The best Firstbase alternative for VC-track startups

Both Firstbase and Capbase will incorporate your Delaware C Corp, get you an EIN, and set up your registered agent. If that's all you need, either works.

The difference shows up immediately after incorporation.

Firstbase is designed primarily as an incorporation and compliance tool. It files your company, helps you open a bank account, and tracks annual report deadlines. For a founder who wants the lightest possible setup — one entity, no outside investors, no employee equity — it does the job.

Capbase is built for what comes after incorporation: issuing founder shares, setting up a cap table, raising your first SAFE or convertible note, onboarding employees with stock options, generating investor documents, and managing all of it from one dashboard. If you are planning to raise venture capital, hire with equity, or run a proper cap table from day one, Firstbase will leave you patching together tools — typically Carta for cap table management and a lawyer for everything else.

What Capbase has that Firstbase doesn't

• Cap table management. Capbase maintains your cap table automatically as you issue shares and raise funds. Firstbase has no cap table product. Founders using Firstbase typically end up managing their cap table manually in a spreadsheet or paying for a separate Carta subscription.
• Equity issuance and employee stock plans. Capbase lets you issue founder shares, create an employee pool, and grant shares to employees and advisors — all within the platform, with documents generated and signed digitally. Firstbase does not have this.
• SAFE and convertible note fundraising. Capbase generates YC-standard SAFE agreements and convertible notes directly on the platform. When you close a round, the cap table updates automatically. With Firstbase, you would need a lawyer to draft these documents and a separate tool to track them.
• Due diligence document room. When an investor asks for a data room, Capbase has one built in. With Firstbase, you're assembling that yourself in Google Drive.
• Shareholder updates. Capbase includes a built-in shareholder update tool so you can keep investors informed in one place. Firstbase does not.

What Firstbase has that Capbase doesn't

• Virtual mailbox and US business address. Firstbase provides a physical US business address and virtual mailbox — useful for international founders who need a US presence beyond just a registered agent address. Capbase does not offer this.
• Accounting, bookkeeping and tax services. Firstbase has added accounting and bookkeeping as platform features. Capbase doesn't include these on the platform itself, but as part of the Mainstreet family of companies, founders have access to in-house services through Mainstreet — including R&D tax credits, bookkeeping through Bench, and hiring support through Recruiter.com. If you're a Capbase customer, you're not left to find these on your own; they're available through the same family of products.

Pricing

Firstbase charges a one-time fee starting at $399 for incorporation. Capbase is priced as an annual flat fee of $999, which covers incorporation plus all ongoing platform features — cap table management, equity issuance, compliance tools, document generation, and SAFE fundraising.

The right framing: if you're incorporating once and never raising money or granting equity, Firstbase is cheaper. If you're running a VC-track startup, the $999 Capbase fee replaces Carta ($2,400/year at entry pricing), a lawyer for SAFE documents ($1,500–$3,000 per round), and the time cost of managing a spreadsheet cap table.

Who should use Capbase

Capbase is built for founders who are incorporating with the intention of raising venture capital — who need to issue founder shares with vesting from day one, who plan to raise a SAFE or seed round in the next 12–24 months, and who want their cap table, compliance, and fundraising documents in one place.

Who should use Firstbase

Firstbase is a better fit for founders who want the simplest possible US company setup without equity management complexity — bootstrapped businesses, service companies, or international founders who primarily need a US legal entity and banking access rather than a full startup equity platform.

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