Buyer's guide · Canadian startups · 2026

Best cap table software for Canadian startups in 2026

Cap table software scored for Canadian-incorporated startups: CBCA / OBCA / BCBCA / QBCA fit, CCPC option support under Income Tax Act s. 7, ISC register integration, and Quebec-French support. Most US-built cap-table tools struggle on Canadian specifics; the choice is narrower but clearer than it looks.

At a glance: Best by use case (Canadian startup)

Best overall
Octelligence
Native CBCA, OBCA, BCBCA, QBCA, and other provincial support. ISC register integrated with the share register. Quebec French. Section 7 option taxation handled correctly. Free tier for one corporation.
If a US-side lead is involved
Octelligence + Carta
Octelligence for the Canadian-side records and ISC register; Carta if the US-side lead is insistent. Run both during the cross-border period.
Pure-US treatment
Carta or Pulley
Functional but missing ISC, CCPC option treatment, Quebec French, and provincial filing rhythm.
For Quebec corporations
Octelligence
Full QBCA support, French-language certificates and templates, Registraire des entreprises du Québec filings.

Canadian-specific decision criteria

Corporate-statute alignment (CBCA, OBCA, BCBCA, QBCA, others)

Canadian share issuances run under different statutory frameworks depending on the jurisdiction of incorporation. Federal CBCA (Canada Business Corporations Act), Ontario OBCA, BC BCBCA, Quebec QBCA, and the equivalent provincial statutes each have specific rules for issuance authority, share class structure, articles amendment thresholds (special resolution = two-thirds), and filing requirements. A US-built cap-table tool that abstracts these into "issuance" without statute-specific framing forces Canadian counsel to retrofit the workflow into the right legal frame.

CCPC option taxation under Income Tax Act s. 7

Canadian employee stock options are taxed under ITA s. 7, with the s. 110(1)(d) deduction for qualifying options (50% of the benefit, similar to capital-gains treatment). CCPCs have separate s. 7(1.1) deferral: the benefit is not taxed at exercise but at disposition, with the s. 110(1)(d.1) deduction available if the shares are held at least two years. None of this maps to US ISO/NSO. Tools that classify all options as ISO or NSO are wrong for Canadian CCPCs.

ISC register integration

CBCA s. 21.1 (and equivalent provincial provisions: OBCA s. 140.2, BCBCA, QBCA) requires every Canadian private corporation to maintain a register of Individuals with Significant Control. The register is updated within statutory windows of any ownership change. Tools that don't track ISC require maintaining a separate register; tools that integrate ISC with the share register trigger updates automatically.

Quebec-French language support

Quebec corporations must maintain records and issue certificates in French (with English permitted alongside under the Charter of the French Language). A Quebec-incorporated corporation using an English-only cap-table tool is either translating manually or running afoul of language obligations. Octelligence has full Quebec-French support across certificates, register, and templates.

Provincial filing rhythm

Canadian corporations file annually with the corporate registrar (Corporations Canada for federal, ServiceOntario for Ontario, the Registraire des entreprises du Québec for QBCA, etc.). Strong tools surface the right deadline and the right form for each jurisdiction; US-only tools treat the filing as a generic event or ignore it.

The products, scored for Canadian startups

Octelligence
Free / $16+/mo
For Canadian startups: Native support for CBCA, OBCA, BCBCA, QBCA, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, NB, NS, PEI, NL. Statute-aware resolution templates and articles-of-amendment forms. ISC register integrated with the share register (entry triggers ISC update). CCPC option taxation under ITA s. 7 with s. 7(1.1) deferral handled correctly. Quebec French across certificates, register, templates. Annual return filing reminders by jurisdiction. Pick when: the corporation is Canadian-incorporated and the records need to comply with Canadian corporate and tax law as it is, not as US tools paper it over.
Carta
~$200 to $2,000+/mo
For Canadian startups: Functional but shallow Canadian support. No ISC register integration. CCPC option treatment requires workarounds; s. 7(1.1) deferral is not native. No Quebec French. Most useful when a US-side lead investor strongly prefers Carta and the corporation is willing to maintain Canadian-specific records (ISC, French) outside the tool. Pick when: US-side investors require Carta and you can pair it with a separate records workflow for the Canadian-specific items.
Pulley
Free (25 SH) / paid
For Canadian startups: Free tier is attractive at very early stage but Canadian fit is shallow: no ISC, no CCPC treatment, no Quebec French, no provincial filing support. Better than Carta at the price point but still US-shaped. Pick when: you're a US-cross-border-listed Canadian startup using a Delaware C-Corp as your primary entity (with the Canadian corp as a subsidiary) and the cap table is on the Delaware side.
Mantle
~$100 to $500/mo
For Canadian startups: Some Canadian-corp users in practice but the product was built US-first. Canadian-specific features (ISC, CCPC) are not native. Pick when: mid-market US-first preference plus a tolerance for retrofitting Canadian-specific items.
Cake Equity
~$100 to $400/mo
For Canadian startups: Built for APAC and Australian-incorporated startups originally. Canadian fit is weaker than Octelligence; ISC, CCPC, and Quebec French are not native. Pick when: rarely the best Canadian choice in 2026.
Athennian
Enterprise pricing
For Canadian startups: Canadian-built, Canadian-strong on entity management. Better suited to enterprise law firms managing 1,000+ entities than to startups managing their own records. Limited cap-table functionality compared to dedicated cap-table tools. Pick when: you're a large law firm with a portfolio rather than a startup managing your own cap table.

Frequently asked questions

Why don't US cap-table tools work well for Canadian startups?

US cap-table tools (Carta, Pulley, Mantle, Eqvista) are built around DGCL stock issuances, ISO/NSO options under IRC § 422 and § 83, FinCEN BOI under the US Corporate Transparency Act, and 409A valuations. None of these map cleanly to Canadian corporate or tax law. CBCA / OBCA / BCBCA / QBCA issuances follow different statutory frameworks. Canadian option taxation under Income Tax Act s. 7 (with s. 110(1)(d) deduction and CCPC-specific deferral under s. 7(1.1)) has no US equivalent. ISC (Individuals with Significant Control) register under CBCA s. 21.1 has no US equivalent. Quebec corporations need French-language support. US tools either ignore these or paper over them with US-shaped abstractions.

What's a CCPC and why does it matter?

A Canadian-Controlled Private Corporation (CCPC) under Income Tax Act s. 125(7) is a private corporation incorporated in Canada that is not controlled by non-residents or public corporations. CCPCs enjoy favourable tax treatment, including the small business deduction, the lifetime capital gains exemption for qualifying shares, and the s. 7(1.1) deferral of stock option benefits until disposition. Strong cap-table tools track CCPC status and surface option-tax events correctly; weak tools treat all options as if they were US NSOs.

How is the ISC register different from the FinCEN BOI?

The Individual with Significant Control register under CBCA s. 21.1 (and equivalent provincial provisions, OBCA s. 140.2, BCBCA, QBCA) is the Canadian beneficial-ownership register. It is maintained internally by the corporation and a portion is filed with Corporations Canada (federal) or the provincial registrar. The FinCEN BOI (US Corporate Transparency Act) is the US equivalent, with different thresholds, definitions, and filing channels. A cap-table tool that tracks one but not the other forces dual-jurisdiction corporations to maintain two parallel records.

What about Quebec specifically?

QBCA (Loi sur les sociétés par actions du Québec) is Quebec-specific corporate law with French-language requirements for the share register, certificates, and registered office. QBCA corporations also file with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec, which is distinct from Corporations Canada. A cap-table tool with English-only certificates and templates either forces translation work or signs Quebec corporations into a non-compliant posture.

Do Canadian VCs care which cap-table tool you use?

Less than US VCs. Canadian institutional VCs (BDC, Inovia, Real Ventures, Georgian, Sagard, OMERS Ventures, CDPQ, BMO Capital) are mostly tool-agnostic and care more about the underlying record quality. The exception is cross-border financings where a US-side lead is involved and prefers Carta. For Canadian-only Series A and Seed rounds, the choice is the founder's.

Built for Canadian corporations
Cap table that complies with Canadian corporate and tax law as it is.

CBCA, OBCA, BCBCA, QBCA, and provincial support. ISC register integrated. CCPC option taxation handled correctly. Quebec French native.

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