What are the main alternatives to Carta?

The alternatives that come up most often in 2026 are Ledgy (Europe), Cake Equity (APAC and Australia), Eqvista and Fidelity Private Shares (cost-sensitive and early stage), and Qapita (global teams). Pulley was on this list until it announced it is shutting down on December 8, 2026.

Is Carta worth it for an early-stage startup?

For many US startups, yes — the free and entry tiers cover a simple cap table, and bundled 409A valuations remove a separate vendor. The cost question sharpens at Series B and C, where stakeholder-count tiers and add-ons push the total well past the sticker price.

Can I move my cap table off Carta?

Yes. Export your holder ledger, grants with full vesting schedules, 409A reports, board consents and SAFEs, then import and reconcile at the new provider. Ask about export format before you sign anywhere — portability is a feature, and most founders only evaluate it when they want to leave.

Did the Pulley shutdown change the Carta alternatives landscape?

It removed the most direct US competitor. Pulley shut down after seven years and more than $50 million raised, and Carta is handling the migrations, which concentrates the US market further. For founders, it is a reminder to weigh vendor durability and data portability alongside price and UI.

Carta alternatives in 2026: an honest map

Most “Carta alternatives” articles are affiliate pages with a scoring rubric invented to make one product win. This is not that. It is a map of who each alternative is actually for, written by people building in the category — which we disclose at the bottom rather than hiding.

One thing changed this month that every list published before September 2026 gets wrong: Pulley is shutting down on December 8, 2026 and Carta is taking its customers. The most-cited Carta alternative in the US is about to stop existing, and the market is more concentrated than the listicles say.

First: is the problem actually Carta?

Founders usually arrive at this search for one of three reasons, and they lead to different answers.

“It got expensive.” Real, and it sharpens at Series B and C, where stakeholder tiers and add-ons compound. But check what you are comparing: a cheaper subscription plus a $2,500 third-party 409A is not cheaper than a bundled plan. Price the next two years all-in before you move.

“We are not a US company.” The strongest reason to look elsewhere. Regional providers are better at local filings, local employee tax treatment and multi-entity structures than a US-first platform with an international module.

“We want out of the lock-in.” Then the question to ask every vendor — including the new one — is what a complete export looks like. The Pulley shutdown just demonstrated what happens when you have not asked.

The alternatives, and who each is for

Ledgy — Europe

The default European answer. Multi-entity and multi-country employee equity, local reporting, and integrations with the HR systems European companies actually run. If your cap table is in euros or pounds and your employees are spread across several countries, this is usually the first call.

Cake Equity — APAC and Australia

The regional counterpart for Australia and Asia-Pacific: local plan types, sensible small-company pricing, and an employee experience that does not assume a US filing calendar.

Eqvista — cost-sensitive US

The cheapest defensible system of record in the US market, with a 409A valuation priced well under typical standalone valuation fees. Fewer bells; the ledger is correct and the bill is small.

Fidelity Private Shares — bank-backed, early stage

Free cap table management up to your first priced round, with a large institution behind it. In a year when a $50M-funded competitor shut down, “who owns this vendor” became a legitimate evaluation criterion.

Qapita — global teams

Built for companies with stakeholders across many jurisdictions, with compliance coverage across a wide set of countries and flat pricing instead of a stakeholder curve.

What about Pulley?

Not an option any more. It ceases operations on December 8, 2026; customers who opt in by November 30 move to Carta with their Pulley pricing honoured for a year. If you are one of them, start with our Pulley shutdown guide and the longer Pulley alternatives comparison.

The five-line evaluation

Skip the feature matrix. Ask each vendor:

Total cost for the next two years, with our stakeholder count and a 409A included.
What a full export contains — holder ledger, grants with vesting schedules, documents, transaction history — and in what format.
Who performs our 409A, how long it takes, and what happens if we need it re-run after a round.
How many entities we can hold before this becomes an enterprise contract.
What migration support looks like, in hours of a named human, not in marketing copy.

The vendor that answers question two without flinching is usually the one that will still be a good decision in three years.

What the Pulley shutdown should change in your thinking

Not “pick the biggest vendor.” The useful update is narrower:

Portability is a feature. Evaluate it before you sign, not when you leave.
Keep your own export. Quarterly, in a folder you control, in a format you can read without the vendor’s app.
Vendor durability is a real criterion for a system of record holding a legal ledger — as is who pays for that vendor’s runway.

Your equity data outlives whichever product is holding it this year. Buy accordingly.

Our disclosure: we are building ESOP.fyi, an AI-native cap table, ESOP and liquidity platform, with the first cohort opening in Q4 2026. That makes us an interested party in this comparison, which is why the recommendations above point at other people’s products for the situations they fit. If you want to hear from us when we open, join the waitlist — one email, nothing else.