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Carta Reviews
45 Review(s)
softwareOverall Rating
4.1
45 Review(s)
Rating Distribution
5
(25)
4
(11)
3
(3)
2
(1)
1
(5)
Satisfaction Score
Ease of use
8
Value for money
8
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Overall Rating
4.1
45 Review(s)
Rating Distribution
5
(25)
4
(11)
3
(3)
2
(1)
1
(5)
Satisfaction Score
Ease of use
8
Value for money
8
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Filters
Ratings
Provider Size
Time Used
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Great tool, however one flaw
Great tool, however one flaw
Pros
I love how I can get updates based on several other clients' compensation data. This helps me remain competitive.
Cons
I would love to see historical data. For example, with existing employees brought in at an IC_ or MGR_ level a couple of years ago, it would be helpful to see where they were placed within the band (XX%ile) when the market was showing that historical data.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 11-50 employees
More than a year
June 2024
Easy to manage ESOP distribution
Easy to manage ESOP distribution
Pros
The portal gives me easy access to manage my ESOPs and provides the complete vesting schedule. The admin can keep adding more ESOPs as needed. It also allows me to exercise options among other features. From an employee perspective, it's simple to use with complete security.
Cons
As a user, I have nothing negative to say. My experience has been entirely positive so far.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
K Lakshmi
Information Technology and Services, 51-100 employees
Less than a year
January 2023
Carta - all-in-one Equity management for privately held companies
Carta - all-in-one Equity management for privately held companies
Pros
Equity management is simple. I can share data with our Attorneys and Accountants, and quickly pull data and reports for outside Funds and Auditors. The self-serve option portal is great for Employees.
Cons
Some of the nuances are complex, but the software works. It requires some training, but the effort is worth it to keep all my equities in a single ledger.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
10
Customer Support
9
Functionality
10
James
Information Technology and Services, 51-100 employees
More than a year
January 2023
Avoid at all cost
Avoid at all cost
Pros
I do not like anything about this software.
Cons
Carta is awful, bottom line. We canceled our account on November 6th, 2022, but they still charged us nearly $5k on December 18th. I've reached out to the "success manager" assigned to our account for a refund since we canceled, but she doesn't respond to my emails. I've called the support line, but they just redirect me to our "success manager." They are an unethical nightmare. Avoid at all costs.
Ease of use
1
Value for money
1
Customer Support
2
Functionality
1
Carolyn
Fund-Raising, 11-50 employees
More than a year
December 2022
Best in class?
Best in class?
Pros
Carta is very convenient for me to track my vesting over time.
Cons
We've had issues with several aspects of Carta: onboarding, we weren't set up with the right vesting schedule, and several terminated employees are now showing as continuously vesting; customer support, when these issues were brought to Carta, they were slow to respond, taking several weeks to resolve, even though employees had access to the system and could see incorrect shares; functionality. I would love the ability to input more information on our equity program for employees, but the system isn't as customizable as we'd like.
Ease of use
5
Value for money
5
Customer Support
5
Functionality
10
Emily
Health, Wellness and Fitness, 51-100 employees
Less than 6 months
December 2022
Work on the ease of completing deals
Work on the ease of completing deals
Pros
It saves me time and effort by eliminating tiring spreadsheets that consume a lot of time and require manual operations. When I encounter a problem, the Carta support team is usually quick to respond and works with me to solve it. It's also easy to use, which helps me develop data with high accuracy.
Cons
I don't really have a complaint about Carta, except that it's hard to back up.
Ease of use
9
Value for money
10
Customer Support
8
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 1-10 employees
More than a year
December 2022
Great tool for equity management
Great tool for equity management
Pros
I like that it is commonly used in tech companies, so many investors are already comfortable with it.
Cons
Some functionality is difficult to locate, and the help function references a different version of the software than I have.
Ease of use
7
Value for money
9
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Margaret
Computer Software, 11-50 employees
More than a year
November 2022
Carta does everything to avoid providing service and still charges a premium
Carta does everything to avoid providing service and still charges a premium
Pros
I don't find the software to be very intuitive or helpful. It seems the people behind it know the business domain, but beyond that, I can't say much for it.
Cons
Their customer service is impossible to reach, and when I do, they are very unhelpful. They clearly don't value their customer relationships. They check in periodically to see if they can upsell me on add-on products that aren't useful to our business.
Ease of use
4
Value for money
2
Customer Support
2
Functionality
5
Anonymous
Not Specified, 1-10 employees
More than a year
October 2022
Horrible experience so far.
Horrible experience so far.
Pros
I have found nothing so far to like about it.
Cons
Their emails seem a lot like spam, which does not inspire confidence.
Ease of use
2
Value for money
2
Customer Support
2
Functionality
2
James
Environmental Services, 1-10 employees
Less than 6 months
July 2022
Carta is simple and exactly what was needed
Carta is simple and exactly what was needed
Pros
It's easy to navigate and has helped me create a better understanding of my equity.
Cons
I had trouble adding banks that are not big names but was able to overcome it.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Braden
Computer Software, 1-10 employees
More than a year
July 2022
Simple But Gets the Job Done
Simple But Gets the Job Done
Pros
If you're looking for simple software to track employees' options and their vesting schedules, Carta gets the job done. It notifies employees as options vest over time and even lets them simulate exercising their vested options.
Cons
The average person does not understand what options are or how vesting schedules or exercising options work. Carta could improve this experience by incorporating basic explanations of terminology into the software (e.g., info buttons next to certain terms). This would certainly give users an increased understanding of and sense of control over their financial assets.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
10
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Anonymous
Not Specified, 11-50 employees
More than a year
April 2022
Essential Tool in Equity Management
Essential Tool in Equity Management
Pros
The in-depth knowledge database got me started quickly. The interface is simple to use and allows for efficient navigation. Carta combines equity and salary compensation benchmarks, adjusting for size, location, and industry. It provides well-structured reports, funding overviews, cap tables, and the ability to create a data room for investors. I also get a free annual 409A valuation report.
Cons
Expensive for startups, salary compensation tool should be included in the base subscription, more comparative details with similar companies (benchmarking functions).
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Joe
Computer Software, 11-50 employees
More than a year
January 2022
Seems ok for what it is
Seems ok for what it is
Pros
It's simple to view my option grants and equity holdings, with no unnecessary extras or complications.
Cons
I don't have anything I don't like. It seems to do what it's supposed to do.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
7
Customer Support
6
Functionality
8
Shane
Computer Software, 11-50 employees
Less than a year
December 2021
Best to Keep track
Best to Keep track
Pros
The app is great for users, super transparent, and easy to understand.
Cons
Reporting-wise, it's confusing sometimes which report to get to obtain the desired data.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Manali
Computer Software, 51-100 employees
More than a year
July 2021
Great Program
Great Program
Pros
I like using this to track options, RSUs, and shares. Support is also helpful and does its best to answer questions.
Cons
The commissions on sales are a bit over the norm for a retail brokerage-type program. Especially bad if you have small lot sizes.
Ease of use
7
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Adam
Internet, 500+ employees
More than a year
June 2021
Carta Cap Table Management for Startups
Carta Cap Table Management for Startups
Pros
Carta made the implementation easy, and ongoing maintenance has been easy. I really like that Carta manages my cap table and includes 409A valuations in my plan, so when I'm ready to kick that off, I just press a button.
Cons
I have found it a bit difficult to add new users and debt issuances, and my customer service rep has generally pushed me toward recordings of user Q&A sessions rather than answering my questions.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
7
Customer Support
8
Functionality
10
John
E-Learning, 1-10 employees
Less than a year
May 2021
IPO was a debacle
IPO was a debacle
Pros
The pages were simple for me to navigate, and their layout was well-organized and intuitive.
Cons
Carta's handling of the Affirm IPO was a debacle. I believe Affirm no longer works with Carta as a result. Every employee's sell order was accidentally canceled on the day of the equity release. Carta did not have any alert system and did not notify affected employees for a month. Some employees were left tens of thousands of dollars worse off than if the error hadn't occurred. I am generally concerned about the quality of their software. Amusingly, one employee had $50K worth of stocks go missing from their account. Carta's software engineers had to deploy a bug fix for these stocks to be visible again!
Ease of use
5
Value for money
1
Customer Support
1
Functionality
3
Luke
Financial Services, 500+ employees
More than a year
May 2021
Clunky, Inefficient, and Expensive
Clunky, Inefficient, and Expensive
Pros
Carta allows me to store all my financial investment documents.
Cons
The interface and experience are terrible. It is clunky and not intuitive. It is very expensive, and the customer support is not as attentive as they should be. There is no easy ability to forecast and project.
Ease of use
2
Value for money
2
Customer Support
2
Functionality
5
Anonymous
Not Specified, 1-10 employees
April 2021
Great equity management system
Great equity management system
Pros
Overall, Carta makes it really easy for me to view my holdings, each individual grant, and what has vested. It also lets me exercise available options.
Cons
Our company went through a re-price, so all old grants had to be canceled and reissued. It's not easy to tell which grants are active versus which ones are voided.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
8
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Anonymous
Not Specified, 101-500 employees
More than a year
February 2021
Simplifies confusing information
Simplifies confusing information
Pros
I've used Carta through multiple companies and love how it takes complex legal language and breaks it down for me to simply understand and visualize in its predictive outcomes.
Cons
I don't have any negative input. The software does exactly what I hope it would.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
9
Anonymous
Not Specified, 500+ employees
More than a year
February 2021
Love-Hate Relationship with Carta
Love-Hate Relationship with Carta
Pros
When I have issues with this software (which is often), Carta's support team is usually very responsive and works with me on the issue. The software itself works fine, I guess, as it rarely has technical problems. The offered tutorial does help, and I appreciate the Carta team for putting it together.
Cons
Not very intuitive to use! A major part is requiring a good foundation in securities and stock options knowledge, which I clearly do not have. One HUGE gripe I have with Carta is that there is no quick way to bulk update a set of option grants. Instead, I have to go into EACH option grant, upload the document I need to upload, add a note of what I am updating, wait for 5 seconds for the update to occur, and repeat with the rest of the 1000+ option grants. I have been uploading/updating these option grants for a few days now while trying to do my other work, and I am still updating as I write this review on a Saturday evening. I don't know whether to keep on updating while cursing at the Carta screen or just call it quits for the day. Also, the update generates an email notification for the option holders, and of course, a good number of them send me questions afterward despite our team having already prepared a mass message for our Chief Sales Officer to send out that explains these notifications. I'm at the point where I'm inclined to curse out the next sales employee that asks me what these Carta notifications are for.
Ease of use
5
Value for money
5
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Sho
Information Services, 500+ employees
Less than a year
January 2021
All in one platform
All in one platform
Pros
I never knew such platforms existed until we started using one. It's a nice, simple-to-use platform, providing us with information about everything ESOP-related within the organization.
Cons
It would have been great if there had been more information on how to navigate through the platform.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
8
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Anonymous
Not Specified, 101-500 employees
Less than 6 months
October 2020
Easy way to manage stock options
Easy way to manage stock options
Pros
Their documentation and blog are very helpful for me in understanding all the terms and nuances of stock options.
Cons
There is nothing that I don't like, the software does a solid job servicing our need for managing stock options.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
8
Customer Support
10
Functionality
8
Alan
Computer Software, 51-100 employees
More than a year
September 2020
Easy for users, simple interface
Easy for users, simple interface
Pros
The interface is uncluttered and very obvious where to click and navigate. It's nice for me to track my overall equity and individual grants. The best feature is the ability to easily forecast overall share allotments across varying vesting schedules.
Cons
There is not a robust feature set beyond the basics to track my equity, but I'm not sure how much more I would need for that.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
7
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Anonymous
Not Specified, 11-50 employees
More than a year
September 2020
Imposible to use because its always so SLOW
Imposible to use because its always so SLOW
Pros
In theory, it should be simple for me to manage our portfolio of over 50 different holdings.
Cons
We are investors, not issuers. As investors, we have three big issues: A) The site is SO SLOW, I literally end up emailing the portfolio company to ask for the information. B) The UX for the portfolio is nonsensical. For example, if you accept a certificate, you are not taken to the holding, but rather to some summary page from which you then have to search for what you just accepted, and if you are not in the right "portfolio," it doesn't show up. C) Carta makes it very difficult to keep a backup.
Ease of use
3
Value for money
5
Customer Support
5
Functionality
10
David
Venture Capital & Private Equity, 1-10 employees
More than a year
May 2020
Great Product!
Great Product!
Pros
This product is simple to operate, and I am very pleased with it.
Cons
I can't think of anything to improve at the moment.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Tatiana
Media Production, 11-50 employees
More than a year
April 2020
Great Cap Table Management and Scenario Modeling
Great Cap Table Management and Scenario Modeling
Pros
I love having a constantly updated Cap Table and being able to quickly model exit and funding round scenarios. The integrated stock ledger and 409A valuations are a bonus. I plan to add investor and board communication to the platform this year.
Cons
I wish the scenario modeling provided options for convertible notes. However, the file outputs allowed me to manipulate the data in Excel very easily, and they were presentation-ready.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
9
Frank
Retail, 51-100 employees
Less than a year
April 2020
The most painful experience imaginable
The most painful experience imaginable
Pros
It's overly complicated with terrible UX and customer support.
Cons
The setup is extremely painful. The support staff is incredibly arrogant, and everything about your business has to conform to Carta. You can't even stop the annual subscription without going through the 'Carta offboarding process,' which is just as hard as onboarding and seems designed to benefit their finance team. It's a classic lack of customer focus and truly painful in every way. Seriously, avoid it unless you're a huge company with time to waste.
Ease of use
2
Value for money
2
Customer Support
2
Functionality
2
Richard
Financial Services, 1-10 employees
Less than a year
April 2020
Very simple interface for viewing, managing, and monitoring my stock options
Very simple interface for viewing, managing, and monitoring my stock options
Pros
No hassle, very simple to operate. It has a clean layout and makes it easy for me to view all my paperwork. It sends an email each time more stock options vest.
Cons
I haven't had any issues with it so far. My only complaint is that it's a very specific tool for legal document management, which could be shared and managed another way. But it works well and has a clear goal, so it's fine.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
9
Functionality
9
Sonya
Biotechnology, 51-100 employees
Less than 6 months
December 2019
Super easy to keep track of my stock options
Super easy to keep track of my stock options
Pros
I love how Carta automatically updates me when I have more vested options and shows a progress bar for my stock options vesting.
Cons
No complaints, but I probably haven't used this software deeply enough to find anything difficult or something to dislike about it.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
8
Functionality
10
Mallory
Computer Software, 500+ employees
More than a year
December 2019
Great App for Managing Private Equity
Great App for Managing Private Equity
Pros
I can keep track of multiple companies in one account. It has great data visualization tools for exercised vs. vested options and serves as a repository for important documents.
Cons
The mobile application lacks some features that the web app has, like the documentation repository. Sometimes it's difficult to understand the workflow required to accomplish a task. There are multiple ways to do the same thing, which can leave me feeling a bit lost at times.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
8
Customer Support
10
Functionality
8
Kevin
Information Technology and Services, 500+ employees
More than a year
December 2019
Stock Options: Managed
Stock Options: Managed
Pros
The iOS app and web portal require Two Factor Authentication before use, adding an extra layer of security to ensure that only I can access my sensitive financial information.
Cons
The password requirements are kind of funny. It starts off by saying, "Your password needs to be at least good and 9 characters long," then changes the message as more characters are typed. The definition of "good" is eventually revealed.
Ease of use
9
Value for money
9
Customer Support
9
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 101-500 employees
Less than 6 months
November 2019
Easy way to monitor employee stock options
Easy way to monitor employee stock options
Pros
I'm not a finance expert or a lawyer, which is why I appreciate Carta for managing my employee stock benefits. It keeps all records and information in one place that's easily accessible, with helpful guides and tutorials. I also really like the interactive vesting schedule and option exercise calculator, which help me visualize my stock benefits.
Cons
I don't really have a complaint about Carta other than I wish it integrated with other employee benefits platforms like Justworks. Obviously, Carta is much more specialized than Justworks, and there are probably legal/security reasons it is separate, but it would be cool to have everything in one place.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
9
Ben
Non-Profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees
Less than 6 months
November 2019
Carta Review
Carta Review
Pros
It's very simple to set up and operate. I can easily track my stock options and see when I can exercise them.
Cons
No cons that I can think of. It's pretty basic but works very well.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 500+ employees
Less than 6 months
August 2019
Simple way to manage equity in a startup.
Simple way to manage equity in a startup.
Pros
Carta is simple to see when I can exercise shares and my current holdings.
Cons
It's such a bare website. I would like more features, maybe educationally-focused links, and ways to track the value of the shares if there is any information.
Ease of use
9
Value for money
9
Customer Support
9
Functionality
9
Anonymous
Not Specified, 51-100 employees
More than a year
July 2019
Carta keeps me in the loop
Carta keeps me in the loop
Pros
I love their communication skills, especially the emails they send when I've vested shares.
Cons
I have no qualms or issues with Carta at this time.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
3
Customer Support
7
Functionality
7
Michael
Financial Services, 51-100 employees
Less than a year
July 2019
Great Equity Management
Great Equity Management
Pros
It's an easy and efficient way to check on equity status. I also appreciate the language and articles Carta provides about stocks and stock options.
Cons
The platform is simple and easy to navigate. I have no complaints.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
8
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Jon
Computer Software, 51-100 employees
More than a year
July 2019
Stocks in One Place!
Stocks in One Place!
Pros
I really like using Carta to manage our stock options for employees. I find it simple to operate for both administrators and employees who are creating accounts and reviewing options.
Cons
Sometimes I find the reports tedious to complete because there are many options to select. It does take some time to make multiple changes.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
8
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 51-100 employees
More than a year
July 2019
Huge timesaver, great value and has improved continuously over time
Huge timesaver, great value and has improved continuously over time
Pros
Carta solved a costly problem very easily. I used to manage our cap table in Excel, print out paperwork, and issue stock certificates. Every time I looked at software options, I ended up returning to the same system. Using lawyers was prohibitively expensive, so we managed it in-house. After talking to users of competitive products and hearing about errors leading to board-level action and expensive fixes, I chose Carta. It was far superior in ease of operation, data accuracy, security, rapid product development, and scalability. They could make any necessary adjustments without costly external counsel or board interaction.
Cons
When we first started using it nearly five years ago, we found a few bugs in accounting reporting on edge cases (we had a couple of unusual cases for a company of our size at the time). The Carta team quickly made adjustments to their software to resolve the problems and have continued to respond quickly to feedback.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Rob
Financial Services, 500+ employees
More than a year
June 2019
We use this to distribute/organize stocks
We use this to distribute/organize stocks
Pros
Our company gives employees stock options, and we use Carta to organize, distribute, and view them. It is quite helpful and simple to operate. I can check each stock option separately, knowing exactly when I received each amount and when it vests.
Cons
I don't have anything I don't like about it. I guess I just wish I knew what else the website can do, as I only really know about accepting/viewing my stock options.
Ease of use
9
Value for money
9
Customer Support
9
Functionality
9
Anonymous
Not Specified, 101-500 employees
Less than 6 months
April 2019
Not sure how I should be using except once a year...
Not sure how I should be using except once a year...
Pros
The UI is very slick and easy to navigate. I'm confident that when Carta becomes relevant to me, it will be simple to operate.
Cons
I don't really know how I'm supposed to interact with it. Not sure if that's my company's fault or Carta's customer success team. All I know is one day I'll have RSUs in there, and it will become more relevant.
Ease of use
5
Value for money
5
Customer Support
8
Functionality
7
Tanner
Computer Software, 101-500 employees
Less than a year
April 2019
Carta Review
Carta Review
Pros
I love having everything in one place. It's simple to use, purchase, and organize all my grants and vested stock.
Cons
I wish I could use some sort of market value prediction tool and have deductions from my paycheck taken out to be used for stock.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
6
Functionality
8
John
Marketing and Advertising, 101-500 employees
More than a year
April 2019
Wow, finally an easy way to see your equity
Wow, finally an easy way to see your equity
Pros
It is so simple to operate and see how many shares I have, their worth, and it feels very secure. Whenever I accept my shares, I get a cool little congratulations screen that makes me go "YAAY!" even though I already knew I was getting them. Moments like that brighten my day.
Cons
Nothing yet! It's really user-friendly.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
9
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 51-100 employees
Less than 6 months
April 2019
Good Cap Table Management Software
Good Cap Table Management Software
Pros
Carta is a very cool cap table management software with various functionalities that meet most startup needs for this kind of software. The UX is very nice and easy to operate.
Cons
One downside of Carta is its customer service. As long as everything is working, it's perfect, but when you need their customer service, you will have to wait a long time before your problem is resolved.
Ease of use
6
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Theodore
Real Estate, 11-50 employees
Less than a year
February 2019
Very Easy Management of Company Shares
Very Easy Management of Company Shares
Pros
I love being able to see how many shares I have, how many have vested, and when the next shares will vest. The portfolio section shows how many shares will vest and on what day. Overall, it is a very simple program for the user and, from what I've heard, very easy for a company to set everything up.
Cons
I hope that one day Carta will enter other markets to allow investment in other private companies. I feel like they have a great platform and would be good at adding a feature like this.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 11-50 employees
Less than a year
January 2019
Filters
Sort by:
Great tool, however one flaw
Great tool, however one flaw
Pros
I love how I can get updates based on several other clients' compensation data. This helps me remain competitive.
Cons
I would love to see historical data. For example, with existing employees brought in at an IC_ or MGR_ level a couple of years ago, it would be helpful to see where they were placed within the band (XX%ile) when the market was showing that historical data.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 11-50 employees
More than a year
June 2024
Easy to manage ESOP distribution
Easy to manage ESOP distribution
Pros
The portal gives me easy access to manage my ESOPs and provides the complete vesting schedule. The admin can keep adding more ESOPs as needed. It also allows me to exercise options among other features. From an employee perspective, it's simple to use with complete security.
Cons
As a user, I have nothing negative to say. My experience has been entirely positive so far.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
K Lakshmi
Information Technology and Services, 51-100 employees
Less than a year
January 2023
Carta - all-in-one Equity management for privately held companies
Carta - all-in-one Equity management for privately held companies
Pros
Equity management is simple. I can share data with our Attorneys and Accountants, and quickly pull data and reports for outside Funds and Auditors. The self-serve option portal is great for Employees.
Cons
Some of the nuances are complex, but the software works. It requires some training, but the effort is worth it to keep all my equities in a single ledger.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
10
Customer Support
9
Functionality
10
James
Information Technology and Services, 51-100 employees
More than a year
January 2023
Avoid at all cost
Avoid at all cost
Pros
I do not like anything about this software.
Cons
Carta is awful, bottom line. We canceled our account on November 6th, 2022, but they still charged us nearly $5k on December 18th. I've reached out to the "success manager" assigned to our account for a refund since we canceled, but she doesn't respond to my emails. I've called the support line, but they just redirect me to our "success manager." They are an unethical nightmare. Avoid at all costs.
Ease of use
1
Value for money
1
Customer Support
2
Functionality
1
Carolyn
Fund-Raising, 11-50 employees
More than a year
December 2022
Best in class?
Best in class?
Pros
Carta is very convenient for me to track my vesting over time.
Cons
We've had issues with several aspects of Carta: onboarding, we weren't set up with the right vesting schedule, and several terminated employees are now showing as continuously vesting; customer support, when these issues were brought to Carta, they were slow to respond, taking several weeks to resolve, even though employees had access to the system and could see incorrect shares; functionality. I would love the ability to input more information on our equity program for employees, but the system isn't as customizable as we'd like.
Ease of use
5
Value for money
5
Customer Support
5
Functionality
10
Emily
Health, Wellness and Fitness, 51-100 employees
Less than 6 months
December 2022
Work on the ease of completing deals
Work on the ease of completing deals
Pros
It saves me time and effort by eliminating tiring spreadsheets that consume a lot of time and require manual operations. When I encounter a problem, the Carta support team is usually quick to respond and works with me to solve it. It's also easy to use, which helps me develop data with high accuracy.
Cons
I don't really have a complaint about Carta, except that it's hard to back up.
Ease of use
9
Value for money
10
Customer Support
8
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 1-10 employees
More than a year
December 2022
Great tool for equity management
Great tool for equity management
Pros
I like that it is commonly used in tech companies, so many investors are already comfortable with it.
Cons
Some functionality is difficult to locate, and the help function references a different version of the software than I have.
Ease of use
7
Value for money
9
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Margaret
Computer Software, 11-50 employees
More than a year
November 2022
Carta does everything to avoid providing service and still charges a premium
Carta does everything to avoid providing service and still charges a premium
Pros
I don't find the software to be very intuitive or helpful. It seems the people behind it know the business domain, but beyond that, I can't say much for it.
Cons
Their customer service is impossible to reach, and when I do, they are very unhelpful. They clearly don't value their customer relationships. They check in periodically to see if they can upsell me on add-on products that aren't useful to our business.
Ease of use
4
Value for money
2
Customer Support
2
Functionality
5
Anonymous
Not Specified, 1-10 employees
More than a year
October 2022
Horrible experience so far.
Horrible experience so far.
Pros
I have found nothing so far to like about it.
Cons
Their emails seem a lot like spam, which does not inspire confidence.
Ease of use
2
Value for money
2
Customer Support
2
Functionality
2
James
Environmental Services, 1-10 employees
Less than 6 months
July 2022
Carta is simple and exactly what was needed
Carta is simple and exactly what was needed
Pros
It's easy to navigate and has helped me create a better understanding of my equity.
Cons
I had trouble adding banks that are not big names but was able to overcome it.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Braden
Computer Software, 1-10 employees
More than a year
July 2022
Simple But Gets the Job Done
Simple But Gets the Job Done
Pros
If you're looking for simple software to track employees' options and their vesting schedules, Carta gets the job done. It notifies employees as options vest over time and even lets them simulate exercising their vested options.
Cons
The average person does not understand what options are or how vesting schedules or exercising options work. Carta could improve this experience by incorporating basic explanations of terminology into the software (e.g., info buttons next to certain terms). This would certainly give users an increased understanding of and sense of control over their financial assets.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
10
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Anonymous
Not Specified, 11-50 employees
More than a year
April 2022
Essential Tool in Equity Management
Essential Tool in Equity Management
Pros
The in-depth knowledge database got me started quickly. The interface is simple to use and allows for efficient navigation. Carta combines equity and salary compensation benchmarks, adjusting for size, location, and industry. It provides well-structured reports, funding overviews, cap tables, and the ability to create a data room for investors. I also get a free annual 409A valuation report.
Cons
Expensive for startups, salary compensation tool should be included in the base subscription, more comparative details with similar companies (benchmarking functions).
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Joe
Computer Software, 11-50 employees
More than a year
January 2022
Seems ok for what it is
Seems ok for what it is
Pros
It's simple to view my option grants and equity holdings, with no unnecessary extras or complications.
Cons
I don't have anything I don't like. It seems to do what it's supposed to do.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
7
Customer Support
6
Functionality
8
Shane
Computer Software, 11-50 employees
Less than a year
December 2021
Best to Keep track
Best to Keep track
Pros
The app is great for users, super transparent, and easy to understand.
Cons
Reporting-wise, it's confusing sometimes which report to get to obtain the desired data.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Manali
Computer Software, 51-100 employees
More than a year
July 2021
Great Program
Great Program
Pros
I like using this to track options, RSUs, and shares. Support is also helpful and does its best to answer questions.
Cons
The commissions on sales are a bit over the norm for a retail brokerage-type program. Especially bad if you have small lot sizes.
Ease of use
7
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Adam
Internet, 500+ employees
More than a year
June 2021
Carta Cap Table Management for Startups
Carta Cap Table Management for Startups
Pros
Carta made the implementation easy, and ongoing maintenance has been easy. I really like that Carta manages my cap table and includes 409A valuations in my plan, so when I'm ready to kick that off, I just press a button.
Cons
I have found it a bit difficult to add new users and debt issuances, and my customer service rep has generally pushed me toward recordings of user Q&A sessions rather than answering my questions.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
7
Customer Support
8
Functionality
10
John
E-Learning, 1-10 employees
Less than a year
May 2021
IPO was a debacle
IPO was a debacle
Pros
The pages were simple for me to navigate, and their layout was well-organized and intuitive.
Cons
Carta's handling of the Affirm IPO was a debacle. I believe Affirm no longer works with Carta as a result. Every employee's sell order was accidentally canceled on the day of the equity release. Carta did not have any alert system and did not notify affected employees for a month. Some employees were left tens of thousands of dollars worse off than if the error hadn't occurred. I am generally concerned about the quality of their software. Amusingly, one employee had $50K worth of stocks go missing from their account. Carta's software engineers had to deploy a bug fix for these stocks to be visible again!
Ease of use
5
Value for money
1
Customer Support
1
Functionality
3
Luke
Financial Services, 500+ employees
More than a year
May 2021
Clunky, Inefficient, and Expensive
Clunky, Inefficient, and Expensive
Pros
Carta allows me to store all my financial investment documents.
Cons
The interface and experience are terrible. It is clunky and not intuitive. It is very expensive, and the customer support is not as attentive as they should be. There is no easy ability to forecast and project.
Ease of use
2
Value for money
2
Customer Support
2
Functionality
5
Anonymous
Not Specified, 1-10 employees
April 2021
Great equity management system
Great equity management system
Pros
Overall, Carta makes it really easy for me to view my holdings, each individual grant, and what has vested. It also lets me exercise available options.
Cons
Our company went through a re-price, so all old grants had to be canceled and reissued. It's not easy to tell which grants are active versus which ones are voided.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
8
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Anonymous
Not Specified, 101-500 employees
More than a year
February 2021
Simplifies confusing information
Simplifies confusing information
Pros
I've used Carta through multiple companies and love how it takes complex legal language and breaks it down for me to simply understand and visualize in its predictive outcomes.
Cons
I don't have any negative input. The software does exactly what I hope it would.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
9
Anonymous
Not Specified, 500+ employees
More than a year
February 2021
Love-Hate Relationship with Carta
Love-Hate Relationship with Carta
Pros
When I have issues with this software (which is often), Carta's support team is usually very responsive and works with me on the issue. The software itself works fine, I guess, as it rarely has technical problems. The offered tutorial does help, and I appreciate the Carta team for putting it together.
Cons
Not very intuitive to use! A major part is requiring a good foundation in securities and stock options knowledge, which I clearly do not have. One HUGE gripe I have with Carta is that there is no quick way to bulk update a set of option grants. Instead, I have to go into EACH option grant, upload the document I need to upload, add a note of what I am updating, wait for 5 seconds for the update to occur, and repeat with the rest of the 1000+ option grants. I have been uploading/updating these option grants for a few days now while trying to do my other work, and I am still updating as I write this review on a Saturday evening. I don't know whether to keep on updating while cursing at the Carta screen or just call it quits for the day. Also, the update generates an email notification for the option holders, and of course, a good number of them send me questions afterward despite our team having already prepared a mass message for our Chief Sales Officer to send out that explains these notifications. I'm at the point where I'm inclined to curse out the next sales employee that asks me what these Carta notifications are for.
Ease of use
5
Value for money
5
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Sho
Information Services, 500+ employees
Less than a year
January 2021
All in one platform
All in one platform
Pros
I never knew such platforms existed until we started using one. It's a nice, simple-to-use platform, providing us with information about everything ESOP-related within the organization.
Cons
It would have been great if there had been more information on how to navigate through the platform.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
8
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Anonymous
Not Specified, 101-500 employees
Less than 6 months
October 2020
Easy way to manage stock options
Easy way to manage stock options
Pros
Their documentation and blog are very helpful for me in understanding all the terms and nuances of stock options.
Cons
There is nothing that I don't like, the software does a solid job servicing our need for managing stock options.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
8
Customer Support
10
Functionality
8
Alan
Computer Software, 51-100 employees
More than a year
September 2020
Easy for users, simple interface
Easy for users, simple interface
Pros
The interface is uncluttered and very obvious where to click and navigate. It's nice for me to track my overall equity and individual grants. The best feature is the ability to easily forecast overall share allotments across varying vesting schedules.
Cons
There is not a robust feature set beyond the basics to track my equity, but I'm not sure how much more I would need for that.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
7
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Anonymous
Not Specified, 11-50 employees
More than a year
September 2020
Imposible to use because its always so SLOW
Imposible to use because its always so SLOW
Pros
In theory, it should be simple for me to manage our portfolio of over 50 different holdings.
Cons
We are investors, not issuers. As investors, we have three big issues: A) The site is SO SLOW, I literally end up emailing the portfolio company to ask for the information. B) The UX for the portfolio is nonsensical. For example, if you accept a certificate, you are not taken to the holding, but rather to some summary page from which you then have to search for what you just accepted, and if you are not in the right "portfolio," it doesn't show up. C) Carta makes it very difficult to keep a backup.
Ease of use
3
Value for money
5
Customer Support
5
Functionality
10
David
Venture Capital & Private Equity, 1-10 employees
More than a year
May 2020
Great Product!
Great Product!
Pros
This product is simple to operate, and I am very pleased with it.
Cons
I can't think of anything to improve at the moment.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Tatiana
Media Production, 11-50 employees
More than a year
April 2020
Great Cap Table Management and Scenario Modeling
Great Cap Table Management and Scenario Modeling
Pros
I love having a constantly updated Cap Table and being able to quickly model exit and funding round scenarios. The integrated stock ledger and 409A valuations are a bonus. I plan to add investor and board communication to the platform this year.
Cons
I wish the scenario modeling provided options for convertible notes. However, the file outputs allowed me to manipulate the data in Excel very easily, and they were presentation-ready.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
9
Frank
Retail, 51-100 employees
Less than a year
April 2020
The most painful experience imaginable
The most painful experience imaginable
Pros
It's overly complicated with terrible UX and customer support.
Cons
The setup is extremely painful. The support staff is incredibly arrogant, and everything about your business has to conform to Carta. You can't even stop the annual subscription without going through the 'Carta offboarding process,' which is just as hard as onboarding and seems designed to benefit their finance team. It's a classic lack of customer focus and truly painful in every way. Seriously, avoid it unless you're a huge company with time to waste.
Ease of use
2
Value for money
2
Customer Support
2
Functionality
2
Richard
Financial Services, 1-10 employees
Less than a year
April 2020
Very simple interface for viewing, managing, and monitoring my stock options
Very simple interface for viewing, managing, and monitoring my stock options
Pros
No hassle, very simple to operate. It has a clean layout and makes it easy for me to view all my paperwork. It sends an email each time more stock options vest.
Cons
I haven't had any issues with it so far. My only complaint is that it's a very specific tool for legal document management, which could be shared and managed another way. But it works well and has a clear goal, so it's fine.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
9
Functionality
9
Sonya
Biotechnology, 51-100 employees
Less than 6 months
December 2019
Super easy to keep track of my stock options
Super easy to keep track of my stock options
Pros
I love how Carta automatically updates me when I have more vested options and shows a progress bar for my stock options vesting.
Cons
No complaints, but I probably haven't used this software deeply enough to find anything difficult or something to dislike about it.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
8
Functionality
10
Mallory
Computer Software, 500+ employees
More than a year
December 2019
Great App for Managing Private Equity
Great App for Managing Private Equity
Pros
I can keep track of multiple companies in one account. It has great data visualization tools for exercised vs. vested options and serves as a repository for important documents.
Cons
The mobile application lacks some features that the web app has, like the documentation repository. Sometimes it's difficult to understand the workflow required to accomplish a task. There are multiple ways to do the same thing, which can leave me feeling a bit lost at times.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
8
Customer Support
10
Functionality
8
Kevin
Information Technology and Services, 500+ employees
More than a year
December 2019
Stock Options: Managed
Stock Options: Managed
Pros
The iOS app and web portal require Two Factor Authentication before use, adding an extra layer of security to ensure that only I can access my sensitive financial information.
Cons
The password requirements are kind of funny. It starts off by saying, "Your password needs to be at least good and 9 characters long," then changes the message as more characters are typed. The definition of "good" is eventually revealed.
Ease of use
9
Value for money
9
Customer Support
9
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 101-500 employees
Less than 6 months
November 2019
Easy way to monitor employee stock options
Easy way to monitor employee stock options
Pros
I'm not a finance expert or a lawyer, which is why I appreciate Carta for managing my employee stock benefits. It keeps all records and information in one place that's easily accessible, with helpful guides and tutorials. I also really like the interactive vesting schedule and option exercise calculator, which help me visualize my stock benefits.
Cons
I don't really have a complaint about Carta other than I wish it integrated with other employee benefits platforms like Justworks. Obviously, Carta is much more specialized than Justworks, and there are probably legal/security reasons it is separate, but it would be cool to have everything in one place.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
9
Ben
Non-Profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees
Less than 6 months
November 2019
Carta Review
Carta Review
Pros
It's very simple to set up and operate. I can easily track my stock options and see when I can exercise them.
Cons
No cons that I can think of. It's pretty basic but works very well.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 500+ employees
Less than 6 months
August 2019
Simple way to manage equity in a startup.
Simple way to manage equity in a startup.
Pros
Carta is simple to see when I can exercise shares and my current holdings.
Cons
It's such a bare website. I would like more features, maybe educationally-focused links, and ways to track the value of the shares if there is any information.
Ease of use
9
Value for money
9
Customer Support
9
Functionality
9
Anonymous
Not Specified, 51-100 employees
More than a year
July 2019
Carta keeps me in the loop
Carta keeps me in the loop
Pros
I love their communication skills, especially the emails they send when I've vested shares.
Cons
I have no qualms or issues with Carta at this time.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
3
Customer Support
7
Functionality
7
Michael
Financial Services, 51-100 employees
Less than a year
July 2019
Great Equity Management
Great Equity Management
Pros
It's an easy and efficient way to check on equity status. I also appreciate the language and articles Carta provides about stocks and stock options.
Cons
The platform is simple and easy to navigate. I have no complaints.
Ease of use
8
Value for money
8
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Jon
Computer Software, 51-100 employees
More than a year
July 2019
Stocks in One Place!
Stocks in One Place!
Pros
I really like using Carta to manage our stock options for employees. I find it simple to operate for both administrators and employees who are creating accounts and reviewing options.
Cons
Sometimes I find the reports tedious to complete because there are many options to select. It does take some time to make multiple changes.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
8
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 51-100 employees
More than a year
July 2019
Huge timesaver, great value and has improved continuously over time
Huge timesaver, great value and has improved continuously over time
Pros
Carta solved a costly problem very easily. I used to manage our cap table in Excel, print out paperwork, and issue stock certificates. Every time I looked at software options, I ended up returning to the same system. Using lawyers was prohibitively expensive, so we managed it in-house. After talking to users of competitive products and hearing about errors leading to board-level action and expensive fixes, I chose Carta. It was far superior in ease of operation, data accuracy, security, rapid product development, and scalability. They could make any necessary adjustments without costly external counsel or board interaction.
Cons
When we first started using it nearly five years ago, we found a few bugs in accounting reporting on edge cases (we had a couple of unusual cases for a company of our size at the time). The Carta team quickly made adjustments to their software to resolve the problems and have continued to respond quickly to feedback.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Rob
Financial Services, 500+ employees
More than a year
June 2019
We use this to distribute/organize stocks
We use this to distribute/organize stocks
Pros
Our company gives employees stock options, and we use Carta to organize, distribute, and view them. It is quite helpful and simple to operate. I can check each stock option separately, knowing exactly when I received each amount and when it vests.
Cons
I don't have anything I don't like about it. I guess I just wish I knew what else the website can do, as I only really know about accepting/viewing my stock options.
Ease of use
9
Value for money
9
Customer Support
9
Functionality
9
Anonymous
Not Specified, 101-500 employees
Less than 6 months
April 2019
Not sure how I should be using except once a year...
Not sure how I should be using except once a year...
Pros
The UI is very slick and easy to navigate. I'm confident that when Carta becomes relevant to me, it will be simple to operate.
Cons
I don't really know how I'm supposed to interact with it. Not sure if that's my company's fault or Carta's customer success team. All I know is one day I'll have RSUs in there, and it will become more relevant.
Ease of use
5
Value for money
5
Customer Support
8
Functionality
7
Tanner
Computer Software, 101-500 employees
Less than a year
April 2019
Carta Review
Carta Review
Pros
I love having everything in one place. It's simple to use, purchase, and organize all my grants and vested stock.
Cons
I wish I could use some sort of market value prediction tool and have deductions from my paycheck taken out to be used for stock.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
6
Functionality
8
John
Marketing and Advertising, 101-500 employees
More than a year
April 2019
Wow, finally an easy way to see your equity
Wow, finally an easy way to see your equity
Pros
It is so simple to operate and see how many shares I have, their worth, and it feels very secure. Whenever I accept my shares, I get a cool little congratulations screen that makes me go "YAAY!" even though I already knew I was getting them. Moments like that brighten my day.
Cons
Nothing yet! It's really user-friendly.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
9
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 51-100 employees
Less than 6 months
April 2019
Good Cap Table Management Software
Good Cap Table Management Software
Pros
Carta is a very cool cap table management software with various functionalities that meet most startup needs for this kind of software. The UX is very nice and easy to operate.
Cons
One downside of Carta is its customer service. As long as everything is working, it's perfect, but when you need their customer service, you will have to wait a long time before your problem is resolved.
Ease of use
6
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Theodore
Real Estate, 11-50 employees
Less than a year
February 2019
Very Easy Management of Company Shares
Very Easy Management of Company Shares
Pros
I love being able to see how many shares I have, how many have vested, and when the next shares will vest. The portfolio section shows how many shares will vest and on what day. Overall, it is a very simple program for the user and, from what I've heard, very easy for a company to set everything up.
Cons
I hope that one day Carta will enter other markets to allow investment in other private companies. I feel like they have a great platform and would be good at adding a feature like this.
Ease of use
10
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
10
Anonymous
Not Specified, 11-50 employees
Less than a year
January 2019