Carta Launch
SaaS Startup Programs Verified June 2026
Free cap table management for qualifying early-stage startups
Carta Launch gives early-stage startups free cap table management, so you can track equity without burning runway on admin software.
Who qualifies
Every condition below is taken from the vendor’s own published criteria. Read them before you spend an afternoon on the application.
Partner referral needed
There is no self-serve application. You need a referral from an approved VC, accelerator or incubator — start with your lead investor’s portfolio-benefits page.
Startups
The programme is aimed at startups. Vendors read this loosely, but expect to describe the company and what you are building on the application.
Carta Launch is available to qualifying early-stage startups — typically recently incorporated or pre-seed companies, often through partner channels — providing free or heavily discounted access to Carta's cap table platform. Eligibility is reviewed case-by-case. Verify current terms at signup.
About Carta Launch
Quick answer
Carta Launch is Carta's free or discounted entry tier for early-stage startups, providing cap table management, equity grant tracking, document storage, and typically an annual 409A valuation. It's best suited to pre-seed and seed-stage companies that have recently incorporated or are coming through a partner channel (incorporation service, accelerator, or VC). Apply through Carta's startup onboarding flow — eligibility is reviewed case-by-case.
If you're a first-time founder, "cap table" is one of those phrases you'll hear constantly and understand dimly until it's urgent. Carta Launch is the easiest way to stop pretending a Google Sheet is a cap table — and to do it before you've raised a dollar.
What is Carta Launch?
Carta is the dominant equity management platform for private companies in the U.S., tracking cap tables for a large share of venture-backed startups, plus valuations, fund administration, and secondary liquidity programs. Carta Launch is the entry point: a free or discounted tier of the same platform, scoped to the early-stage companies that need it most.
In practice, Launch gives you a real cap table — not a template — with stakeholder management, equity grant tracking (ISOs, NSOs, RSUs at the lower tiers), document storage, and basic scenario modeling. It also typically includes an annual 409A valuation, which is the IRS-defensible fair market value report you need to issue ISOs at a defensible strike price. For a pre-seed company, that bundle would otherwise cost several thousand dollars a year from a standalone valuation firm.
The "Launch" framing matters because cap tables are one of the few things in a startup that are genuinely hard to fix later. Founding equity splits, advisor grants, and early SAFE notes cascade through every future financing, option pool refresh, and exit. Getting them right — with audit trails, vesting schedules, and a 409A in place — on Day 1 saves founders from messy reverse splits and 83(b) re-fights down the road.
What you actually get with Carta Launch
The bundle is broader than "a free cap table." Here's what's typically included while you remain eligible:
Cap table management
A real, audited cap table for founders, employees, advisors, and investors — with vesting schedules, grant tracking, and stakeholder portals.
409A valuation access
Annual 409A reports from a third-party valuation firm, the IRS-defensible FMV you need before issuing ISOs. Standalone, this is a multi-thousand-dollar line item.
Document storage
Centralized storage for incorporation docs, stock purchase agreements, 83(b) elections, and SAFE notes — with e-signature support.
Option pool modeling
Basic scenario modeling so you can see the dilution impact of a future round or option pool refresh before you walk into a term sheet negotiation.
Investor-ready reporting
Standardized cap table exports and stakeholder summaries that VCs and lawyers recognize from diligence, so you don't have to translate your "spreadsheet logic" into theirs.
Migration pathway
When you outgrow Launch, your data, history, and workflows carry into standard Carta pricing — no painful platform switch.
What you don't get on the free tier: fund administration, tender offers and secondary programs, advanced scenario modeling for complex waterfalls, and premium customer success. Those live in the paid product suite.
Carta Launch vs alternatives
You're not choosing in a vacuum. The most common comparison points for early-stage founders are:
| Feature | Carta Launch | Pulley | AngelList Stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (early stage) | Free via Launch | Free tier available | Free for roll-up vehicles |
| 409A included | Typically yes, annual | Add-on, often discounted | Limited on free tier |
| Investor recognition | Industry standard | Growing | Common in angel/roll-up deals |
| Scaling path | Full Carta suite | Pulley Growth / Pro | AngelList Funds / Deal-by-deal |
| Best for | VC-track startups | Lean teams, bootstrapped | Syndicates and rolling funds |
If you're optimizing for "what does my lead investor expect to see at the data room," Carta wins on default recognition. If you're optimizing for "I want the most permissive free tier and don't care about brand," Pulley is a credible alternative. If you're running a syndicate or rolling fund, AngelList is in a different category entirely.
✓ Apply for Carta Launch if you:
- Just incorporated (or will soon) and have no cap table in place yet
- Are pre-seed or seed and planning to issue equity within 12 months
- Want a 409A bundled in without a separate valuation vendor
- Anticipate raising from institutional investors who expect a Carta-style cap table
- Have a partner channel (accelerator, lawyer, VC) that can vouch for eligibility
✗ Skip Carta Launch if you:
- Are already past Series A and need full Carta anyway (just negotiate standard pricing)
- Have a non-standard equity setup (multi-class, complex SAFEs) and need premium support from Day 1
- Are philosophically opposed to the lock-in — once your cap table is on Carta, migrating is painful
- Already have a clean cap table in another platform and don't want to migrate
What the credit covers
- Cap table management for founders, employees, advisors, and investors
- Equity grant tracking for ISOs, NSOs, and SAFEs/convertibles
- Access to 409A valuation reports (typically annual, third-party compliant)
- Document storage for incorporation and financing paperwork
- Stakeholder onboarding flows with e-signature support
- Basic scenario modeling for funding rounds and option pool refreshes
- Investor reporting dashboards
- Integration with payroll and HRIS tools for equity compensation
- SOC 2-compliant infrastructure for sensitive cap table data
- Pathway to Carta's full platform (valuations, fund admin, liquidity) as the company scales
Programme tracks
Verified June 2026. What Carta Launch publishes for each stage — confirm on the application, since credit programmes are re-cut more often than list pricing.
| Track | Value | Who it is for | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch (Free tier) | $0 | per month, while eligible | Cap table management for up to ~20 stakeholders · Equity issuance tracking (ISO/NSO) · Basic 409A valuation access (annual) · Onboarding through partner channels |
| Launch (Discounted tier) | Discounted | post-Series A or growth transition | Extended stakeholder capacity · Option pool modeling · Audit-ready reporting · Pathway into standard Carta pricing |
| Standard Carta (post-program) | Custom | per company, scaled to AUM | Full platform: valuations, scenario modeling, fund admin · Investor and employee portals · Compliance and reporting tools |
How to apply
5 steps. The last one is the part most people skip.
- 1
Get the referral before anything else
Carta Launch has no self-serve application for this programme. Ask your lead investor, accelerator or incubator for their partner link — most Tier 1 funds keep a portfolio-benefits page listing exactly this. Without it the rest of the process is closed to you.
- 2
Open Carta Launch through the link on this page
It carries our referral tag. The terms you get are identical either way, and it never changes what this page says about the programme.
- 3
Have the eligibility evidence ready
Applications are checked against 2 conditions — partner referral needed, startups. Incorporation date, cap table and a one-line description of what you are building cover most of it.
- 4
Size the migration against the 12 months window
Credits start burning from activation, not from when you get round to using them. Work out what you will genuinely consume in that window before you move production workloads across.
- 5
Know the rate you land on when it runs out
Carta Launch is available to qualifying early-stage startups — typically recently incorporated or pre-seed companies, often through partner channels — providing free or heavily discounted access to Carta's cap table platform. Eligibility is reviewed case-by-case. Verify current terms at signup.
Where this programme wins and loses
What works
- Solves a real Day 1 problem Cap tables are a top-three pain point for first-time founders, and getting them right early avoids expensive cleanup later. Launch removes the excuse to DIY in a spreadsheet.
- Free for the stage that needs it most Targeting pre-seed and seed-stage companies means the program lands before founders have a budget for equity software — exactly when professional tooling matters most.
- 409A included Annual 409A valuations are a non-negotiable for issuing ISOs at fair market value. Including them in the free tier saves startups $2K–$5K+ per year they would otherwise pay a valuation firm.
- Scales with you Unlike a free tool you outgrow in six months, Carta has a credible path for Series A, B, and beyond — so your data and workflows don't have to migrate when you raise.
- Investor-recognized Most institutional investors and law firms expect to see a Carta-style cap table. Starting there means one less friction point in diligence.
- Strong security posture Cap table data is some of the most sensitive information a company holds. Carta's SOC 2 controls and access management are meaningfully better than a shared Google Sheet.
What doesn't
- Eligibility is fuzzy Carta doesn't publish hard, universal criteria for Launch — many founders land in the program through partner channels (incorporation services, accelerators, VCs) rather than direct sign-up. If you're outside those pipes, getting approved can be opaque.
- Free tier has caps The Launch tier is built for genuinely early-stage companies. Once you cross stakeholder thresholds or move into more complex equity (RSUs, multi-class, secondary programs), you'll be pushed to paid plans.
- Lock-in concerns Cap tables are sticky by design, and Carta's ecosystem (valuations, fund admin, tender offers) makes it expensive to leave later. That's a feature for some founders and a risk for others.
- Support is lighter on the free plan Premium support, dedicated CSMs, and legal-reviewed workflows are reserved for paid customers. Founders with novel equity setups (founder vesting cliffs, complex SAFEs) may feel under-served.
The bottom line
For genuinely early-stage startups — recently incorporated, pre-seed or seed, with a small stakeholder count — Carta Launch is essentially a no-brainer: professional cap table tooling plus a 409A for free, with a clear path to scale. The only founders who should skip are those with non-standard equity setups who need premium support from Day 1, or those philosophically opposed to the Carta lock-in.
Carta Launch is the free or discounted onboarding tier of Carta — the equity management platform — built for early-stage startups. It gives new companies professional cap table software, basic 409A valuation access, and document storage at no cost while they qualify.
Eligibility typically applies to recently incorporated, pre-seed or seed-stage companies. Many founders access Launch through partner channels such as incorporation services, startup accelerators, or participating VC firms. Because the program is reviewed case-by-case, qualifying criteria can shift — verify current terms at signup.
The core Launch tier is free while your company remains within the early-stage eligibility window. As you grow into more complex equity needs — larger cap tables, 409A refreshes, fund admin — Carta transitions you to standard paid pricing, which is typically scaled to assets under management or stakeholder count.
Yes, basic 409A valuation access is generally included in the Launch tier, typically on an annual cadence. This is a meaningful value-add because independent 409As usually cost several thousand dollars per year from standalone valuation firms.
Carta Launch is the lightweight, early-stage product tier. Standard Carta adds fund administration for venture funds, tender offers, secondary liquidity, advanced scenario modeling, and enterprise-grade support. Launch is built to get founders on the platform cleanly; the broader Carta suite is what you grow into.
Yes. Carta supports migrations from spreadsheets, AngelList, Pulley, and most legacy cap table software. For Launch applicants, the onboarding team typically handles import as part of the application process, though complex historical grants may require founder input.
Carta operates SOC 2-compliant infrastructure with role-based access controls, audit logs, and encryption at rest and in transit. For most early-stage companies, this is materially more secure than a shared spreadsheet or a smaller cap table vendor.
Carta reaches out as your company approaches the eligibility ceiling (typically tied to funding stage or stakeholder count). You'll be transitioned to a paid plan at that point — often with a discount for having been a Launch customer — without losing your historical cap table data.
