Close is a sales engagement CRM built for startups and SMBs, combining pipeline management with built-in calling, SMS, email, automation and AI tools. It helps inside sales teams move faster, stay organized, and close more deals with less manual work.
Independently researched by the SalesHive team. Ratings are from public review platforms; this page is not sponsored by or affiliated with Close. Research last updated December 2025.
What is Close?
Close is a modern, sales-focused CRM designed to help small and scaling businesses close more deals with less friction. The platform unifies lead management, pipeline tracking, and multi-channel communication, calling, SMS, email and meetings, inside a single, fast interface. Rather than acting as a passive database, Close is built to be the daily workspace for SDRs, AEs and founders who rely on high-volume outreach and quick follow-up.
The company began in 2013 after the founders built an internal sales tool at their previous "Sales-as-a-Service" startup ElasticSales. That internal tool evolved into Close.io, which later rebranded to simply Close after acquiring the close.com domain in 2019. From the beginning, the product has focused on eliminating manual data entry and context-switching by embedding communication directly into the CRM and automating repetitive outreach tasks.
Close operates as a bootstrapped, profitable, 100% remote company with a globally distributed team. According to the company, it has around 100+ team members and supports thousands of customers worldwide across industries like SaaS, professional services, real estate, and insurance. The team emphasizes a "no BS" culture, fast iteration on product, and hands-on support, positioning Close as a founder- and rep-friendly alternative to heavyweight enterprise CRMs.
In the CRM market, Close competes with tools like HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce, and Zoho but differentiates by being purpose-built for sales engagement rather than all-in-one marketing, service and operations. Its strengths lie in multi-channel outbound workflows, built-in dialers (Power and Predictive), AI features such as call transcription and summaries, and a lean but powerful reporting layer. With consistently high ratings on G2, Capterra and TrustRadius, Close is often chosen by teams that find traditional CRMs too bloated, slow, or complex for day-to-day selling.
Close key features
Teams typically use it for high-volume outbound calling and cold outreach with power and predictive dialers, multi-channel sales sequences combining email, SMS, calls and tasks, pipeline and opportunity management for B2B sales teams, and more.
- Unified multi-channel communication. built-in calling, SMS, and two-way email sync so all sales communication lives inside the CRM.
- Power Dialer. automatically dials through lead lists to double or more outbound call volume without manual dialing.
- Predictive Dialer. dials multiple numbers at once and connects reps only when a human answers, ideal for high-volume call teams (Scale plan).
- AI Call Assistant & Notetaker. transcribes and summarizes calls and meetings so reps don't have to take manual notes.
- AI Enrich & AI Lead Summaries. enrich lead records with web data and generate quick summaries of recent activity to get context fast.
- Automated Workflows & Sequences. create multi-step, multi-channel sequences across email, calls, SMS and tasks to keep deals moving.
- Smart Views & Inbox. dynamic, saved filters and a prioritized inbox that show which leads, tasks and conversations need attention next.
- Custom Fields. Custom Activities & Custom Objects, model your own data (e.g., properties, packages, projects) and track key sales actions.
- Pipeline & Opportunity Management. multiple pipelines, deal stages, opportunity values and funnel reports for accurate forecasting.
- Reporting & Dashboards. activity, pipeline and funnel reports plus leaderboards to track rep performance and conversion rates.
- Meeting Scheduling & Notetaker. calendar integrations, meeting reminders, and AI-generated notes for Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet.
- Mobile apps. native iOS and Android apps to call, text, email, manage tasks and review reports on the go.
- Robust API & Webhooks. REST API and event log API to connect Close with internal systems or build custom workflows.
- Duplicate Management & Data Import. guided imports from other CRMs, duplicate detection and merging for clean data.
- Role-based Permissions & Lead Visibility Rules. fine-grained access controls and visibility settings for larger teams (Scale plan).
What reviewers love, and what to watch
A balanced view of Close, drawn from public reviews and product research.
Pros
- Very intuitive, sales-focused interface that reps can learn quickly, with minimal training.
- Built-in calling, SMS and email drastically reduce tool sprawl and keep all communication on each lead in one place.
- Power Dialer, Predictive Dialer and automated workflows significantly increase outbound productivity and follow-up consistency.
- Smart Views, templates and bulk email make it easy to segment leads and run targeted outreach campaigns.
- Onboarding is fast and straightforward, and many users highlight responsive, helpful support.
- AI-powered features such as Call Assistant, Notetaker and AI Email Assistant save substantial time on note-taking and manual admin.
Cons
- Reporting and dashboard customization are more limited than in large, enterprise CRMs, requiring exports or external BI for complex analytics.
- Pricing on higher tiers plus usage-based calling/SMS costs can feel expensive for very large or extremely high-volume teams.
- Marketing automation, post-sale customer success and ticketing capabilities are relatively light compared with full-suite platforms like HubSpot.
- Some reviewers mention occasional bugs, UI glitches or slower page loads, particularly with heavy inbox or workflow usage and on the mobile app.
Close pricing
Published pricing at the time of research. Always confirm current rates with the vendor.
- Everything in Essentials but limited to 1 user
- Up to 10,000 leads
- Built-in email, calling and SMS
- Multiple pipelines and advanced filters
- Workflows not included
- Unlimited leads and contacts
- Multiple pipelines and Smart Views
- Built-in email, calling and SMS
- Centralized inbox and task lists
- Core reporting and opportunity management
- All Essentials features
- Automated workflows and sequences
- Power Dialer
- AI Email Assistant
- Custom Activities and more advanced automation
- All Growth features
- Role-based access and custom roles
- Lead visibility rules
- Predictive Dialer
- Unlimited call recording and more administration controls
Setup: None (self-serve onboarding with free data migration for most customers) No permanent free plan; Close offers a 14-day free trial with full access instead.
Who Close is for
A strong fit for
Close is ideal for tech-enabled startups and SMBs running inside sales or hybrid sales teams that need fast, multi-channel outreach and a CRM reps will actually use. Teams making significant volumes of calls and emails, but who find enterprise CRMs bloated or slow, tend to get the most value, especially if they want built-in telephony, SMS, and automation instead of stitching together multiple tools.
Probably not for
Close is less suited to very large enterprises with highly complex, multi-department CRM requirements, or organizations that need deep, native marketing automation, content management, or customer service suites bundled into the same platform. Businesses that primarily want a free CRM, or that expect very advanced, highly customizable analytics and reporting out of the box, may prefer other solutions.
How Close compares
Compared with heavyweight CRMs like Salesforce and even mid-market platforms like HubSpot, Close takes a narrow but deep approach: it focuses on the daily workflows of sales teams rather than trying to be a full customer platform for marketing, service and operations. For many startups and SMBs, this tradeoff is attractive: they get built-in calling, SMS, email and workflows in a single, fast interface without needing to purchase and integrate multiple point tools. Close’s onboarding is generally measured in hours or days instead of weeks or months, and reviewers frequently cite its ease of use and adoption as a key advantage over more complex systems.
Versus other sales CRMs such as Pipedrive or Zoho, Close stands out most in its telephony and outbound capabilities. Power and Predictive Dialers, AI call summaries, and multi-channel workflows give it a strong edge for high-volume inside sales and sales development teams. However, Pipedrive and Zoho may offer broader native integrations, more granular reporting options or lower entry pricing in some cases. HubSpot, meanwhile, is usually the stronger choice for organizations that want tightly integrated marketing automation, CMS and service hubs. In short, Close is a compelling option when the primary objective is to arm a lean, fast-moving sales team with a focused, dialer-centric CRM rather than to standardize an entire organization on a single enterprise platform.
Tool research is the easy part. Someone still has to build the lists, write the copy, make the calls, and book the meetings.
Frequently asked about Close
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