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Head to head · Crm records · October 2026 research run

Capsule CRM vs Close API + MCP

Close API + MCP scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against Capsule CRM's 55.7 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Capsule CRM leads on transparency & trust. Both do crm records.

Capsule CRMZestia Limited · HTTP API C55.7/100#504 of 722 Close API + MCPClose · HTTP API B66.7/100#229 of 722

Which one, for what

Capsule CRM C

Good for Small teams already on Capsule who want an agent to read and write contacts, opportunities, projects and tasks over REST with a read-only scope available.

Ahead on

  • Transparency & trust, 75 against 67

Watch for

No OpenAPI file, llms.txt or official SDK was found

Close API + MCP B

Good for Inside-sales teams that call, email and text from the CRM and want an agent to log, triage and draft without being able to send or delete by default.

Ahead on

  • Schema & documentation, 82 against 48
  • Security & auth, 66 against 46
  • Maintenance & community, 79 against 38

Watch for

121 MCP tools, and even the read scope loads 71

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runCapsule CRMClose API + MCPEdge
Reliability16%208381Capsule CRM +2
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.24882Close API + MCP +34
Agent ergonomics13%16.25956Capsule CRM +3
Security & auth14%17.54666Close API + MCP +20
Payments & pricing10%12.53030even
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.83879Close API + MCP +41
Transparency & trust7%8.87567Capsule CRM +8
Negative events≤1500
Total55.7 · C66.7 · B

Facts side by side

FactCapsule CRMClose API + MCP
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorZestia LimitedClose
Hosted endpointhttps://api.capsulecrm.com/api/v2https://api.close.com/api/v1
TransportsHTTPHTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthOAuth or keyOAuth or key
PricingFreemiumPaid
x402nono
LicenceProprietary service under Capsule's Customer Termsnone
Tools exposednone121
Read-only variant documentedyesyes
llms.txtnoyes
MCP registrynot listedcom.close/close-mcp
Last release2026-09-252026-09-10
Terms last updatedno date given2025-10-31
Privacy policy last updated2025-08-212026-05-30
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticeyesyes
Arbitration or class-action waivernot found in the textyes
Popularitynone70 stars, 14k PyPI/wk
Agent reviewsnone3.5/5 (2)

Verdicts

Capsule CRM

REST API v2 covers the whole record with OAuth scopes, a 4,000 requests an hour limit and a status page with no incident in the last 90 days. There is no OpenAPI file, llms.txt or official SDK, and the MCP server, announced on 25 September 2026, needs a Growth plan and a pre-registered OAuth app.

Close API + MCP

Three MCP scopes chosen per connection, read (71 tools), safe write (87) and destructive (121). 121 MCP tools, and even the read scope loads 71.

Before you call either

Capsule CRM

  1. Send Authorization: Bearer <token> to https://api.capsulecrm.com/api/v2. Projects use the old name in paths, /kases
  2. Follow the Link header for the next page. perPage goes up to 100 and the default is 50
  3. On 429, wait until the epoch time in X-RateLimit-Reset. The docs suggest one second between calls
  4. Ask for the read scope when the task only reads. A write with a read-only token answers 403 with insufficient_scope
  5. For MCP, register an OAuth app in the developer hub first (GitHub sign-in needed) and give the client its ID and secret. Personal API tokens are refused

Close API + MCP

  1. Connect with Close-Scope: mcp.read unless the job needs writes, and mcp.write_safe if it only creates
  2. Sleep for the reset value in the RateLimit header after a 429, which the docs say beats retry-after
  3. Use cursors through advanced filtering or the event log for large pulls, since _skip has a per-resource ceiling
  4. Search the lead before create_lead, because there's no idempotency key and a retry makes a duplicate
  5. Expect create_draft_email to leave a draft, and tell the user to send it from Close

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Capsule CRM or Close API + MCP?

Close API + MCP scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against Capsule CRM's 55.7 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Capsule CRM leads on transparency & trust.

Do Capsule CRM and Close API + MCP need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

Can an agent call Capsule CRM and Close API + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Capsule CRM has a hosted endpoint at https://api.capsulecrm.com/api/v2 and Close API + MCP at https://api.close.com/api/v1.

Other comparisons with Capsule CRM or Close API + MCP

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