Cleverly vs Closely (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Closely grades higher than Cleverly: 2.4 against 1.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Cleverly grades higher on ease of use. Closely grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cleverly
Done-for-you LinkedIn and cold email lead generation agency
Closely
LinkedIn and email outreach automation with AI-written messages
Which one is for you
Pick Cleverly if
- Fits if you want someone else to run outreach and you have the monthly budget
- Works for a founder with no time to learn a sequencing tool
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want software you control, as this is a service
- Watch out: no number of leads is guaranteed, and the FAQ says most clients see 20 to 40 a month
- Pricey if you're small: $397 a month is where it starts
- Skip it if you need the cold email price, as only a LinkedIn range is published
Pick Closely if
- Fits if most of your prospecting happens on LinkedIn and you want email steps alongside
- Works for agencies reselling outreach under their own logo and domain
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you need to find emails on the cheapest plan, as Starter has no credits
- Skip it if you want time to change your mind, as refunds are only within 2 days of a first purchase
- Pricey if you pay month to month, as Starter is $65 against $39 billed annually
- Watch out: LinkedIn steps run on your own LinkedIn account, within daily limits
- Watch out: the trial's length isn't stated, and site discounts need a promo code at checkout
How we grade them
| 1.2GPACleverlyWeak | 2.4GPACloselyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$397 to $997 a month for LinkedIn lead generation, paid to staff who run your campaigns. That's well above the $39 software middle, though a different kind of thing. | CStarter is $39 a month for one LinkedIn account and inbox billed annually, or $65 month to month. That's the ordinary middle of what outreach tools here charge. It comes with no monthly credits; Growth at $95 covers 3 accounts and 3,000 credits. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no plan and no trial, since you pay a monthly fee for the agency work. | CNo free plan, but every plan has a free trial. Its length isn't stated and neither is a card, so it sits at the ordinary grade. After you pay, refunds are only on request within 2 days of a first purchase. |
| Features | CLinkedIn lead generation, cold email outreach and appointment setting, done by Cleverly's people. The FAQ says no number of leads is guaranteed. | BThe whole job: LinkedIn requests, visits, messages and InMails mixed with email steps in one conditional sequence, A/B tests, unlimited email accounts, a waterfall email and phone finder, AI lead scoring and one inbox for replies. Finding contacts uses credits Starter lacks. |
| Ease of use | BNothing to install or set up on your side, since the agency runs the campaigns. | CNo App Store rating on record. You connect your own LinkedIn account and inboxes and work inside daily limits, and the sequence builder branches on conditions, so there's some setting up before the first campaign goes out. |
| Platforms and integrations | FThere's no product to run or connect: it's a service, with no apps or integrations on record. | BWeb and a browser extension, with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive and GoHighLevel sync, and Gmail, Outlook or SMTP for sending. No API on record, and no phone or desktop app. |
| Best for | hiring out LinkedIn and cold email outreach | LinkedIn-first outreach with email steps |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Cleverly and Closely. How we grade
Price against what you get
Cleverly starts at $397 a month and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Closely starts at $39 a month and scores 2.7.
Closely scores higher and starts $358 a month lower. Of the other cold outreach tools on the chart, 66 score higher than Cleverly for less, and 1 scores higher than Closely for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Cleverly also covers marketing automation.
- Closely also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| Cleverly | Closely | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $397 per month and up (LinkedIn lead generation) | $39 per month for 1 LinkedIn account, billed annually ($65 monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial offered on every plan; its length is not stated |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Lead Generation, Inc. | Esterson Limited |
| Price read from | cleverly.co | closelyhq.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cleverly
- It is a service, not software: the price covers Cleverly staff running campaigns.
- Only a price range for LinkedIn lead generation is published; the cold email per-lead price and other services are not shown as figures.
- The FAQ says no number of leads is guaranteed, and that most clients see 20 to 40 new leads a month.
- Cold email is sold month to month with no contracts, according to the FAQ.
Closely
- Starter includes no monthly credits, so finding emails, phone numbers or AI personalization starts on Growth or with credits bought separately.
- LinkedIn steps run on your own LinkedIn account, which is connected to Closely and works within daily limits.
- Payments are non-refundable except for a request within 2 days of a first purchase, or for service problems at Closely's discretion.
- Discounts shown on the site need a promo code at checkout; the prices listed here are without them.
Key features
Cleverly
- LinkedIn lead generation
- Connection requests followed by a 3-touch drip sequence, with a nurture campaign for people who have not replied.
- Cold email outreach
- A managed service that the site says books qualified B2B meetings each month, sold per meeting-ready lead on a month-to-month basis.
- Appointment setting
- A dedicated response handler takes over replies for clients on the appointment setting plan.
- Other services
- Cold calling lead generation, outsourced SDRs, LinkedIn recruiting and white-label lead generation are listed on the site.
Closely
- LinkedIn automation
- Sequences of connection requests, profile visits, messages and InMails with daily limits, delays and warm-up, each LinkedIn account on its own residential IP.
- Multichannel campaigns
- A conditional sequence builder mixes LinkedIn and email steps, with unlimited email accounts over Gmail, Outlook or SMTP and A/B tests on copy.
- Email and phone finder
- Finds work emails and phone numbers by checking sources in turn until one returns a valid result, and pulls leads from Sales Navigator, posts and events.
- AI agents
- Score leads against your ideal customer profile, research companies on the web for hiring, funding and tech stack, and write personalized messages.
- Unified inbox and CRM sync
- LinkedIn messages, InMails and email replies land in one inbox with tags and templates, and sync to HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive or GoHighLevel.
- White label
- Every plan can run under an agency's own logo, colors and domain, with branded reports and a client portal at no setup fee.
Plans
Cleverly
LinkedIn Lead Generation$397
per month and up
The FAQ gives a range of $397 to $997 a month depending on campaign needs, with discounts for team plans of 3 or more users.
Closely
Starter$39
per month for 1 LinkedIn account, billed annually ($65 monthly)
1 sender (a LinkedIn account and an email inbox), unlimited email accounts and campaigns, LinkedIn and email sequences and white label. No monthly credits.
Growth$95
per month for 3 LinkedIn accounts, billed annually ($159 monthly)
3 senders and 3,000 credits a month, enough for about 750 emails, 150 phone numbers or 1,500 AI personalizations.
Essential$155
per month for 5 LinkedIn accounts, billed annually ($259 monthly)
5 senders and 5,000 credits a month, enough for about 1,250 emails, 250 phone numbers or 2,500 AI personalizations.
Custom$1,499
per month for unlimited LinkedIn accounts, billed monthly
A calculator prices any number of LinkedIn accounts and credits; from 30 accounts up, the price is a flat $1,499 a month however many seats an agency runs.
Ways to pay less
Cleverly
No public discounts listed.
Closely
- Annual discount
40% off with annual billing
Closely's pricing page marks annual billing 40% off: Starter is $39 a month ($468 a year) against $65 billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cleverly or Closely?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Closely is cheaper to start with: $39 a month, against $397 a month for Cleverly. Cleverly starts at $397 per month and up (LinkedIn lead generation), and Closely starts at $39 per month for 1 LinkedIn account, billed annually ($65 monthly).
Which has a free plan, Cleverly or Closely?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Cleverly nor Closely has a free plan. Closely has a free trial.
Which platforms do Cleverly and Closely run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Closely lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.