Equity

Vital signs

Why it's on the table

On the table, Equity (Eq) is seat 43 of 58, in the Back-office family. It is a stable element — the category has settled, choosing is cheap, and switching is rare. Pick a holder and move on; this is not where your decision budget should go. It is optional: plenty of companies run without it — until a specific trigger (scale, regulation, cost, or customers) makes it essential for them. It sits in the lowest paid band — lunch money against the hours it returns.

Equity: the top 5 — v2026.Q3

Edition v2026.Q3 · ranking, pricing and status verified 2026-08-06.

1. 1CartaCarta (eShares, Inc.)

   Launch free (≤25 stakeholders, ≤$1M raised, incl. SAFE closings) · Build/Grow/Scale contact-sales · 409A included Grow+

   Best for The default for a US venture-track C-corp — every investor, lawyer, and acquirer already speaks Carta, and the free tier covers you to $1M raised.

   The category's network effect in one company: 50,000+ companies, 1.7M+ equity holders, $4.5T+ assets on platform (Aug 2026), and the largest 409A operation in existence — 120k+ valuations delivered, ~16k/year. $442M ARR in 2024 (+19% YoY), with cap table + 409A the core ~$250M of it. Now shipping Carta Plugins for Claude so agents can query and act on live cap-table data.

   Watch Trust deficit is self-inflicted: exited secondary trading in 2024 after customers caught it using their cap-table data to broker deals; founders reported cancellation friction (Dec 2024); multiple discrimination suits settled through Feb 2025. Paid-tier pricing is opaque contact-sales, and the free tier's $1M-raised cap arrives fast.

   50,000+ companies, 1.7M+ equity holders, $4.5T+ assets on platform (carta.com, Aug 2026) [src] · $442M ARR 2024, +19% YoY; ~$250M from cap table + 409A (Sacra) [src] · 120k+ 409A valuations delivered, ~16,000/year (carta.com, Aug 2026) [src]
   Site →Docs →

2. 2PulleyPulley (Prolific Labs)

   Startup $1,200/yr (25 stakeholders) · Growth $3,500/yr (40, incl. 409A) · Enterprise custom · token cap table $4,500/yr

   Best for Founders who want listed prices, an anti-Carta data stance, and the only serious token + equity cap table in one product.

   The credible challenger: transparent pricing on the site ($1,200/$3,500/yr), an explicit "we don't monetize your data" position aimed at Carta's scandal, and customers like Linear, LayerZero, Runway, and Techstars. When AngelList sunset its legacy cap-table product (Aug 2025), it named Pulley an official migration partner — the market's endorsement of the #2. Crypto is a real vertical: token cap tables, token 409A-equivalent valuations, distributions.

   Watch No free tier — Carta Launch, Cake, and Mantle all start at $0. Scale claims are vague ("thousands of companies"), and 409A requires the $3,500 Growth tier.

   Startup $1,200/yr, Growth $3,500/yr incl. 409A — publicly listed (Aug 2026) [src] · Named official migration partner for AngelList's legacy cap-table sunset (Aug 6, 2025) [src] · Customers incl. Linear, LayerZero, Bitwise, Runway; dedicated token cap-table product (Aug 2026) [src]
   Site →Docs →

3. 3Cake EquityCake Equity

   Free (5 stakeholders) · Build $1,000/yr (25) · Team $2,750/yr (40, incl. 2× 409A/yr) · Pro custom · 409A add-on $1,500

   Best for Cost-sensitive early teams — the cheapest credible paid tier in the category, with a genuine free plan and global (US/AU/UK) reach.

   Undercuts everyone with published pricing: $1,000/yr Build vs Pulley's $1,200, and the $2,750 Team tier bundles two audit-ready 409As a year — less than many boutiques charge for one. Claims 10,000+ companies (2025), grew out of Australia (Startmate 2021) into a Venice, CA HQ, and handles SAFEs, ESOPs, and board approvals with e-signing built in.

   Watch Scale claim is self-reported and thinner than Carta's; least US-investor brand recognition of the top four — some VCs will still ask you to move to Carta at the priced round. Per-stakeholder overage fees ($1–5) add up.

   Free plan (5 stakeholders); Build $1,000/yr; Team $2,750/yr incl. 2 409A valuations (Aug 2026) [src] · 10,000+ companies served claim; founded 2017 Queensland, Startmate 2021, now Venice CA (as of 2025) [src]
   Site →Docs →

4. 4MantleMantle (Canada)

   Starter free (unlimited stakeholders) · Essentials $1,200/yr · Growth $3,000/yr (incl. annual 409A) — no per-stakeholder fees

   Best for AI-led startups that want the cap table itself to be agentic — and the only free tier with no stakeholder cap.

   The AI-native entrant: agentic document extraction turns messy incorporation docs and SAFEs into structured cap-table data, works with Claude, GPT, and Gemini, and positions as "agentic infrastructure" rather than a filing cabinet. Pricing scales by features, not headcount — unlimited stakeholders on every tier including free, which no other vendor offers. Growth at $3,000/yr with 409A included undercuts Pulley's equivalent.

   Watch Youngest and least proven of the five — no disclosed company counts or funding scale, and investor-side brand recognition is near zero; a lead VC may still push you onto Carta. AI extraction of legal documents deserves human spot-checks.

   Free tier with unlimited stakeholders; Growth $3,000/yr incl. annual 409A (Aug 2026) [src] · AI-native: agentic doc processing across Claude/GPT/Gemini; "agentic infrastructure" positioning (Aug 2026) [src] · Covered by BetaKit as Canadian Carta competitor with free cap-table tool [src]
   Site →Docs →

5. 5LedgyLedgy AG (Zurich)

   Free starter (1 round, 2 admins) · paid tiers custom by stakeholders · 50% off yr 1 under €5M raised · 20% climate discount

   Best for European and UK companies managing multi-jurisdiction ESOPs — from seed through post-IPO share plans.

   The European default: Revolut, Synthesia, Personio, Motorway, and Aiven run equity on it, and it spans private cap tables through public-company share plans — useful when your EMI/VSOP/ESOP crosses borders, which US-centric tools handle poorly. Shipping AI too: "Ledgy Agent & MCP" exposes live equity data to agents for automated admin and instant answers.

   Watch Paid pricing is opaque (contact-sales, sized by stakeholders); 409A is a US instrument — a US Delaware C-corp is better served by the four above. No published scale metrics.

   Customers incl. Revolut, Synthesia, Personio; private-through-public share-plan scope (Aug 2026) [src] · Ledgy Agent & MCP — agent access to live equity data (Aug 2026) [src] · Free tier; 50% off first year for startups under €5M raised (Aug 2026) [src]
   Site →Docs →

Equity: the top 8 compared

Edition v2026.Q3 · ranking, pricing and status verified 2026-08-06.

How to choose your equity

If you just incorporated a Delaware C-corp — under 25 stakeholders, under $1M raised

Carta Launch, free. SAFE modeling and closings are included, and being where your investors and lawyers already work is worth more than any feature.

If opaque contact-sales pricing offends you, or you have tokens and equity on the same cap table

Pulley — $1,200/yr listed on the site, an explicit no-data-monetization stance, and the only mature token cap-table product (LayerZero, Bitwise run on it).

If you're past 25 stakeholders but pre-revenue, or allergic to per-stakeholder fees

Mantle — the only free tier with unlimited stakeholders, and its AI extraction ingests a messy existing cap table from raw documents.

If you're a UK/EU company issuing EMI options or running ESOPs across borders

Ledgy (multi-jurisdiction, Revolut-grade) — or Vestd/SeedLegals if you're UK-only and want Companies House sync and scheme setup bundled.

If you're Series B+ heading toward audits or an exit

Carta Grow/Scale — ASC 718 with audit support, Rule 701, Form 3921, exit modeling, and the 409A shop auditors see most often. Fidelity Private Shares is the credible non-Carta enterprise path.

Equity: the whole field

14 more tools tracked in this category, including 7 dead, renamed, or sunsetting — a reference that hides the graveyard isn't one. Verified 2026-08-06.

Equity: the category in numbers

Edition v2026.Q3 · ranking, pricing and status verified 2026-08-06.

• Carta at $442M ARR in 2024 (+19% YoY), ~$250M of it cap table + 409A — the category's revenue center of gravity (Sacra) [src]
• Consolidation: AngelList sunset its legacy cap-table product Aug 6, 2025, handing migrations to Pulley and J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions [src]
• Carta exited secondary trading Jan 2024 after customers alleged it used their cap-table data to broker share sales; the business was sold Aug 2024 [src]
• Carta is expanding sideways, not just up: acquired Avantia and launched Carta Law (May 2026), plus ListAlpha CRM and Carta Europe (ex-Capdesk) [src]
• AI reached the cap table in 2026: Carta Plugins for Claude, Ledgy Agent & MCP, and Mantle's agentic document extraction all shipped as headline features (vendor sites, Aug 2026) [src]
• 409A pricing has commoditized downward: bundled free in Carta Grow+, Pulley Growth ($3.5k/yr), Mantle Growth ($3k/yr), Cake Team ($2,750/yr incl. 2/yr) — vs $1,500+ standalone [src]

Equity: method & sources

Ranking criteria: network acceptance by investors/counsel first (a cap table is a shared document), then pricing transparency, SAFE + 409A administration depth, and jurisdiction fit; AI features are a tiebreaker, not a driver — correctness beats cleverness in a system of record. Charter: editorial picks, no affiliate consideration. Conflicts resolved: Carta company count — Sacra says 35,000 startups (~35% of VC-backed), carta.com claims 50,000+ companies (Aug 2026); we cite the vendor figure as the fresher claim and note the gap. Carta valuation — $7.4B Series G (Aug 2021) vs Wikipedia's sub-$2B 2024 secondary-market estimate; both stated, neither current. Cake's 10,000+ companies and Qapita's $185B EUM are self-reported and uncorroborated. Capbase shows a live product at $999/yr despite earlier wind-down chatter — flagged, not resolved. LTSE Equity's shutdown date is inferred from its removal from ltse.com; exact date unverified. AngelList's RUVs/SPVs and fund tooling belong to element Cp (Capital); incorporation-with-equity-docs (Stripe Atlas, Clerky) to In; contract templates incl. YC SAFEs (Common Paper) to Lg; EOR option administration (Deel, Remote Equity) to Hr. Boutique standalone 409A shops (Eton, Aranca, Meld et al.) exist but bundled platform valuations have largely won on price; not independently verified here. Research constraint: WebSearch was unavailable this session — all verification via direct fetches of vendor and reference pages; recent-news coverage (esp. any mid-2026 Carta controversy beyond Carta Law/Avantia) is thinner than protocol prefers. Ranking criteria: verified commercial traction, independent satisfaction surveys, agent benchmarks, and founder-fit (price floor, lock-in, surfaces). Editorial, never paid — the charter. Machine-readable twin: eq.json.

Our take

Get it right at formation; fixing it later costs real money. This element is cheap insurance.

Combines with