Carta and Eqvista: Free Limits and 409A Pricing

Carta gives an eligible startup more room on a free cap table, while Eqvista makes the first paid cap-table tier and a 409A package easier to budget. The Carta pricing schedule puts Launch at no charge for up to 25 stakeholders and up to $1 million raised, then offers Build for up to 50 and valuation-inclusive Grow and Scale plans at sales-quoted prices. A company that needs a 409A cannot infer its total cost from Launch's free price.

The Eqvista pricing schedule gives free cap-table access to fewer than 20 stakeholders, prices Premium at $2 per stakeholder per month through 50 stakeholders, and starts its annual 409A plus Premium bundle at $990 for a pre-revenue, pre-funding company. Above 50 stakeholders, cap-table pricing is custom. That distinction makes Eqvista easier to estimate at a middle-sized holder count, though its valuation price depends on funding stage and other company details.

The free-plan boundary is a funding question too

At 15 stakeholders, either free tier can cover basic ownership administration if its other conditions fit. The gap opens as the holder count approaches 20: the Eqvista free tier ends before that number, whereas Carta Launch has room beyond it for an eligible company. The extra capacity is useful only while the company remains within Launch's fundraising ceiling. A startup with few holders but more capital raised may therefore need a paid Carta plan before its cap table becomes crowded.

At exactly 25 stakeholders, free eligibility is ambiguous between “up to 25” and “under 25.” A company reaching that count should budget for a paid quote until the boundary is confirmed. Count the equity holders on the cap table, which is the unit used for Carta's paid pricing, rather than every employee on payroll. An option pool or hiring plan matters to this comparison when it changes the number of people who actually become stakeholders.

Annual cap-table cost at 15, 30 and 60 stakeholders

These are illustrative annualized subscription figures, before valuation work, separately priced services or negotiated discounts. The arithmetic applies the $2 rate only where that rate is offered. Free-plan examples assume the business meets all other eligibility terms.

The 30-holder figure shows why a posted cap-table rate is useful but incomplete. A company may pay for Premium because it needs board resolutions or fundraising models before it needs a valuation. Conversely, a company already buying the Eqvista valuation bundle should avoid adding the standalone Premium calculation again: the bundle includes Premium cap-table access. At 60 holders, a quote needs to specify the same holder count and services on both sides for a meaningful comparison.

The annual valuation-bundle tiers rise with funding stage: $990 for pre-revenue and pre-funding, $1,290 for friends-and-family or angel funding, $1,990 at seed and $2,590 at Series A; Series B and later are custom priced. The bundle includes Premium, unlimited 409A updates and renewals, and assisted migration. Revenue, stakeholder count and capital structure can affect the actual quote, so those stage figures are starting points rather than guaranteed invoices.

Carta's 409A valuation terms require onboarding to request a valuation and include the valuations needed under Grow and Scale without another per-valuation charge. The terms put validity at up to 12 months and allow for a new request after a material event. For a startup approaching an option grant or another valuation trigger, the useful comparison is the full recurring package and the work it covers, rather than an isolated report price.

The bundles answer different budgeting questions. The Eqvista option has stage-based starting prices for a cap-table-and-valuation subscription, while the broader Carta equity-management package that includes valuations requires a quote. At 30 stakeholders, $720 is therefore the standalone Eqvista Premium estimate, not a number to add automatically to a valuation bundle. Multiple valuation requests may matter operationally, but the advertised inclusion of updates on both sides makes scope and annual price more informative than a per-report tally.

Administration and support beyond the cap table

Launch covers securities issuance, SAFE modeling and email, chat and phone support. Build adds priced-round modeling and onboarding; Grow adds board-meeting tools, Form 3921 and valuation audit support. This progression makes the Carta quote especially relevant when a finance team expects priced financing and ongoing equity administration together, since the chosen package changes the available tools as well as the stakeholder limit.

Eqvista's free tier includes cap-table and ESOP management, vesting schedules, stakeholder accounts and a data room. Premium adds electronic signing for certificates and SAFE agreements, board resolutions, Form 3921, waterfall analysis and funding-round modeling. The valuation bundle also includes assisted migration. Those features describe service scope, not response speed: a buyer moving a complicated ledger should compare onboarding work, access to valuation help and renewal terms alongside the annual charge.

What the review gap does and does not show

In its October 6, 2026 update, Capterra's comparison shows Eqvista at 4.9 from 31 reviews and Carta at 4.2 from 66; it says provider information is verified and reviews are moderated. The current customer-service subscores also favor Eqvista, 4.9 to 3.8. That is a useful prompt to examine support, but the populations are unequal and the smaller Eqvista sample leaves more room for a few reviews to move its average.

For a company below both free limits with no near-term valuation need, the feature mix can decide the choice without a subscription charge. Near the free boundary, Carta offers more holder capacity if the funding test is met. Once 409A work enters the budget, the clearest price comparison is Eqvista's applicable annual bundle against a Carta Grow or Scale quote covering the same stakeholder count, onboarding and support needs.