# Carta vs Shareworks: which do AI models recommend for cap table management, October 2026

Finance AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Cap table management. Nine of fourteen models named Carta first on the direct prompt; zero named Shareworks. Page: https://finance-ai-index.com/corporate/cap-table-management/carta-vs-shareworks/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carta | 33% | #1 of 10 | 32% | 74 | 14 of 14 |
| Shareworks | 2% | #7 of 10 | 24% | 29 | 13 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- GPT-5.4 mini: carta first (first choices: Carta) (alternatives: Eqvista, Ledgy, Shareworks)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: carta first (first choices: Carta) (alternatives: Ledgy, Mantle, Qapita)
- Perplexity Sonar: carta first (first choices: Carta) (alternatives: Cake Equity, Pulley, Qapita)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: carta first (first choices: Carta) (alternatives: Ledgy, Pulley)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: carta first (first choices: Carta, Pulley) (alternatives: Shareworks)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: carta first (first choices: Carta) (alternatives: Pulley, Qapita, Shareworks)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: carta first (first choices: Carta) (alternatives: Fidelity Private Shares, Pulley, Qapita)
- GPT-6 Luna: carta first (first choices: Carta) (alternatives: Shareworks)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: carta first (first choices: Carta) (alternatives: Cake Equity, Ledgy, Qapita)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Qapita) (alternatives: Cake Equity, Carta, Pulley)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Cake Equity, Qapita) (alternatives: Carta, Shareworks)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: Qapita) (alternatives: Ledgy, Pulley)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: Cake Equity, Pulley) (alternatives: Eqvista, Ledgy)

## What the models said about Carta

- "Carta — Approach with Caution ... Data misuse for secondary trading: Carta was caught using confidential customer cap table data to solicit secondary share sales" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Founders have publicly reported steep, unexpected price increases at renewal... canceling required scheduling a mandatory meeting" (Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Avoid Carta if budget is your top concern" (Kimi K2, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "Carta: The market leader for VC-backed private companies. Highly trusted by law firms and investors. It offers the most comprehensive suite of services ... but it is generally the most expensive option." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, scale prompt, first choice)
- "I'd generally recommend Carta if your priorities are cap table management, fundraising workflow, and a platform that can scale" (GPT-5.4 mini, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "Go with Carta if you need end-to-end (formation to exit), have 50+ stakeholders... dominant for mid-market B2B despite past issues." (Grok 4.1 Fast, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Shareworks

- "more appropriately sized than enterprise-first options like Shareworks / Morgan Stanley at Work... Choose Shareworks only if you are already at enterprise complexity" (Perplexity Sonar, paraphrase prompt, soft negative)
- "it's worth a caution for startups specifically ... clunky and overkill for pre-Series-B companies" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "If you are an early-stage or mid-stage startup, Shareworks is generally considered a poor fit." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Shareworks by Morgan Stanley at Work is the mid-market to enterprise benchmark for compliance-oriented administration." (Muse Glimmer 30B, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "The traditional "enterprise" heavyweights. If you are actively on the road to an IPO within the next 12–18 months, these platforms excel ... though they can be slow to implement." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, scale prompt, alternative)
- "Choose Shareworks if you want a more enterprise/finance-led platform and can tolerate a heavier implementation." (GPT-5.4 mini, direct prompt, alternative)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.