Pulley alternatives, compared honestly.
Pulley is a clean, founder-focused cap table tool with refreshingly transparent pricing. Their pitch: "Manage equity. Make decisions. Get back to work." But it's US-focused and stops at the cap table. Here's how Octelligence, Carta, Mantle, and Cake Equity compare, and who should pick which.
Octelligence Free or $19–$149/mo vs Pulley from $1,200/yr.
Pulley is US-first. Octelligence and Mantle handle Canadian entities natively.
Only Octelligence ships a real corporate records layer alongside the cap table.
Pulley is a credible tool. It's just narrow on purpose.
Pulley made a deliberate choice: focus on founders and finance teams, publish pricing, ship a clean cap table tool, and don't try to be everything to everyone. That focus is what makes it work. It's also what creates the gaps.
People usually look for an alternative when they bump into one of three limits.
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Non-US jurisdictions
Pulley is primarily US-focused. Canadian incorporations, dual-jurisdiction structures, and non-US securities conventions aren't its strong suit.
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It's cap-table-only
Your minute book, share certificates with public verification, resolutions, and shareholder agreements still live somewhere else. Usually a shared drive.
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No free tier for the earliest stage
Pulley starts at $1,200/year. Pre-seed founders without a SAFE outstanding may want a free or near-free option until they raise.
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No firm-wide portfolio licensing
If you're a law firm or accounting practice managing client corporations at scale, you'll need a different model than Pulley's per-company pricing.
Criteria that actually matter
- Jurisdiction fit. Pulley is great if you're US Delaware. Test how alternatives handle CBCA, provincial, and dual-jurisdiction structures before committing.
- What lives outside the cap table. Minute book, certificates, resolutions, shareholder agreements. Where do they go and who keeps them current?
- Total cost. If you're not raising in the next six months, $1,200/yr can feel steep. Look for a free tier or low-cost on-ramp.
- SAFE conversion math. Test cap, discount, MFN, and priced-round batch conversion. Pulley handles this well; so do the others.
- Share-link audit. If you send a cap table to investors, can you tell who opened it and revoke access? Not all tools log this.
Four credible Pulley alternatives
Cap table + corporate records, in one platform.
If Pulley feels narrow, Octelligence is the natural step. Same cap-table depth (SAFE batch conversion, options, warrants, A/B scenarios) with a real corporate records layer (minute book, share certificates, resolutions) underneath. Free for one corporation; $19/mo to $149/mo paid tiers. Built for Canadian + US corporations.
- Structured corporate records (minute book) included
- QR-verified share certificates with public verification pages
- SAFE batch conversion, options, warrants, scenarios
- Free tier; paid plans starting at $19/mo
- Canadian + US dual-jurisdiction support
The incumbent, broadest feature set
If you're scaling fast in the US VC ecosystem and want one ecosystem covering cap table, 409A, fund admin, and equity plans, Carta is still the path of least resistance. Trade-off: cost climbs fast, and it doesn't ship a corporate records layer either.
- Deepest cap table feature set in the category
- 409A and fund administration in one ecosystem
- No corporate records / minute book
- Cost escalates materially at growth stage
Lightweight, North-America-friendly
Mantle pitches "clear equity, instantly" with AI-assisted document extraction and no per-seat pricing. Good fit for early-stage North American founders who want a cap-table-only tool that handles Canada natively. Pricing isn't published.
- AI-assisted SAFE/term-sheet extraction
- No per-seat pricing
- US + Canada coverage
- No corporate records / minute book
Multi-jurisdiction employee equity
Cake Equity is strongest if your equity story is global and employee-heavy: stock options across multiple countries, RSUs, RSAs, plus an employee-facing app. Originally Australian, now US-headquartered. Lists "10,000+ companies."
- Strong employee-facing experience
- Multi-country option grants
- 409A, QSBS, ASC 718
- No corporate records / minute book
You're US-only and the cap table is enough
Pulley is genuinely good at what it does. If you're a US-incorporated startup, the cap table tool is the only thing you need, and the $1,200–$3,500/year tiers fit your budget, switching costs probably aren't worth it.
Run Octelligence Free alongside if you want a real minute book and verified certificates without changing your cap table tool.
Try Octelligence FreePulley vs the alternatives
Direct recommendations
You're a US-incorporated startup, you want a clean cap-table-focused tool with transparent published pricing, and you don't need a corporate records layer or non-US support. The product does what it says.
You want the same cap-table depth plus a real minute book, share certificates, and registers. You're Canadian, US, or both. You'd rather start free than at $1,200/yr. You're a law or accounting firm.
You're scaling in the US VC ecosystem and need 409A and fund administration in one ecosystem. Your investors and law firm already use it. The price is worth the friction it removes.
You're an early-stage North American founder, you want AI-assisted document handling, you don't want per-seat pricing, and you don't need a corporate records layer in the same platform.
Your employee equity is global and your differentiator is multi-country option/RSU programs and an employee-facing app, not the cap table itself.
You like Pulley's cap table but want a real corporate records layer. Octelligence Free covers your minute book, register, and verified certificates. Pulley covers the cap table. Both stay in sync at the share-class layer.
FAQ
Sign up free, import your share classes, and try Octelligence in your own corporation. Cap table, minute book, and certificates in one place from the start.