Carta vs Gusto: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Carta reported $515M of revenue in FY2025 and — of net income. Gusto reported $1B of revenue in FY2026 and — of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Carta
Carta does not publish audited financials. Henry Ward has said the company was approaching $500 million in annual recurring revenue in 2025. Sacra estimates revenue of about $373 million in 2023, $442 million in 2024 (+19%), and $515 million in 2025 (+16.5%), with growth slowing after the end of zero-rate venture funding. Carta raised its last primary round, a $500 million Series G led by Silver Lake and Lightspeed, at a $7.4 billion valuation in August 2021; a January 2022 employee secondary sale reportedly priced it at $8.5 billion. Total equity funding is roughly $1 billion.
Gusto
Gusto does not publish audited financials, but it has disclosed several milestones. CNBC reported more than $500 million of annualized revenue as of 2023. In May 2026 the company told TechCrunch it had surpassed $1 billion in revenue over the trailing twelve months, a recognized-revenue figure rather than ARR, that growth had accelerated for five consecutive quarters, and that it had been cash-flow positive for several years. Gusto has raised roughly $700 million in primary equity, including a $175 million Series E in 2021 at about $9.5 billion. A $200 million-plus employee tender offer led by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in June 2025 valued it at $9.3 billion, close to its early-2022 level. Its largest deal, the 2025 Guideline purchase, cost about $600 million according to TechCrunch sources.
Revenue and profit by year
Carta
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $515M | — | 0.0% | +16.5% | Source |
| FY2024 | $442M | — | 0.0% | +18.5% | Source |
| FY2023 | $373M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Gusto
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $1B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
| FY2023 | $500M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Carta
- Cap table and 409A valuation subscriptions
~67% (2023, Sacra estimate)
Annual subscriptions priced by company stage and stakeholder count, plus 409A valuation packages.
- Fund administration and Fund ERP
~27% (2023, Sacra estimate)
Fees tied to fund size and complexity for accounting, tax, reporting, and related software.
- Private equity, private credit, and legal services
~5% (2023, Sacra estimate; growing)
Newer PE and private credit products, plus Carta Law from 2026.
Gusto
- SaaS Platform Subscriptions & PEPM Fees
Not disclosed
Monthly base software fees plus per-employee-per-month (PEPM) charges paid by small business employers for automated payroll and HR tools.
- Benefits Brokerage, Workers' Comp & 401(k) Fees
Not disclosed
Recurring commissions and administrative fees earned from health insurance carriers, 401(k) retirement providers, and workers' compensation policies.
- Embedded Payroll API Licensing
Not disclosed
Revenue-sharing agreements and API licensing fees paid by vertical SaaS software providers integrating Gusto's payroll engine.
- Float Interest & Gusto Wallet Interchange
Not disclosed
Interest yield earned on custodial funds held in transit during payroll tax settlement cycles, plus debit card interchange fees.
Business model and strategy
Carta
How it makes money
Carta sells annual software subscriptions plus service fees on both sides of the private market. Companies pay for cap table management, equity plan administration, and 409A valuations, with prices rising as stakeholder counts and funding stages grow.
Growth strategy
Carta grows by selling more products to the firms already on its ledger. The playbook is to take a professional service (409A valuations, fund accounting, legal work), automate it, and tie the output to Carta's system of record. Fund ERP bundles fund administration, fund tax, portfolio valuations, data collection, forecasting, and CRM.
Competitive advantage
Carta's main advantage is its two-sided network. Startups put investors on their Carta cap tables, investors adopt Carta for fund administration, and those funds steer portfolio companies to Carta. As a registered transfer agent holding the legal record of ownership, Carta is also costly to leave: switching means migrating years of grants, vesting schedules, and investor records.
Gusto
How it makes money
Gusto earns most of its money from recurring software subscriptions: each customer pays a monthly base fee plus a per-employee fee, with higher tiers (Simple, Plus, Premium) adding HR, time tracking and advisory features.
Growth strategy
Gusto grows by adding small business customers through accountants, partners and self-serve sign-up, then raising revenue per customer with benefits, workers' comp, HR tiers and 401(k) plans. The 2025 Guideline acquisition brought about 65,000 retirement plan customers and roughly $140M in ARR.
Competitive advantage
Gusto's edge is a self-serve product that a non-specialist owner can set up and run without an implementation team, backed by in-house payroll tax technology (it bought tax-engine maker Symmetry in 2021) that files federal, state and local payroll taxes automatically.
Questions about Carta vs Gusto
Which company has higher revenue — Carta, Inc. or Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.)?
Carta, Inc. reported $515.0M (FY2025), while Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) reported $1.0B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) is the larger business, with Carta, Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
Which is more financially efficient — Carta, Inc. or Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.)?
Carta, Inc. generates $271k / employee in revenue per employee, while Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) generates $313k / employee. Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Carta, Inc. and Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) make money?
Carta, Inc. and Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Carta, Inc.: Carta sells annual software subscriptions plus service fees on both sides of the private market. Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.): Gusto earns most of its money from recurring software subscriptions: each customer pays a monthly base fee plus a per-employee fee, with higher tiers (Simple, Plus, Premium) adding HR, time tracking and advisory features.
Is Carta, Inc. bigger than Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.)?
By last reported revenue, Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) ($1.0B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Carta, Inc. ($515.0M (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Carta vs Gusto overview