All 5 recommendations
Est. prices as of 3 Mar 2026
#1 · Carta · Premium Pick
Carta Cap Table Management
$0 - $400/month
The industry standard for cap tables and equity modeling—where founders actually track their dilution
- ✓ Real-time cap table updates with waterfall modeling
- ✓ Down-round and liquidation preference calculations built in
- ✓ Integration with 409A valuations for tax compliance
- ✗ Pricing scales aggressively; free tier is stripped down
- ✗ Learning curve steeper than a simple calculator
#2 · Pulley · Best Value
Pulley Equity Management
$0 - $300/month
Transparent equity tools built for employees who actually want to understand their stake
- ✓ Employee-friendly dashboard showing real payout scenarios
- ✓ Scenario modeling for different exit valuations
- ✓ Transparent fee structure with no surprise pricing tiers
- ✗ Newer platform with smaller integration ecosystem
- ✗ Limited historical data compared to Carta
#3 · DIY Community · Budget King
Google Sheets + Equity Calculator Templates
$0
Free, unsexy, but brutally effective if you actually understand preference stacks
- ✓ Completely free and fully customizable to your situation
- ✓ No SaaS vendor lock-in or data privacy concerns
- ✓ Forces you to understand the mechanics of your cap table
- ✗ Requires manual updates and financial modeling knowledge
- ✗ Easy to make formula errors that compound into wrong valuations
#4 · Carta
eShares (now Carta Legacy)
$50 - $200/month
The older, simpler Carta—good if you just need basic equity calculations without enterprise bloat
- ✓ Simpler interface than full Carta platform
- ✓ Lower cost for small cap tables
- ✓ Basic scenario modeling included
- ✗ Being phased out in favor of Carta proper
- ✗ Less frequent feature updates
#5 · Morgan Stanley
Shareworks (Morgan Stanley)
$150 - $500/month
Enterprise-grade but overkill for startups—useful mainly if your company has 500+ employees
- ✓ Institutional-grade compliance and reporting
- ✓ Handles complex RSU and option structures
- ✓ Integration with major payroll systems
- ✗ Designed for public companies and late-stage startups
- ✗ Expensive and over-engineered for early-stage equity modeling