit at $72,000, with catch-up contributions of $8,000 for ages 50 to 59 or 64 and older and $11,250 for ages 60 to 63. Setup is more paper-based than at newer providers: you complete and return an account application and adoption agreement, then send a contribution transmittal form with deposits, and Schwab defaults unmarked money to employee salary deferral. It ranks below Fidelity because the opening process takes more forms.

Gusto 401(k) is the product formerly sold as Guideline, and the guideline.com pages now carry Gusto branding. Its pitch is a 401(k) built into payroll: automatic syncing between payroll and the plan, contributions and deductions handled for you, and compliance checks run daily with alerts and guided corrections when something is off. IRS form prep and filing is included, and Gusto says its automated tax credit forms can help reclaim up to 100% of plan costs. The company states that more than 40,000 businesses and 700,000 savers use the platform. Gusto's help center lists three plans, Starter, Core and Premium, but the plan prices did not load as text for our source checker, so we mark pricing as pending rather than repeat figures we could not verify. Its fee example also assumes an annual account fee of 0.25% on assets, so employees should expect an asset-based charge. It ranks fifth because the price could not be confirmed.

Ubiquity is the pick for owners who dislike fees that rise with plan assets. Its pricing page promises flat-fee 401(k) pricing with $0 asset-based fees on every plan. Group plans start with Saver(k) at $97 a month plus $6 per eligible employee, with automatic enrollment and auto-escalation built in. Custom(k) at $177 a month adds free design help from a retirement plan consultant and an optional Safe Harbor design, and Reserve(k) at $257 a month adds 3(16) fiduciary services, SECURE 2.0 tax credit filing help and Form 5500 audit support. Every group plan carries a one-time $495 setup fee for new customers. For the self-employed, Single(k) costs $19 a month billed annually and lets you pick investments at a brokerage of your choice, while Single(k) Plus at $37.50 a month is recordkept by Ubiquity with Vanguard Admiral Class Funds. The trade-off against Human Interest is that fiduciary administration sits on the most expensive tier.

401GO is the cheapest group plan on this list with fiduciary administration included. GO-Starter costs $49 a month plus $6 per participant with no setup fee, and 401GO pitches it as an alternative to state-sponsored programs for very small companies. That entry plan already includes custody, 3(16) plan administration, recordkeeping, a 3(38) fiduciary, nondiscrimination testing and filing of Form 5500, 1099-R and 8955-SSA. GO-Plus at $139 a month plus $2 to $7 per participant adds profit sharing, vesting schedules, Safe Harbor designs, loans and hardship withdrawals, an ERISA bond and a dedicated relationship manager, with a $500 setup fee. GO-Solo costs $19 a month with a $250 setup fee. 401GO says it owns its whole stack instead of relying on outside recordkeepers and TPAs. The catch is the asset charge: both group plans list a 0.3% AUM fee plus a 0.04% advisory fee through GO Invest, which costs more than Ubiquity's flat model as balances grow.

Betterment at Work bundles fiduciary cover into its entry plan. Essential costs a $100 monthly base fee billed annually as $1,200, plus a $5 monthly recordkeeping fee per participant and a 0.25% annual advisory fee, and it includes 3(38) and 3(16) fiduciary services, payroll integrations with Gusto, TriNet and others, and a dedicated onboarding specialist. Pro costs $150 a month plus $7 per participant and adds flexible plan design such as vesting and new comparability, a dedicated plan support contact, guided conversion help, 401(k) matching on student loan payments and 529 education savings. A one-time implementation fee of $500 applies to new plans and $1,000 to conversions. Betterment explains that the annual base fee is set and not prorated because it covers the plan document, annual compliance testing and a draft Form 5500. The 0.25% advisory fee is the main reason it scores lower on value than Ubiquity and 401GO.

Employee Fiduciary keeps its price list short. A group 401(k) costs a $1,500 annual base fee that covers up to 30 eligible employees, with $30 more for each additional employee, plus a custody fee of 0.08% of plan assets. New plans pay a $500 establishment fee and conversions pay $1,000. The solo 401(k) costs $500 a year plus the same 0.08% custody fee and a one-time $250 setup fee, and it only covers business owners and their spouses. For a 20-person company, $1,500 a year works out to $125 a month with no per-participant charge, which is cheaper than most per-head pricing once headcount grows. The company also offers Safe Harbor 401(k) and 403(b) plans and lists payroll integration on its site. It ranks last here because its pages describe fewer bundled services, such as fiduciary roles and audit help, than the higher-ranked providers.

ForUsAll sells three things: a new 401(k), an advisor layer for plans that stay with another provider, and payroll integration for existing plans. Starting a new plan costs $120 a month plus $6 per participant, plus a ForUsAll advisory fee of 0.20% to 0.40% of plan assets a year. Advisor Plus costs 0.2% to 0.4% of plan assets for a 401(k) advisor on your existing plan without changing providers, and Payroll Integration starts at $50 a month and connects with more than 200 payroll providers. Included services listed on the page are full payroll integration, eligibility tracking and onboarding, administrative and investment fiduciary roles, participant education, holistic financial advisors for all employees and automated recordkeeping. ForUsAll also offers an optional brokerage and crypto window, which few small-business providers advertise. The asset-based advisory fee and the $120 base put it behind cheaper flat-fee options on value.