# 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. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/capsule-crm-vs-close
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/capsule-crm-vs-close.md (~2,350 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/capsule-crm-vs-close.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/capsule-crm-vs-close.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

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 CRM: grade C, 55.7/100, rank #504 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/capsule-crm.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/capsule-crm.json
- Close API + MCP: grade B, 66.7/100, rank #229 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/close.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/close.json

## 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

| Category | Weight | Capsule CRM | Close API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 83 | 81 | Capsule CRM +2 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 48 | 82 | Close API + MCP +34 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 59 | 56 | Capsule CRM +3 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 46 | 66 | Close API + MCP +20 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 30 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 38 | 79 | Close API + MCP +41 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 67 | Capsule CRM +8 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **55.7 · C** | **66.7 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Capsule CRM | Close API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Zestia Limited | Close |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.capsulecrm.com/api/v2` | `https://api.close.com/api/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Capsule's Customer Terms | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 121 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `com.close/close-mcp` |
| Last release | 2026-09-25 | 2026-09-10 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2025-10-31 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-08-21 | 2026-05-30 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | none | 70 stars, 14k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.5/5 (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.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/capsule-crm-vs-close.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/capsule-crm-vs-close.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "capsule-crm", "b": "close"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare capsule-crm close`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/capsule-crm.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/close.json

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