Typical equity for startup employees runs from a fraction of a percent for engineers to several percent for senior executives, and it shifts with company stage and role. Treat published percentages as ballparks, then check vesting, dilution and strike price.
Equity is one lever in how founders attract and keep people, and it sits alongside the wider startup founder leadership skills that decide whether a team stays. The sections below follow the path of a grant: how it works, when you earn it, what the ranges look like, how dilution erodes it, and how to judge an offer.
How a stock option becomes shares and money
A stock option is not a share. It is the right to buy shares at a set price once conditions are met, so the value to an employee depends on the order of events below.
- Grant. The company awards a number of options. Brex describes them as the right to purchase company shares at a predetermined price, called the strike price. CandorIQ adds that the strike price is what you pay per share and is usually tied to the 409A valuation at the time of the grant.
- Valuation. Fair market value is typically determined through professional 409A valuations, according to Brex. That valuation is why two offers with the same share count can carry different strike prices.
- Vesting. You earn the right to the options over time (covered in the next section).
- Exercise. HubSpot notes that employees need to agree to exercise the options to actually receive any equity. Unexercised options deliver nothing.
- Exit. The gap between the strike price and the exit price is what creates a gain. CandorIQ’s illustration is 10,000 options at a $1 strike price and a $10 exit, an about $90,000 gain before taxes.
The practical lesson is that a grant is a claim on future upside, not a salary substitute. It suits candidates who can accept an uncertain payout and, later, the cost of exercising. Once you know the mechanics, the next question is when the grant is actually yours.
Vesting schedules and the cliff
Vesting is the schedule that turns a grant into something you own. The cliff is the initial waiting period before any of it vests. CandorIQ reports that most equity plans include a 4-year vesting schedule with a 1-year cliff, and Brex adds that leaving within 12 months of a one-year cliff means no equity.
Three examples show how the same idea is built differently:
- Standard employee grant with a cliff. Startup Science describes 25% vesting after month 12, then the remaining 75% vesting monthly over the next 36 months.
- Annual steps. HubSpot describes a common schedule of 4 years where each year 25% of the options vest. Compared with monthly vesting after the cliff, you earn in larger blocks, so the timing of a departure matters more.
- Advisor grants. Holloway notes that a common vesting schedule for an advisor is two years with a three-month cliff, shorter than an employee schedule.
If you expect to stay less than a year, a cliff makes the grant close to worthless to you, so weigh that against the cash on offer. If you plan to stay the full term, the start date and any change-of-control terms matter more than the cliff.
Typical equity by role and stage
Percentages are highest for the earliest, most senior hires and fall as the company raises money and its valuation climbs. Holloway cautions that many of its numbers focus on early-stage Silicon Valley tech and are not representative of companies of different kinds across the country, so use the table as a rough guide for the shape of an offer, not a target to demand.
Ballparks after a Series A round
Holloway’s figures usually apply to restricted stock or options with a standard 4-year vesting schedule. HubSpot’s averages by seniority give a second reference point.
| Role | Post-Series A ballpark (Holloway) | Average by seniority (HubSpot) | Planning use |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEO and C-suite | CEO 5–10%; COO 2–5% | C-suite 0.8–5% | The CEO figure is a founder-level benchmark; use the broader C-suite range for hired executives. |
| VP | 1–2% | 0.3–2% | Wide spread: negotiate on scope and timing of joining. |
| Director | Not listed | 0.4–1% | Compare against the VP and manager rows. |
| Lead engineer | 0.5–1% | Not listed | Top of the engineering band at this stage. |
| Senior engineer | 0.33–0.66% | Not listed | Mid-band benchmark for senior individual contributors. |
| Manager or junior engineer | 0.2–0.33% | Managers 0.2–0.33%; junior 0–0.2% | The lowest band; weigh against salary. |
| Independent board member | 1% | 1% | Both sources agree on a single figure. |
Figures are drawn from Holloway’s guide to typical employee equity levels and HubSpot’s startup equity overview.
Early hires and later rounds
Very early hires can sit above these bands, but treat the highest figures as ceilings. Holloway cites a 2014 AngelList survey with the highest early engineer grants: up to 2%–3% for hire #1, up to 1%–2% for hires #2–5 and up to 0.5%–1% for hires #6–7. Those are the top of what was reported, not what a typical offer looks like.
After a Series B round, the same source says equity numbers would be much lower than after Series A, depending on team size and company valuation. A smaller percentage at a later stage is expected rather than a sign of a stingy offer. Compare it with the company’s valuation and your role, not with early-stage anecdotes.
Dilution and what it does to your percentage
Dilution occurs when a company issues new shares, reducing existing shareholders’ ownership percentages, as Brex explains. Its worked example is a 50% stake that falls to 40% after new shares equal to 20% ownership are issued.
The effect for employees is that the percentage in your offer letter is a snapshot. Every financing round or option pool top-up lowers it, even though your share count does not change. Before accepting, ask how much more funding the company expects to raise and whether the option pool will be enlarged. Those answers tell you whether to read the headline percentage as a floor or as a starting point.
How to judge an offer
An offer is worth more than a single percentage. Work through the points below in order, and ask for the figures in writing.
- Grant size against the ranges. Place the percentage within the role and stage bands above. A figure well below the band is a reason to ask why, or to ask for more cash in return.
- Strike price and valuation. Confirm the strike price and the 409A valuation it comes from, since you pay it per share to exercise.
- Vesting start, cliff and length. Check the vesting start date, the cliff and whether the schedule runs monthly or annually after it.
- Acceleration terms. Ask what happens to unvested options if the company is acquired. The terms are often negotiable, and the difference between single and double triggers is explained below.
- Dilution outlook. Ask about expected funding and the option pool, because they determine what the percentage will become.
- Cost and tax of exercising. Remember that an exit gain is before taxes, and that exercising costs money. Get personal tax advice before you commit.
The simplest decision rule is to value the grant as an upside bonus and judge the job on salary, role and the founders. If you would still take the job with the equity worth nothing, any payout is a bonus. If the equity is what makes the offer attractive, press harder on vesting, acceleration and the dilution outlook.
For founders making the offer
Founders face the mirror image of this decision. Every grant draws from a limited pool, so consistent bands by role and stage keep offers fair and defensible. Equity also does not replace clear expectations; the guide on how to hold employees accountable without micromanaging covers how to set them. For the traits worth rewarding with larger grants, see Important Leadership Qualities: 7 Traits Every Effective Leader Builds In 2026 – Startalliance.
Frequently asked questions
Are these equity ranges valid outside Silicon Valley?
Treat them as rough guides only. Holloway says many of its numbers focus on early-stage Silicon Valley tech and are not representative of companies of different kinds across the country, so compare any offer with local and sector peers where possible.
What is double-trigger acceleration?
Double-trigger acceleration requires both an acquisition and the employee being terminated or having a material role change within 12 months of close before unvested equity speeds up, according to Startup Science.
What share of a company is set aside for employees?
HubSpot reports that startups are reserving an average equity pool of 13% to 20% for employees. That pool funds all employee grants, which is why the size of each grant is limited.
