Accounting · head to head
Carta vs Causal
Carta
Accounting
Cap table, equity and 409A valuation software built around United States private company practice
- From
- $29/month
- Rated
- -
Causal
Accounting
Formula-based financial planning and modelling, now sold as Lucanet xP&A
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Carta pricing scales with the number of stakeholders on the cap table, so a company that grants options broadly pays a rising annual fee for employees and small angels who sign in once a year, and the cost keeps climbing after the round that justified it is spent.; Causal causal was acquired by Lucanet on 31 October 2024 and the independent brand has been retired in favour of Lucanet xP&A, so the roadmap, support and pricing you buy are Lucanet’s and not the ones the product built its reputation on.
- They diverge on capability: Carta covers Cap table of record, Causal covers Variable-based modelling.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Carta and Causal actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Carta
- Cap table of record
- 409A valuations
- Electronic issuance
- Vesting and exercise
- Employee portal
- Scenario modelling
- Waterfall analysis
- ASC 718 expense reporting
Only in Causal
- Variable-based modelling
- Dimensional breakdowns
- Scenario and range inputs
- Actuals integration
- Interactive dashboards
- Version history
- Spreadsheet import
- Workforce and headcount planning
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Carta
- A startup that has just closed a priced round and whose investors and counsel expect the cap table to live somewhere they can read itnot Causal
- A company issuing options to employees for the first time and needing a defensible 409A before it can set a strike pricenot Causal
- A finance team preparing its first audit and needing ASC 718 stock compensation schedules that tie to the grant recordsnot Causal
- A venture fund that wants LP reporting, capital calls and SPV administration handled outside a spreadsheetnot Causal
Causal
- A finance team whose three-statement Excel model has become too fragile to change safely before every board meetingnot Carta
- A company that needs to show a range of outcomes rather than a single forecast, with uncertainty modelled directly in the driversnot Carta
- A budget owner outside finance who should adjust hiring or spend assumptions and see the effect without being given edit access to the master spreadsheetnot Carta
- A group already running Lucanet for consolidation and reporting that wants planning on the same platform rather than a separate toolnot Carta
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Carta
- Pricing scales with the number of stakeholders on the cap table, so a company that grants options broadly pays a rising annual fee for employees and small angels who sign in once a year, and the cost keeps climbing after the round that justified it is spent.
- The cap table is a legal record assembled from years of board consents, so migrating to another provider means re-entering historical transactions and having counsel confirm the rebuilt table matches the signed documents, which is why most companies stay whatever they think of the service.
- The product is built around United States company law and tax practice, Delaware entities, 409A and ASC 718, so a company incorporated in the United Kingdom, Europe or elsewhere gets a record keeping tool while the valuation and compliance features that carry the price are of limited or no use.
- 409A valuations are delivered on a cadence and require a refresh after each material event or every twelve months, so a company that raises or changes materially is repeatedly back in a valuation process with fees and turnaround time attached, and a late valuation blocks option issuance.
- Carta drew sustained criticism in 2024 over how customer cap table data intersected with its secondary trading business, and although it exited that activity the episode is a live reason to check what a vendor holding your ownership record is permitted to do with it.
Causal
- Causal was acquired by Lucanet on 31 October 2024 and the independent brand has been retired in favour of Lucanet xP&A, so the roadmap, support and pricing you buy are Lucanet’s and not the ones the product built its reputation on.
- Self-serve pricing is gone: the old causal.app pricing page now redirects to a Lucanet solution page, so what was a transparent product you could sign up for is an enterprise sales conversation with no published rate.
- The variable-based model is a genuine departure from spreadsheet thinking, so an accountant fluent in Excel must relearn how to express a model, and the team members who could previously all edit the forecast often cannot at first.
- Deep Excel compatibility is limited by design; complex existing workbooks with macros, circular references or heavy lookups do not import cleanly and have to be rebuilt, which turns a tool evaluation into a modelling project.
- Consolidation, statutory reporting and multi-entity currency handling are weaker than in dedicated corporate performance management suites, so a group with several legal entities usually needs Lucanet’s other modules alongside it, raising the real cost well past the planning tool alone.
Pricing, plan by plan
Carta
$29/month- LaunchFree
- Cap table
- Stakeholder management
- Seed$360/year
- 409A valuations
- Option exercising
- Scenarios
Causal
On request- Lucanet xP&A (formerly Causal)$undefined/year
- Variable-based planning models with dimensions and scenarios
- Actuals integration from accounting, CRM and warehouse sources
- Interactive dashboards for non-finance stakeholders
Which should you pick?
Choose Carta if
- You need cap table of record.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want 409a valuations.
Choose Causal if
- You need variable-based modelling.
- You also want dimensional breakdowns.
Questions people ask
- Is Carta or Causal better?
- Neither clearly leads. Carta starts at $29/month and Causal at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Carta or Causal?
- Carta starts at $29/month and Causal at On request.
- Does Carta or Causal run on more platforms?
- Carta runs on Web, Ios, Android. Causal runs on Web.
- What is Carta best used for?
- Carta is most often used for a startup that has just closed a priced round and whose investors and counsel expect the cap table to live somewhere they can read it, a company issuing options to employees for the first time and needing a defensible 409a before it can set a strike price, a finance team preparing its first audit and needing asc 718 stock compensation schedules that tie to the grant records, a venture fund that wants lp reporting, capital calls and spv administration handled outside a spreadsheet. Of those, a startup that has just closed a priced round and whose investors and counsel expect the cap table to live somewhere they can read it and a company issuing options to employees for the first time and needing a defensible 409a before it can set a strike price are not what Causal is typically brought in for.
- What can Carta do that Causal cannot?
- Carta covers Cap table of record, 409A valuations, Electronic issuance, Vesting and exercise. Causal covers Variable-based modelling, Dimensional breakdowns, Scenario and range inputs, Actuals integration.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Carta: Do I need Carta before I have employees with options?
No. Before options exist a spreadsheet reviewed by your lawyer is usually enough. The pressure to move normally comes at a priced round, or the first time you need a 409A to set a strike price.
Causal: Does Causal still exist?
The product does, as Lucanet xP&A. The independent Causal brand and self-serve offering have been retired following the October 2024 acquisition.
Carta: Is the 409A included in the subscription?
The subscription tiers bundle valuations differently and refreshes after material events can carry additional cost. Check what triggers a chargeable revaluation before you sign, because raising a round is exactly the moment you will need one.
Causal: What does it cost now?
Nothing is published. The former pricing page redirects to Lucanet, and the product is quoted as part of the Lucanet CFO Solution Platform.
Carta: Can my accountant get the stock compensation numbers out of it?
Yes, it produces ASC 718 expense schedules and exports. If your accounts are prepared under a different framework, expect the schedules to be a starting point that your accountant reworks rather than something they post directly.
Causal: Can I import my existing Excel model?
Simple workbooks import. Models with macros, circular references or heavy lookup chains have to be rebuilt around named variables, which is the real migration cost.
Carta: Is it useful for a company outside the United States?
It can hold the share register and grants, and it does support some non United States structures. The 409A and United States tax workflow will not apply to you, so weigh it against local alternatives that understand your filings.
Causal: Is it a replacement for a consolidation tool?
No. It plans and forecasts. Statutory consolidation and multi-entity reporting sit in Lucanet’s other modules.
Carta: How hard is it to leave?
Harder than the export button suggests. You can export the data, but the receiving system has to reproduce every historical grant, cancellation and transfer, and someone has to verify the result against the original signed consents.
Carta: Who normally pays for it, the company or the investors?
The company, even though investors and counsel are frequent users. That is the usual complaint about the pricing model: the party paying is not the only party benefiting.
Related pages
Other head to heads
- Carta vs Airbase
- Carta vs Ramp
- Carta vs QuickBooks
- Carta vs Melio
- Carta vs Brex
- Carta vs Mercury
- Carta vs Spendbase
- Carta vs DATEV
- Carta vs Sage 50
- Carta vs Soldo
- Carta vs Yooz
- Carta vs Happay
- Carta vs Vena Solutions
- Carta vs ADP
- Carta vs Avalara
- Carta vs BlackLine
- Carta vs Chargebee
- Carta vs Cledara
- Carta vs Divvy
- Carta vs Medius Expense
- Carta vs Maxio
- Carta vs insightsoftware
- Carta vs Netvisor
- Carta vs Microsoft Excel
- Carta vs Bill.com
- Carta vs Lago
- Carta vs Rydoo
- Carta vs FloQast
- Carta vs Hnry
- Carta vs Lemon Squeezy
- Carta vs Lexware
- Carta vs Paychex
- Causal vs Airbase
- Causal vs Ramp
- Causal vs QuickBooks
- Causal vs Melio
- Causal vs Brex
- Causal vs Mercury
- Causal vs Spendbase
- Causal vs DATEV
- Causal vs Sage 50
- Causal vs Soldo
- Causal vs Yooz
- Causal vs Happay
- Causal vs Vena Solutions
- Causal vs ADP
- Causal vs Avalara
- Causal vs BlackLine
- Causal vs Chargebee
- Causal vs Cledara
- Causal vs Divvy
- Causal vs Medius Expense
- Causal vs Maxio
- Causal vs insightsoftware
- Causal vs Netvisor
- Causal vs Microsoft Excel
- Causal vs Bill.com
- Causal vs Lago
- Causal vs Rydoo
- Causal vs FloQast
- Causal vs Hnry
- Causal vs Lemon Squeezy
- Causal vs Lexware
- Causal vs Paychex