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A 409A valuation isn't a compliance checkbox you buy once and forget, it's the number your auditor, your board, and the IRS all lean on to decide whether your option grants were priced fairly. Get it wrong and the bill lands on your employees, not just your finance team, in the form of immediate income tax plus a 20% penalty on every option struck below fair market value. Get the provider wrong, slow, generic, or unreachable when your auditor has questions and you'll be re-doing the work anyway, just later and under more pressure.
We compared the seven 409A valuation providers for startups actually shortlist in 2026 on turnaround, audit defensibility, pricing transparency, and what happens after the report ships, when your auditor actually calls with questions. This guide breaks down what each one does best, what a 409A valuation should cost at your stage, and the questions most comparison articles skip: who signs the report, what happens when an auditor pushes back, and whether you're buying a valuation or renting a platform to get one.
Pricing shifts with cap table complexity and funding stage more than with company size - a pre-revenue seed startup with three SAFEs will usually cost less to value than a Series B with multiple preferred classes and a secondary sale in the last twelve months. Treat the ranges below as a starting point for budgeting, not a quote.
*Pricing pulled from publicly available vendor pages and third-party comparisons as of 2026; confirm current rates before publishing, as this market re-prices often.
A 409A valuation is an independent, third-party appraisal of your company's common stock, done to set the fair market value (FMV) that becomes the strike price for employee stock options and RSUs. It's named after Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, which governs deferred compensation and requires that stock options be priced at or above FMV not the price your last funding round set for preferred shares, which is almost always higher.
The valuation itself typically applies one of three IRS-recognized methodologies the Option Pricing Model (OPM), the Probability-Weighted Expected Return Method (PWERM), or a hybrid of both chosen based on your stage, cap table complexity, and proximity to a liquidity event. A qualified appraiser reviews your financials, cap table, comparable company data, and any recent financing, then delivers a signed report that sets FMV for the next 12 months or until your next material event, whichever comes first.
The single most-missed distinction in founder-facing content on this topic: your Series A price per share is not your 409A value. Preferred shares carry liquidation preferences, anti-dilution protection, and board rights that common stock doesn't so a discount for lack of marketability (DLOM) and the relative rights gap between share classes both apply. A startup that raised its Series A at $4.00/share might see a 409A common stock FMV of $0.80–$1.20/share. That gap is normal, expected by the IRS, and the entire reason 409A valuations exist as a separate exercise.
Section 409A requires that the valuation come from a qualified, independent party for a company to claim IRS safe harbour, legal protection that shifts the burden of proof to the IRS if your valuation is ever challenged. Without safe harbour, the burden sits on you to prove your FMV was reasonable, and internal or founder-driven estimates almost never qualify.
Qapita delivers CFA-signed 409A valuations with a named analyst on every engagement, from first kickoff through auditor sign-off: 500+ signed reports a year, across 30+ countries, with direct experience working alongside 15+ audit firms. The report isn't the end of the relationship: your analyst stays reachable for board questions and auditor pushback after delivery, which is the point most providers stop supporting.
Why it’s different
Most providers either outsource the review to a third-party partner or leave you to explain assumptions to your own auditor. Qapita's analyst engages your auditor directly, and the valuation is available standalone, no cap table migration required to get it.
Carta bundles 409A valuations into its equity management platform, which makes it a convenient default for startups already running their cap table there. The valuation process is data-driven and ties directly into Carta's scenario modeling and grant workflows.
Pulley bundles 409A valuations into its Growth plan, aimed at founder-first equity management with fast turnarounds and transparent, published pricing a genuine differentiator against Carta's quote-only model.
Eqvista positions itself as the budget-conscious option, combining NACVA-certified analysts with AI-assisted workflows to keep pricing low without dropping IRS/AICPA compliance.
Kruze is a CPA firm built around venture-backed startups, bundling 409A valuations with bookkeeping, tax prep, and fractional CFO advisory, a genuinely different model from the software-first platforms above.
Aranca brings two decades of consulting-led valuation work to 409A engagements, built for companies whose cap tables are too complex for a templated software model, multiple preferred classes, cross-border entities, or recent secondary transactions.
For late-stage and pre-IPO companies, an established advisory firm brings the conservative, heavily documented approach that public-company-grade audits expect. This is the highest-cost, most consulting-led option on this list.
A defensible 409A pulls from several inputs, not just a single revenue multiple. The inputs below shape both the methodology used and the final fair market value.
Not every 409A valuation qualifies for IRS safe harbour and the difference matters more than most founders realize until it's tested. Safe harbour status shifts the burden of proof to the IRS if your valuation is ever challenged; without it, the burden is on your company to prove the valuation was reasonable, which is a materially weaker legal position.
Three paths qualify for safe harbour under Section 409A: an independent appraisal by a qualified third party (the most common route for VC-backed startups), a formula-based valuation for certain qualifying instruments, or an illiquid startup valuation performed by a person with significant knowledge and experience, done within the first 10 years of the company's existence. In practice, nearly every startup should be using the independent third-party appraisal route which is exactly what every provider in this guide delivers, provided the appraiser is genuinely independent and appropriately qualified.
The catch worth knowing
Safe harbor isn't automatic just because you paid someone for a report. The appraiser needs to be independent (not a related party or someone with a financial stake in the outcome) and the valuation needs to be updated at least every 12 months, or sooner after a material event. A stale or conflicted valuation loses safe harbor protection even if the original number was accurate.
409A valuations aren't one-size-fits-all the right methodology, level of documentation, and even the right provider shift as your company matures.
Simple models dominate here: limited operating history, pre-revenue or early revenue, and a straightforward cap table (often just common stock, an option pool, and maybe a SAFE or two). The Option Pricing Model (OPM) is typical, and the valuation mainly needs to establish a defensible baseline for your first option grants.
As you raise institutional rounds, your cap table gains preferred share classes with distinct rights, and your 409A needs to account for that complexity typically via OPM backsolve, which reverse-engineers the common stock value from your most recent preferred round price.
Later-stage companies eyeing an acquisition or IPO often need PWERM or hybrid models that explicitly weight multiple future outcomes (IPO, acquisition, continued private operation) rather than a single scenario. Documentation standards rise sharply here, since these are the valuations most likely to face investor or auditor scrutiny.
409A valuation cost in 2026 spans roughly $990 to $25,000+, and the spread is driven far more by capital structure complexity and provider business model than by company size alone.
Budget separately from your cap table platform subscription if you want a standalone valuation several providers bundle 409A into a plan price, which can look cheaper up front but ties your valuation relationship to that platform.
Every 409A valuation Qapita delivers is CFA-signed and built to hold up with the auditors who'll actually review it not just to clear a filing deadline. We've worked directly with 15+ audit firms, which means nothing about your report is a surprise when it lands on their desk. 500+ signed reports go out every year, across 30+ countries, for companies with a combined market cap north of $100B.
The difference shows up after delivery, not before. Your dedicated analyst can walk you or your auditor through the exact methodology behind your number OPM backsolve, PWERM, or a hybrid, chosen for your stage rather than force-fit from a single default model. No black-box output, no generic PDF, and no requirement to run your cap table on our platform first: a standalone 409A is the whole engagement if that's all you need, with equity management, stock plan administration, and ASC 718 reporting available to add whenever you are.
Qapita for most startups CFA-signed reports, direct analyst access before and after delivery, and no requirement to run your cap table on a specific platform. Carta or Pulley if platform convenience matters more than a standalone valuation relationship. Eqvista for the lowest published price. Aranca or a Big 4 firm for complex, late-stage, or heavily scrutinized cap tables.
Typically, $1,500 to $5,000 for most startups, depending on stage and cap table complexity. Budget-tier software platforms start around $990; consulting-led and Big 4-adjacent firms run $8,000–25,000+ for complex, late-stage engagements.
At least once every 12 months to maintain IRS safe harbor protection, and sooner after a material event a funding round, a tender offer, a significant change in financial performance, or an acquisition offer.
No. Section 409A requires an independent, qualified third party for the valuation to qualify for IRS safe harbor. A founder- or board-member-prepared estimate does not meet that bar and leaves the company without safe harbor protection.
Options priced without a valid FMV can be treated as under-priced compensation, triggering immediate income tax for the employee plus a 20% IRS penalty and interest. It also raises red flags in later fundraising, acquisition, or audit diligence.
No. A VC valuation prices your preferred stock based on what investors will pay for it, including rights like liquidation preferences. A 409A valuation prices your common stock, which typically comes in lower due to the rights gap between preferred and common shares.
Immediate tax penalties for employees holding under-priced options, weakened credibility with investors and acquirers during diligence, and loss of IRS safe harbor protection if your pricing is ever challenged.
No. Any company granting stock options or deferred compensation to US taxpayers employees or contractors needs to comply with Section 409A, regardless of where the company is headquartered.
Yes, as long as your new provider has access to your current cap table, financials, and prior valuation reports. Confirm your current provider isn’t requiring a platform migration before you can leave that’s the main friction point when switching.
Most providers deliver a signed report in 7–14 business days. Faster turnarounds (2–5 days) are available from some software-led platforms; slower, more consulting-led engagements can take 2–4 weeks.
A standalone provider delivers the valuation as its own engagement, independent of any cap table software. An integrated platform bundles the 409A into a broader equity management subscription often convenient, but it can tie your valuation history to that platform if you later want to switch.
