Opagio vs Eqvista: Valuation & Equity Platforms

Introduction

Eqvista describes itself as combining equity management, company valuations and compliance in a single platform, including 409A valuations and Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation® (eqvista.com, accessed 17 October 2026). Opagio is a UK-headquartered intangible asset platform organised around Opagio 12™, providing asset-level decomposition and method-specific valuation.

The main difference is what each platform is organised around: Eqvista around equity management and company valuation, including 409A; Opagio around the intangible assets themselves, organised by the twelve Opagio 12™ value drivers.

Eqvista is an established equity management and valuation provider. The question this page answers is which platform fits which job.

TL;DR: Choose Eqvista if you want cap table management, 409A valuations and Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation® from one provider. Choose Opagio when the conversation requires asset-level intangible decomposition — for Series B+ fundraising, exit preparation, PE diligence, IP-backed lending readiness, or audit-aligned PPA work under IFRS 3 / IAS 38 (UK and global) or ASC 805 (US).

About Eqvista

Eqvista describes itself as one of the largest 409A providers in the US, with an office in San Francisco. Its cap table software lets companies "issue and manage shares, options, SAFEs, and employee equity", and its valuations include IRS safe harbor 409A valuations and Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation®, which Eqvista calls "the first always-on valuation platform for private companies", "AI-powered and delivered by humans".

Eqvista also lists fair market value, Software & IP, ASC 820 portfolio, and gift and estate tax valuations, and states that it has a "100% in-house valuation team".

About Opagio

Opagio is a UK-headquartered intangible asset platform organised around Opagio 12™, twelve value drivers: Brand & Reputation, Customer Capital, Technology & Innovation, Content & IP, Data & Intelligence, Switching Costs & Lock-In, Network Effects & Platforms, Human Capital, Organisational Capital, Culture & Ways of Working, Regulatory & Compliance, and Ecosystem & Partnerships. Within those twelve drivers sits a comprehensive library of intangible asset types.

Opagio offers one free product and one paid product:

• Opagio Growth Forecaster (free) — top-down forecasting of intangibles and productivity measurement for a single company; the upgrade path is a full Opagio Intangibles account
• Opagio Intangibles (paid platform) — the full discovery, valuation, and management environment, with modules including the Asset Valuator (RFR, MPEEM, With and Without, Replacement Cost, Cost Approach, Greenfield, Market Approach), Growth Plan, Value Drivers Register, Normalised P&L and Intelligence

Opagio's methodology is documented academically (SSRN paper aligning the taxonomy to the Corrado-Hulten-Sichel framework) and is the subject of UK patent application GB2607796.6 (patent pending), with a UK registered design application (6518475). The platform supports IFRS 3 / IAS 38 (UK and global) and ASC 805 (US) under its accounting-standards mapping. Opagio does not offer cap table or equity administration; use a dedicated cap table platform alongside it.

Side-by-Side Comparison

The table below sets out how each platform describes itself. Facts about Eqvista are taken from eqvista.com, accessed 17 October 2026.

Side-by-side criteria

How the two platforms handle the same founder

Example — Where Opagio is the better fit: A UK B2B SaaS founder is preparing for a Series B in twelve months, with strategic acquirer conversations starting. The value sits largely in customer relationships (NRR 124%, low churn cohorts), proprietary data, the engineering team, the brand, and two granted patents. The investor's diligence team and any future acquirer's accountants will probe each asset individually under IFRS 3 (UK and global) or ASC 805 (US). The founder needs asset-level decomposition and method-specific valuation output — MPEEM for customer relationships, RFR for the brand and patents, Cost for internally developed technology. Opagio's twelve-driver decomposition and Asset Valuator are built for this. The cap table is handled separately (SeedLegals for the UK EMI work, or a small Carta footprint).

Example — Where Eqvista is the better fit: A US-domiciled SaaS startup at Series A has an equity register expanding rapidly. Multiple SAFEs have converted, the option pool has just been topped up, employee grants are being issued monthly, and the founder needs a 409A valuation to price options. The team also wants a real-time valuation view that updates as the share base evolves. Eqvista's bundled cap table + 409A + Real-Time Company Valuation® product keeps the cap table, the 409A and the real-time valuation view with one provider. The asset-level intangible decomposition is not the immediate need; the integrated equity workflow is.

How Each Platform Approaches Valuation

Eqvista describes a 409A valuation as "a process for appraising your business to determine the cost of the company stock", and says its valuations are "prepared in accordance with IRS safe harbor standards". It describes Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation® as giving "a real-time, app-based view of common stock value for private companies". Eqvista also offers Software & IP valuations using income, market and cost methods (eqvista.com, accessed 17 October 2026).

Opagio values the asset. In the Asset Valuator you choose the method for each material intangible asset, and the tool marks a recommended one — Relief from Royalty for assets with observable licensing analogues (trademarks, patents), Multi-Period Excess Earnings for primary income-generating assets (customer relationships), With and Without where a counterfactual is the cleanest framing, Cost (replacement cost or sum of cost) for internally developed assets, Market where comparable transactions exist, and Greenfield where the asset is what a new business would start from. The output is a fair value for each asset, naming the method used.

For a founder whose immediate use case is option pricing compliance, equity admin, and a real-time share-price view, the share-level approach matches the need. For a founder whose immediate use case is investor diligence probing individual assets, acquirer PPA work, or IP-backed lending where collateral suitability is asset-by-asset, the asset-level approach matches the need.

Intangible Asset Decomposition vs Cap Table Integration

The two platforms make opposite structural choices. Eqvista bundles valuation with cap table inside the same product. Opagio specialises in intangible asset valuation and leaves cap table to the cap-table-specialist platforms.

For a US-domiciled founder whose tool stack is "one platform for everything equity", Eqvista's bundled approach reduces complexity. The 409A, the cap table, and the real-time valuation view all live in the same product and update in lockstep.

For a UK-domiciled founder (or any founder whose intangible base is the substance of the conversation), the cap table is a different problem from intangible asset valuation, and the right pattern is a best-of-breed combination: Opagio for the intangible register, Asset Valuator output, Collateral Pack, and Value Drivers Register; a UK-appropriate cap table platform (SeedLegals for EMI work, Carta for venture-backed work) for the equity register. The intangible work informs the equity work, but the two systems remain distinct.

Note (jurisdiction): 409A is a US tax requirement (IRC §409A — Internal Revenue Code section 409A). UK companies granting EMI options agree a valuation with HMRC instead.

Audit-Aligned PPA and Acquirer Diligence

For founders preparing for exit (M&A or PE), the acquirer's accountants will need a purchase price allocation under IFRS 3 (UK and global) or ASC 805 (US) after close. That exercise is asset-level — the working papers need to show the appropriate method per asset (MPEEM for customer relationships, RFR for licensable IP, With and Without where appropriate, Cost for internally developed assets), the contributory asset charge schedule, royalty-rate support, and asset-level audit trail.

Opagio's Asset Valuator works at asset level: you choose the method for each asset, and each valuation records the method, inputs and assumptions (including contributory asset charges for MPEEM). Opagio maps assets to IFRS 3 / IAS 38 and ASC 805, and its output is structured for review by a qualified valuer.

For a deeper walkthrough of method choice in PPA work, see our comparison RFR vs MPEEM vs With and Without. For the underlying methodology, see our Purchase Price Allocation guide.

FAQ

Is Opagio a direct competitor to Eqvista?

Answer

We work in adjacent space: both platforms support companies with valuation work. Eqvista combines equity management, company valuations (including 409A) and compliance in one platform. Opagio is an intangible asset platform organised around twelve value drivers, with asset-level valuation mapped to IFRS 3 / IAS 38 (UK and global) and ASC 805 (US). Which fits depends on whether you need equity administration and 409A, or a view of the intangible assets behind the business.

Which is better for 409A compliance?

Answer

Eqvista. Eqvista offers IRS safe harbor 409A valuations (eqvista.com, accessed 17 October 2026). 409A is a US valuation, tied to the US Internal Revenue Code, used to price stock options for US-domiciled startups granting employee options. Opagio does not provide 409A valuations — for a US-domiciled startup whose primary need is 409A bundled with the cap table, Eqvista is the integrated fit.

Which is better for UK-domiciled startups?

Answer

Opagio is UK-headquartered, maps assets to UK-adopted and global IFRS and to ASC 805, and offers an IP Audit and Collateral Pack for IP-backed lending conversations (each lender decides what evidence it accepts). Cap table work sits on a separate platform.

Which is better for Series B+ fundraising or exit prep?

Answer

Opagio. By Series B the investor's diligence team is probing intangibles asset-by-asset — customer cohorts, organisational capital, brand, IP, key-person exposure. Opagio's twelve-driver decomposition and Asset Valuator output are built for this conversation.

Can I use both platforms?

Answer

Yes. Eqvista handles the cap table, the 409A valuation to price options, and the real-time share-price view. Opagio handles the asset-level intangible register, the Asset Valuator output for fundraising and exit prep, the Collateral Pack (if and when IP-backed lending becomes relevant), and the audit-aligned PPA cross-check. The two systems address different parts of the founder's stack.

Does Opagio offer cap table functionality?

Answer

No. Opagio does not offer cap table or equity administration; use a dedicated cap table platform alongside it.

How does pricing compare?

Answer

Eqvista publishes its prices on its pricing page, including a free cap table plan and a 409A and Premium cap table bundle from $990 a year (accessed 17 October 2026). Opagio's prices are on the Opagio pricing page.

What is Real-Time Company Valuation® and how does it differ from the Asset Valuator?

Answer

Eqvista describes Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation® as "the first always-on valuation platform for private companies", giving "a real-time, app-based view of common stock value". The Opagio Asset Valuator values individual intangible assets with the method you choose (RFR, MPEEM, With and Without, Replacement Cost, Cost Approach, Greenfield, Market Approach), with output structured for IFRS 3 / IAS 38 and ASC 805 work.

Where can I see Opagio in action?

Answer

Book a demo and a member of the Opagio team will walk through the Opagio 12™ taxonomy, the Asset Valuator, and the Value Drivers Register with a worked example relevant to your context — Series B fundraising, exit prep, PE portfolio work, IP-backed lending readiness, or PPA / audit alignment. The demo is run by an Opagio team member and is typically 30-40 minutes.

When to Choose Each Platform

The honest answer is that the right choice depends on the immediate job.

Choose Eqvista when:

• You are US-domiciled and need 409A for option pricing compliance
• The cap table, 409A, and real-time valuation should sit in one integrated product
• The equity admin layer is the substance of your work (shares, options, SAFEs and other securities)
• A share-level valuation view fits your current need

Choose Opagio when:

• You are UK-domiciled (or working under UK-IFRS, global IFRS, or ASC 805 framing)
• The conversation is about intangible asset decomposition, not share price
• You are preparing for Series B+, exit, PE diligence, or audit-aligned PPA
• IP-backed lending readiness is relevant to your business
• The same valuation has to support multiple downstream uses (lending, fundraising, exit, audit)

Closing

Eqvista is a US-based cap table and equity management platform that bundles 409A, cap table, and Real-Time Company Valuation®, per its site. For a US-domiciled startup whose immediate need is integrated equity admin with a 409A valuation, Eqvista is built for that job.

Opagio fits buyers who want to identify, value and track intangible assets across several capital pathways. Opagio 12™, the Asset Valuator, IFRS 3 / IAS 38 / ASC 805 mapping, the Collateral Pack and the portfolio workspace for funds support the asset-level work behind Series B+ fundraising, exit preparation, PE diligence and PPA.

The best way to know which is right for your business is to see both in action and test the output against a specific use case. For Opagio, book a demo and bring a real scenario — a Series B preparation, an exit window, an IP-backed lending question, or a PPA cross-check.

Related comparison: Opagio vs Carta — Cap Table and Intangible Value Compared

Related reading

• RFR vs MPEEM vs With and Without — Asset Valuation Methods Compared
• IFRS 3 vs ASC 805 — How Acquired Intangibles Are Recognised
• Purchase Price Allocation — Complete PPA Guide
• Intangible asset glossary — Customer Relationships
• Intangible asset glossary — Relief from Royalty
• Intangible asset glossary — Multi-Period Excess Earnings
• Intangible asset glossary — Intangible Asset

Related Glossary Terms

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