Close Review: The High-Speed CRM for Modern Sales Teams
The Verdict
Buy if you are an inside sales team or startup that lives and breathes high-volume cold calling and email sequences—this tool pays for itself by consolidating your tech stack. Pass if you are looking for a "forever free" tier or need complex, enterprise-level marketing automation suites like HubSpot Marketing Hub or Salesforce.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Built-in Telephony: Native VoIP, SMS, and a Predictive Power Dialer mean you don’t need separate subscriptions for tools like Aircall or RingCentral.
- Workflow Speed: Designed to minimize clicks; the "Inbox" feature unifies all tasks, calls, and emails into a single, high-velocity stream.
- Robust Automation: Powerful email sequences and follow-up reminders are baked into the core product, not hidden behind expensive add-ons.
- Developer Friendly: Offers a clean, well-documented API that makes integrating with other SaaS tools painless.
Cons
- Entry Pricing: There is no free tier, and the starting price point is higher than basic competitors like Pipedrive or Zoho.
- Mobile Experience: While the iOS app is functional, Close is primarily designed for the desktop experience; field sales teams might find it limiting.
- Reporting Curve: The reporting is powerful but requires a bit of setup to customize exactly how you want to view your metrics compared to simpler dashboards.
Deep Dive: Features, Value, and Usability
The Communication Powerhouse Unlike legacy CRMs that act as passive databases where you log data after you do the work, Close creates an environment where you do the work inside the software. The standout feature is the native telephony architecture. You can call, record, drop voicemails, and send SMS messages without leaving the lead profile. For high-volume teams, the Power Dialer is a game-changer; it automatically calls through a list of leads and only connects the agent when a human answers, drastically increasing conversation rates per hour.
Ease of Use & The "Zero Friction" UI Close was clearly built by salespeople who hate data entry. The User Interface (UI) is clean, fast, and intuitive. There is almost zero latency when switching between views, which matters when you are processing hundreds of leads a day. The onboarding time is measured in minutes, not months. You can import a CSV of leads, set up your email signature, and start dialing immediately. The "Smart Views" feature allows reps to dynamically filter leads based on real-time criteria (e.g., "Leads who opened an email today but haven't been called"), ensuring no opportunity slips through the cracks.
Pricing & Value Proposition At first glance, Close appears more expensive than competitors, with plans starting around $49/month per user and scaling up to $139+ for the full automation suite. However, the value calculation changes when you look at the "Total Cost of Ownership." Because Close includes the telephony stack (VoIP) and sales engagement features (sequences), you are often saving money by cancelling subscriptions to third-party dialers (like Aircall) and outreach tools (like Outreach.io or Salesloft). For a serious sales team, the consolidation of three tools into one bill usually results in net savings and fewer integration headaches.
The Competition
Close vs. HubSpot HubSpot is the king of "All-in-One." If you need your marketing, service ticketing, and sales teams all in one database, HubSpot is the better choice. However, HubSpot’s sales hub can become prohibitively expensive as you unlock advanced calling and automation features. Close is a specialist tool that beats HubSpot purely on sales workflow speed and setup simplicity.
Close vs. Pipedrive Pipedrive is visually stunning and excellent for visualizing the deal stages. It is generally cheaper to start with than Close. However, Pipedrive relies heavily on integrations for calling and email automation. If your team does heavy outbound (50+ calls/emails a day), the friction of Pipedrive’s integrations can slow you down, whereas Close handles that volume natively.
Conclusion: Who is this EXACTLY for?
Close is the perfect CRM for B2B startups, SaaS companies, and SMB inside sales teams of 3 to 50 people. If your revenue model relies on aggressive outbound activity—specifically cold calling and automated email follow-ups—Close provides the highest ROI in the market. It removes the administrative friction so your closers can focus entirely on selling.