Startups Compass vs Carta and Pulley
Everything you need to close the round, from the first meeting to money in the bank.
Carta and Pulley keep the official cap table: securities, certificates, compliance. Startups Compass answers a different question: what does the next round do to my ownership, and who are the investors in it? Many founders use a modelling tool before an official one, or beside it.
Start your 14-day free trial →Why founders pick Startups Compass
From the first meeting to money in the bank
Carta keeps the legal record once the round is done. We are built for the months before: the investors, the stages, the follow-ups, and the round model beside them.
The cap table beside your investors
Change a valuation, a SAFE cap or the pool and see founders’ ownership and the exit waterfall move at once, next to the investors who will be in the round, without touching the legal record.
One clear price, no caps
$199 a year, everything included, at any number of stakeholders. No sales call and no surprise when you pass 25 holders or $1M raised.
Private by design
We never read your email or calendar and never track your investors: the deck goes as a PDF from your own email. Notes are summarised by the AI built into your browser, on your computer, and your data is encrypted in the EU.
Made by a founder, for founders
Built by a founder during a real raise, to fix the problems that raise ran into. Every feature exists because a raise needed it.
Find investors, then follow through
Search the built-in investor directory by sector, stage, type and region, add one in a click, and each morning the Dashboard says who is overdue and who is waiting for your reply.
What makes Startups Compass different
An investor database, with deep search
Search a built-in directory of funds and angels by sector, stage and type, add the ones that fit to your pipeline in one click, and match investors to your company. Included in the plan, not a paid add-on, and we do not quote a headcount for it.
Today: what needs you, in three lines
Every morning the Dashboard says who is overdue, which tasks are due and where the round stands. Plain sentences, no digging.
Your round, and where it is likely to land
Round progress with a forecast by stage: not just what is committed, but what the pipeline suggests you will reach.
The cap table next to your investors
SAFEs, convertible notes, option pool, priced rounds, secondaries and an exit waterfall, so before you sign you see what the round does to you.
Your notes, summarised by AI that never leaves your computer
A short summary of everything you wrote about an investor, written by the AI built into your browser. Nothing is sent to us or to any AI provider.
A nudge when an investor goes quiet
The investor brief shows where things stand at a glance, and the Dashboard tells you who is waiting for a follow-up, with one click to add a meeting to your calendar.
Bring the Excel list you already have
It finds the right sheet and header row, recognises your column names and reads dates day-first or month-first, so your list comes in as it is.
What a year costs
Carta also has a free Launch tier (up to 25 stakeholders and $1M raised). Pulley states on its website that it is shutting down on 12/8/26 and partnering with Carta. Read from each company's own pages on 18 October 2026; prices change, so check before you decide. Startups Compass: $19.90 a month or $199 a year, in US dollars, with everything included. 14-day free trial (a payment method is needed; cancel before it ends and nothing is charged).
What they offer, and what it means for you
A free Launch tier
Free up to 25 stakeholders and $1M raised. For you: it ends just as the company grows, and the next plans are priced only in a sales call. Ours is $199 a year, at any size, with the price on the page.
The official legal record
Carta issues securities, certificates and 83(b) forms and keeps compliance. For you: when you issue equity you do need an official record and a lawyer. That is a different job from deciding which round to take; we are where you work that out.
Priced-round modelling
On Carta it starts at the Build plan, price on request. For you: we model SAFEs, notes, option-pool top-ups, priced rounds, secondaries and the exit waterfall from day one, for $19.90 a month.
409A valuations and tax support
On Carta's higher plans, for US option grants. For you: needed when you grant options in the US; not part of planning a raise.
Pulley
Pulley says on its website that it is closing on 12/8/26 and partnering with Carta. For you: if your records are there they must move; your modelling and investors can live with us whatever official provider you choose.
Which one fits
Use Carta (or another official provider) when you need the legal cap table. Use Startups Compass to model rounds, plan the raise and keep your investors in order, before the legal record and alongside it.
Try Startups Compass free for 14 days →Sources
We are one of the products compared here, so read the sources and decide for yourself. Something out of date? Write to startup@startupscompass.com and we will correct it.