"As mentioned, main differences are bb height and tire clearance (in general). Whether that affects/bother you, that's a personal question. For me, yes it matters enough that I'd want a frame with slightly lower bb and the ability to take 40mm+ tires comfortably (even though I do like steeper angles and shorter chainstays)."
Maybe the question should be the difference between a cross bike and a GOOD gravel bike. A GOOD gravel bike will be designed for comfort over a much longer time in the saddle (definitely not a characteristic of a cross bike where you spend maybe 30 minutes riding at a time) and usually will have a slacker head tube angle to make is less jumpy and take less effort to keep in a straight line over 100 miles. GOOD gravel bikes also have lots of vertical compliance build into the frame while a cross bike designer would say "what the heck is vertical compliance?"
Last edited by gravelslider; 12-05-19 at 03:09 PM.