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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Carta

    Score9 out of 10
    N/ACarta is an equity management platform that helps private companies manage their cap tables and issue securities electronically. Carta's tools help companies with valuations, tax filings, and equity compliance. Most recently, Carta launched Total Comp—a compensation management suite that offers benchmarking, leveling, scorecards, total rewards statements, and other tools used to forecast, hire, and retain…N/A

    Shopify

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AShopify is a commerce platform designed for both online stores and retail locations. Shopify offers a professional online storefront, a payment solution to accept credit cards, and the Shopify POS application to power retail sales.

    $39

    per month

    Pricing
    CartaShopify
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Basic Shopify
    $39
    per month
    Grow
    $105
    per month
    Advanced
    $399
    per month
    Shopify Plus
    2,000
    per month
    Shopify Plus
    2,300
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    CartaShopify
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—A 25% discount is offered for annual billing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    CartaShopify
    Considered Both Products
    Carta
    No answer on this topic
    Shopify
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    83%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    98%
    Would buy again
    80 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    77 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    76 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    68 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    69 Answers
    Features
    CartaShopify
    Online Storefront
    Comparison of Online Storefront features of Carta and Shopify
    Feature
    Carta
    -
    Ratings
    Shopify
    8.4
    149 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Product catalog & listings00 Ratings8.7149 Ratings
    Product management00 Ratings8.2147 Ratings
    Bulk product upload00 Ratings8.3125 Ratings
    Branding00 Ratings8.6146 Ratings
    Mobile storefront00 Ratings9.1142 Ratings
    Product variations00 Ratings7.9139 Ratings
    Website integration00 Ratings8.7140 Ratings
    Visual customization00 Ratings8.7146 Ratings
    CMS00 Ratings7.6118 Ratings
    Online Shopping Cart
    Comparison of Online Shopping Cart features of Carta and Shopify
    Feature
    Carta
    -
    Ratings
    Shopify
    8.5
    141 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Abandoned cart recovery00 Ratings8.2131 Ratings
    Checkout user experience00 Ratings8.8139 Ratings
    Online Payment System
    Comparison of Online Payment System features of Carta and Shopify
    Feature
    Carta
    -
    Ratings
    Shopify
    9.4
    143 Ratings
    12% above category average
    eCommerce security00 Ratings9.4143 Ratings
    eCommerce Marketing
    Comparison of eCommerce Marketing features of Carta and Shopify
    Feature
    Carta
    -
    Ratings
    Shopify
    8.3
    146 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Promotions & discounts00 Ratings8.4140 Ratings
    Personalized recommendations00 Ratings8.432 Ratings
    SEO00 Ratings8.1135 Ratings
    eCommerce Business Management
    Comparison of eCommerce Business Management features of Carta and Shopify
    Feature
    Carta
    -
    Ratings
    Shopify
    8.1
    147 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Multi-site management00 Ratings6.719 Ratings
    Order processing00 Ratings9.0144 Ratings
    Inventory management00 Ratings7.6143 Ratings
    Shipping00 Ratings8.4135 Ratings
    Custom functionality00 Ratings8.7136 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    CartaShopify
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Ecwid by Lightspeed
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    Shopify Plus
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    IBM Digital Commerce
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    CartaShopify
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.5
    (10 ratings)
    8.4
    (162 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (16 ratings)
    Usability
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    8.3
    (16 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.6
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    CartaShopify
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Carta
    Carta is perfect for any sized organization when shares and stock options are in the picture for new/seasoned employees alike. If a company does not provide these benefits to employees, it may not be the best fit for them unless there are other value-adds the tool can provide in other areas.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    Shopify allowed us to handle matrix items and combined listings. Both of which we could not do on our previous platform. There was some customization involved but overall, it did what we needed it to. The one downside was that if we want to change anything we would have to reload the entire set of matrix items manually.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Carta
    • Expense Reporting - GAAP compliant and easy to manage, a report is run monthly and provides all the details needed to book the expense.
    • Equity Manageent - All stock certificates for our investors are held in Carta making Equity easy to manage.
    • Stock Option Issuance - Options are issued in Carta and the entire option life cycle from issuance, approval, and exercising is handled in Carta.
    • User Interface is very easy to follow.
    • Support is very responsive and helpful.
    • Numerous education articles available to all users.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    • It's base security and integration with trusted security partners (such as NoFraud) is a game-changer when it comes to reliability and a "hands off approach" for our IT department. The up-time is also very good.
    • It offers a wide range of verified plugins that are (for the most part) easy to install and use for any specific scenario you're looking for.
    • It's Analytics area in the admin is actually nice and offers a wide variety of reports that you can run.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Carta
    • Still some issues with the auto-generated Excel file for stock calculations that required correction by technical support.
    • Could offer integration into accounting platforms or HR/payroll platforms to further cut down on manual input.
    • It should allow for custom user creation to allow for varying levels of access based on role in the company; currently, all security roles in the platform are out of the box without any modification allowed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    • I would love it if Shopify built an in house app which helped us post UGCs and social proof from platforms such as Instagram, Youtube etc. more seamlessly on our website. Right now, we are able to do it through third party apps but the look and feel is just okay.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Carta
    No answers on this topic
    Shopify
    Nothing we have used in the past or have seen thus far even comes close to offering what we get with Shopify Plus, especially for the price. You cannot even come close to getting what we are getting at the price we pay. We are beyond thrilled and Shopify Plus meets and exceeds all of our needs and expectations. We love it!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Carta
    Because it is simple to use, I have never experienced any issues or bugs while using it and I have not heard anyone else having issues with it either. It simply works.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    It is fairly easy to use Shopify regardless of what task you are attempting to perform. Most things are customizable to a degree without requiring coding ability. I have very limited coding experience and have still been able to navigate my way around changing features of the website that require edits to the code with the use of AI and trial-and-error. This previously wasn't possible with the WooCommerce platform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Carta
    No answers on this topic
    Shopify
    Shopify support is always available when you need them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Carta
    No answers on this topic
    Shopify
    Shopify website speed is quite impressive. Even if we integrate couple apps, it does not hamper the site speed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Carta
    Every time I have sent a message to Carta's support team, they've responded within 2 business days. The support team is very helpful and always has answered my questions competently and professionally. Many of my questions have also been answered through their extensive support articles. Carta makes available a lot of information that has helped reduce te administrative work of answering questions for our employees as they are able to get most of the information they need through Carta's website.
    Incentivized
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    Shopify
    In terms of support I give Shopify a 9 out of 10 because they're always very friendly and thorough, and they personally can't solve my problem for me they always point me in the proper direction with the proper information I need to move forward
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Carta
    No answers on this topic
    Shopify
    Shopify offered us several trainings to setup a Shopify store, how to build a brand, SEO, product photography etc. All this content have been super helpful in our journey.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Carta
    No answers on this topic
    Shopify
    Just start now and make the switch, the sooner the better. You will love it and it is really a simple process
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Carta
    I was not personally involved in choosing Carta over any other platforms. However, I can say I'm very happy with Carta. Carta allows for a central place to manage stock options from multiple companies and is extremely user-friendly and intuitive. With Carta being a market leader, it's nice to find new employers already using it as well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    Big Commerce and SAP Hybris are two other platforms we've investigated and Shopify is by far easiest to use and customize. While it doesn't do everything out of the box, the apps do fill in many gaps. The cost however, is probably the biggest selling point against these other two options.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Carta
    No answers on this topic
    Shopify
    Shopify has basic to high-end plans. The plans grow with the brand`s growth and I love that about Shopify.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Carta
    • If a company's cap table is wrong that is legally considered fraud ( yes, a capital F fraud ), as in there could be criminal repercussions, and almost assuredly whatever transaction that requires it to be accurate will be canceled.
    • Compliance is a major factor when it comes to having a stock option plan. Carta is the best I've seen at keeping a company in compliance.
    Read full review
    Shopify
    • It got the store up quickly so the client could start selling. She was previously selling products on Etsy and Facebook and wanted to consolidate everything onto one website, so the main thing Shopify solved was to reduce the store owner's time in managing all her products on multiple sites. Also, we had previously built a website on Wix with all the custom functionality and branding she needed - a truly great, high-end website - but it performed so slowly that it was unusable. So the speed at which Shopify can be set up and then works on the page is appreciable.
    • The website was manageable by the client - she could figure the system out herself after a while so she saved money on costs for hiring developers. She did have to hire developers to customize some of the plug-ins but costs are all relative; it wasn't a high investment compared to building a full e-commerce website. With the complexity and size of her product base and the functionality and branding she wanted to have in a website, and the potential of her business, she would have needed to invest well over $10,000 to get to where she really needs to be. In the end she kept the budget under $5000.00.
    • Costs kept climbing with plug-ins having to be added with everything. My client became more involved in building the website and began to try multiple plugins, and she did not have the skill base to evaluate the plugins functionalities so she chose plugins that did not do everything she needed, and then ended up paying the plugin developers to customize the plugins. So on one hand, it's pretty amazing to be able to bring up an e-commerce website as quickly as a week or so, but on the other hand if you need anything customized or deeper functionality in regards to product searching and filtering on the web page, and management on the backend, it quickly goes beyond the skills of the average person to manage, and above their expected budget as well. In the end my client really did not get anything close to the functionality for the website we had originally envisioned.
    • Shopify was the easiest way we could find to bring the client's products to a global market. We evaluated several other platforms and the functionality simple did not seem to be adequate, so Shopify seemed like the only solution that could do enough of what we needed and still stay within this client's budget. Really the problem in this project was not platform per se but that the budget wasn't large enough. Shopify managed to provide a solution for an ecommerce store with thousands of products on a tiny budget, so in the sense of pure functionality it provided the best value of all the platforms we evaluated. The solution still isn't big enough for this client's business though so, without having insights into this client's post-build sales results, my guess is that because her new website did not make her products easier to sort through, and she likely didn't have much more budget left to invest in SEO and other marketing of the website, her sales probably didn't increase substantially as a result of having built the website. So I think this project all in all did not likely have a high ROI.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Carta Screenshots

    Screenshot of the company dashboard that provides a comprehensive view of tasks and recommended next steps.Screenshot of a company's detailed cap table breakdown by share class, providing vital insights into authorized shares, ownership percentages, dilution effects, and funds raised, accessible at a glance.Screenshot of the equity awards management interface featuring visibility into options holders, exercise prices, vesting schedules, and remaining allocation from an equity plan.Screenshot of the shareholder information and certificate interface where edits are incorporated into the cap table automatically.Screenshot of Carta's interface to create, track, and receive funding.