Free plan, paid quote Free tier
Why it comes up: Pave is compensation intelligence with a free Market Data Lite tier, useful if you want a US-friendly published entry instead of a Figures demo.
Stands out: Lite is free, not a timed trial. Support copy lists 7,500-plus companies in the dataset. Pro adds 56-plus countries, advanced equity insights, and peer-group reporting under one quoted price instead of per-data-point survey fees.
Watch out: Lite needs an HRIS or payroll integration before you see data. Pro has no public dollar. Do not confuse this Pave with Pave Finance.
Best for
- Startups and smaller teams that will connect an HRIS to unlock Lite at $0
- Comp teams replacing annual surveys with live cash and equity benchmarks
- US-first companies that only need one extra market on Lite
Read the Pave write-up · Figures vs Pave
Why it comes up: Payscale sells compensation data and software on a quote, a US-centric alternative to Figures' European benchmark set.
Stands out: Smart Price uses AI to price roles in seconds, with peer survey data and HRIS sync in the same suite.
Watch out: There is no public rate card. Extra peer datasets, custom reporting, and Compass analytics are add-ons on some editions.
Best for
- Compensation teams running merit and market cycles
- HR leaders who need board-ready pay reports
- Companies replacing spreadsheet job pricing
4.1 on Capterra from 50 reviews
Read the Payscale write-up · Figures vs Payscale
Why it comes up: Syndio is enterprise pay-equity and pay-decision software with Syndi AI, quote-led, if fairness testing is the job rather than salary-band design.
Stands out: Syndi evaluates each pay decision against market data, internal equity, policy rules, and compliance at once, and shows the reasoning. It does not auto-commit the number.
Watch out: Predict, the scenario-modeling module, is listed as coming soon and is excluded here. Essentials is monitoring and reporting. Decisions adds in-the-moment guidance in Slack, Teams, and ATS tools.
Best for
- Enterprise compensation teams governing offers, promotions, and merit cycles
- Employers reporting pay gaps across 100-plus countries including EU Pay Transparency
- Fortune-scale HRIS stacks on Workday or SAP that need pay decisions in Slack and Teams
Read the Syndio write-up · Figures vs Syndio
Why it comes up: Carta is equity and compensation infrastructure if total rewards means stock, not European salary bands.
Stands out: A free Launch plan for early cap tables, then Build, Grow and Scale with 409A valuations and ASC 718 reporting.
Watch out: Paid plans have no published price. Each has a per-stakeholder rate and a minimum annual fee, and add-ons like Total Compensation cost extra.
Best for
- Startups setting up a first cap table
- Companies that need 409A valuations
- Finance teams handling ASC 718 reporting
Read the Carta write-up · Figures vs Carta
