Close

Close is the CRM I recommend most often to inside sales teams that live on the phone and email. If your reps make 50+ calls a day and you’re tired of duct-taping together a dialer, an email tool, and a CRM that doesn’t talk to each other, Close eliminates that mess. If you need marketing automation, extensive customization, or a platform for field sales — skip it and look at HubSpot or Salesforce instead.

What Close Does Well

The single biggest advantage Close has over virtually every other CRM I’ve implemented is that calling isn’t an add-on or integration — it’s baked into the core product. You click a phone number, the call connects through your browser, the recording auto-attaches to the lead record, and the rep moves to the next call. No switching tabs, no copy-pasting notes between systems, no “hold on, let me log that call” moments that eat 10 minutes per hour. I’ve measured this across multiple deployments: reps using Close spend roughly 15-20% more time actually talking to prospects compared to teams using a CRM plus a separate dialer.

The Power Dialer on the Professional plan is where things get genuinely interesting. You feed it a Smart View (more on those below), hit start, and it auto-dials through the list. When someone picks up, the lead record pops up with full context. When you hang up, it dials the next number. I’ve seen SDR teams go from 25 meaningful calls per day to 60+ without burning out, because the dead time between calls disappears. The Enterprise plan’s Predictive Dialer takes this further by dialing multiple numbers at once and connecting the rep only when someone answers — useful for teams with large lead databases and lower connect rates.

Email handling is similarly tight. Close does true two-way sync with Gmail and Outlook, so every email appears on the lead timeline regardless of where it was sent. Email sequences let reps set up multi-step follow-up cadences that pause automatically when a lead replies. The open and click tracking actually works reliably, which is more than I can say for some competitors I’ve tested. Combining calling and email in one timeline gives managers real visibility into what each rep is actually doing — no more “I called them three times” claims that don’t match the data.

Smart Views deserve their own mention because they change how teams think about lead management. Instead of static lists that go stale, Smart Views are saved filter combinations that update dynamically. You can create a view like “leads who were called more than 7 days ago, haven’t replied to the last email, and are in the ‘Demo Scheduled’ stage” — and that view refreshes every time a rep opens it. This means reps always work from prioritized, current data without a manager manually reassigning leads. I’ve seen this single feature reduce lead neglect by 40-50% at companies that previously relied on spreadsheets or static CRM lists.

Where It Falls Short

Close’s reporting is adequate for a 10-person sales team but starts to feel constraining as you grow. You get pre-built reports for call volume, email activity, pipeline value, and leaderboards. That’s fine for tracking KPIs. But if you want to build a custom report that cross-references deal velocity by lead source by rep by quarter — you’ll hit a wall. You’ll either export to a spreadsheet or connect a BI tool like Metabase or Looker. For comparison, HubSpot’s reporting on their Professional plan is significantly more flexible out of the box.

The platform is opinionated about being an inside sales tool, and that opinion creates real gaps. There’s no built-in web form builder, no landing page creator, no marketing email broadcasts. If you need to capture leads from your website and nurture them before they’re sales-ready, you’ll need a separate marketing tool and an integration. That’s fine if you already have that stack, but teams that want one platform for everything will find Close incomplete. There’s also no customer support ticketing — once a deal closes, Close doesn’t have much to offer for ongoing account management.

The mobile app has improved over the years, but it’s still clearly a secondary experience. Calling works, and you can view lead records, but the interface feels cramped and certain features like Smart Views don’t translate well to a small screen. If your sales team spends significant time in the field or at conferences, they’ll be frustrated. Close is a desk-and-headset CRM, and it doesn’t pretend otherwise.

One more thing that trips people up: there’s no free plan. Close offers a 14-day trial, but after that you’re paying $49/user/month at minimum. For a bootstrapped founder doing their own sales, that’s a real cost. Freshsales offers a free tier for up to 3 users, and HubSpot has a generous free CRM if you need to keep costs at zero.

Pricing Breakdown

Close runs three tiers, all billed per user per month with annual billing discounts available (roughly 15-20% off).

Startup at $49/user/month gets you the core CRM, built-in calling with call recording, two-way email sync, email sequences, SMS, task management, and basic reporting. You get one pipeline. For a small team of 2-5 reps doing moderate call volume, this covers the essentials. The calling minutes aren’t unlimited though — you’ll pay per minute for outbound calls, typically around $0.01-0.02/minute for domestic U.S. calls. Budget roughly $20-40/month in calling costs per active rep.

Professional at $99/user/month is where Close gets serious. You unlock the Power Dialer, multiple pipelines, custom activities, workflow automations, and more advanced reporting. This is the tier I recommend for most teams. The Power Dialer alone justifies the $50 jump if your reps are making high-volume outbound calls. Workflow automations let you auto-assign leads, trigger emails on status changes, and create follow-up tasks — not as sophisticated as Salesforce Flow, but enough to eliminate the most repetitive manual work.

Enterprise at $139/user/month adds the Predictive Dialer, call coaching (listen/whisper/barge), custom roles and permissions, a dedicated CSM, and priority support. The call coaching feature is genuinely useful for onboarding new reps — managers can listen to live calls and whisper suggestions the prospect can’t hear. Custom roles matter once you have teams with different pipeline access needs. I’d say this tier makes sense once you’re above 15-20 reps and need management oversight tools.

There are no setup fees and no long-term contracts required, though annual billing saves money. When you outgrow Close — and some companies do, usually around the 75-100 rep mark — the migration path typically leads to Salesforce with a dedicated dialer like Orum or Nooks.

Key Features Deep Dive

Built-In Calling

This is Close’s headline feature and it delivers. You get a VoIP phone system embedded in the CRM. Each rep can have their own local number, and you can purchase numbers in 200+ countries. Calls are automatically recorded and attached to the lead timeline. Call quality has been consistently good in my experience — on par with Aircall or RingCentral for standard sales calls. The real value isn’t the calling technology itself (plenty of tools do VoIP well) but the zero-friction integration with lead data. When a rep finishes a call, they disposition it, add notes, and move on — all without leaving the screen.

Power Dialer and Predictive Dialer

The Power Dialer (Professional+) queues up a list of leads and auto-dials them in sequence. There’s a brief pause between calls where reps can jot notes from the previous conversation. You can feed it any Smart View, so your dialing list is always based on real-time CRM data rather than a stale CSV.

The Predictive Dialer (Enterprise) is more aggressive — it dials 3-5 numbers simultaneously and connects the rep when someone answers. This sounds great on paper but works best with large lead pools where connect rates are below 10%. If your connect rate is higher, you’ll get awkward situations where multiple people answer and some get dropped. I typically recommend starting with the Power Dialer and only moving to Predictive if your data supports it.

Email Sequences

Close’s email sequences let you build multi-step outreach cadences with customizable delays between steps. You can include email-only steps or mix in call tasks and SMS messages. The sequences pause automatically when a lead replies, which prevents embarrassing “Did you get my last email?” messages going out after someone already responded. Templates support merge fields and you can A/B test subject lines. Open and click tracking is included. It’s not as sophisticated as a dedicated sales engagement platform like Outreach or Salesloft, but it eliminates the need for one in most sub-50 person sales teams.

Smart Views

I’ve already mentioned Smart Views but they’re worth expanding on because they fundamentally change workflow. Think of them as saved database queries that return a live, filterable list of leads. You can filter on any standard or custom field, activity dates, communication history, pipeline stage, assigned rep, and more.

The practical impact: instead of a manager pulling a list Monday morning and distributing it, reps open their “My Hot Leads” Smart View and it’s already current. A lead that replied to an email overnight automatically surfaces in the “Needs Follow-Up” view. A lead that’s gone cold for 14 days appears in the “Re-engagement” view. This removes a huge amount of manual lead management that plagues teams using traditional CRMs.

Workflow Automations

Available on Professional and Enterprise, workflows trigger actions based on events. Lead changes to “Qualified” status? Auto-assign to a senior rep and create a task to schedule a demo within 24 hours. Email goes unopened after 3 days? Automatically move the lead back to a nurture sequence. These aren’t as powerful as Salesforce automations or HubSpot’s workflow builder, but they cover 80% of what inside sales teams actually need. Setup is done through a visual builder that non-technical users can handle.

Call Coaching

Enterprise-only, but worth highlighting. Managers can see active calls in real-time and join in three modes: listen (silent monitoring), whisper (talk to the rep without the prospect hearing), and barge (join the conversation). For teams ramping new SDRs, this cuts onboarding time significantly. I’ve seen managers use the listen mode to do spot-checks throughout the week rather than relying solely on recorded call reviews, which tends to catch issues faster.

Who Should Use Close

Close fits a specific profile well: B2B inside sales teams of 5-50 people who do primarily outbound prospecting via phone and email. The sweet spot is a team that makes 40-100 calls per rep per day and sends 30-50 emails.

SaaS startups with dedicated SDR/BDR teams are the classic Close customer, and the product feels purpose-built for that motion. Recruiting firms, real estate investment companies, and solar sales teams doing high-volume outreach also tend to thrive on Close.

Budget-wise, expect to spend $100-150 per rep per month (license plus calling costs) on the Professional plan. That’s meaningful but significantly cheaper than assembling a Salesforce + Outreach + Aircall stack, which can run $300+ per rep.

Technical skill required: low. I’ve set up Close for teams where the “most technical” person was the sales manager who knew how to use Excel. The learning curve is genuinely short — most reps are comfortable within 2-3 days.

Who Should Look Elsewhere

If you need a CRM that handles marketing and sales in one platform, Close isn’t it. Look at HubSpot, which covers both sides well, or Freshsales for a more affordable combined option. See our HubSpot vs Close comparison for a detailed breakdown.

Enterprise organizations with complex approval workflows, territory management, CPQ needs, or regulatory compliance requirements should look at Salesforce. Close doesn’t try to be an enterprise platform, and stretching it into that role creates problems.

If your sales process is highly visual and deal-stage focused rather than activity-focused, Pipedrive might feel more natural. Pipedrive’s drag-and-drop pipeline is more intuitive for teams that think in terms of deal progression rather than call volume. See our Pipedrive vs Close comparison.

Field sales teams that need strong mobile functionality, route planning, or offline access should look elsewhere entirely. Close’s mobile experience won’t cut it for reps who spend their days driving between client meetings.

And if you’re a solo founder or freelancer watching every dollar, the $49/month minimum makes Close hard to justify when HubSpot’s free CRM or Freshsales’ free tier exist.

The Bottom Line

Close does one thing exceptionally well: it puts calling, email, and SMS into a single CRM that’s fast and frictionless for inside sales reps. It won’t replace your marketing tools, it won’t manage your support tickets, and it won’t impress your enterprise IT team with customization options. But if your revenue depends on reps making calls and sending emails every day, Close removes more friction from that process than any other CRM I’ve used.

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