Best Cap Table Software in 2026: 13 Platforms for Founders and Finance Leads

Updated September 2026

If you're a seed-stage founder who just needs the record to stay clean and cheap, start with Fidelity Private Shares or Ledgy on their free tiers. If you want a published price you can budget before a sales call, Astrella and Pulley both start at $1,200 a year. If you're a CFO at Series B or C with a real option pool and a board that asks for waterfall scenarios, Carta and Ledgy carry the most depth, and Shareworks takes over once you're staring at an exit. Cap table software exists to answer one question without a lawyer: who owns what, under what terms, as of today.

This guide covers 13 platforms judged on how well they hold the ownership record itself: share classes, SAFEs and convertibles, option pools and vesting, 409A valuations, waterfall modelling, and the investor and board reporting that gets pulled off the back of it. Every price below was checked against the vendor's own pricing page in September 2026, and where a vendor publishes nothing, this guide says that plainly instead of guessing. If your problem is administering grants rather than holding the record (participant portals, tax withholding, ASC 718 expensing, global mobility), the companion equity management software guide covers that side of the split.

Key Facts

• There are 6,609 employee stock ownership plans at 6,411 U.S. companies, covering 15.1 million participants and holding more than $2 trillion in assets (NCEO, Employee Ownership by the Numbers).
• U.S. venture firms closed 14,320 deals worth $215.4 billion in 2024, and each one of those rounds required a cap table update in the same week it closed (NVCA 2025 Yearbook).
• Convertible notes fell to a record-low 7% of pre-seed rounds in Q1 2026, meaning roughly 93% of pre-seed deals now run on SAFEs that sit unconverted on the cap table until a priced round (vendor data: Carta, State of Pre-Seed Q1 2026).
• Median founding-team ownership drops from about 56% after a seed round to about 36% after a Series A, and by Series C the employee option pool (16.8%) is larger than what the founders still hold (16.1%) (vendor data: Carta, Founder Ownership Report 2026).
• 85% of companies with fewer than 750 employees have one or no dedicated person administering their equity plan, which is exactly the gap this software fills (NASPP/Deloitte, 2025 Equity Administration Survey).

Quick Comparison Table

The Default Shortlist: Broad Platforms Most Founders Compare First

These three show up on nearly every shortlist. Two of them give the record away free at the earliest stage, and the third charges from day one for a cleaner modelling experience. What separates them is less about features than about how much you can find out before you talk to a salesperson.

1. Carta: The Default Record Most Investors Already Read

Carta's bet from the beginning was that a cap table gets more valuable when everyone who touches it sits on the same system. It started as an electronic share certificate tool and grew into a stack that covers incorporation, SAFE issuance, 409A valuations, option exercises, waterfall modelling, secondaries, and fund administration on the investor side. That network effect is the honest reason Carta leads most shortlists: your lead investor probably already has a login, and your next one probably will too.

The friction is price discovery. Launch is free for up to 25 stakeholders and $1M raised, which covers a founding team and a first angel round. Everything above it publishes no dollar figure. Carta's own FAQ states that each package "has a price per stakeholder with a minimum annual fee," Build is capped at up to 50 stakeholders, and Grow and Scale are listed with a flexible stakeholder limit. Two of the three numbers that determine your bill are invisible until you're in a sales call, which is why so many founders shop the field first.

Target audience. Companies expecting heavy investor and auditor traffic on the record, where breadth and familiarity matter more than a published price.

Sizing fit. 1-10 on the free tier, 10-50 on Build, 50-200 and 200+ on Grow and Scale.

Stage fit. Incorporation through late-stage secondaries, the widest span on this list.

Pricing: Launch free, up to 25 stakeholders and $1M raised. Build, Grow, and Scale are priced per stakeholder against a minimum annual fee, with no published figures; Build is capped at up to 50 stakeholders while Grow and Scale carry a flexible stakeholder limit.

Best for: A company that wants the widest feature surface and the largest investor network, and can absorb a sales conversation to find out what it costs.

If the pricing opacity is what's pushing you to look elsewhere, the dedicated Carta alternatives guide works through the same field from that angle.

2. Pulley: Round Modelling Without a Free Tier to Fall Back On

Pulley's product argument is that modelling should be the part you never dread. SAFE stacks with different caps and discounts, priced rounds with a new option pool carved out pre-money, secondary sales, and the dilution each of those pushes onto every existing holder: Pulley builds all of that into scenarios a founder can run without a spreadsheet or a lawyer. For a company still deciding how big the next pool needs to be, that's the whole job.

What Pulley doesn't do is give anything away. There's no free plan at any stakeholder count, and the only free entry is a trial aimed at companies switching off Carta. Startup runs $1,200 a year and includes the first 25 stakeholders. Growth runs $3,500 a year and includes the first 40, adding the operational layer a company needs once it grants options on a regular cadence. Enterprise is quote only, billed annually. Pulley publishes no per-extra-stakeholder rate, so the cost of crossing a tier boundary is a question you have to ask.

One counting quirk is worth planning around: angel investors writing checks for $50,000 or less count as half a stakeholder toward your limit. A party round of twenty small checks therefore consumes ten slots, not twenty.

Target audience. Seed and Series A teams that would rather pay from day one than manage a free-tier ceiling.

Sizing fit. 1-10 and 10-50 comfortably; past 50 stakeholders you're negotiating.

Stage fit. Strongest from the first priced round through Series B.

Pricing: Startup $1,200/year (first 25 stakeholders included). Growth $3,500/year (first 40 stakeholders included). Enterprise: contact us, billed annually. Token Cap Table $4,500/year and Token Distributions $4,500/year; token valuations from $10,000.

Best for: A founder who models rounds often, wants a published price, and doesn't need a free tier to start.

For the head-to-head against the incumbent, see Carta vs. Pulley. If Pulley is the platform you're shopping away from, the Pulley alternatives guide takes that angle.

3. Fidelity Private Shares: A Free Record With a Custodian Behind It

Fidelity Private Shares is the equity platform Fidelity built for private companies, and its opening move is deliberately aimed at the very earliest stage. Launch is free for up to 25 stakeholders and under $1M raised, matching Carta's free tier almost exactly, with a name behind it that a first-time founder's board and counsel will already recognise.

The move that no other platform on this list matches is the incorporation bundle: $400 covers Delaware C Corp filing fees, one year of registered agent service, and a complimentary Launch subscription. If you haven't incorporated yet, that folds entity formation and your ownership record into a single decision at a price below what most registered agents charge on their own.

The catch sits above the free tier. Startup, Growth, and Scale all publish feature lists and no dollar figures, so the moment you outgrow Launch you're back to a quote. Startup adds premier support, investor updates, and Form 3921 filing. Growth adds 409A valuations, priority onboarding, ASC 718 support, and HRIS and payroll integration. Those are the features most companies need at exactly the point they cross the free ceiling, so plan on a conversation somewhere between your seed and your Series A.

Target audience. Pre-seed and first-time founders who want an institution's name on the record and possibly the incorporation handled too.

Sizing fit. 1-10 free, 10-50 on Startup or Growth once you're through a quote.

Stage fit. Strongest right at formation, given the bundled incorporation package.

Pricing: Launch free, up to 25 stakeholders and under $1M raised. Startup, Growth, and Scale publish feature lists only, with no dollar figures. Delaware C Corp incorporation package $400, including filing fees, one year of registered agent service, and a complimentary Launch subscription.

Best for: A founder incorporating now who wants formation and the ownership record bought together, from a name their investors already trust.

Getting the books started at the same time is a reasonable instinct; our accounting software roundup covers that decision for a company at this stage.

Published-Price Platforms You Can Budget Without a Sales Call

Six platforms print real numbers on their own pricing pages, which means you can build a three-year cost model before you ever fill in a contact form. They differ sharply on what the free tier covers, what a stakeholder over the line costs, and whether a 409A valuation is inside the subscription or billed separately.

4. Ledgy: The Most Generous Free Tier, and a Real Step Up After It

Ledgy is built for companies whose ownership record has to satisfy more than a founder. Its centre of gravity is reporting: investor updates, board packs, scenario and waterfall analysis, and financial reporting that finance teams and auditors can work from directly. It's also the most multi-entity-aware platform here, which matters if your holding company sits in one country and your operating entities sit in three others.

The free Launch tier caps at 50 stakeholders, double what Carta, Fidelity, and Qapita allow, and it comes with no funds-raised condition attached. For a company with a wide angel list and a modest raise, that's the longest free runway on this list by a distance.

The step up is real, though. Scale starts at EUR 5,000 a year and includes 50 or more stakeholders. Enterprise starts at EUR 18,000 a year and includes 200 or more. Public companies are quoted custom. The financial reporting module is priced separately: Essentials from EUR 3,000 a year and Advanced from EUR 5,000 a year, so a company that wants Ledgy specifically for its reporting depth should model the add-on, not just the plan.

Target audience. European and globally distributed companies where investors, auditors, and a board all read the same record.

Sizing fit. 1-50 free, 50-200 on Scale, 200+ on Enterprise.

Stage fit. Series A through pre-IPO, with the free tier covering everything before that.

Pricing: Launch free, maximum 50 stakeholders. Scale starts at EUR 5,000/year, 50+ stakeholders included. Enterprise starts at EUR 18,000/year, 200+ stakeholders included. Public companies: custom. Financial reporting add-on: Essentials from EUR 3,000/year, Advanced from EUR 5,000/year.

Best for: A European or multi-entity company that will outgrow a 25-stakeholder cap quickly and wants reporting an auditor can use.

If Ledgy is the platform you're already on and looking past, the Ledgy alternatives guide covers the switch in detail.

5. Astrella by EQ: Banded Pricing Published to 300 Stakeholders

Astrella is the equity platform from EQ, the share registrar and transfer agent group, and it's the clearest pricing page in this category. Three bands, three published numbers, all billed annually: Early Stage at $1,200 a year for 0 to 25 stakeholders, Emerging at $3,200 a year for 26 to 100, and Accelerate at $8,200 a year for 101 to 300. Above 300 stakeholders you're quoted. The page carries one caveat worth reading: pricing shown is standard pricing and may not reflect partnership or custom arrangements, so a partner referral could move it.

What that buys you is a cost model you can actually build. You can forecast the year your headcount crosses 100, know the bill goes from $3,200 to $8,200, and decide in advance whether that's acceptable. No other platform on this list lets you plan three tiers ahead without a phone call.

The tradeoff is the absence of a free tier. Astrella starts you on a paid plan from your first stakeholder, so a two-founder company pays $1,200 a year for a record that Ledgy or Fidelity would hold for nothing.

Target audience. Finance leads who need a defensible budget line more than they need a free tier.

Sizing fit. 1-25, 25-100, and 100-300 all carry published numbers; past 300 it's custom.

Stage fit. Seed through late-stage private, with the registrar relationship becoming more useful the closer you get to liquidity.

Pricing: Early Stage $1,200/year (0-25 stakeholders). Emerging $3,200/year (26-100 stakeholders). Accelerate $8,200/year (101-300 stakeholders). Above 300 stakeholders: custom quote. All tiers billed annually.

Best for: A CFO or controller who has to defend a three-year software budget and wants every number in it published.

6. Cake Equity: A Dollar Per Extra Stakeholder on the Entry Tier

Cake Equity comes out of Australia and is built around option and share scheme administration for APAC companies, with employee-facing tooling that makes a grant legible to the person receiving it. Its pricing is the most granular here, and one number stands out: on Build, an extra stakeholder beyond the included 25 costs $1. Not $40, not $50. One dollar a year.

That changes the shape of the decision for a company with a long tail of small holders. A 25-stakeholder Build plan at $1,000 a year that grows to 60 stakeholders costs $1,035, where the same growth on Qapita's Surge tier would add $40 per head. Team, at $2,750 a year with 40 stakeholders included, moves the overage rate to $5 and folds in an audit-ready 409A valuation. Pro is custom-priced with 100 stakeholders included, a $60 per additional stakeholder rate, and a 409A included; that $60 rate belongs to Pro, not Team, and it's the number that makes Pro expensive at the margin. A standalone 409A add-on runs $1,500.

The free tier is the thinnest on this list at 5 stakeholders, which is a founding team and nothing else. Build also saves 10% against quarterly billing, so annual is the cheaper commitment.

Target audience. APAC-headquartered startups granting options to employees and contractors across several countries.

Sizing fit. 1-10 free, 10-50 on Build, 50-200 on Team or Pro.

Stage fit. Seed through Series B, especially once the option pool has more heads in it than the cap table has investors.

Pricing: Free $0, 5 stakeholders included. Build $1,000 annually, 25 stakeholders included, $1 per additional stakeholder, saving 10% against quarterly billing. Team $2,750 annually, 40 stakeholders included, $5 per additional stakeholder, audit-ready 409A valuation included. Pro custom, 100 stakeholders included, $60 per additional stakeholder, 409A included. Standalone 409A add-on $1,500.

Best for: An APAC company with a long list of small holders, where a per-stakeholder overage rate decides the whole bill.

Once options are going to employees on a schedule, the grant record and the HR record need to agree; our HR software roundup covers the system on the other side of that handshake.

7. Eqvista: 409A Valuations Priced Openly by Funding Round

Eqvista inverts the usual model. Most platforms sell you a cap table subscription and treat the 409A valuation as an add-on or a tier upgrade. Eqvista publishes the 409A price first, banded by the round you've raised, and treats the cap table as the thing that comes with it.

The valuation ladder is public: $990 a year for a startup or pre-revenue company, $1,290 for friends and family or angel-stage, $1,990 for seed, $2,590 for Series A, and custom for Series B and beyond. Annual 409A packages include unlimited 409A updates across the year plus the premium cap table, which matters more than it sounds. A company that raises a bridge, issues a big grant, and then does a priced round in the same twelve months needs more than one valuation, and paying once for all of them is a genuine saving. Expedited processing starts at $490 and QSBS attestation starts at $1,000.

The cap table on its own is priced simply: Freemium is $0 for under 20 stakeholders with no credit card, and Premium runs $2 per stakeholder per month, moving to custom pricing above 50 stakeholders.

Target audience. US startups that need repeat 409A valuations and want the price visible before they commit.

Sizing fit. 1-20 free, 20-50 on Premium, custom above 50.

Stage fit. Pre-revenue through Series A, where the published valuation ladder still applies.

Pricing: Freemium cap table $0, under 20 stakeholders, no credit card. Premium cap table $2/month per stakeholder, custom pricing above 50 stakeholders. 409A by round: startup or pre-revenue $990/year, friends and family or angel $1,290/year, seed $1,990/year, Series A $2,590/year, Series B and above custom. Expedited processing from $490. QSBS attestation from $1,000.

Best for: A company that expects to need more than one 409A this year and wants the total cost visible up front.

8. EquityList: Thirty-Five Included Stakeholders on the Entry Tier

EquityList repriced its lineup and the result is one of the better entry-tier deals in this category, so ignore any older write-up describing a "Seed" plan at $2,200 a year. The current shape is four tiers. Free is $0 with 10 stakeholders included and 1,000 lifetime AI credits for document parsing and data extraction, and it is no longer gated on how much you've raised, which makes it usable by a company that has already closed a seed round.

Build is $1,200 billed annually, which works out to $100 a month, and includes 35 stakeholders with additional stakeholders at $35 a year each. Billed monthly instead, Build is $125 a month with additional stakeholders at $4 a month, so the annual commitment is the cheaper path by $300 a year. Growth is $3,500 billed annually and includes 50 stakeholders with additional stakeholders at $50 a year. Enterprise is custom.

Thirty-five included stakeholders on a $1,200 entry tier is more headroom than Pulley (25), Astrella (25), or Cake's Build (25) give at a similar price. The place EquityList gets expensive is the Growth overage: $50 per stakeholder a year is above Qapita's $40 on Surge and far above Cake's $1 on Build, so a company with a wide holder list should model the overage carefully rather than reading the base price alone.

Target audience. Seed and Series A companies that want AI-assisted document handling and a wide included stakeholder count.

Sizing fit. 1-10 free, 10-50 on Build, 50-200 on Growth.

Stage fit. Post-seed through Series B.

Pricing: Free $0, 10 stakeholders included, 1,000 lifetime AI credits. Build $1,200 billed annually (equivalent to $100/month), 35 stakeholders included, plus $35 per additional stakeholder per year; billed monthly Build is $125/month plus $4 per additional stakeholder per month. Growth $3,500 billed annually, 50 stakeholders included, plus $50 per additional stakeholder per year. Enterprise: custom.

Best for: A post-seed company with roughly 30 stakeholders that wants the widest included count at the lowest published entry price.

9. Qapita: ESOP Administration Built for India and Southeast Asia

Qapita is built around the ESOP mechanics that dominate India and Southeast Asia, where option grants, exercise windows, and buyback events follow local rules that a US-built platform models awkwardly at best. If your company is registered in India, Singapore, or Indonesia and running an active option plan, Qapita's grant and exercise workflows will feel like they were written for your paperwork, because they were.

Pricing is published in USD and billed annually. Spark is free for up to 25 stakeholders and under $1M raised. Surge is $1,600 a year for up to 40 stakeholders, with $40 per stakeholder per year beyond that. Growth is $3,000 a year for up to 50 stakeholders, with $60 per stakeholder per year beyond. Enterprise is custom. Publishing the overage rate on every paid tier is more transparency than Pulley, Astrella, or Carta offer, and it lets you price the year your ESOP doubles.

The USD denomination is worth noting for local buyers. A company earning in rupees or rupiah and paying an annual bill in dollars carries the currency movement, which on a $3,000 plan is small but not nothing across a three-year commitment.

Target audience. India and Southeast Asia companies with an active ESOP and a growing grantee list.

Sizing fit. 1-25 free, 25-50 on Surge or Growth, 50-200 with overage or Enterprise.

Stage fit. Seed through Series C, with ESOP administration becoming the main job from Series A onward.

Pricing: Spark free, up to 25 stakeholders and under $1M raised. Surge $1,600/year (USD), up to 40 stakeholders, plus $40 per stakeholder per year beyond. Growth $3,000/year (USD), up to 50 stakeholders, plus $60 per stakeholder per year beyond. Enterprise: custom. All tiers billed annually.

Best for: An Indian or Southeast Asian company whose main cap table workload is running an ESOP, not modelling the next priced round.

Regional Specialists Built Around Local Company Law

Two platforms here compete less on features than on jurisdiction. Their value is that they speak the local filing language natively, which a US-built platform simply doesn't, and that changes what your counsel has to do manually every quarter.

10. Capboard: A Lighter European Record With an Unreadable Price Page

Capboard positions itself as the smaller, simpler European option: a clean ownership record with vesting, scenario modelling, and stakeholder portals, aimed at companies that find Ledgy heavier and more expensive than their situation calls for. For a Spanish, French, or German startup with a couple of share classes and a modest option pool, that pitch lands.

The problem is that you can't price it. On Capboard's own pricing page the plan figures do not render at all: the page shows raw template placeholders where the numbers should be, along the lines of a monthly figure and an included stakeholder count that were never filled in. That's not a fetch failure on our end or a paywall; it's what the live page shows. So the plan cost is a conversation, not a published number.

What Capboard does publish is its add-ons, and those are useful for building a floor. Premium support runs $50 a month or EUR 50 a month. The onboarding package is a one-time $300 or EUR 300 for companies up to 100 stakeholders. And a 409A valuation through Capboard's partner is a flat $1,800, which is a real number to compare against Cake's $1,500 standalone and Capboard's more expensive US-focused rivals.

Target audience. Continental European startups that want a lighter record than Ledgy and don't mind asking for a quote.

Sizing fit. 1-10 and 10-50 are the natural range; the onboarding package is scoped to 100 stakeholders.

Stage fit. Pre-seed through Series A.

Pricing: Plan prices do not render on Capboard's own pricing page, so a plan figure requires contacting the vendor. Published add-ons: premium support $50/month or EUR 50/month; onboarding package $300 or EUR 300 one-time for companies up to 100 stakeholders; 409A valuation $1,800 through a partner.

Best for: A European startup that wants a simpler record than Ledgy and is willing to trade a published plan price for it.

11. Vestd: Two-Way Companies House Filing for UK Companies

Vestd is the UK specialist, and the specialism is not cosmetic. It's built around EMI option schemes, the tax-advantaged structure most UK startups use, and it files in both directions with Companies House, so a share issue recorded in Vestd flows through to the statutory record rather than sitting in a parallel spreadsheet your accountant reconciles later. It handles growth shares and unapproved options too, and it supports live HMRC submissions as a paid add-on.

Vestd does publish plan prices, contrary to what several older roundups claim. Self-Serve starts at GBP 2,200 a year, or from GBP 220 a month if you'd rather pay monthly, and the annual commitment is the cheaper of the two. Guided starts at GBP 4,200 a year, or from GBP 420 a month, and adds hands-on help with scheme design and setup. Full Service is enquire-only. VAT is charged on top of all of it, and the minimum term is 12 months.

The add-on list is long and worth reading before you commit, because a UK company usually needs several of them: company incorporation adds GBP 100, InVestd Raise runs GBP 150 a month, additional valuations start at GBP 1,000, 409A valuations start at GBP 700, digitising an existing scheme starts at GBP 250, live HMRC submission support adds GBP 25 a month, new share classes start at GBP 250, Companies House reconciliations start at GBP 25 a month, a nominee structure covering up to 50 shareholders starts at GBP 50 a month, and share movement history starts at GBP 250.

Target audience. UK-incorporated companies running EMI schemes with statutory filing obligations.

Sizing fit. 10-50 and 50-200; the nominee structure add-on is scoped to 50 shareholders.

Stage fit. Seed through Series B, and useful from incorporation given the formation add-on.

Pricing: Self-Serve from GBP 2,200/year (from GBP 220/month). Guided from GBP 4,200/year (from GBP 420/month). Full Service: enquire. VAT charged in addition; minimum 12-month term. Add-ons include company incorporation +GBP 100, InVestd Raise GBP 150/month, additional valuations from GBP 1,000, 409A valuations from GBP 700, existing scheme digitisation from GBP 250, live HMRC submission support +GBP 25/month, new share classes from GBP 250, Companies House reconciliations from GBP 25/month, nominee structure (up to 50 shareholders) from GBP 50/month, and share movement history from GBP 250.

Best for: A UK company running an EMI scheme that wants its cap table and its statutory filings to be the same act, not two.

12. AngelList: A Cap Table Sitting Inside the Investing Stack

AngelList's cap table exists because AngelList already sits on the other side of the table. If your rounds come through AngelList syndicates and SPVs, or you're running a rolling fund or scout program on the platform, having the ownership record in the same place as the vehicles buying into it removes a reconciliation step that most companies do by email.

Two things to know before you shortlist it. First, AngelList publishes fund administration pricing only. There is no standalone cap table price anywhere on its site, so a company coming to AngelList purely for the cap table has no published figure to work from. Second, since August 2025 new customers receive only the rebuilt cap table product, so third-party reviews written before that date may describe features or an interface you won't get.

That makes AngelList a strong fit for a narrow group and an awkward one outside it. If AngelList is already your fundraising mechanism, the integration is genuinely valuable. If it isn't, you're adopting a cap table from a company whose main business is fund administration, without a published price to compare against the six platforms above that do publish one.

Target audience. Founders already running SPVs, syndicates, or fund formation through AngelList.

Sizing fit. 1-10 and 10-50, matching the stage where AngelList vehicles are most active.

Stage fit. Pre-seed through Series A.

Pricing: No published cap table pricing. AngelList publishes fund administration pricing only, so cap table cost requires a direct conversation.

Best for: A startup whose funding already flows through AngelList and wants one fewer system to reconcile.

13. Shareworks (Morgan Stanley at Work): The Institutional Record for Late-Stage and Public Companies

Shareworks is where cap tables go once the stakes change. Morgan Stanley at Work acquired Solium's Shareworks and wired it into the bank's wealth management and stock plan infrastructure, which means the platform is built for the problems that arrive late: thousands of participants, a tender offer or secondary program, transfer agent duties, public-company reporting obligations, and participants who want to sell shares through a brokerage relationship rather than a form.

Nothing about it is self-serve. There's no published pricing anywhere, no signup flow, and no free tier. Buying Shareworks means a sales process, an implementation, and usually a broader Morgan Stanley at Work conversation covering retirement and financial wellness alongside equity. For a Series C company with a real liquidity event on the horizon, that's not a drawback; it's the point. For a seed-stage company with 18 stakeholders, it's an entirely wrong fit.

The practical question for most readers isn't whether Shareworks is good, it's when to move. The usual trigger is the first tender offer or the start of IPO readiness work, when the record stops being an internal document and starts being something a bank, an auditor, and eventually a regulator all read.

Target audience. Late-stage private and public companies with liquidity events, transfer agent needs, and thousands of participants.

Sizing fit. 200+ almost exclusively; below that the implementation weight outstrips the benefit.

Stage fit. Series C through public, and the platform most companies migrate to rather than start on.

Pricing: No published pricing. Quote only, with no self-serve signup available.

Best for: A late-stage or newly public company where the ownership record has to satisfy a bank, an auditor, and a regulator at the same time.

For the migration question specifically, Carta vs. Shareworks covers the point where one hands off to the other, and the Shareworks alternatives guide covers what else fits at that stage.

Free Tier Comparison: What Each Platform Gives Away Before You Pay

Seven of the 13 platforms hold your ownership record for nothing at some size, and the caps are further apart than most buyers assume. Ledgy's 50 stakeholders with no funding condition is double what Carta, Fidelity Private Shares, and Qapita allow, and ten times what Cake Equity's free tier covers. EquityList's free tier used to be gated on how much you'd raised; it isn't any more, which quietly makes it usable by a company that has already closed a seed round. Pulley and Astrella don't offer a free tier at all.

Stage Fit: Which Platform Matches Your Funding Round

The record you need at incorporation and the record you need before a tender offer are different products, and very few platforms are honestly good at both ends. This matrix is about fit, not quality: a "poor fit" for Shareworks at pre-seed says the implementation weight is wrong for that stage, not that the platform is weak.

The step most companies underestimate sits between Series A and Series B, when option grants start flowing on a monthly cadence and the cap table has to agree with the HR record about who joined, who left, and when vesting stopped. That's the point where HRIS and payroll integration stops being a nice extra, and where choosing the payroll system on the other side of that sync starts to matter to your equity workflow.

409A and Valuation Costs: What Sits Inside the Subscription

A 409A valuation is the cost most buyers forget when comparing subscription prices, and it's often larger than the subscription itself. Some platforms fold it into a tier, some sell it as an add-on with a published number, and several publish nothing at all. Compare total annual cost, not plan price.

Regional Fit: Where Each Platform's Compliance Actually Reaches

Cap table software is only as good as its grasp of the company law you're incorporated under. A US platform will hold a UK share register accurately and still leave your accountant filing at Companies House by hand.

Pricing Transparency: Published Figures Versus Quote Only

Transparency is not the same as being cheap, but it decides how much of your evaluation you can do alone. Astrella publishes every band to 300 stakeholders. Carta publishes only the free tier. Capboard publishes add-ons but not plans. That difference shapes how long your procurement takes more than the underlying software does.

How to Choose: Decision Framework

What to Do Next

Write down two numbers before you look at another pricing page: your current stakeholder count, and what it will be twelve months from now if hiring and fundraising go the way you expect. Then take those two numbers to the free-tier table and the pricing transparency table above. Most buyers pick on the entry price and get surprised by the second number, because the tier boundary, not the plan, is what sets the real bill.

Then shortlist two platforms and ask each the same question: what does this cost at double my current stakeholder count, with a 409A valuation included? Cake Equity answers it for $35 of overage on Build. EquityList answers it for $50 a head a year on Growth. Carta and Fidelity Private Shares can't answer it from a public page at all. The vendors that can answer in writing are the ones you can plan around.

Camellia writes about equity management and cap table software for B2B teams. Pricing verified against vendor pricing pages in September 2026.