# Nutshell vs Salesflare

> Nutshell scores 49.6 (D) on agent readiness against Salesflare's 48.5 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Salesflare leads on reliability and agent ergonomics. Both do crm records. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nutshell-vs-salesflare
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nutshell-vs-salesflare.md (~2,450 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nutshell-vs-salesflare.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nutshell-vs-salesflare.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: 2026-10-09

Nutshell scores 49.6 (D) on agent readiness against Salesflare's 48.5 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Salesflare leads on reliability and agent ergonomics. Both do crm records.

- Nutshell: grade D, 49.6/100, rank #704 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nutshell.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nutshell.json
- Salesflare: grade D, 48.5/100, rank #721 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/salesflare.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/salesflare.json

## Which one, for what

### 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 44
- Payments & pricing, 35 against 30
- Maintenance & community, 46 against 25
- Transparency & trust, 71 against 58

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

### Salesflare (D)

Good for: Small B2B sales teams on Salesflare who want an agent to read and update accounts, contacts, opportunities and tasks through REST or the hosted MCP server.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 63 against 42
- Agent ergonomics, 49 against 44

Watch for: No rate limit numbers found. The API introduction lists 429 among its status codes with no limit, Retry-After or backoff guidance


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Nutshell | Salesflare | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 42 | 63 | Salesflare +21 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 57 | 57 | even |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 44 | 49 | Salesflare +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 58 | 44 | Nutshell +14 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 30 | Nutshell +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 46 | 25 | Nutshell +21 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 58 | Nutshell +13 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **49.6 · D** | **48.5 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Nutshell | Salesflare |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Nutshell, Inc. | Salesflare BVBA |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://app.nutshell.com/rest` | `https://api.salesflare.com` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Nutshell's Terms of Service | Proprietary service under Salesflare's Terms of Service |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-08-21 | 2026-10-08 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-06-02 | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-06-02 | couldn't be read |
| 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 | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |

## Verdicts

**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.

**Salesflare.** The REST API has a public Swagger 2.0 file covering 71 operations, with typed filters on every list call and a 30-day trial that needs no card. No rate limit numbers, API changelog, SDK or audit log were found in the reviewed documentation, and API keys carry no documented scopes.

## Before you call either

### 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

### Salesflare

1. Send `Authorization: Bearer <API key>` to `https://api.salesflare.com`. A person creates the key in Settings, API keys
2. Set `limit` on every list call. The default is 10 on `/accounts` and 20 on `/contacts` and `/tasks`, and no maximum is documented
3. Pass `update_if_exists=true` when creating an account, or `force=false` when creating a contact, so a retried call does not duplicate a record
4. Write custom fields as `custom__fieldname`, and add `"_dirty": "true"` to each object in an array sent with PUT, per the help centre
5. Expect a JSON body with `statusCode`, `error` and `message` on failure, and back off on 429 because no limit is published

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Nutshell or Salesflare?

Nutshell scores 49.6 (D) on agent readiness against Salesflare's 48.5 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Salesflare leads on reliability and agent ergonomics.

### Do Nutshell and Salesflare need an API key?

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

### Can an agent call Nutshell and Salesflare without installing anything?

Yes. Nutshell has a hosted endpoint at https://app.nutshell.com/rest and Salesflare at https://api.salesflare.com.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Nutshell or Salesflare

- [Affinity vs Nutshell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/affinity-vs-nutshell.md)
- [Affinity vs Salesflare](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/affinity-vs-salesflare.md)
- [Attio API + MCP vs Nutshell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/attio-vs-nutshell.md)
- [Attio API + MCP vs Salesflare](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/attio-vs-salesflare.md)
- [Capsule CRM vs Nutshell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/capsule-crm-vs-nutshell.md)
- [Capsule CRM vs Salesflare](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/capsule-crm-vs-salesflare.md)
- [Close API + MCP vs Nutshell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/close-vs-nutshell.md)
- [Close API + MCP vs Salesflare](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/close-vs-salesflare.md)
- [Copper API vs Nutshell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/copper-vs-nutshell.md)
- [Copper API vs Salesflare](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/copper-vs-salesflare.md)
- [Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales vs Nutshell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dynamics-365-sales-vs-nutshell.md)
- [Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales vs Salesflare](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dynamics-365-sales-vs-salesflare.md)
- [folk API + MCP vs Nutshell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-vs-nutshell.md)
- [folk API + MCP vs Salesflare](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/folk-vs-salesflare.md)
- [Freshsales API vs Nutshell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/freshsales-vs-nutshell.md)
- [Freshsales API vs Salesflare](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/freshsales-vs-salesflare.md)
- [HubSpot API + MCP vs Nutshell](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hubspot-mcp-vs-nutshell.md)
- [HubSpot API + MCP vs Salesflare](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hubspot-mcp-vs-salesflare.md)
- [Nutshell vs Pipedrive API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nutshell-vs-pipedrive.md)
- [Nutshell vs Salesforce API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nutshell-vs-salesforce.md)
- [Nutshell vs Streak API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nutshell-vs-streak.md)
- [Nutshell vs Twenty API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nutshell-vs-twenty.md)
- [Nutshell vs Zoho CRM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nutshell-vs-zoho-crm.md)
- [Pipedrive API + MCP vs Salesflare](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pipedrive-vs-salesflare.md)
- [Salesflare vs Salesforce API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salesflare-vs-salesforce.md)
- [Salesflare vs Streak API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salesflare-vs-streak.md)
- [Salesflare vs Twenty API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salesflare-vs-twenty.md)
- [Salesflare vs Zoho CRM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salesflare-vs-zoho-crm.md)