Close CRM: The Complete Guide for Sales Teams

If you're hunting for a CRM that doesn't require a Salesforce engineer to operate, Close CRM should be on your shortlist. It's a sales-focused platform built specifically for inside sales teams who live on the phone and in their inbox.

Close (formerly Close.io) has been around since 2013, and it's carved out a loyal following among startups and SMBs who want built-in communication tools without the complexity of enterprise CRMs. But is it right for your team? Let's break it down.

What Is Close CRM?

Close is a sales engagement CRM designed to help small to medium-sized businesses convert leads into revenue. Unlike traditional CRMs that require you to bolt on third-party tools for calling and email, Close integrates email, calling, and SMS directly into the platform.

The core philosophy is simple: salespeople should sell, not wrestle with their CRM. Close syncs all your conversations into one centralized inbox, so no interaction gets overlooked. You can make calls, send texts, and fire off emails without leaving the platform.

Trusted by companies like Zapier, Toggl, and Customer.io, Close has positioned itself as the go-to CRM for teams that prioritize speed and simplicity over feature bloat. The platform consistently earns ratings around 4.7 out of 5 stars across review platforms like G2 and Capterra, with users particularly praising its ease of use and built-in communication features.

Close CRM Pricing Breakdown

Close offers four pricing tiers, with significant savings if you pay annually. Here's what you're looking at:

All plans come with a 14-day free trial, no credit card required. That's rare in the CRM world and lets you actually test the platform before committing.

The annual billing discount ranges from 7-17% depending on the plan, so if you're confident Close is the right fit, paying upfront saves real money. At $35-$139 per user per month with annual billing, Close positions itself competitively in the mid-market space-more accessible than enterprise solutions like Salesforce, yet feature-rich enough for sophisticated sales operations.

For more details on pricing specifics, check out our Close CRM pricing guide.

What Each Plan Includes

Solo Plan ($9/user annually)

The Solo plan is designed for individuals who need basic CRM functionality without breaking the bank. It's restricted to one user and caps leads at 10,000. You get core CRM tools, one pipeline, and basic reporting, but you're missing follow-up reminders, workflow automation, and bulk email capabilities.

Honestly, if you're serious about sales, you'll outgrow this fast. It's more of a starter tier than a real solution.

Essentials Plan ($35/user annually)

This is where Close starts making sense for small teams. You get unlimited leads, multiple pipelines (up to 3), follow-up reminders, and text scheduling. The Essentials tier removes the lead limits and adds the collaboration features growing teams need.

The catch? Still no workflow automation, bulk email, or Power Dialer. If you're doing high-volume outreach, you'll hit a ceiling.

Growth Plan ($99/user annually)

The Growth plan is where Close really shines. You unlock workflow automation, Power Dialer, AI Email Rewrite, AI Lead Summaries, and up to 10 pipelines. This tier represents a 183% price jump from Essentials, but the features justify it for teams serious about scaling.

The Power Dialer alone can transform productivity-it automatically dials the next number in your list, reducing downtime between calls. For teams making 50+ calls a day, that's huge. You also get email sequences that can be triggered based on specific criteria or time intervals, allowing you to automate follow-ups without losing the personal touch.

Scale Plan ($139/user annually)

The Scale tier is built for larger organizations with complex needs. You get up to 25 pipelines, predictive dialing, call coaching (listen in, whisper tips, or intervene on calls), advanced permissions with SSO and 2FA, priority support with a dedicated success manager, and custom reporting dashboards.

If you're managing a distributed sales team and need granular control over who sees what, Scale is worth evaluating. The predictive dialer takes automation even further than the Power Dialer by intelligently determining the optimal time to call prospects based on historical answer rates and time zones.

Key Features That Actually Matter

Built-In Calling

This is Close's killer feature. You can make and receive calls directly within the platform-no third-party phone system required. Calls are automatically logged with recordings, so you're not manually tracking every conversation.

Features include one-click voicemail drops to move to the next prospect faster, comprehensive call reports showing total calls, duration, and calls by user, and Zoom integration to sync all contacts and recordings into one place.

The Power Dialer (Growth and Scale plans) automatically dials through your list, which is a productivity game-changer for high-volume teams. Unlike standalone VoIP solutions like Dialpad or JustCall that charge separately, Close includes calling at the core of every plan-though this means you can't easily replace it with your preferred phone system if you already have one.

Close also offers call coaching features on the Scale plan that let sales managers listen in on live calls, whisper guidance to reps without the prospect hearing, or even jump into the conversation when needed. This is invaluable for training new team members or rescuing deals that are going sideways.

Email Integration

Close syncs with Gmail and Outlook to centralize all email communication. You can send bulk emails to specific leads, customize send times, track opens and replies, and use templates to scale outreach efficiently.

Email sequences let you automate follow-ups based on triggers or time intervals. Create a sequence once, and Close handles the rest. The system will pause sequences automatically when a prospect replies, preventing awkward automation mishaps.

One advantage Close has over competitors like HubSpot: better email syncing functionality. When you add an email address to Close, it retroactively syncs previous email conversations into the CRM, giving you immediate context on past interactions. While not as comprehensive as some competitors, it's a feature many CRMs still don't offer properly.

SMS Messaging

All plans include SMS functionality. You can send and receive texts directly through Close, with features like text templates and scheduled sends. Pricing varies per text depending on region, so factor that into your budget.

SMS can be integrated into your email sequences, allowing you to create multi-channel outreach campaigns that automatically send emails followed by text messages on a cadence you define. While Close won't auto-call within a sequence, it will create tasks prompting you to make the call at the optimal time.

Workflow Automation

Available on Growth and Scale plans, workflows let you automate tasks, notifications, and outreach based on predefined criteria. Close allows you to create workflows that trigger specific actions-like assigning leads to reps, creating follow-up tasks, or moving leads through pipeline stages.

The visual Workflow Builder is relatively easy to use, though new users may need time to set up complex automations. Workflows can be triggered by lead status changes, opportunity updates, custom field changes, or time-based conditions. For example, you could automatically assign a task to a sales rep 7 days before a contract renewal date, or change a lead's status when they reply to an email sequence.

Users praise workflows as "something awesome only found on CRMs that cost 4x as much," making it one of Close's strongest value propositions.

AI Tools

Close has added several AI features on higher tiers. AI Lead Summaries give you a quick catch-up on key activities with any lead, and AI Email Rewrite helps refine your outreach by suggesting improvements to your messaging based on successful patterns.

A built-in call assistant (available as an add-on) automatically transcribes and summarizes phone calls, generating action items so reps can focus on conversations rather than note-taking. The AI extracts key discussion points, objections, commitments, and next steps from each call, making it searchable within the CRM.

Close's AI tools are trained on real sales workflows rather than generic data, which means the suggestions and insights are specifically tailored to sales contexts. The talk time analysis helps representatives improve their communication skills by providing insights into speaking patterns, interruptions, and question frequency.

AI Enrich is another powerful feature that automatically populates lead data by pulling information from across the web, reducing manual research time for your sales team.

Reporting and Analytics

Close provides customizable reporting dashboards that let you track key metrics like call volume, email response rates, pipeline velocity, and win rates. The reporting functionality varies by plan, with Solo offering basic reports and Scale providing advanced custom dashboards.

One common complaint is that dashboards aren't as visually appealing or robust as some competitors. Users mention needing to export data to external tools or use integrations like AppInsights or Plecto to create more sophisticated visualizations. If you need enterprise-grade reporting with extensive customization, you may need to supplement Close with a dedicated analytics tool.

What Close CRM Does Well

Unified Communications: Calls, emails, and texts live in one place. No more switching between apps or losing track of conversations. This centralized approach means every interaction is logged automatically, creating a complete timeline of customer engagement.

Fast Onboarding: You can finish implementing Close before you finish your morning coffee. New sales people can get trained in days instead of weeks, unlike enterprise CRMs that take months to deploy. Most teams report being operational within hours, and Close's onboarding support is available at no additional cost across all plans.

Simple Interface: Close avoids unnecessary complexity and bloat. The interface is clean and focused on what salespeople actually need. Multiple users praise Close for being "simple yet surprisingly powerful" with everything on one page rather than scattered across multiple tabs like traditional CRMs.

Strong Mobile App: Available for iOS and Android, the mobile app lets you make calls, send texts and emails, update leads, and access call logs from anywhere. The mobile experience mirrors the desktop functionality, making it genuinely usable for remote teams.

Robust Integrations: Close connects with Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Zoom, Calendly, and thousands more through Zapier. It also has a strong REST API for custom integrations. Popular integrations include Zapier for connecting to 5,000+ apps, Help Scout for support ticket context, Gong for call analysis, and DocuSign for automated signature requests.

Effective Reminders: Users consistently praise Close's reminder and notification system for keeping leads from slipping through the cracks. The platform prompts you with the right follow-up at the right time, ensuring consistent touchpoints throughout the sales cycle.

Speed and Performance: Close performs 50% faster in head-to-head speed tests with competitors like Pipedrive, HubSpot, and Salesforce. When you're making dozens of calls daily, those seconds add up to significant productivity gains.

Where Close Falls Short

Pricing Gets Steep: While the Solo plan is cheap, you'll quickly need higher tiers for essential features like automation. A team of 5 on the Growth plan runs $495/month (annually) before add-ons. One user noted paying $300-400/month for 3 users, which is "more than double the cost of other competitive products." The pricing can make it difficult to scale, especially compared to alternatives that offer similar features at lower price points.

Learning Curve: Despite being simpler than Salesforce, real users report needing time to master the interface and set up workflows properly. One reviewer mentioned it being "a bit of a steep learning curve" before everything becomes easy, and the range of features can feel overwhelming initially.

No Marketing Features: Close is purely sales-focused. Don't expect landing pages, forms, or marketing automation-you'll need separate tools for that. If you're looking for an all-in-one solution that handles both marketing and sales, HubSpot or similar platforms might be better fits.

Limited Customer Support: Some users complain about no phone support and having to email for help at the company's convenience rather than their own. Support schedules calls that don't always align with customer needs. One frustrated reviewer noted: "No phone number to call. You email and at the company's convenience, not the clients they email you back." Priority support with dedicated success managers is only available on the Scale plan.

Confusing Billing: A few users report unclear invoices, especially around text and phone feature charges. The advertised plans don't always make it obvious what's included vs. extra. One user complained about non-itemized invoices, saying "I have no idea how billing works with text and phone features."

Minor Bugs: Users report occasional platform bugs, though nothing that breaks the experience entirely. Some mention frequent technical issues, increased loading times, and features feeling "obviously not tested enough." However, most technical issues are reportedly resolved quickly.

Retail/B2C Limitations: Close is heavily optimized for B2B SaaS sales. Users in retail, insurance, or B2C contexts note it lacks functionality for maintaining customer relationships post-sale. The address field displays only city and state (not full addresses), which frustrates businesses needing location details.

Limited Scheduling Features: Close lacks native scheduling capabilities, which is a critical gap for appointment-driven businesses. You'll need to integrate third-party tools like Calendly to handle meeting scheduling.

Close CRM vs. Alternatives

Close occupies a middle ground in the market-simpler than Salesforce but more sales-focused than HubSpot. Here's how it stacks up:

Close vs. Pipedrive: Pipedrive's reporting dashboards offer more collaboration and custom field reports. Pipedrive's marketing tools are also more advanced with email analytics and segmentation. But Close wins decisively on built-in calling-Pipedrive requires third-party integrations for phone functionality. Close is better for high-volume calling teams, while Pipedrive suits visual pipeline management.

Close vs. HubSpot: HubSpot offers a free tier and more marketing integration, making it ideal for teams that need unified marketing and sales tools. However, HubSpot can get expensive quickly as you scale, often costing 2-4x more than Close after the first year. Close is more focused on sales engagement specifically and has superior email syncing. HubSpot requires a 3-seat minimum on paid plans, while Close has no seat minimums. Choose HubSpot if you need an all-in-one marketing and sales platform; choose Close if you're purely focused on sales communication.

Close vs. Salesforce: Salesforce is the enterprise gorilla-powerful but complex, typically requiring dedicated administrators or consultants to set up correctly. Close's advantage is speed and simplicity. No Salesforce engineer required, and implementation takes days instead of months. Salesforce offers deeper customization and more advanced features, but for SMBs focused on phone and email sales, Close delivers better value and usability. One user noted Close is better than Salesforce "when it comes to cold calling" despite Salesforce being an enterprise solution.

Close vs. Zoho: Zoho CRM offers affordability and extensive integrations within the Zoho ecosystem. It's more budget-friendly but lacks Close's seamless built-in calling features. Close is better for teams prioritizing communication tools, while Zoho works well for businesses already using other Zoho products.

For a broader comparison, see our guides on best CRM software and CRM for small business.

Who Should Use Close CRM?

Close is best suited for:

• Startups and SMBs that need a CRM up and running fast without heavy IT involvement
• Inside sales teams that rely heavily on phone and email outreach
• SaaS companies with remote or distributed sales teams
• Teams who hate data entry and want automatic call/email logging
• Organizations wanting SMS integration as part of their follow-up cadence
• High-volume calling teams that need Power Dialer or Predictive Dialer functionality
• Sales teams of 5-50 people that need workflow automation without enterprise complexity

Close is NOT ideal for:

• Organizations needing built-in proposal generators or product/inventory management
• Teams requiring marketing features like landing pages or forms
• Outside sales teams that need mapping and routing
• Companies looking for a cheap CRM-higher tiers add up fast
• Retail or B2C businesses that need post-sale customer retention features
• Organizations needing robust native scheduling capabilities
• Very small teams (1-2 people) where the pricing doesn't justify the features
• Businesses requiring extensive visual reporting dashboards without additional tools

Close CRM Integrations

Close offers extensive integration options through native connectors, Zapier, and a robust REST API. You can connect Close with over 100 third-party applications to create a seamless tech stack.

Popular integrations include:

• Zapier: Connect Close to thousands of apps and automate repetitive workflows
• Slack: Get notifications and updates in your team channels
• Zoom: Sync meeting contacts and recordings automatically
• Calendly: Create leads in Close when meetings are booked
• Help Scout: Display Close lead data directly in support tickets
• DocuSign: Automate signature requests and update opportunities when signed
• Gong: Advanced call analytics and transcription
• Customer.io: Trigger behavior-based messaging campaigns
• Google Drive and Microsoft Office 365: Document management and email integration

Close's API is well-documented and allows developers to build custom integrations for specific business needs. Users report that working with Close's API is straightforward, making it easier to connect proprietary systems or niche tools.

Getting Started with Close

Close offers a quick setup process with a CSV import tool for leads and contacts, plus a free one-click migration tool for users switching from other CRMs. The 14-day free trial gives you full access to test features without entering payment info.

Close provides professional services and onboarding support across all plan tiers, with many customers qualifying for free data migration. The difference between plans isn't in support quality but in complexity-Solo and Essentials users need basic setup, while Growth and Scale customers require more comprehensive training for advanced features.

If you've been burned by CRM implementations that took months, Close's speed is refreshing. Most teams are operational within hours, not weeks. The platform's intuitive design means even less tech-savvy team members can get up to speed quickly.

Best practices for implementation include cleaning your contact database before migration, starting with a single pipeline to understand the system before adding complexity, setting up basic workflows before advanced automation, and establishing consistent naming conventions for custom fields and statuses from day one.

The Bottom Line

Close CRM delivers on its promise of simplifying sales communication. The built-in calling, email, and SMS integration genuinely saves time, and the platform is lean enough that you won't drown in features you'll never use.

The main question is budget. At $99-139/user for the plans with real automation power, Close isn't cheap-especially for larger teams. But if your sales process lives on the phone and in email, the productivity gains often justify the cost. Users consistently note that while pricing is higher than some alternatives, "you get what you pay for" in terms of functionality and ease of use.

Close earns consistent 4.7/5 star ratings across review platforms, with users praising the unified inbox, automated logging, and time-saving workflows. The platform is particularly strong for B2B SaaS companies, startups scaling their sales teams, and inside sales organizations making high volumes of outbound calls and emails.

The biggest limitations to consider: no marketing features, limited customization on lower tiers, occasional bugs, and support limitations on plans below Scale. If you need an all-in-one marketing and sales platform, look at HubSpot. If you need enterprise-level customization, consider Salesforce. But if you want a focused, fast, sales-communication-first CRM that your team will actually enjoy using, Close is hard to beat.

My recommendation: Take the 14-day free trial seriously. Test the calling features, set up a few workflows, and see if it fits how your team actually works. You'll know pretty quickly whether Close is your CRM or just another option to cross off the list. Pay attention to whether your team naturally adopts it-that's the ultimate test of a CRM's usability.

Try Close CRM Free for 14 Days →

Want to read what actual users think? Check out our Close CRM reviews roundup for more perspectives.