Carta
Accounting Verified May 2026
Carta is the default equity infrastructure for private companies — but its pricing scales aggressively as you grow.
- Industry-standard cap table management — investors and lawyers work in Carta natively
- Integrated 409A valuations included in Venture plan, eliminating separate valuation firm cost
- Electronic option grant acceptance and exercise workflows replace paper-based equity administration
- Investor portal gives VCs real-time portfolio visibility in a format they expect
How Carta scored 60/100
6 weighted criteria, each scored out of 10 and published with its reasoning. Featured placements never move a score.
Deal Strength
3.0 /10There's no exclusive coupon; the value is a free Launch tier for the earliest-stage startups (small cap tables and limited fundraising), which lets founders start managing equity at no cost before graduating to paid plans. The offer is a genuine free on-ramp for early companies rather than a discount.
Value for Money
5.0 /10This is the softer pillar: beyond the free Launch tier, Carta's pricing scales with your company's stage and stakeholder count and becomes a significant expense as you grow, with fund administration priced separately for investors. The value is real for companies that need audit-ready equity infrastructure and 409As, but cost-conscious teams sometimes find lighter cap-table tools cheaper.
Capability
9.0 /10Capability is Carta's strength: comprehensive cap table management, 409A valuations, equity issuance and vesting, scenario and waterfall modeling, ASC 718 and board-ready reporting, plus fund administration for VCs and private-company liquidity tooling. Its breadth and the depth of its investor network make it the most complete equity platform for most private companies.
Time to Value
7.0 /10Onboarding is reasonably quick for the category: import or build your cap table, invite stakeholders to their own portals, and issue equity with e-signature, so a company gets an organized, shareable cap table within days. The score reflects that setting up valuations, complex share classes and full compliance workflows is still a real process, not instant.
Trust & Reliability
8.0 /10Carta is the category-defining equity platform used by hundreds of thousands of companies and a large share of the venture ecosystem, with deep investor integration and audit-grade processes — a top-tier reputation and reliability signal. Its scale and standing make it the safe, expected choice, and its network effects reinforce that position.
Flexibility & Exit
5.0 /10Data exports and cap tables are portable, but the practical lock-in is significant: your equity records, valuations, stakeholder portals and investor relationships live in Carta, and its network effects (investors expecting to see your Carta cap table) add gravity. Migrating a mature cap table to another platform is a real, carefully-planned undertaking rather than a quick switch.
About Carta
Quick answer
Carta is the leading cap table management and equity administration platform, used by tens of thousands of startups, investors, and law firms to track ownership, run 409A valuations, and stay ASC 718 compliant. This Carta review breaks down Carta pricing, real feature trade-offs, and how it stacks up against Pulley, Shareworks, and AngelList so you can decide if it's the right equity infrastructure for your stage.
What is Carta?
Carta is a private market equity infrastructure platform. Founded in 2012 (originally as eShares), it has grown into the de facto cap table software for the venture ecosystem, tracking more than $2 trillion in equity value across tens of thousands of companies, funds, and stakeholder accounts. If you've signed an option grant, received a SAFE, or backed a startup in the last five years, there's a high chance the underlying ownership record lives in Carta.
Beyond cap table management, the platform handles the entire equity lifecycle: founder share issuance, SAFE and convertible note modeling, priced-round modeling with dilution scenarios, stock option grants, RSU tracking, vesting schedules, exercise flows, 409A valuations, ASC 718 expense reporting, waterfall modeling for fund investors, tender offers, secondary transactions, and IPO readiness. Carta also operates a Fund Administration business for VC and PE managers, a Compensation benchmarking product, and a private-market liquidity venue called CartaX.
In short: for the accounting of equity — the thing most general-purpose bookkeeping tools handle poorly — Carta is the category-defining product.
Key features of Carta
Cap table management
Real-time cap table with scenario modeling. Drag in a priced round, SAFE conversion, or option pool refresh, and Carta instantly shows pro-forma ownership, dilution, and post-money math for every stakeholder.
409A valuation
Annual and on-demand 409A valuations performed by in-house analysts. Reports are accepted by auditors, used for option grant strike prices, and integrate directly with your cap table.
Equity administration
Issue ISOs, NSOs, RSUs, RSAs, and warrants; track vesting cliffs and accelerations; manage exercises and withholdings; and send grant agreements with e-signature built in.
ASC 718 reporting
Stock-based compensation expense calculated and exportable in auditor-ready formats. Supports both Black-Scholes and lattice-based valuation methods out of the box.
Investor & stakeholder portal
Self-serve dashboard for founders, employees, investors, and lawyers — they can see their positions, vesting schedules, and 1099/1099-B tax forms without an admin email.
Fund administration (Carta Fund)
GP/LP accounting, capital calls, distributions, NAV reporting, and audited financials for venture and private equity funds, with a dedicated LP portal.
Carta pricing explained
Carta's pricing model is modular, which means your bill depends on which products you activate, how many entities you have, and how many stakeholders sit on your cap table. Always verify a live quote before signing — published list prices shift, and so do startup-style discounts.
Carta Basic (Free): Designed for very early-stage companies. Covers a single entity and a small cap table (typically up to ~25 stakeholders). Includes basic cap table modeling and stakeholder records, but most advanced features — 409A, ASC 718, fund admin, advanced reporting — are gated to paid tiers.
Carta Launch: Positioned for seed and Series A teams. Expect a starting price in the rough range of $1,500–$3,000/year (verify current pricing), scaling with the number of stakeholders. Adds full cap table modeling, document storage, basic compliance exports, and stakeholder portal access.
Carta Scale: For Series B+ and pre-IPO companies. Pricing commonly lands in the $5,000–$10,000+/year range and climbs with stakeholder count and entity count. Includes advanced scenario modeling, multi-entity support, ASC 718 reporting, and dedicated support SLAs.
Carta Enterprise: Custom-priced for public companies and large private issuers. Adds SOX-grade controls, advanced audit trails, custom integrations, and a named customer success team.
Add-on services:
- 409A valuation: typically $1,500–$3,500+ per valuation depending on company complexity (verify current quote).
- Fund administration: usually priced as a basis-points fee on AUM or a flat annual fee per fund.
- Cap table cleanup / migration: one-time project fees, often $2,000–$10,000 depending on cap table messiness.
The key pricing watch-out: as you pass ~100 stakeholders (advisors, ex-employees, small angels, plus all VCs), the per-stakeholder model can produce real sticker shock. Run a quote with your actual stakeholder count before assuming Carta is the cheapest path.
How to set up a cap table in Carta
Carta vs alternatives: how it compares
If you're evaluating equity management software, these are the names that come up most often alongside Carta. The table below is a snapshot — verify feature details and pricing before committing, because all three competitors are moving fast.
| Feature | Carta | Pulley | Shareworks (Morgan Stanley at Work) | AngelList Stack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes — Basic | Yes — limited | No | Yes — for rolling funds |
| 409A valuation | Yes (in-house) | Yes (third-party) | Through partner | Not core |
| ASC 718 reporting | Yes, advanced | Yes | Yes, enterprise-grade | Limited |
| Fund administration | Yes (Carta Fund) | No | No | Yes (core strength) |
| Public company support | Yes (Enterprise) | No — private only | Yes (its sweet spot) | No |
| Best fit | Full lifecycle, seed→pre-IPO | Lean startup teams, fast UX | Late-stage / public issuers | Fund managers |
| Typical price band | Free → $10K+/yr (verify) | Free → mid-tier (verify) | Custom, enterprise | % of AUM |
How much does Carta cost compared to Pulley? For a small private company with 30 stakeholders, the two are often close. For companies past 200 stakeholders, Carta's data network and compliance tooling usually justify the premium — but Pulley's UX is widely considered snappier, so if your team is very lean and cap-table-light, it's a real alternative.
Who should (and shouldn't) use Carta
✓ Use Carta if you:
- Have raised, or plan to raise, venture or angel capital and need audit-ready equity records.
- Need an annual 409A valuation accepted by Big Four and mid-tier auditors.
- Manage multiple entities (US C-corp + subsidiaries, or international structures).
- Want employees and investors to self-serve vesting, exercise flows, and tax docs.
- Operate a VC or PE fund and want fund administration consolidated with cap table data.
- Are preparing for an IPO and need ASC 718, SOX-ready controls, and cap table audit trails.
✗ Skip Carta if you:
- Are pre-incorporation, pre-funding, or have fewer than 5 stakeholders (Excel is fine).
- Run a bootstrapped LLC with simple profit-sharing (use a general accounting tool).
- Need only a quick 409A from a one-off valuation shop with no cap table integration.
- Are a public company evaluating alternatives — Shareworks and Morgan Stanley at Work may be a better fit.
- Want the absolute cheapest option and have a simple, stable cap table that won't change much.
What's included
- Cap table management with real-time ownership tracking for equity, SAFEs, and convertible notes
- 409A valuations delivered in 1–2 weeks with IRS-defensible reports
- Electronic option grant and exercise workflows with DocuSign integration
- Scenario modeling for funding rounds, exits, and waterfall distributions
- Employee equity portal: vesting dashboard, tax calculator, exercise interface
- Fund administration for VC and PE firms: LP reporting, capital calls, K-1 distribution
- Carta Launch — free plan for startups under $1M raised with basic cap table and SAFEs
- Compliance tracking for 83(b) elections, option expirations, and filing reminders
- SaaSTweaks-verified affiliate deal
- Vendor-direct activation flow with editorial pros + cons review
Carta pricing
Verified May 2026. Vendor's published rates at the time we checked — always confirm at checkout.
| Plan | Price | Term | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | Free | forever | Up to 25 stakeholders; basic cap table, electronic option grants, investor updates |
| Venture | From $149/mo | annual | Unlimited stakeholders; advanced cap table, scenarios, 409A valuations included |
| Growth | Custom | custom | Secondary transactions, liquidity events, advanced reporting, dedicated support |
| Enterprise | Custom | custom | Full fund admin, custom integrations, legal workflow automation, enterprise SLA |
Getting started
4 steps. The last one is the part most people skip.
- 1
Open Carta through the link on this page
It carries our referral tag. The price you pay is identical either way, and it never changes the score on this page.
- 2
Compare the tiers against what you actually use
The pricing table on this page lists what each plan includes. Match it to real usage rather than the tier the vendor highlights.
- 3
Start on the smallest plan that fits
Most vendors let you move up mid-cycle and bill the difference, so starting low costs you nothing but starting high does.
- 4
Check the renewal terms before you commit
Note the renewal date and the rate it reverts to, so the second invoice is not a surprise. Annual plans are usually cheaper per month but harder to exit.
Where Carta wins and loses
What works
- Industry-standard cap table management — investors and lawyers work in Carta natively
- Integrated 409A valuations included in Venture plan, eliminating separate valuation firm cost
- Electronic option grant acceptance and exercise workflows replace paper-based equity administration
- Investor portal gives VCs real-time portfolio visibility in a format they expect
What doesn't
- Pricing escalates significantly for growth-stage companies with complex equity structures
- Cap table migrations from spreadsheets or other platforms require careful validation
- Carta has faced criticism for alleged conflicts of interest regarding secondary market access to cap table data
- Support quality has been inconsistent on lower-tier plans according to user feedback
The bottom line
Carta is the default equity infrastructure for private companies: cap table management, 409A valuations, scenario modeling and fund administration, trusted by a huge base of startups and investors. Deep and dependable; premium pricing at scale and platform lock-in are the trade-offs, but for companies serious about equity it's a buy.
Carta has a free Launch tier for the earliest-stage startups with small cap tables, then paid plans that scale with your company's stage and number of stakeholders, so cost rises as you raise and grow. Fund administration for investors is priced separately. Higher-tier and fund pricing is quote-based, so exact figures depend on your company's specifics.
Yes, for the earliest stage — Carta's Launch tier is free for startups with small cap tables and limited fundraising, covering basic cap table management and equity issuance. As you add stakeholders, raise rounds or need 409A valuations and advanced features, you move to paid plans that scale with your company's size and stage.
Carta is equity-management infrastructure for private companies: it manages your cap table, issues and tracks equity and vesting, provides 409A valuations, models financing and exit scenarios (waterfalls), handles ASC 718 and board reporting, and offers fund administration for venture investors. It centralizes everything about who owns what into one auditable system of record.
Carta is the largest, most established equity platform with the deepest investor network and fund-administration tools, typically at premium pricing, while Cake Equity and Pulley are often cheaper and, for Cake, cover more jurisdictions. US, VC-heavy companies frequently default to Carta for its network and completeness; cost-sensitive or global startups may prefer the challengers.
Yes. 409A valuations — the independent fair-market-value assessments US startups need to price stock options compliantly — are a core Carta service, available on paid plans and integrated with your cap table so option pricing and reporting stay consistent. That bundling of valuations with equity management is a big reason companies consolidate onto Carta.
Cost and lock-in at scale. Beyond the free Launch tier, pricing grows with stakeholders and stage into a significant expense, and once your equity records, valuations and investor relationships live in Carta, switching is a major project reinforced by network effects. Early or cost-focused companies sometimes find lighter cap-table tools more economical.
