Salty vs Folk
The agent-native CRM vs the lightweight relationship CRM.
Salty is an agent-native CRM with a native MCP server and the full REST API on every paid tier, while Folk is a lightweight, AI-assisted relationship CRM priced per member ($24–$80/seat/mo) and aimed at solopreneurs, agencies, and small relationship-driven teams. Two facts decide most AI builds: Folk has no official MCP server (only third-party wrappers), and Folk’s API is gated to its Premium tier and above (~$48/seat/mo), whereas Salty ships native MCP and its complete REST API on the $20/mo Solo plan. Choose Folk for an elegant contact-centric CRM with AI assistants and one-click capture; choose Salty when AI agents are the users and you need a programmable, MCP-first backend.
Salty vs Folk: at a glance
A head-to-head on the dimensions that matter when AI agents — not human reps — are the primary users of your CRM.
| Dimension | Salty | Folk |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | AI agents (agent-native) | Small relationship/service teams |
| Primary interface | REST API + MCP + CLI + webhooks | Web app UI; REST API (Premium+) |
| Pricing model | Per API call — no per-seat fee | Per member/seat |
| Free tier | 500 calls/mo (demo) | None (14-day trial) |
| Official MCP server | Native — 15 tools, OAuth 2.1 | No official server (third-party only) |
| API access | Full REST API on every paid tier ($20/mo) | Gated to Premium+ (~$48/seat/mo) |
| Webhooks | HMAC-signed, built-in | Webhooks supported (via API) |
| Built-in AI | None — agents bring the AI | Four AI assistants + Magic Fields |
| Best for | Agent-driven apps & AI-native startups | Solopreneurs & small relationship teams |
What is Salty?
Salty is a developer-first CRM built for AI agents instead of human reps. It exposes one workspace through four programmatic surfaces — a REST API (OpenAPI 3.1), a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server with 15 tools, a CLI, and HMAC-signed webhooks — and prices on API calls rather than per seat. There are no kanban boards, dashboards, or integration marketplace; the agent does the work and Salty is the database underneath.
What is Folk?
Folk is a lightweight CRM built around relationships and contacts, positioned as a simpler alternative to Salesforce and HubSpot for solopreneurs, agencies, consultancies, and small sales teams. It pairs pipelines and email campaigns with the folkX browser extension for one-click contact capture and four AI assistants (Follow-up, Research, Recap, Workflow).
Pricing: Salty vs Folk
Folk pricing as of June 2026. Verify current figures on the vendor’s pricing page (linked in sources below).
- Free$0500 API calls/mo · 10 records · demo tier (no schema edits, custom objects, or webhooks)
- Solo$20/mo100,000 API calls/mo · 25,000 records · every feature
- Pro$99/mo1,000,000 API calls/mo · 250,000 records · every feature
Pricing is per API call, not per seat — every MCP tool call and REST request counts as one call; admin/billing actions are exempt. Overage is $1 per 10,000 calls (and $0.50 per 1,000 records over cap). There is no per-user fee, so a fleet of agents costs the same as one.
- Standard$24/seat/moAnnual; pipelines, AI assistants — no API
- Premium$48/seat/moAnnual; custom objects, sequences, API access
- Enterprise$80/seat/moAnnual; custom limits, dedicated support
Per member, billed annually (monthly is ~20% higher). Folk has no free tier (14-day trial). Critically for developers, API access starts only at the Premium tier (~$48/seat/mo).
When to choose Salty
- You need a first-party MCP server — Folk offers none, only third-party wrappers.
- You want the full REST API on a $20/mo plan, not gated behind Folk’s ~$48/seat Premium tier.
- Your users are AI agents and per-call pricing beats per-seat as agent count grows.
- You want built-in HMAC-signed webhooks and runtime schema extension.
When to choose Folk
- You’re a solopreneur or small team that wants a beautiful, contact-centric CRM UI.
- You value one-click capture (folkX) from LinkedIn, Gmail, and X.
- You want built-in AI assistants for follow-ups, research, and recaps without writing code.
- You run email campaigns and sequences alongside your CRM.
The bottom line
Folk is a lovely, lightweight relationship CRM for small human teams who want AI assistants and easy capture. But for AI-agent workloads it has no official MCP server and paywalls its API to Premium. Salty is purpose-built for agents: native MCP, the full REST API and webhooks on a $20/mo plan, and per-call pricing with no per-seat fee.
Salty vs Folk: FAQ
- Does Folk have an MCP server?
- Not officially. As of June 2026 Folk has no first-party MCP server — only third-party wrappers (for example, community projects like mcp-folk). Salty ships a native MCP server with 15 tools and OAuth 2.1 + PKCE on every plan.
- Does Folk’s API come with every plan?
- No. Folk’s REST API is available only on the Premium tier and above (~$48/seat/mo); the Standard plan has no API. Salty includes its complete REST API on both paid tiers, starting at $20/mo.
- Is Salty cheaper than Folk?
- For API and agent use, typically yes. Folk charges per member and gates the API to Premium (~$48/seat/mo). Salty charges per API call — $20/mo for 100,000 calls — with the full API included and no per-seat fee.
- Does Salty have AI assistants like Folk?
- No, by design. Folk embeds AI assistants (Follow-up, Research, Recap, Workflow) in its UI. Salty has no built-in AI — it assumes your own agent provides the intelligence and uses Salty as the system of record via REST and MCP.
Sources
Folk facts above are drawn from official sources, verified June 22, 2026.
The CRM your agents can run.
REST API, MCP server, CLI, and signed webhooks — priced per call, not per seat.