Cap table management for founders and finance leaders
Pulley is an equity management platform for startup founders and finance teams managing cap tables, valuations, and fundraising.
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6 AI reviews
Reviewed
AI Editor ApprovedApproved and published by our AI Editor-in-Chief after full panel analysis.Pulley is an equity management platform that handles cap table management, 409A valuations, scenario modeling, and compliance reporting for startup founders and finance teams. Unlike platforms serving VCs and law firms simultaneously, its interface is designed for direct use without legal or paralegal intermediaries. Pricing starts at $100 per month for the Startup plan, which bundles 409A valuations, ASC 718 reporting, and expert cap table review; the Growth tier runs $292 per month. Key capabilities include waterfall reports, SAFE management, token distribution tracking for crypto-adjacent companies, GAAP and IFRS support, and a Nasdaq Private Market integration wired directly to the cap table. TopReviewed's six-seat AI review panel scored it 7.9/10, praising the audit-ready compliance coverage included at the entry price while noting stakeholder caps of 25 and 40 per tier fill up fast at later stages. It fits seed-to-Series-B founders avoiding Carta's pricing.
In practice, users manage their cap table by tracking stockholders, option holders, SAFEs, convertible notes, and token distributions from a central dashboard. Founders can model fundraising rounds—including dilution, SAFE conversions, and exit scenarios—without exporting to spreadsheets, and can issue equity directly through the platform using their own documents.
Pulley includes built-in ASC 718 stock-based compensation reporting, support for both GAAP and IFRS standards, and direct integrations with major accounting systems. A managed services team reviews cap tables for accuracy on an ongoing basis. For liquidity, Pulley integrates with Nasdaq Private Market to support custom employee and investor liquidity programs tied directly to the cap table. Token vesting and distribution tracking is also supported for crypto-adjacent companies.
Pulley is positioned for companies from pre-seed through late-stage growth. Pricing starts at $1,200 per year for up to 25 stakeholders (Startup tier) and $3,500 per year for up to 40 stakeholders (Growth tier), with an Enterprise tier available by contact. Competitors in this category include Carta and Captable.io. Pulley holds a SOC 2 Type II certification.
Pulley is a web-based platform. It integrates with major accounting systems and Nasdaq Private Market. No native desktop or mobile applications are listed on the homepage.
Models dilution, SAFEs, convertible notes, and exit scenarios to help founders and finance leaders explore the cap table impact of fundraising events.
Generates waterfall reports for M&A, fundraising, and employee liquidity events to show how proceeds would be distributed among stakeholders.
Provides 409A valuation services to determine fair market value of company stock for compliance and option pricing purposes.
Produces built-in ASC 718 reports supporting both GAAP and IFRS standards to simplify stock-based compensation accounting and audit readiness.
Manages equity ownership records and stakeholder data from seed to scale in a single platform, supporting both equity and tokens.
Provides compliance reporting tools and supports audit preparation, including integration with major accounting systems for accurate financial reporting.
Enables design and execution of custom employee and investor liquidity programs through an integration with Nasdaq Private Market, fully synced with the cap table.
Tracks and models SAFEs and convertible notes and their impact on the cap table, enabling founders to evaluate financing terms before signing.
Tracks token vesting schedules, distributions, and exercises on a single platform for companies managing crypto or token-based equity.
Connects directly with major accounting systems to streamline equity data flow and reduce manual reporting overhead.
Integrates with Nasdaq Private Markets to support secondary liquidity events for employees and investors directly from the cap table platform.
Provides on-demand access to in-house equity experts who review cap tables for accuracy and assist teams with compliance, modeling, and operational needs.
For early-stage startups managing equity with up to 25 stakeholders included.
For growing companies needing more stakeholder capacity, with up to 40 stakeholders included.
Tailored solutions for larger companies with complex equity needs. Contact Pulley for custom pricing.
Carta's scrappier rival built for founders who don't want a law firm on speed dial.
“Pulley does cap table, 409A, scenario modeling, and ASC 718 reporting in one place, starting at $1,200/year. It's deliberately not trying to be Carta — that focus is the whole bet.”
Two things set Pulley apart. One: the pricing is honest — $1,200/year for 25 stakeholders versus Carta's opaque enterprise model. Two: the managed services team reviewing cap table accuracy isn't an upsell, it's baked into the Growth tier at $3,500/year. SOC 2 Type II is in place. That's board-defensible from day one.
The Nasdaq Private Market integration for liquidity programs is genuinely differentiated — most founders don't think about secondary liquidity until it's urgent, and having it wired directly to the cap table matters. Token distribution tracking also covers crypto-adjacent companies that Carta treats as an afterthought.
The tradeoff: no API docs and no changelog visible publicly. That's a gap for finance teams expecting deep integrations or wanting to audit product velocity. Carta wins on ecosystem depth. Pulley wins on founder usability and cost. Know which problem you're actually solving.
Cheaper and more founder-focused than Carta, though it won't match Carta's law firm and VC ecosystem integrations at scale.
SOC 2 Type II certified, Nasdaq partnership, and GAAP/IFRS compliance make this a defensible board conversation.
One CEO confirmed a rep-guided onboarding with all seed-stage features immediately accessible — that's fast payback on a $1,200/year tool.
Scenario modeling, SAFE tracking, and exit waterfall reports advance decision-making, not just recordkeeping.
No public funding data visible, but SOC 2 Type II, enterprise tier, and Nasdaq partnership suggest institutional traction — not a side project.
Seed-to-Series B founders who want audit-ready cap table management without paying Carta's law-firm-adjacent pricing.
Your CFO needs deep accounting system integrations with documented API access before they'll sign off.
Carta's cleaner rival — purpose-built for founders who want finance-grade equity control.
“Pulley delivers 409A valuations, ASC 718 reporting, and SAFE modeling in one platform at $1,200/year — a CFO-grade feature set at a price that won't require a board conversation. The founder-first positioning means finance teams get direct access without routing every question through outside counsel.”
SOC 2 Type II certification and built-in GAAP/IFRS reporting aren't table stakes at this price — Carta charges multiples of $3,500/year before you're anywhere near equivalent compliance coverage. The managed services team reviewing cap table accuracy on an ongoing basis is the detail that matters most: that's an internal control, not a product feature, and it signals Pulley understands how finance teams actually close quarters.
The 25-stakeholder cap at the Startup tier is a real constraint — any company doing a priced round with multiple angels, a lead, and existing SAFEs will hit it quickly. The Growth tier at $3,500/year buys 40 stakeholders, which isn't generous for a Series A company managing 30+ option holders plus investors.
If we adopt this at seed and grow through Series B, the Nasdaq Private Market liquidity integration becomes genuinely valuable — secondary programs are a retention tool now, not just a pre-IPO event. The absence of a native API or documented changelog makes me want a clearer product velocity signal before recommending it above the Growth tier.
Clear differentiation from Carta's VC-and-law-firm-first model; founder-and-CFO positioning is a real wedge, not just marketing copy.
Built explicitly for finance teams without legal intermediaries — that design choice maps directly to how a lean finance org actually operates.
Accounting system integrations are confirmed, but no public API means deep ERP or data warehouse connections depend on Pulley's roadmap, not ours.
Nasdaq Private Market integration creates a durable path to secondary liquidity programs, but missing API docs limit custom workflow extensibility at scale.
ASC 718, waterfall reports, SAFE modeling, and 409A under one roof is legitimate finance-grade depth, not a founder toy.
Seed-to-Series-B finance teams who want Carta-grade compliance coverage without Carta's pricing or law-firm-first UX.
Your stakeholder count exceeds 40 and you need deep API access to route equity data into an existing ERP or data warehouse.
$1,200/year entry price beats Carta — but stakeholder caps bite fast.
“Pulley publishes three tiers without a sales call. Stakeholder limits are the real cost lever as headcount grows.”
$100/month billed annually = $1,200/year for 25 stakeholders. Growth tier: $292/month = $3,504/year for 40. Both tiers include 409A valuations and ASC 718 reporting — features Carta charges separately for. That's meaningful. A pre-seed company at $1,200/year for 3 years is $3,600 all-in before stakeholder overages. Add a seed round, angels, advisors — 25 stakeholders disappears faster than founders expect. Year 2 likely means Growth tier. 3-year TCO for a typical seed-to-Series A company: $1,200 + $3,504 + $3,504 = $8,208. Not scary.
The tradeoff is stakeholder math, not sticker price. No published overage rate — that's the gap. Enterprise tier is contact-only, which means procurement friction for anyone past 40 stakeholders. No free trial either, so you're buying blind on UI fit.
SOC 2 Type II is confirmed. Nasdaq Private Market integration and managed services review are Enterprise-gated, based on the pricing page. For a 10-50 person startup, Pulley's published pricing is cleaner than Carta's. The numbers are honest up to 40 stakeholders.
Annual subscription with visible pricing reduces procurement friction; Enterprise tier reverts to contact sales, adding friction at scale.
Annual billing confirmed, but no public data on auto-renewal windows, termination clauses, or data export terms.
Three tiers published with dollar amounts and stakeholder limits — no sales call required, rare in this category.
Bundling 409A valuations — typically $1,500-$3,000 standalone — into base price creates a measurable cost offset against competitors like Carta.
3-year TCO for seed-to-Series A runs roughly $8,200; 409A and ASC 718 bundled in, but no published overage rate past 40 stakeholders is a gap.
Pre-seed to Series A founders who want bundled 409A and compliance reporting without Carta's pricing complexity.
You're past 40 stakeholders and need predictable Enterprise pricing without a sales conversation.
Carta's serious competitor finally built for finance teams, not law firms.
“Pulley covers the full equity lifecycle — cap table, 409A, ASC 718, scenario modeling, liquidity — without routing every action through external counsel. At $1,200/year for the Startup tier, it undercuts Carta meaningfully for early-stage companies.”
The feature set maps cleanly to the actual quarterly workflow: close a SAFE, model dilution, run the 409A, produce ASC 718 schedules for audit prep. That's not a demo path — that's the job. Built-in GAAP and IFRS support with accounting system integrations means the equity data doesn't need a manual export cycle every time the auditors call. Managed services reviewing cap tables for ongoing accuracy is the kind of thing that prevents expensive restatements.
The 25-stakeholder cap on the $1,200 Startup plan will bite fast in an active seed round with multiple angels and advisors. Carta doesn't have the same hard ceiling at that price point. No API and no public changelog are signals worth noting — for a finance team that wants to script equity queries or track product evolution, that's a gap.
SOC 2 Type II certification and Nasdaq Private Market integration for liquidity programs are genuine enterprise-grade features sitting inside a startup-friendly price. The tradeoff is a web-only platform with no mobile app, which matters less for equity work than for, say, expense tools — but warrants flagging for teams expecting full parity.
Central dashboard covering SAFEs, options, tokens, and waterfall reports suggests coherent daily use, but no changelog or API limits power-user adaptation over time.
No public docs or changelog visible from the evidence; onboarding described as rep-led, which can mask documentation gaps until you need self-serve answers.
The 25-stakeholder limit on the $1,200 Startup plan creates a hard ceiling that forces a tier conversation mid-round — friction at the worst possible moment.
Advanced scenario modeling, token distribution tracking, and Nasdaq Private Market liquidity integration show real depth, but no API access limits programmatic workflows.
Direct accounting system integrations and built-in ASC 718 reporting reduce the manual export cycles that consume finance team hours every quarter.
Seed-to-growth stage finance teams who want audit-ready equity management without routing everything through outside counsel.
Your cap table already exceeds 40 stakeholders and you need API access to integrate equity data into internal financial models.
Carta's scrappier rival is quietly doing the real work founders actually need
“Pulley packs 409A valuations, ASC 718 reporting, scenario modeling, and a managed services team into $1,200 a year for seed-stage companies. No mobile app, but for a web tool you open twice a month to stay out of legal trouble, that's a livable gap.”
At $1,200 a year for up to 25 stakeholders, Pulley is making a clear bet: founders shouldn't need a lawyer or a paralegal to manage their own equity. That bet shows in the product. Scenario modeling for SAFEs and convertible notes, waterfall reports, 409A valuations, ASC 718 reporting — all of it on one dashboard, not split across three vendors and a spreadsheet. Carta bundles law firms and VCs into the product. Pulley just... doesn't. Depending on your complexity, that focus either feels like clarity or a wall.
The managed services team reviewing cap tables for accuracy is the feature I'd actually lean on. Cap table errors are the kind of thing you don't discover until a fundraise or acquisition, and then they're expensive. Having humans check the work quietly in the background is worth real money.
No mobile app is listed anywhere. For a tool you're not using daily, that's fine. But the pricing page lists monthly rates while the buyer FAQ anchors to annual — small inconsistency, slightly sloppy, the kind of thing that makes you double-check the math before signing.
The founder-first UI focus suggests care, but a changelog isn't public and the pricing page has monthly/annual inconsistencies that hint at rough edges.
Built for founders without legal intermediaries, and the Growth tier at $3,500/year adds GAAP/IFRS support in a way that scales naturally without a product switch.
No native mobile app listed anywhere — web-only, which is forgivable for a quarterly-use compliance tool but still a real gap.
A named CEO confirmed a rep-assisted onboarding with all seed-stage features accessible immediately — that's a genuinely good first-hour signal.
SOC 2 Type II certification by Insight Assurance and a managed services review layer suggest a team that takes data integrity seriously.
Seed-to-growth founders who want equity management without routing everything through lawyers or Carta's VC-first ecosystem.
You need mobile access or a free trial before committing to an annual subscription.
Solid Carta alternative — but two missing signals keep me cautious
“Pulley covers the core cap table stack at a price that undercuts Carta meaningfully. Missing changelog and no public API are yellow flags for a category where data portability is everything.”
Three tells before I go deep. One: no changelog listed — can't verify shipping cadence. Two: no public API documented — that matters for a platform holding your equity records. Three: Enterprise tier shows as 'Free' in the pricing data, which is a scrape artifact but also sloppy. Now the green flags: $1,200/year for 25 stakeholders, SOC 2 Type II from Insight Assurance, built-in ASC 718 with GAAP and IFRS support. That's a real feature stack, not vapor.
The Carta comparison is the whole game here. Carta drifted toward serving VCs and law firms. Pulley's stated founder-first positioning is either genuine differentiation or marketing copy — no funding data visible to confirm staying power. Captable.io competes at the low end; Pulley has clearly moved upmarket with managed services and Nasdaq Private Market liquidity integration.
Tradeoff worth naming: 40-stakeholder cap on the $3,500 Growth tier is tight for a Series A company. You'll hit Enterprise pricing faster than the landing page implies.
Nasdaq Private Market liquidity integration plus founder-first UI is a real wedge vs. Carta's VC-serving pivot; token distribution support adds a niche angle.
No public API documented; cap table data is sticky by nature and export paths aren't described anywhere in the evidence.
SOC 2 Type II and managed services signal real infrastructure investment, but no funding disclosure and no changelog cadence are both gaps.
H1 is grounded ('Get back to work'), no obvious superlatives — but no changelog means I can't verify claims about shipping velocity.
No public funding data visible; category has real survivors (Carta, Capshare) but also real graves — longevity here is unconfirmed.
Pre-seed through Series B founders who want Carta-level compliance without Carta's VC-first complexity and pricing.
You need API access to sync equity data into downstream systems before committing to a vendor.
Common questions answered by our AI research team
The Startup plan costs $1,200/year and includes the first 25 stakeholders. Angel investors writing checks of $50,000 or less count as half a stakeholder.
Pulley supports both GAAP and IFRS reporting standards, with built-in ASC 718 reporting included as part of its audit-ready compliance features.
Pulley is SOC 2 Type II certified. The audit was performed by Insight Assurance.
Pulley integrates with Nasdaq Private Market to support custom liquidity programs for employees and investors, fully integrated with the cap table.
Onboarding is described as simple and fast. One CEO confirmed a smooth process where a rep walked them through setup, with all needed features accessible at seed stage.
