# Pulley vs Cake Equity: which do AI models recommend for cap table management, October 2026

Finance AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Cap table management. Two of fourteen models named Pulley first on the direct prompt; two named Cake Equity. Page: https://finance-ai-index.com/corporate/cap-table-management/pulley-vs-cake-equity/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulley | 18% | #2 of 10 | 39% | 66 | 14 of 14 |
| Cake Equity | 12% | #4 of 10 | 12% | 32 | 13 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

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

## What the models said about Pulley

- "Pulley is closing - The platform announced it will cease operations on December 8, 2026 ... If you're considering Pulley, you'll want to evaluate Carta or other alternatives." (MiniMax M2.5, comparative prompt, hard negative)
- "Pulley — caution right now because it announced it is shutting down, with final day of operations/services on December 8, 2026." (GPT-5.4 mini, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Pulley — avoid for a new setup; migrate if you're already a customer. Pulley has announced it will end operations on December 8, 2026." (GPT-6 Luna, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "My specific recommendation for most mid-market B2B companies: ... Pulley offers the best balance of capability, price transparency, and ease of use." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Pulley has emerged as the primary challenger to Carta. It is designed specifically for high-growth startups moving through multiple funding rounds." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Start with Cake Equity or Pulley—both offer the right balance of features" (Kimi K2, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Cake Equity

- "Cake Equity was explicitly named in a 2026 analyst aggregation ("the main platforms to avoid or treat cautiously")" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Cake Equity: flagged with approximately 58% negative sentiment." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Avoid Cake Equity for anything beyond very small teams." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "The best cap table management software for a company with a limited budget is Cake Equity, which offers a free starting point" (Llama 4 Maverick, budget prompt, first choice)
- "On a tight budget, Cake Equity gives you a real free starting point with a clear upgrade path." (Claude Haiku 4.5, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Go with Qapita or Cake Equity if: You want predictable, flat-rate pricing" (MiniMax M2.5, direct prompt, first choice)

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.