Carta is the best-known cap table provider, and one of the hardest to price in advance. There is no price list on its website; you talk to sales and receive a quote.
This guide explains what drives a Carta quote and what companies report paying, using third-party purchase data.
Carta sells by quote, so the price depends on your company
Carta structures its cap table product in tiers. Third-party pricing trackers list them as Launch, Build, Grow and Scale, moving from very early companies to late-stage ones.
The quote you receive depends on:
- Stakeholder count, the biggest driver.
- Plan tier, which sets which features you get.
- Add-ons, such as 409A valuations, ASC 718 reporting and other services.
- Contract length and negotiation.
Companies pay a median of $15,400 a year
Vendr, which tracks software purchases, reports these figures across 405 Carta deals:
| Measure | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| Median contract | $15,400 |
| Low end of range | $2,942 |
| High end of range | $55,495 |
Vendr also groups typical costs by stage: roughly $3,000 to $8,000 for seed-stage companies under 100 stakeholders, $10,000 to $25,000 for Series A to C, and $30,000 to $75,000 or more for late-stage companies.
These are reported purchases, not list prices. Your quote may differ.
The free Launch tier is for very small companies
Carta has offered a free Launch tier for companies with a small number of stakeholders and limited capital raised. Third-party trackers describe the limit as up to 25 stakeholders and up to $1 million raised.
Most venture-backed companies pass those limits within a round or two. Plan your budget on the paid tier you will reach, not on the free one.
Four things push a Carta bill up
Hiring past a tier boundary
Every new employee with equity is a stakeholder. Crossing a tier limit changes the plan you renew on.
New investors
Each SAFE holder or angel adds a stakeholder. A party round with twenty small checks adds twenty.
Add-on services
409A valuations, ASC 718 expense reports and other services are often quoted separately or reserved for higher tiers.
Renewal after a discount
First-year discounts and transition offers end. Pulley customers moving to Carta keep Pulley pricing for year one only, per Pulley's FAQ.
Negotiate with these five moves
- Ask for the renewal price in writing at your planned headcount for next year.
- Ask for a multi-year price cap if you sign a longer term.
- Price add-ons separately. You can order a 409A from an independent firm.
- Get competing published prices. Capable, Cake Equity and Mantle all publish theirs.
- Confirm the cancellation process. In December 2024 founders told TechCrunch that cancelling required a scheduled meeting.
Capable publishes one price per plan, with no stakeholder cap
| Capable Startup | Capable Growth | Carta (Vendr median) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $1,200 | $3,500 | $15,400 |
| Monthly | $120 | $350 | Not offered |
| Stakeholders | Unlimited | Unlimited | Tiered |
| Price at renewal | Same, while subscribed | Same, while subscribed | Re-quoted |
Growth adds native e-signature, board and stockholder approvals, Form 3921, Rule 701 and 83(b) tracking, exercise requests with payment, custom reports and HRIS sync.
Every company gets a 14-day free trial with everything unlocked, or 30 days when importing from Pulley, Carta or AngelList. Subscribe during the trial and your card is charged only when it ends. See full details on the pricing page.
The bottom line on Carta pricing
If a published price that does not move with hiring matters more, compare Carta vs Capable feature by feature.