Pulley Review
Cap table, 409A, and option management built for founders and finance teams
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Looking for a Pulley alternative? See our ranked comparison.→What is Pulley?
Pulley is cap table software for managing equity: stakeholders, share classes, option grants, vesting, and the paperwork that goes with each. It also does 409A valuations, option exercises, and the compliance forms (Rule 701, Form 3921) that come up as a company grows past the earliest stage.
It was built as a direct alternative to Carta, and its pricing and plan structure lean into that: a cheap first tier for early-stage cap tables, then a step up once you need real 409A and compliance tooling. Pulley also runs a separate crypto/token equity product for companies that issue token-based compensation, priced apart from the equity plans.
Pulley screenshots
Who it's for
- ✓ Early-stage startups that want a straightforward cap table without Carta's reputation for aggressive upsells
- ✓ Finance teams that need 409A valuations and option exercise workflows bundled into one subscription
- ✓ Companies switching off Carta that want their existing cap table data migrated in during a trial
Who should look elsewhere
- ✗ Companies issuing crypto or token-based compensation who want that pricing folded into their main plan rather than billed separately
- ✗ Teams above 40 stakeholders that want a fixed price instead of an Enterprise quote
Pros
- + Both paid tiers show real numbers on the pricing page instead of forcing a sales call for basic cap table access
- + 409A valuations and option exercises are included in Growth rather than sold as costly add-ons
- + Onboarding is concierge-assisted, and switching from Carta includes a free trial with your data already loaded
Cons
- – No free plan. Even a 25-stakeholder cap table costs $1,200/year
- – Stakeholder caps mean you can outgrow Startup or Growth and get pushed into a quote-only Enterprise tier
- – Note conversion during a large financing round is done one note at a time, which gets tedious with hundreds of notes converting at once
Pulley pricing
What you pay for
Pulley charges a flat annual fee per stakeholder tier rather than per seat for your team. You pay $1,200/year to run a basic cap table for up to 25 stakeholders, or $3,500/year once you need 409A valuations, option exercise workflows, and compliance forms for up to 40. Past that, or for advanced reporting and managed services, you're on a custom Enterprise quote. Pricing itself is public and specific, which is unusual for this category.
At about $100/month to start, it sits mid-pack on price in Cap Table & Equity Management.
| Plan | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Startup | $1200/yr | First 25 stakeholders · Cap table management · Share certificates and e-signing · Templated agreements · Fundraise modeler · Concierge onboarding |
| Growth | $3500/yr | 40 stakeholders · 409A valuations · Custom agreements · Option exercises · Rule 701 and Form 3921 support · Board approvals · HRIS integrations |
| Enterprise | Custom | All Growth features · Stock-based compensation reporting · Custom reporting · Managed administration services · Secondary liquidity solutions |
There is no free plan. Startup is $1,200/year for the first 25 stakeholders, and Growth is $3,500/year for 40 stakeholders; both are billed annually with no monthly option shown. Enterprise is quote-only. Pulley also sells separate token/crypto products (Token Cap Table at $4,500/year for 25 stakeholders, and Distributions as its own $4,500/year product, plus token Valuations starting at $10,000 for one valuation) that are irrelevant to most equity-only cap tables. Pulley offers a free trial with your existing data if you're switching from Carta.
Pricing verified July 16, 2026 · source
How Pulley's pricing compares
Pulley next to its closest alternatives on entry price, billing, and whether pricing is public.
| Tool | Starting price | Billing | Free option | Pricing disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulley | $1200/seat/yr | tiered | No | Partly public |
| Carta | Free tier + custom | quote-only | Yes | Not disclosed |
| Ledgy | Free tier + custom | tiered | Yes | Not disclosed |
| Cake Equity | $1000/yr | tiered | Yes | Partly public |
| 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 Pulley still actively developed?
Last significant update: October 2025. Pulley shipped a compliance and reporting push: separated ISO/NSO exercise agreements from common shares for cleaner Form 3921 filing, added a Rule 701 exemption-eligibility dashboard, introduced Equity Transaction Reports for granted and cancelled equity, and added on- and off-platform alerts for time-sensitive tasks like RSU settlements and repurchases.
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Pulley FAQ
Does Pulley have a free plan?+
No. The cheapest plan, Startup, is $1,200/year for up to 25 stakeholders. There is no permanently free tier.
Is Pulley cheaper than Carta?+
Pulley publishes flat annual prices ($1,200 and $3,500) on its site, while Carta's pricing is largely quote-based. Whether Pulley is cheaper depends on your stakeholder count and which Carta plan you'd be quoted, so compare against an actual Carta quote before assuming.
What happens if I go over the stakeholder limit on my plan?+
Startup covers your first 25 stakeholders and Growth covers 40. Beyond that, or for advanced reporting and managed services, you move to a custom Enterprise quote.
Does Pulley handle 409A valuations?+
Yes, but only on the Growth plan and above. The entry-level Startup plan does not include 409A valuations.