The best Carta alternatives for a small founding team are Pulley, Ledgy, Cake Equity and Eqvista. Most have a free or low-cost entry plan for a handful of stakeholders. Carta and Capbase suit other needs. Whichever you pick, a cap table only records who owns what. The reasons behind the split belong in a cofounder agreement.
Why do founders look for Carta alternatives?
Because Carta covers equity from seed to IPO and leans toward established companies with institutional investors, and its custom pricing often rises after funding rounds (Ellty). A pre-seed team with two founders and a SAFE may do better on a simpler platform.
Capbase bundles Delaware incorporation with cap table management. That helps if you are setting up a US company from scratch. If you already incorporated, or you are outside the US, its main reason to exist does not apply, and you are comparing it as plain equity software.
Which cap table tool fits an early team?
Pick the tool that is free at your current size and fits your country. The four most compared:
| Tool | Free tier | Paid | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulley | None | Startup plan, $1,200 a year for up to 25 stakeholders | Pre-seed and seed teams that want flat pricing (Value Add VC) |
| Ledgy | See ledgy.com | See ledgy.com | UK and EU teams with EMI schemes |
| Cake Equity | Up to 5 stakeholders | From $1,000 a year | Very small teams leaving Carta |
| Eqvista | First 20 stakeholders | Low add-on fees | Simple SAFE and ESOP needs |
Founders who moved from Carta to Cake report saving $3,000 to $16,000 a year (Cake Equity). Eqvista's free tier and plain SAFE support suit teams that want few extras (Eqvista).
What should you check before you commit?
Check two things besides price.
- Does it support every instrument you will issue: SAFEs, option grants and, for UK teams, EMI options?
- How does the price change as you add hires, advisors or another founder? A tool that is free at five people and jumps at twenty-five needs planning before the invoice arrives.
Upgrade when your cap table outgrows the free tier, not before.
What does cap table software not do?
It does not record why. A cap table shows the outcome of a decision: who owns what. It says nothing about why one founder holds more, what happens to unvested shares if someone leaves early, or who has the final say when you disagree.
Those answers go in a cofounder agreement. Founders who skip it find the gap in their first serious disagreement. If you are deciding how to split cofounder equity, write the reasons down before you set up the cap table. The same applies if you are comparing SeedLegals alternatives for cofounder agreements.
Where should you start?
Set up the free tool, then write the partnership down: equity reasons, vesting, who decides what, and what happens if someone leaves. Our free templates are a starting point. The cofounder alignment check shows where you and your co-founder have not actually agreed yet, even when the cap table says you have.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the main alternatives to Carta for early-stage startups?
- Pulley, Ledgy, Cake Equity and Eqvista are the ones founders compare most. Cake Equity is free for up to 5 stakeholders and Pulley has a flat-priced plan for small teams. Both are built for founders running their own cap table, where Carta is built for larger companies with finance teams and many funding rounds.
- Is Carta worth it for a two or three person founding team?
- Usually not at the start. Carta's pricing and features suit complex cap tables with many investors. A small team with a simple cap table is often covered by Cake Equity, free up to 5 stakeholders, or Pulley's Startup plan, for far less money. Move later if you outgrow them.
- Does cap table software replace a cofounder agreement?
- No. Cap table software tracks who owns what and how that changes. It does not record why the equity was split that way, what happens if a founder leaves, or who decides when you disagree. Those answers belong in a written cofounder agreement that both founders sign.
- What should founders check besides price in a cap table tool?
- Check how many stakeholders you get before the price rises, whether it supports the instruments you will issue, such as SAFEs, options and EMI schemes for UK teams, and whether it suits founders managing their own cap table. A tool that is free at five people can jump at twenty-five.