# folk API + MCP vs Nutshell

> folk API + MCP scores 60.8 (C) on agent readiness against Nutshell's 49.6 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Nutshell leads on security & auth and payments & pricing. Both do crm records. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-vs-nutshell
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-vs-nutshell.md (~2,300 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-vs-nutshell.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-vs-nutshell.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

folk API + MCP scores 60.8 (C) on agent readiness against Nutshell's 49.6 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Nutshell leads on security & auth and payments & pricing. Both do crm records.

- folk API + MCP: grade C, 60.8/100, rank #384 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/folk.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/folk.json
- Nutshell: grade D, 49.6/100, rank #607 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nutshell.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nutshell.json

## Which one, for what

### folk API + MCP (C)

Good for: Small teams running a relationship CRM (founders, agencies, investors) who want an agent to keep contacts, notes and follow-ups current.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 55 against 42
- Schema & documentation, 91 against 57
- Agent ergonomics, 70 against 44
- Maintenance & community, 60 against 46
- Transparency & trust, 81 against 71

Watch for: MCP server in open beta since 1 July 2026

### Nutshell (D)

Good for: Small sales teams already on Nutshell who want an agent to read pipeline data over MCP or write records over REST at a low seat price.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 58 against 43
- Payments & pricing, 35 against 30

Watch for: No rate limit numbers, 429 handling or Retry-After found for the REST API


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | folk API + MCP | Nutshell | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 42 | folk API + MCP +13 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 91 | 57 | folk API + MCP +34 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 44 | folk API + MCP +26 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 43 | 58 | Nutshell +15 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 35 | Nutshell +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 60 | 46 | folk API + MCP +14 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 81 | 71 | folk API + MCP +10 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **60.8 · C** | **49.6 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | folk API + MCP | Nutshell |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | folk | Nutshell, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.folk.app/v1` | `https://app.nutshell.com/rest` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | Proprietary service under Nutshell's Terms of Service |
| Tools exposed | 38 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-15 | 2026-08-21 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2026-06-02 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-06-02 |
| 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 | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**folk API + MCP.** Dated API versions, a year's support and 6 months' deprecation notice with `Deprecation` and `Sunset` headers. MCP server in open beta since 1 July 2026.

**Nutshell.** The REST reference is served as Markdown with an OpenAPI fragment per operation, and the hosted MCP server uses OAuth with PKCE and can only read. No rate limit numbers, error format or API changelog were found in the reviewed documentation, and API keys carry no scopes.

## Before you call either

### folk API + MCP

1. Send `X-API-Version: 2025-06-09` on every REST call
2. Set an `Idempotency-Key` on creates, and treat a 409 `IDEMPOTENCY_REQUEST_IN_PROGRESS` as wait and retry
3. On a 429, wait until `details.retryAfter`, and remember all your keys share one 600-a-minute budget
4. Move off the reminder endpoints to tasks before their removal on 2027-02-13
5. Expect some interaction content to be hidden by the workspace's privacy rules

### Nutshell

1. Authenticate REST calls with HTTP Basic, a Nutshell user's email as username and the API key as password, against `https://app.nutshell.com/rest`
2. Use IDs in the `<number>-<type>` form, such as `3-accounts`, and send updates as JSON Patch with `content-type: application/json-patch+json`
3. Page lists with `page[limit]` and `page[page]`, which is 0-based, and call `/accounts/list/fields` or the lead and contact equivalents for valid filter keys
4. Use the REST API for writes. The MCP server only reads, and OAuth tokens need the `read` scope
5. Filter webhook events yourself, because every webhook receives all events and subscriptions are created in Setup, not through the API

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, folk API + MCP or Nutshell?

folk API + MCP scores 60.8 (C) on agent readiness against Nutshell's 49.6 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Nutshell leads on security & auth and payments & pricing.

### Do folk API + MCP and Nutshell need an API key?

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

### Can an agent call folk API + MCP and Nutshell without installing anything?

Yes. folk API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.folk.app/v1 and Nutshell at https://app.nutshell.com/rest.


## For agents

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

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