Managing equity on a spreadsheet stops working the moment a company issues options to employees, takes on convertible notes, or raises a priced round with multiple share classes. Cap table management software replaces that spreadsheet with a real-time, audit-ready record of every ownership stake, instrument, and transaction in the company’s history.
This comparison covers six platforms across the startup and private company equity management market as of mid-2026.
Carta
Carta is the most widely used cap table management platform for venture-backed companies. It covers the full lifecycle: cap table administration, 409A valuations, stock option grants and exercises, investor reporting, and fund administration for VCs that want to manage their portfolio on the same platform.
Carta’s breadth is its main advantage. A startup can issue options, handle board approvals, administer a 409A, and produce investor-ready reports without leaving the platform. Carta also operates a secondary market for private company shares, which gives employees and early investors a liquidity option between funding rounds.
The tradeoff is cost. Carta’s pricing is module-based and can become expensive as a company adds more stakeholders, equity plans, and features. Some early-stage founders find it overkill for a seed-stage company with a simple cap table.
Choose Carta when: you’re venture-backed, you need a full-featured platform trusted by institutional investors and law firms, or you want the liquidity and fund administration features alongside cap table management.
Pulley
Pulley launched as a direct challenger to Carta, positioned at a lower price point with a cleaner, faster onboarding flow. It targets seed-stage and Series A companies that want the core cap table and option administration features without paying for modules they don’t yet need.
Pulley handles cap table management, 409A valuations, equity plan administration, and scenario modeling for future rounds. The interface is widely considered more approachable than Carta’s, which matters for founders managing equity themselves without a full-time CFO.
Pricing is not published on Pulley’s public site; contact them for current rates.
Choose Pulley when: you’re at seed or Series A stage, you want lower complexity and cost than Carta, or your existing law firm or investor network recommends it as a Carta alternative.
Ledgy
Ledgy is built specifically for European companies, with GDPR-compliant data handling, multi-currency cap table support, and native workflows for the share option schemes common across UK and European jurisdictions (EMI, CSOP, SAYE in the UK; BSPCE in France, for example).
US-headquartered platforms don’t always handle European equity structures cleanly. Ledgy handles them as a first-class use case, which matters for companies headquartered in or expanding to European markets.
Ledgy also covers employee equity communication tools, letting companies show each employee their equity value over time in a clear dashboard. The focus on employee transparency is stronger here than in most competitors.
Choose Ledgy when: your company is headquartered in Europe or manages equity across European jurisdictions, or employee equity communication and transparency matter to your culture.
AngelList Equity
AngelList Equity handles cap table management for companies that are already in the AngelList ecosystem: raising via SPVs, syndicates, or rolling funds. The cap table tooling is tightly integrated with AngelList’s funding infrastructure, which makes it the natural choice if AngelList investors are already on your cap table.
The integration means that when AngelList investors come in through a syndicate or SPV, those holdings show up on the cap table automatically. This cuts down on the manual reconciliation that other platforms require when managing multiple investor vehicles.
Outside the AngelList ecosystem, it’s a less compelling choice compared to Carta or Pulley.
Choose AngelList Equity when: you’ve raised through AngelList SPVs or syndicates, you’re in the AngelList Scout or partner network, or most of your early investors came through AngelList infrastructure.
Shareworks (Morgan Stanley at Work)
Shareworks is Morgan Stanley’s equity management platform, aimed at mature private companies and pre-IPO companies with sophisticated equity plans. It covers cap table administration, stock plan administration (RSUs, options, ESPP), and participant portals for employees to manage and exercise their equity.
Shareworks competes in the same tier as Carta’s enterprise offering but carries Morgan Stanley’s institutional credibility and access to brokerage and financial planning services. Pre-IPO companies in particular benefit from the smooth handoff from private equity administration to public company stock plan management.
Contact Morgan Stanley at Work for pricing.
Choose Shareworks when: you’re a late-stage private company preparing for an IPO, your equity plan complexity requires enterprise-grade administration, or the connection to Morgan Stanley’s brokerage and financial services matters to your employee base.
Vestd
Vestd operates in the UK market, focused on small and medium-sized businesses that need to administer share schemes for employees and founders. It covers EMI options, growth shares, and other UK share scheme types, along with scenario modeling and a basic cap table.
Vestd’s target customer is a UK SMB that wants to set up and manage an employee share scheme without a law firm doing all the administration manually. The platform keeps it accessible for companies without a dedicated finance or legal team.
Choose Vestd when: you’re a UK-based small or medium-sized business managing employee share schemes, particularly EMI options or growth shares, and you want an affordable, self-serve platform rather than full-service equity management.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Platform | Best For | Geography | 409A Valuations | Secondary Market | Key Differentiator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carta | VC-backed startups, funds | US (global) | Yes | Yes | Full platform breadth, market standard |
| Pulley | Seed to Series A | US | Yes | No | Lower cost, cleaner onboarding |
| Ledgy | European companies | Europe (UK, EU) | Via partners | No | GDPR-native, EU share schemes |
| AngelList Equity | AngelList-backed companies | US | Via partners | Via AngelList | AngelList ecosystem integration |
| Shareworks | Late-stage, pre-IPO | US (global) | Via partners | Via MS brokerage | Morgan Stanley institutional backing |
| Vestd | UK SMBs | UK | Via partners | No | UK share schemes, SMB pricing |
Methodology
Platform capabilities are sourced from published vendor documentation and product pages as of July 2026. Pricing is not published by most vendors in this category; contact each vendor directly for current rates. We don’t accept payment to rank platforms in this comparison.
Is your platform missing from this comparison, or has something changed? Suggest an edit or get your product listed, or email our team at [email protected].
References
- Carta. "Cap Table Management." Carta, 2026.
- Pulley. "Cap Table Software." Pulley, 2026.
- Ledgy. "Equity Management Platform." Ledgy, 2026.
- AngelList. "AngelList Equity." AngelList, 2026.
- Morgan Stanley at Work. "Shareworks Equity Management." Morgan Stanley, 2026.
- Vestd. "Share Scheme Management." Vestd, 2026.