Most CRMs treat the phone as an afterthought — a logged activity you tack on after the fact. Close flips that around. It was built from the ground up for inside sales teams that live on the phone and in their inbox, and it shows in every screen. If your reps are making dozens of calls and sending sequences every day, Close removes an enormous amount of friction. It is not the cheapest CRM, and it is deliberately narrow in focus, but for the right team it is one of the most productive tools you can buy.
What is Close?
Close (formerly Close.io) is a CRM purpose-built for inside and remote sales teams. Its defining trait is that calling, emailing, and SMS are native, first-class features rather than integrations. A rep can open a lead, click to call, log notes, fire off a follow-up email, and move to the next prospect without ever leaving the CRM. It is favored by SaaS startups, agencies, and SMB sales teams that prioritize outbound activity and speed.
Key features
- Built-in calling and Power Dialer — make and receive calls in-app, with call recording, and a power dialer (on higher tiers) that auto-dials lists to maximize talk time.
- Native email and SMS — two-way email sync, templates, and SMS all built in, so outreach lives in one place.
- Sales sequences (Workflows) — automated multi-step cadences mixing calls, emails, and texts to keep prospects engaged.
- Smart Views and search — powerful filtered lead lists that double as call queues and segments.
- Reporting and activity metrics — track calls, emails, opportunities, and team performance with clear dashboards.
- Integrations and API — connects to common tools and offers a robust API for custom workflows.
Pricing
Close is priced per user per month across several tiers (such as Base, Professional, and Enterprise), with annual billing offering a discount over monthly. Entry tiers cover core CRM, email, and calling, while the power dialer, predictive dialer, advanced reporting, and higher limits unlock on the upper plans. There is a free trial but no permanent free plan. Calling and SMS usage are billed separately as telephony credits on top of the subscription, which is normal for a calling-first CRM but worth factoring into the total cost. Overall it sits in the mid-to-upper price range, justified by the bundled communication tools.
Pros and cons
The big strengths are speed and the native dialer — high-volume teams report meaningful productivity gains, and the sequences keep cadences disciplined. The interface is fast and purpose-built, and setup is quick. The trade-offs: Close is narrowly focused on outbound sales, so it lacks the marketing automation, customer service, and deep customization of broader platforms. It is also pricier than entry-level CRMs, and the calling credits add to the bill. Teams that do not do much calling will not get full value from it.
The verdict
Close is one of the best CRMs available for inside and outbound sales teams that live on the phone. If call volume and outreach speed are central to how you sell, the built-in dialer and sequences pay for themselves quickly. If your sales motion is low-touch or marketing-led, or you need an all-in-one business platform, this focused tool may be more than you need — but for its target buyer, Close is excellent.
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