Close CRM Review (4.5/5): Pricing & Verdict (2026)

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Close — Built for teams who live on the phone — unlimited seats and contacts from $35, with calling and dialers native rather than bolted on.

Short answer: Close is a sales CRM built around outbound calling and sequencing. Solo is $9/seat/month annually, Essentials $35, Growth $99 and Scale $139, with unlimited contacts and unlimited seats from Essentials upward. Calling and SMS are billed by usage on top, at roughly $0.02 per minute. A 14-day trial needs no credit card.

Verdict at a glance

Overall rating: 4.5/5 ★★★★☆
Standout: Unlimited seats and unlimited contacts from $35 a seat — in a category where per-seat and per-contact metering is how everyone else makes money.
Watch out: Calling and SMS are usage-billed on top of the subscription, and the Call Assistant add-on is a further $50/month plus per-minute fees. The sticker price is not the whole bill.

Close is the clearest answer to a specific question: what CRM should a team that dials for a living actually use? Calling, SMS, power and predictive dialers, call recording and coaching are native rather than integrations, and the pricing structure is unusually honest — unlimited contacts and unlimited seats from the $35 Essentials tier, where HubSpot, Copper and Freshsales all meter one or both. Workflows arrive at Growth, and Scale adds a predictive dialer and unlimited call recording retention. The caveat is that telephony is consumed, not included: outbound calling runs about $0.02 a minute, phone lines start around $1 a month, and the Call Assistant add-on is $50 a month plus usage. For a five-person team dialling heavily, that can add meaningfully to a $175 subscription. Budget for it and Close is the best value in outbound sales software.

Quick facts

Attribute	Detail
Ideal team	Outbound sales teams who live on the phone
Learning curve	Low — the interface is built around the call, not the record
Setup time	Minutes; number provisioning is quick
Free trial	14 days, no credit card, includes calling and AI credits
Free tier	None
Seats	Unlimited from Essentials ($35) upward
Contacts	10,000 on Solo; unlimited from Essentials
Key limit	Calling and SMS billed by usage on top of the subscription

Overview

Close is a CRM organised around the sales conversation rather than the database record. Calling, SMS, email and sequencing are native functions, and the interface assumes a rep working a list rather than an admin maintaining data. That focus makes it noticeably faster for outbound teams than general-purpose CRMs that treat telephony as an integration, and it is the reason Close keeps its place against much larger competitors.

The pricing structure is genuinely unusual for the category. Solo at $9 a seat covers one user with 10,000 contacts and 500 AI credits a month. Essentials at $35 removes both meters entirely — unlimited contacts and unlimited seats — and adds team collaboration, follow-up reminders and email open tracking. Growth at $99 introduces automated workflows, the power dialer, bulk email and lead summaries. Scale at $139 adds the predictive dialer, custom role-based permissions, lead visibility rules, unlimited call recording retention and live call coaching. Monthly billing runs $19, $49, $109 and $149 respectively.

Telephony economics are the thing to model before committing. Calling and SMS are usage-based rather than included: outbound calls run around $0.02 per minute, phone lines start at roughly $1 a month, and the Call Assistant add-on costs $50 a month plus $0.02 per minute on top. Additional organisations are $50 each. For a team making thousands of dials a month, usage can rival the subscription itself. That is not hidden — Close documents it clearly — but it means comparing Close’s $35 against a competitor’s $35 understates the real difference. The 14-day trial requires no credit card and includes calling and AI credits specifically so you can measure your own consumption, which is the right way to evaluate it.

Key features

• Unlimited seats and contacts — from the $35 Essentials tier upward, unusual in this category
• Native calling and SMS — built in rather than integrated, with 30-day recording on Solo
• Power dialer — sequential auto-dialling from the Growth tier
• Predictive dialer — parallel dialling on Scale for high-volume teams
• Automated workflows — multi-step sequences with Chloe AI from Growth
• Live call coaching — listen, whisper and barge on the Scale tier
• AI credits — 500 to 2,000 monthly by tier for summaries and suggested actions
• Role-based permissions — custom roles and lead visibility rules on Scale
• Unlimited call recording retention — on Scale, versus 30 days on Solo

Pricing (as of 2026-09-09)

Model: per-seat subscription with unlimited seats above Solo; telephony billed by usage · Free tier: no — 14-day trial, no credit card, with calling and AI credits included · Entry paid: Solo $9/seat/mo annual ($19 monthly)

Plan	Price	Includes
Solo	$9/seat/mo annual · $19 monthly	1 seat · 10,000 contacts · 500 AI credits/mo · core CRM, forms, email templates, calling and SMS · 30-day call recording
Essentials	$35/seat/mo annual · $49 monthly	Unlimited seats · unlimited contacts · 1,000 AI credits/mo · team collaboration, follow-up reminders, email open tracking · no workflows
Growth	$99/seat/mo annual · $109 monthly	Unlimited seats and contacts · 1,500 AI credits/mo · automated workflows, Chloe in workflows, power dialer, bulk email, lead summaries, suggested actions
Scale	$139/seat/mo annual · $149 monthly	Unlimited seats and contacts · 2,000 AI credits/mo · predictive dialer, custom roles, lead visibility rules, unlimited call recording retention, live call coaching

Unlimited seats and contacts from Essentials is the structural differentiator. Most competitors meter one or both — Copper caps contacts at 2,500 on its entry plan and HubSpot charges per seat throughout.

⚠️ Calling and SMS are usage-based on top of the subscription: roughly $0.02 per minute outbound, phone lines from about $1/month, and a Call Assistant add-on at $50/month plus $0.02 per minute. Additional organisations cost $50 each. For a heavy-dialling team these can approach the subscription cost, so use the 14-day trial to measure your own consumption before committing.

Ratings breakdown

Criterion	Score	Why
Ease Of Use	4.5/5	Built around the call rather than the record; reps get productive quickly
Features	4.5/5	Native telephony, power and predictive dialers, coaching and workflows
Value	4.5/5	Unlimited seats and contacts from $35 is exceptional; usage fees temper it
Support	4.0/5	30-day money-back guarantee and flexible plan changes

Pros

• Unlimited seats and unlimited contacts from the $35 Essentials tier
• Native calling, SMS and dialers rather than third-party integrations
• Power dialer at Growth and predictive dialer at Scale for high-volume outbound
• Live call coaching with listen, whisper and barge on Scale
• 14-day trial with no credit card, including calling and AI credits to measure usage
• 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans
• Solo tier at $9 makes it viable for a single founder selling

Cons

• Calling and SMS billed by usage on top of the subscription
• Call Assistant is a $50/month add-on plus per-minute fees
• No workflows at all on Essentials — automation requires Growth at $99
• Additional organisations cost $50 each per month
• No free tier, unlike HubSpot or Attio
• Call recording retention is only 30 days below the Scale tier

Who it’s for

• Outbound sales teams making high volumes of calls
• Growing teams who would be penalised by per-seat pricing elsewhere
• Founders selling solo who can start at $9 and scale the same tool
• Teams wanting dialers and coaching without assembling integrations

Who it’s not for

• Teams who need marketing automation alongside sales — HubSpot fits better
• Organisations wanting all telephony costs inside a predictable subscription
• Buyers needing workflows on a budget, since automation starts at $99
• Anyone requiring a permanently free tier

Best use cases

• Running high-volume outbound calling with a power or predictive dialer
• Scaling a sales team without per-seat cost increases
• Coaching reps live through listen, whisper and barge on active calls
• Automating multi-step follow-up sequences from the Growth tier
• Starting as a solo founder at $9 and growing into the same platform

Integrations

Close provides native calling and SMS rather than relying on telephony integrations, which is its structural difference from general-purpose CRMs. It connects to email providers, calendars and the common sales stack, and offers API access for custom work. Additional organisations can be provisioned at $50 each per month for agencies or multi-entity businesses.

How it compares

	Close	HubSpot Sales Hub	Freshsales	Copper
Entry paid	$9/seat/mo	$7/seat/mo	$9/user/mo	$23/seat/mo
Working tier	$35/seat/mo	$90/seat/mo	$39/user/mo	$59/seat/mo
Unlimited contacts	Yes, from $35	Tier-dependent	Tier-dependent	Only on $99 tier
Unlimited seats	Yes, from $35	No	No	No
Native calling	Yes, usage-billed	Yes	Yes	Via integration
Onboarding fee	None	$1,500 at Pro	None	None
Free trial	14 days, no card	Free tier, 2 users	21 days	Yes, no card
Best fit	High-volume outbound	Full GTM platform	Budget full CRM	Google Workspace teams

All prices verified from vendor pricing pages on 2026-09-09 at annual billing rates. Close’s telephony is usage-billed on top, so compare against your expected call volume rather than subscription alone.

Alternatives

HubSpot Sales Hub is the better fit if you need marketing and service alongside sales, though Professional costs $90 a seat plus a $1,500 onboarding fee. Freshsales is cheaper for a full CRM at $39 with no usage billing. Attio suits teams wanting a modern, flexible data model rather than a calling-first workflow. For outbound sequencing specifically, Instantly, lemlist and Smartlead are worth comparing as dedicated tools alongside a cheaper CRM.

Recent changes

Close has restructured into four tiers — Solo at $9, Essentials at $35, Growth at $99 and Scale at $139 on annual billing — with unlimited contacts and unlimited seats now applying from Essentials upward. AI credits are allocated monthly by tier, from 500 on Solo to 2,000 on Scale, powering lead summaries and suggested actions, and Chloe now operates inside workflows from the Growth tier. Scale has gained live call coaching and unlimited call recording retention. Telephony remains usage-based, with a Call Assistant add-on at $50 a month plus per-minute fees, and the 14-day trial continues to include calling and AI credits with no credit card required.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Close cost?

Close costs $9/seat/month for Solo, $35 for Essentials, $99 for Growth and $139 for Scale on annual billing. Monthly billing runs $19, $49, $109 and $149. Unlimited contacts and unlimited seats apply from Essentials upward. Calling and SMS are billed separately by usage.

Does Close include calling costs?

No. Calling and SMS are usage-based on top of the subscription — roughly $0.02 per minute for outbound calls, with phone lines starting around $1 a month. The Call Assistant add-on costs $50 a month plus $0.02 per minute. For high-volume teams this can approach the subscription cost, so measure your consumption during the trial.

Does Close have unlimited seats?

Yes, from the Essentials tier at $35 upward, along with unlimited contacts. That is genuinely unusual — HubSpot, Freshsales and Copper all charge per seat throughout, and Copper caps contacts at 2,500 on its entry plan. For a growing team, this is Close’s strongest commercial argument.

Does Close have a free plan?

No free tier, but the 14-day trial requires no credit card and includes calling and AI credits so you can test real usage. There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans, which effectively extends the evaluation window.

Which Close plan do I need for automation?

Growth at $99 a seat. Essentials at $35 explicitly excludes workflows, so if automated sequences are part of your process you need Growth. That is the single biggest step in Close’s pricing and the one most likely to catch buyers who assume Essentials covers automation.

What is the difference between the power dialer and predictive dialer?

The power dialer, available from Growth, dials your list sequentially and connects you to each answered call. The predictive dialer on Scale dials multiple numbers in parallel and routes connected calls to available reps, which raises throughput significantly for large teams but only makes sense at volume.

Is Close better than HubSpot for sales teams?

For outbound calling teams, yes. Close’s native telephony, dialers and coaching are purpose-built, and unlimited seats from $35 beats HubSpot Professional at $90 plus a $1,500 onboarding fee. HubSpot wins when you need marketing and service on the same customer record — that breadth is something Close does not attempt.

Sources

• Close — official pricing page
• HubSpot — Sales Hub pricing
• Freshworks — Freshsales CRM pricing
• Copper — official pricing page
• Attio — official pricing page

Compiled from public sources; last verified 2026-09-09. Pricing is subject to change — verify with the vendor. Ratings reflect editorial opinion based on documented capabilities, published pricing, and aggregated user reviews. DigiJaws does not accept payment for review placement or rating.