Carta vs Pulley vs AngelList Equity 2026

Q: What 409A Valuations Actually Cost?

The sticker price across all three platforms is similar — included in most paid tiers — but the meaningful differences are turnaround time and audit defensibility: All three use IRS-acceptable methodologies and hold up in audit. Pulley wins on speed; the others are roughly equivalent.

Cap table software is one of those purchases founders barely think about until something goes wrong — a 409A misfires before a fundraise, an option grant gets blocked at exercise, or a secondary tender lands without a clean record-keeping system. The market in 2026 is split between Carta (the incumbent), Pulley (the founder-friendly challenger), and AngelList Equity (the lean, stack-bundled option). Picking right at seed saves a 6-week migration during your Series B.

Quick Verdict

Pick Pulley if you are pre-seed to Series B, want clean UX, and value modeling tools and customer support over enterprise features.
Pick Carta if you are Series B+ with a CFO, expect to do secondaries or tender offers, or your investors expect a Carta link in the data room.
Pick AngelList Equity if you raised on AngelList, want bundled SAFEs/Stack and equity in one console, or are extremely cost-conscious.

Key Takeaways

All three handle SAFEs, priced rounds, option pools, 409A valuations, and ASC 718 reporting.
Carta's data leak controversies in 2024 hurt its brand permanently with founder-Twitter, but enterprise adoption (Series C+) remained sticky because of investor familiarity and integrations.
Pulley grew fast on the back of clean UX, faster 409A turnaround, and aggressive seed pricing. It is now the default among modern YC and post-YC seed companies.
AngelList rebuilt its equity stack on top of the AngelList Stack platform and is now genuinely competitive — especially if you're already running fund admin, banking, or rolling-fund infrastructure on AngelList.
Migrations are painful but well-trodden. All three platforms support importing from each other in 2–4 weeks with zero data loss when done right.

Decision Map

Situation	Pick
Pre-incorporation, just raising on SAFEs	Pulley (free tier) or AngelList Stack
Seed/Series A, <50 employees	Pulley
Series B with a CFO and bank line	Carta or Pulley
Series C+ with secondary tenders ahead	Carta
Bootstrapped, small option pool	AngelList Equity
Raised on AngelList rolling fund / Stack	AngelList Equity
Want fastest 409A (5–7 days)	Pulley
Already burned by Carta in 2024	Pulley

Quick Comparison

Feature	Carta	Pulley	AngelList Equity
Free tier	Up to 25 stakeholders	Up to 25 stakeholders	Limited
Cap table	Yes	Yes	Yes
409A valuation	Included on paid tiers	Included; fastest turnaround	Included
ASC 718 expense reports	Yes	Yes	Yes
Modeling / waterfall	Strong (Carta Launch)	Best in category	Decent
Investor portal	Yes	Yes	Yes (clean)
Secondary / tender support	Best (CartaX/secondary network)	Limited	Limited
Fund admin (LP-side)	Carta Fund Admin	Limited	Strong (AngelList core)
Annual price (50 stakeholders)	~$3,000–$4,800	~$2,400–$3,600	~$0–$1,800
Best for	Late-stage and enterprise	Seed/Series A/B default	Cost-sensitive, AngelList-native

Carta

Carta is the incumbent and still operates the most-used cap table in the world. The 2024 secondary-data scandal damaged trust with founder Twitter, and Carta responded by formally separating CartaX from the cap table business and overhauling data governance. By 2026 the trust has partially returned, but the founder-vs-VC sentiment is permanently mixed.

What's strong: Most complete enterprise feature set — multi-entity support, complex international stock plans, secondaries, tender offers, fund admin (Carta Fund Admin), and the deepest integration with major law firms (Gunderson, Cooley, Latham templates flow in seamlessly). Investor familiarity remains real — many Series B+ investors expect a Carta link.

What's weak: Pricing is opaque and creeps. Customer support has been inconsistent post-restructuring. The brand cost from 2024 still bleeds — many seed-stage founders explicitly avoid it.

Pricing: Free up to 25 stakeholders with significant feature gating. Launch at ~$3,000/year. Growth and Scale tiers quote-only and routinely run $8K–$25K/year for late-stage companies.

Pulley

Pulley positioned itself as "Carta but for founders" and executed the playbook well. By 2026, Pulley owns the seed-to-Series-B segment and has an effective customer success motion — first 409A turns around in 5–7 business days and is included even on the lowest paid tier.

What's strong: The cleanest modeling/waterfall product in the category. Founder-friendly pricing. Fast 409As. Strong support and onboarding. Integrations with Mercury, Brex, Ramp, and the major HRIS/ATS systems.

What's weak: Limited secondary/tender infrastructure — if you anticipate a $50M+ secondary in the next 24 months, you'll likely migrate to Carta. Fund admin product is thin compared to Carta or AngelList.

Pricing: Free up to 25 stakeholders. Paid plans start ~$200/month for 50 stakeholders, scaling roughly by stakeholder count and entity complexity.

AngelList Equity

AngelList rebuilt their equity stack alongside Stack (their banking/incorporation product) and the result in 2026 is a credible bundled offering. If you are already on AngelList for fund admin (LP-side), or used AngelList Stack to incorporate, the equity product is the path of least resistance.

What's strong: Tight integration with AngelList Stack (bank account, incorporation, SAFEs). Lowest pricing tier in the category. Strong fund-admin pedigree. Genuinely free for the smallest companies.

What's weak: Weakest modeling tools. Smaller customer success team. Investors and law firms still default to Carta or Pulley exports — you'll spend more time explaining "this is the cap table" in diligence.

Pricing: Free for very small cap tables; paid tiers start under Pulley's pricing and scale modestly.

What 409A Valuations Actually Cost

The sticker price across all three platforms is similar — included in most paid tiers — but the meaningful differences are turnaround time and audit defensibility:

Platform	Initial 409A Turnaround	Audit Defense
Carta	10–15 business days	Industry-standard
Pulley	5–7 business days	Industry-standard
AngelList	10–15 business days	Industry-standard

All three use IRS-acceptable methodologies and hold up in audit. Pulley wins on speed; the others are roughly equivalent.

Migration Cost (Don't Underestimate)

Switching cap table providers is real work. Plan for:

2–4 weeks of overlap
Re-issuing of stock certificates / DocuSign packets
409A re-confirmation
Investor reporting overlap

All three providers offer free migration support. The question is internal workflow disruption and CFO/legal time, which usually runs 30–60 hours.

Who Should Choose What

Founder, just incorporated, raising SAFEs: Pulley free tier (or AngelList Stack if you incorporated through AngelList).

Post-seed, building first option pool: Pulley. The modeling tool alone is worth it when you're sizing employee grants.

Series B with a CFO and audit prep: Carta or Pulley. Decide based on whether you anticipate a tender offer in the next 24 months — if yes, Carta; if no, stay with Pulley.

Series C+ planning a secondary or IPO: Carta. The infrastructure is built for it.

Solo founder, profitable, 5 stakeholders: AngelList Equity. The free tier covers what you need.

Verdict

Pulley is the right default for new startups in 2026 — clean UX, fast 409As, founder-aligned support, and a pricing model that doesn't punish you for adding stakeholders. Carta is the right pick for Series C+ companies, anyone planning a secondary, or teams whose investors strongly prefer it. AngelList Equity is the right pick for AngelList-native founders or extremely cost-conscious bootstrappers.

The lowest-risk play for a typical venture-backed startup is Pulley through Series B, then evaluate Carta around the time of your first secondary or tender. If neither happens, just stay on Pulley.

The SaaS Tool Evaluation Guide (Free PDF)