Twenty
Twenty is hardening its AI agent layer — schema migrations signal it's treating agentic threads as load-bearing infrastructure.
Comparison · CRM
Folk vs HubSpot
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Folk and HubSpot — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Folk vs HubSpot: at a glance
What is Folk?
folk CRM adds EU data residency and tasks in an active shipping month
Folk has shipped at a high cadence over two months: a dedicated mobile app, an MCP server for AI agent access, task management, talk-to-text, group UX improvements, and EU data residency. Each addition addresses a distinct adoption barrier — mobile capture, AI workflows, European compliance, team coordination.
What is HubSpot?
HubSpot is in roundup-cadence mode after Spring Spotlight, polishing Commerce Hub and integrations.
HubSpot just closed Spring Spotlight (Contracts went public, AI playbooks shipped) and the recent stretch is mostly digestive: an April product-updates rollup, a sandbox-sunset deadline extension, two near-identical Commerce Hub QoL roundups, and a Smart-CRM narrative on cross-tool data. The most concrete shipment in the window is a free HubSpot for Google Sheets extension that brings record reads/writes into a sheet sidebar.
Folk vs HubSpot: editorial side-by-side
Folk
6.3CRM
folk CRM adds EU data residency and tasks in an active shipping month
◆ Current state
Folk has shipped at a high cadence over two months: a dedicated mobile app, an MCP server for AI agent access, task management, talk-to-text, group UX improvements, and EU data residency. Each addition addresses a distinct adoption barrier — mobile capture, AI workflows, European compliance, team coordination.
◆ Where it's heading
Folk is building toward a CRM that closes deals on founders' terms: light enough to skip an admin, extensible enough to plug into AI workflows via MCP, and now compliant enough for EU buyers. Tasks and the Interactions API beta signal an expansion beyond pure contact management into sales workflow territory.
◆ Prediction
The Interactions API (beta since Jul 29) is the most likely next GA milestone. Folk's MCP-first posture also sets up deeper AI-native CRM actions — likely next is letting agents write back to the CRM, not just read from it.
HubSpot
5.0CRMMARKETING
HubSpot is in roundup-cadence mode after Spring Spotlight, polishing Commerce Hub and integrations.
◆ Current state
HubSpot just closed Spring Spotlight (Contracts went public, AI playbooks shipped) and the recent stretch is mostly digestive: an April product-updates rollup, a sandbox-sunset deadline extension, two near-identical Commerce Hub QoL roundups, and a Smart-CRM narrative on cross-tool data. The most concrete shipment in the window is a free HubSpot for Google Sheets extension that brings record reads/writes into a sheet sidebar.
◆ Where it's heading
Two arcs are visible. Commerce Hub is steadily maturing — Contracts went public, sales-rep and admin QoL keeps shipping in roundups, and HubSpot is positioning Smart CRM as the data backbone underneath. Integrations continue to spread (TikTok native, Google Sheets), pulling more upstream tooling into the CRM rather than the other way around. The legacy sandbox sunset getting pushed back suggests customer migration is still slower than HubSpot wants.
◆ Prediction
Expect Contracts to move from public beta toward GA, more Commerce Hub QoL drops as the post-Spotlight feature backlog ships, and additional native integrations following the TikTok pattern (likely another major social channel). The legacy sandbox migration will probably get a second deadline if the current one isn't met.
Alternatives to Folk and HubSpot
Other CRM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Folk or HubSpot.
Twenty
Twenty stabilizes its agent chat data model after a hotfix-heavy 2.42 release cycle
GroupOffice
GroupOffice ships 7 builds across three version tracks in five weeks — no changelogs disclosed
Nutshell
Nutshell is shipping full-stack CRM depth—behavioral email sequences, quota management, and QuickBooks integration—at an unusually fast pace.
Streak
Streak doubles down on LLM-native CRM with Claude connector and expanded MCP write capabilities.
NetHunt CRM
NetHunt CRM ships workflow, integration, and automation depth as it builds toward a more self-contained sales OS.
See all Folk alternatives → · See all HubSpot alternatives →
Recent activity from Folk and HubSpot
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3d agoFolkYour data, closer to home 🇪🇺 ⚡
- 4d agoFolkGet organized and efficient with group updates
- 24d agoFolkTask updates that keep your team moving
- 26d agoFolkfolk MCP turns interactions into insight
- 1mo agoFolkCapture the conversation while it’s fresh
- 1mo agoFolkNo more waiting—Meet Tasks ⚡
- 4mo agoHubSpotRelease Notes: April Product Updates
- 5mo agoHubSpotLegacy Standard Sandbox sunset deadline pushed back
- 5mo agoHubSpotSmart CRM positioning post — connecting customer data across hubs
- 5mo agoHubSpotCommerce Hub Release Roundup #4: Quality‑of‑Life Wins for HubSpot Admins
- 5mo agoHubSpotQuality‑of‑Life Wins for Sales reps & HubSpot Admins (Commerce Round up #4)
- 5mo agoHubSpotHubSpot for Google Sheets™ is here
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Folk and HubSpot?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Folk is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Folk better than HubSpot?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Folk is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other CRM products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Folk?
Top Folk alternatives in CRM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Folk alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/folk-crm for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to HubSpot?
Top HubSpot alternatives in CRM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "HubSpot alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hubspot for the full list with editorial commentary on each.