Secfi alternatives

Secfi offers equity planning and financing to help startup employees exercise options. If you want to compare, here are the real alternatives for covering an exercise and its tax — from an independent source with no financing product to sell you.

What Secfi does, and why compare

Secfi is a US platform offering equity planning tools plus non-recourse financing to fund exercising options and the resulting tax. People look for alternatives to compare cost, avoid giving up future upside, or because they're outside the US.

The main alternatives

Alternative	How it helps you exercise	Trade-off
EquityBee	Investors fund your exercise for a share of the future gain	You give up part of the upside
Non-recourse financing	A lender covers cost + tax; repaid only if the company exits	Expensive; a cut of the gain
Sell-to-cover	Sell a slice (in a tender/secondary) to fund the rest	Needs a liquidity window; you sell some shares
Exercise with your own cash	Pay the strike + tax yourself	Cash at risk in an illiquid company

General information, not financial advice; confirm terms with each provider.

How to choose

First, know the real cost. Strike price plus any AMT or income tax. Use the free exercise & AMT calculator.
Can you self-fund part? Sell-to-cover in a tender is often cheaper than giving up upside to a financier.
Financing (Secfi, EquityBee, non-recourse lenders) unlocks exercise without your own cash — but costs a slice of the gain. Compare before committing.

Where PrivateTechShares fits — and doesn't. We are not one of these platforms, not a broker or marketplace, and we take no cut of anything you do. We're the independent layer that helps you work out, for free, what your stake is worth, what it costs to exercise, and whether you can sell — before you choose a platform. Use us to decide; use them to transact.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Secfi?

It depends on your situation. EquityBee and non-recourse lenders offer similar exercise financing (cash now for a share of the upside). If a liquidity window is open, selling a slice to cover the cost (sell-to-cover) can be cheaper than giving up upside. And if you can afford it, exercising with your own cash avoids all financing costs. Start by calculating the true cost before choosing.

Is option-exercise financing worth it?

Sometimes. It lets you exercise without your own cash and, for non-recourse products, you owe nothing if the company fails — but it's expensive and costs a meaningful share of your future gain. If you can self-fund or sell a slice to cover the cost, that's often cheaper. Model the numbers before deciding.

Does PrivateTechShares offer exercise financing?

No. We're an independent education and tools service, not a financing provider. We give you free calculators to work out the cost and tax of exercising and help you understand your options — we don't lend, and we take no cut, so there's no conflict of interest.

Get the numbers before you decide

Free, no sign-up: estimate what your stake is worth, the cost to exercise, and whether you can sell.

Value my equity (free) → · All free tools → · Glossary →

When you're ready to go deeper, there's an optional Equity Toolkit and Report.