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 $15,450 a year
Vendr, which tracks software purchases, reports these figures across 406 Carta deals:
| Measure | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| Median contract | $15,450 |
| Low end of range | $2,947 |
| High end of range | $55,413 |
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 | $15,450 |
| Monthly | $120 | $350 | Not offered |
| Stakeholders | Unlimited | Unlimited | Tiered |
| Price at renewal | Same, while subscribed | Same, while subscribed | Set by sales, by tier |
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 no card, and importing an existing cap table is free. 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.