B.efficient The 5-Tool Protocol

Carta vs AngelList for fund administration

Reviewed

Short answer: AngelList for most emerging managers: a published price fixed for ten years, with formation, fund taxes, and K-1s included on Full Service. Carta Fund Administration for an audited or larger fund that wants accounting, LP reporting, and audits on one system.

Both run the back office of a venture fund: fund accounting, capital calls, an LP portal, and K-1 distribution. The visible difference is price: AngelList publishes a formula that stays fixed for ten years, while Carta sells fund administration through its sales team. The rest comes down to what's bundled, because taxes, formation, and audit support sit in different places on each.

Verdict

AngelList, which holds the Fund Administration slot in our Investor Stack. It publishes its venture fund pricing, fixed for years 1 to 10: Full Service is 0.15% of fund size plus $20,000 a year, with fund formation, fund taxes, and K-1 preparation included. It doesn't publish its one-time implementation fee or minimum fund size, so ask for both. Pick Carta Fund Administration if your fund is audited or growing past its first funds: Advanced ERP adds an auditor portal, its venture plans run fund accounting, the LP portal, closings, and LP KYC in one system, and its general ledger syncs with Carta cap table data.

AngelList holds the Fund Administration slot in the Investor Stack

Carta vs AngelList: side by side

Carta vs AngelList, compared
Criterion Carta Fund Administration AngelList
Pricing Not published: Standard ERP and Advanced ERP plans, through sales Institutional: 0.1% of fund size + $10,000/year. Full Service: 0.15% + $20,000/year. Fixed for years 1–10, billed quarterly
One-time fees Not published Implementation fee at first close, based on fund complexity (amount not listed)
Minimum fund size Not published Applies to both plans (amount not listed); AngelList suggests $1M in soft commitments before launching
Fund tax and K-1s Fund Tax add-on: Form 1065, K-1s, state filings. Without it, Carta distributes K-1s prepared by your own tax provider Included on Full Service; add-on on Institutional
Fund formation Add-on: Delaware fund LP, GP LLC, and management company LLC, with document templates Included on Full Service; not on Institutional
Audit support Advanced ERP is built for audited funds and adds an auditor portal Included on Institutional, with quarterly financial statements; add-on on Full Service
LP experience LP portal, closings with subscription documents, LP KYC with daily sanctions and watchlist screening, on both plans LP portal and data room, digital subscriptions and closing, on both plans
Structures Venture and private equity funds, SPVs Venture funds, Rolling Funds, Scout Funds, SPVs; optional platform-advised model with AngelList-approved GP and adviser entities
Launch time (vendor's figure) Formation, first close, and first capital call in six weeks Typically 4–6 weeks; platform-advised funds in as little as 2 weeks

What fund administration costs

AngelList publishes its venture fund pricing; Carta doesn't. AngelList charges a flat annual fee plus a percentage of committed capital, fixed for years 1 to 10 and billed quarterly: 0.1% plus $10,000 a year on Institutional, 0.15% plus $20,000 on Full Service. By that formula a $10M fund pays $20,000 a year on Institutional or $35,000 on Full Service, before the one-time implementation fee and any add-ons.

Carta lists two venture plans, Standard ERP and Advanced ERP, and add-ons for fund tax, formation, management company accounting, valuations, and data collection, with prices through its sales team. When you ask for a quote, ask for one that includes the add-ons AngelList's Full Service bundles, so you compare like with like.

Taxes, formation, and audits: what's bundled

On AngelList the plan decides it. Full Service includes fund formation, fund taxes, K-1 preparation, portfolio operations, and valuation support, with quarterly financial statements and audit support as add-ons. Institutional is the reverse: quarterly statements and audit support are included, fund taxes and K-1 preparation are add-ons, and formation isn't part of the plan.

On Carta, fund tax and formation are add-ons on either plan. Carta Fund Tax prepares and files Form 1065, partner K-1s, and state filings; without it, your own tax provider prepares the K-1s and Carta distributes them. Formation covers a Delaware fund, GP entity, and management company with Carta's document templates. Advanced ERP is the plan for audited funds, with an auditor portal, carry tracking, a CRM, and API access.

Switching administrators

AngelList takes over existing funds only if they are US-domiciled venture funds with audited financials. It starts with a discovery call and a document upload, stages the dashboard and LP portal for review before go-live, and doesn't bill until the fund is fully operational.

Carta says it commits to an onboarding timeline and pulls data from your current tools to cut the cost of changing providers.

When Carta Fund Administration is the better choice

AngelList holds our fund administration slot. Pick Carta Fund Administration when:

Facts are checked against each vendor's own pages, listed below; the verdict is our opinion. Prices change, so confirm on the vendor's site. See disclosures.

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