Equitybee introduces a complimentary benchmarking tool as startup employees gain access to equity data that companies have possessed for years.

      TL;DR

      Equitybee has introduced a complimentary equity benchmarking tool based on over 9,000 verified option grants from more than 2,500 US startups. This enables employees to compare grants based on department, seniority, and company stage. The tool intentionally refrains from predicting exit values or providing financial advice. With the resurgence of IPOs and rising equity due to AI hiring, the information imbalance between employers and employees regarding compensation is starting to diminish.

      Equitybee has unveiled Equitybee Benchmark, a free resource that allows employees at US startups to compare equity grants across different roles, seniority levels, departments, and stages of their company. The company emphasizes that while salary benchmarking has been widely available for years, equity data has largely remained within HR departments and employer control.

      You would never accept a salary without comparing it to market standards. Numerous websites exist for this purpose, such as Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn salary data. Enter your role and location, and you'll quickly know if your offer is competitive. However, attempting the same for your equity grant is much harder. When your offer includes 20,000 options, how do you know if that's substantial? For years, there hasn't been a clear answer for grant recipients, despite equity often being the most crucial component of a startup offer.

      This is where Equitybee comes in, having just launched the Equitybee Benchmark tool, which allows employees at US startups to compare equity grants by role, seniority, department, and company stage.

      The Gap

      For years, companies and HR teams have had access to equity benchmarking tools. They know exactly what the market compensates because they purchase this data. Conversely, employees evaluating one of the most critical aspects of their compensation have typically had little to no information. The asymmetry in this information has favored employers, who possess the figures, while employees rely on their instincts.

      Throughout my conversations with hundreds of founders and executives, this issue frequently arises. Tom Sosnoff, who sold two companies for over a billion dollars each, mentioned in a recent interview that all S&P 500 CEOs are aware of what their counterparts earn since that information is public. This transparency is what drives up executive compensation while others negotiate in the dark. His observation pertained to salaries but is even more applicable to equity. Having access to these numbers significantly influences discussions.

      What Equitybee Built

      Credit: Equitybee

      What makes this tool particularly engaging is its underlying dataset. The Benchmark uses over 9,000 verified joining option grants submitted through Equitybee, covering more than 2,500 US startup companies from Seed to Pre-IPO stages. Unlike self-reported data from surveys, these are confirmed grants.

      The tool addresses a common challenge that many individuals lack the data access to resolve. Even for a seasoned startup professional who understands strike prices and exit scenarios, it’s challenging to determine if the equity being offered is competitive for the role they are about to undertake.

      The Equitybee Benchmark bridges this gap, enabling exploration of how grants compare by department, seniority, and company stage. For instance, if you’re joining a Series B company as a senior engineer, you can view the median, 25th, and 75th percentiles of similar positions to gain valuable context.

      What It Deliberately Does Not Do

      This product does not provide a definitive value for your equity. It does not forecast your company's exit or what the options may ultimately yield. Such predictions are impossible for anyone. Instead, it offers context—similar to what companies have had for years—so that you can enter negotiation discussions with legitimate market data rather than uncertainty.

      This is particularly important in four specific scenarios: evaluating a new job offer, preparing for a salary negotiation, contemplating a transition to another company, or trying to comprehend the equity you currently hold.

      Why Now

      The timing is noteworthy. With IPOs making a comeback and competition for talent in AI driving startup compensation to new heights, equity has become a larger component of overall compensation than it has been in recent years. Individuals receiving equity deserve the same access to data as those who are providing it.

      The broader narrative here highlights a lag. For an extended period, the information imbalance in startup compensation has only favored companies. They possess the data; employees have operated on instinct. Tools like this reflect a broader shift towards transparency, where data that was once confined to corporate structures becomes accessible to those it most affects.

      If you work at a startup, are thinking about joining one, or are currently reviewing an offer and trying to assess its competitiveness, you can freely explore Equitybee Benchmark.

      You would never accept a salary without comparison; your equity deserves the same scrutiny.

      *Equitybee Benchmark offers market context based exclusively on data from the Equitybee platform. It is not intended as financial, tax, legal, or compensation advice. The provided data is presented as is and has not been independently verified; it may not represent the wider startup market. Equitybee engages in