Salaries have benchmarks. Equity is harder to compare. Explore how 9,000+ verified new-hire grants vary by department, seniority, and company stage.
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The benchmark is built from verified new-hire equity grants submitted through Equitybee. It provides market context based on Equitybee's dataset and is intended for informational purposes only. The dataset has not been independently verified, and should not be interpreted as representative of grants that ultimately led to successful liquidity events. Data presented as is. Data last updated July 2026.
What the Data Shows
In Equitybee's dataset, the median new-hire equity grant was approximately $59K in 2025, up from $18K in 2019. The shift hasn't been even across industries, departments, seniority levels, or company stages.
Median new-hire Grant FMV increases from $15.2K for Individual Contributors (IC) to $215K for VP & C-Level employees in Equitybee's dataset.
AI & Data rose from 14.6% of grant activity in 2023 to 19.7% since 2024, with median grants up from $57.9K to $72.6K.
Median New-Hire Grant FMV rises from approximately $20K at Seed / Series A to $62K at Series D+ in Equitybee's dataset.
Figures reflect median new-hire Grant FMV in Equitybee's dataset. Data presented as is.
What You Unlock
Create a free account to see exactly where your grant stands - not just one number, but the full range for people in your role, at your seniority level, at similar-stage companies.
Figures reflect median New-Hire Grant FMV in Equitybee's dataset. Data presented as is.
In Equitybee's dataset, median New-Hire Grant FMV rose from approximately $18K in 2019 to $57K in 2022.
Values declined in 2023 but did not return to earlier levels. The median has remained near $60K since 2024.
Among ICs, Engineering’s median new-hire grant FMV is $23.2K, compared with $14K for Marketing, a 67% difference.
At VP and C-level, the medians are nearly identical at $228.5K and $229.2K.
This comparison combines all company stages. Build a cohort to explore a specific combination of department, seniority, and company stage.
Bars are scaled within each seniority level. Figures reflect median New-Hire Grant FMV across records with the relevant department and seniority fields available. Data presented as is.
Grant values can vary meaningfully based on the type of company and where it is in its growth journey.
Several technical industries show elevated median New-Hire Grant FMV in Equitybee's dataset. AI & Data companies benchmark above the median for all other industries, but Deep Tech and Cybersecurity show that higher recent grant values are not limited to AI.
Median New-Hire Grant FMV increases across company stages in Equitybee's dataset. The median Series D+ New-Hire grant is approximately 3.1× the median Seed / Series A grant.That doesn't necessarily make a later-stage grant better — stage also affects risk, upside, and liquidity timing.
A higher grant-date FMV does not mean a more valuable outcome. Earlier-stage grants typically carry lower FMV and strike prices, which can mean lower exercise costs, alongside higher risk and longer liquidity timelines. That is why the Benchmark compares grants within the same company stage. Recent industry data includes 2024, 2025, and 2026 YTD. Figures use records with the relevant fields available. Data presented as is.
Individual Contributors (ICs) - 28.10%
Senior ICs & Team Leads - 35.28%
Senior Managers & Directors - 20.93%
VPs & C-Level Executives - 14.55%
Founders & CEOs - 1.15%
Seed / Series A - 24.06%
Series B - 21.54%
Series C - 20.94%
Series D+ - 33.45%
Engineering - 32%
Sales - 22%
Operations - 18%
Product - 9%
Marketing - 8%
Finance - 4%
Other - 6%
*Equitybee benchmark dataset is proprietary information. The dataset is derived exclusively from Equitybee's platform data. The Benchmark methodology and dataset have not been independently verified. Data presented as is.
Frequently asked questions
Grant Value is calculated by multiplying the number of options by the Fair Market Value (FMV) per share on the grant date. It provides a dollar-based measure for comparing grants when they were issued and does not represent their current or potential future value.
Grant FMV is the number of options multiplied by the company’s fair market value per share on the grant date. For private companies, FMV is generally based on an independent third-party valuation using established methodologies.We believe it provide a more consistent dollar-based basis for comparing joining grants across companies.
In Equitybee's dataset of 9,000+ verified New-Hire grants, the median New-Hire grant FMV was approximately $59K in 2025 and $65K in 2026 year-to-date. Values vary widely: median grants range from roughly $20K at Seed / Series A to $62K at Series D+, and from about $15.2K for ICs to $215K at the VP & C-Level.
In Equitybee's dataset, median New-Hire grant FMV rose from about $12K in 2016 to approximately $59K in 2025, peaking during the 2021–2022 funding boom. Values declined in 2023 but did not return to earlier levels; the median has remained near $60K since 2024.
In Equitybee's dataset, AI & Data companies show a median New-Hire grant FMV of approximately $73K from 2024 through 2026 YTD, compared with a $52K median across all other industries. Higher recent grant values are not limited to AI: Aerospace, Defense & Deep Tech ($89K) and Cybersecurity & Security ($72K) also benchmark above that level.
It depends on seniority. Among ICs in Equitybee’s dataset, the median FMV of a new-hire grant is $23.2K in Engineering, compared with $14K in Marketing, a 66% difference. At the VP and C-suite level, however, that gap effectively disappears. The medians are $228.5K for Engineering and $229.2K for Marketing, with Marketing just ~0.4% higher.
A New-Hire equity grant is the first equity grant an employee receives when joining a company. The Equitybee Benchmark uses New-Hire grants as a consistent comparison point across departments, seniority levels, and company stages.
Yes. The Benchmark is free to use. A free account is required to access detailed cohort results, including P25, median, P75, average and cohort strength for a specific department, seniority, and company stage combination.
Tools like Levels.fyi rely largely on self-reported total compensation data, and Carta's benchmarks are built from company-side cap table records. The Equitybee Benchmark is built from New-Hire equity grants submitted by employees, focuses specifically on startup equity, and compares grants using FMV at grant. Each source has a different scope and they can be complementary.
No. The Equitybee Benchmark is provided for informational purposes only and should be used as market context, not as financial, tax, legal, or compensation advice.
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Select the cohort most relevant to you.
The benchmark is built from verified new-hire equity grants submitted through Equitybee. It provides market context based on Equitybee's dataset and is intended for informational purposes only. The dataset has not been independently verified, and should not be interpreted as representative of grants that ultimately led to successful liquidity events. Data presented as is. Data last updated July 2026.
