Carta vs Slyced — Why Founders Are Switching

Carta is the default choice for cap table management. But at $2,800/year for their starter plan, it's becoming hard to justify for early-stage companies. Here's how Slyced compares.

Pricing

This is the elephant in the room. Here's what you'll actually pay:

• Carta Starter: $2,800/year (up to 25 stakeholders)
• Carta Growth: $6,000-$12,000/year
• Slyced Seed: Free (up to 25 stakeholders)
• Slyced Starter: $190/year
• Slyced Growth: $790/year

That's a 15x price difference at the starter level. For a pre-seed company watching every dollar, that's meaningful.

What You Get for Free on Slyced

Slyced's free tier isn't a stripped-down demo. It includes:

• Full cap table with ownership charts, share class breakdown, and fully-diluted view
• Virtual data room with folder templates, share links, and viewer tracking
• Unlimited e-signatures — generate and sign SAFEs and option agreements
• Fundraising CRM — Kanban pipeline, activity tracking, due diligence checklists
• Funding rounds — Create rounds, convert SAFEs/notes, snapshot cap table
• Stakeholder portal — Employees and investors can view their equity
• CSV/PDF export — Take your data anywhere
• AI Copilot — 10 messages/month for equity guidance

On Carta's free tier, you get... a basic cap table.

Feature Comparison

Cap Table Management

Both platforms handle the basics well. Slyced and Carta both track share classes, stakeholders, holdings, vesting schedules, and fully-diluted ownership. Slyced adds automatic cap table history with snapshots, which Carta charges extra for.

Data Room

Carta doesn't have a built-in data room. You need Docsend ($500+/month) or Dropbox DocSend separately. Slyced includes a full virtual data room with folder templates, password-protected share links, NDA gates, watermarking, and viewer analytics.

E-Signatures

Carta has e-signatures but only on paid plans. Slyced includes unlimited e-signatures on all plans, including free. Generate a SAFE agreement, send it for signature, and track the signing process — all in one platform.

Fundraising Pipeline

Carta doesn't offer investor tracking. Slyced includes a full fundraising CRM with a Kanban board, activity timeline, due diligence checklists, and side-by-side term sheet comparison.

409A Valuations

Carta offers 409A valuations at higher tiers. Slyced provides AI-powered 409A estimates on the Starter plan ($190/year) and partners with certified firms for official valuations on the Growth plan.

Scenario Modeling

Both platforms offer scenario modeling for fundraising rounds and exits. Slyced includes waterfall analysis with liquidation preferences, participation caps, and the option pool shuffle.

What Carta Does Better

To be fair, Carta has advantages:

• Market position — Investors know Carta. Some term sheets specify "cap table on Carta."
• Transfer agent services — Carta acts as a transfer agent for stock certificates
• 409A valuations — Carta's in-house 409A team is well-established
• Ecosystem — Carta connects to accounting, HR, and banking tools

For later-stage companies (Series B+) with complex needs, Carta may still be the right choice.

Who Should Use Slyced?

Slyced is built for:

• Pre-seed and seed startups who can't justify $2,800/year
• First-time founders who need guidance, not just software
• Companies actively fundraising who need a data room + CRM + cap table in one place
• Anyone switching from Carta who wants the same features at a fraction of the cost

Migration Takes 30 Seconds

If you're on Carta, export your data as CSV and import it into Slyced. Our import wizard maps Carta's columns automatically. Your stakeholders, holdings, share classes, and SAFEs are ready instantly.

No lock-in. No migration headaches. Just better economics.