Best free cap table software in 2026: what "free" actually means
Founders hear "free cap table" from spreadsheets, modeling tools, trials, and full equity-admin platforms. Here is a practical way to compare them—and what to keep clean if you need an appraisal later.
CapTableFree is built to be unlimited and free for cap table records: no shareholder caps, no funding-stage gates, and fully self-serve signup and reporting. We do not perform 409A valuations; we help you keep data organized and export-ready for your provider.
What vendors usually mean by "free"
Most equity stacks fall into a few buckets:
- Free trial or starter tier — full product for a window or up to a cap on stakeholders, then paid plans.
- Free modeling or spreadsheet helpers — great for scenarios, but not always the same as issued-security administration and audit trails.
- Launch or founder programs — sometimes free at very early stage with upgrade paths as you scale.
When you evaluate a vendor, ask: Is my cap table the system of record, and can I run day-two tasks (grants, certificates, stakeholder access) without a services team?
Names you will see in the market (April 2026)
These are established cap table and equity-management vendors—useful for diligence and pricing context (always confirm current terms on their sites):
- Qapita — cap table / equity management
- Eqvista — cap table services
- Carta — equity management (Launch)
- Capboard
- Cake Equity — cap table
- Pulley — cap table management
- Allshares — equity & cap table
For a structured side-by-side, see our comparison hub (including Allshares).
409A and your cap table
Option grants need a defensible fair market value from a qualified appraiser. CapTableFree does not provide 409A valuations. We focus on keeping ownership, classes, and grant history consistent so your data is 409A valuation-ready when you engage a provider.
Self-serve checklist
If you want to run equity without waiting on onboarding projects: confirm you can import or enter historical issuances, invite finance and counsel, export ownership summaries, and manage stakeholders yourself. That is the bar CapTableFree is designed to meet at $0.
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