Cake Equity Review
Cap table, option grants, and 409A valuations for growing startups
Is this your product? Claim this page · Request a change
Looking for a Cake Equity alternative? See our ranked comparison.→What is Cake Equity?
Cake Equity is cap table and equity management software for startups: cap table tracking, SAFE and convertible note modeling, option grants, vesting, e-signing, and 409A valuations in one place. It also runs My Cake, a portal where employees can see their own vesting and exercise options.
It's built to scale with a company from incorporation through later funding rounds. The free plan and Build tier cover early-stage basics. Team adds the 409A and contract tooling most companies need once they're granting real option pools, and Pro is aimed at larger or international cap tables with compliance reporting like Form 3921 and Rule 701.
Cake Equity screenshots
Who it's for
- ✓ Early-stage startups that want a free or low-cost cap table before they need 409A valuations
- ✓ Companies granting US stock options that want 409A valuations bundled into the same tool instead of bought separately
- ✓ Founders who want employees to self-serve their vesting and exercise options through a portal
Who should look elsewhere
- ✗ Large companies with complex, multi-jurisdiction stakeholder bases where Pro's custom pricing may cost more than a flat per-seat competitor
- ✗ Teams that want to see every price before talking to sales, since Pro requires a demo call
Pros
- + Free plan covers up to 5 stakeholders with real cap table, options, and SAFE features, not just a demo
- + Team plan bundles two 409A valuations a year instead of billing them separately
- + My Cake portal gives employees a place to see and exercise their own equity
- + Pricing scales by stakeholder count rather than a flat per-seat fee, which is cheaper for founder-heavy early cap tables
Cons
- – Cost climbs fast once you pass the included stakeholder count: $5 per extra stakeholder on Team adds up for larger teams
- – Top Pro tier is quote-only, so you can't compare it against competitors without a sales call
- – Reviewers note the option distribution logic takes real effort to learn without checking help docs, and cap table recalculation can be slow
Cake Equity pricing
At about $83/month to start, it sits mid-pack on price in Cap Table & Equity Management.
| Plan | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Up to 5 stakeholders · Cap table, stock options, and SAFE notes · No credit card required |
| Build | $1000/yr | Up to 25 stakeholders, then $1 per extra · SAFEs and convertible notes · Shareholder vesting · Templated option grants · Board approval flow · Fundraising modeling · e-signing |
| Team | $2750/yr | Up to 40 stakeholders, then $5 per extra · 2 audit-ready 409A valuations a year included · ISO, NSO, RSU, and RSA grants · Full custom contract editor · Options exercising and warrants · My Cake employee portal |
| Pro | Custom | ESS and stock comp reporting · Form 3921 and Rule 701 tracking · International options pools · Multi-factor authentication · Managed migration and priority support |
Build and Team also bill quarterly at a ~10% premium over the annual rate. Pro is quote-only, sold through a sales demo. A 409A valuation add-on costs $1,500 per valuation on any plan; Team bundles 2 valuations a year already. Prices are USD, per company (not per seat), scaled by stakeholder count.
Pricing verified July 16, 2026 · source
How Cake Equity's pricing compares
Cake Equity next to its closest alternatives on entry price, billing, and whether pricing is public.
| Tool | Starting price | Billing | Free option | Pricing disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cake Equity | $1000/yr | tiered | Yes | Partly public |
| Carta | Free tier + custom | quote-only | Yes | Not disclosed |
| Pulley | $1200/seat/yr | tiered | No | Partly public |
| Ledgy | Free tier + custom | tiered | Yes | Not disclosed |
| Eqvista | $2/seat/mo | tiered | Yes | Public |
| Vestd | GBP 2200/seat/yr | tiered | No | Partly public |
| Mantle | Free tier + custom | tiered | Yes | Partly public |
Is Cake Equity still actively developed?
Last significant update: July 2026. Groups were replaced with Lists, including Smart Lists that auto-update membership based on rules like country and holding type, so you can message or share documents with the right stakeholders without manually maintaining the list.
Top Cake Equity alternatives
Cake Equity FAQ
Is Cake Equity free?+
Yes, up to 5 stakeholders, with cap table, stock option, and SAFE note features included. Above that you move to a paid plan.
Does Cake Equity include 409A valuations?+
409A valuations are a $1,500 per-valuation add-on on Build. Team includes two 409A valuations a year in its $2,750 price, and Pro includes more.
How is Cake Equity priced as a company grows?+
Each plan includes a set number of stakeholders (5 free, 25 on Build, 40 on Team), then charges per extra stakeholder: $1 on Build and $5 on Team. Pro is quote-only for the largest or most complex cap tables.