The Close Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Close in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Close
The Insider’s Guide
Sales CRM with built-in calling, SMS, email and an AI teammate
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among CRM tools, read from Close’s own pages.
Made by Elastic Inc · checked Oct 4, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Close’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Close’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 4, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 19 of the 48 other CRM tools we grade
Close is a CRM for sales teams that puts calling, SMS and email in the same place as leads and pipelines, so outreach is logged without a separate dialer. Its AI teammate, Chloe, can call and qualify leads, draft follow-ups and keep records updated, drawing on monthly AI credits. Higher plans add automated workflows and power and predictive dialers.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Close, taken from its own pages and our grades.
No store rating on record, and this is a full sales CRM: leads, pipelines, phone numbers to buy, mailboxes to connect and credits to watch.
- 1
Best for sales teams that live on the phone
Close is a sales CRM with calling, texting and email built in and logged, plus an AI teammate called Chloe that can call and qualify leads.
- 2
Paid plans start at $9 a month for each person
As its pricing page puts it: $9 per user / month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly).
- 3
You can try it first
14-day free trial, no credit card required
- 4
It runs on 5 platforms
Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.
- 5
Built-in calling and SMS
Calls and texts are made from the CRM and logged on the lead. Usage is billed at cost on top of the plan: most outbound calls are about $0.02 a minute and phone numbers start at about $1 a month.
- 6
Chloe, the AI teammate
Chloe calls and qualifies leads, books meetings and drafts follow-ups. Each plan includes monthly AI credits, from 500 on Solo to 2,000 per user on Scale, which do not roll over.
- 7
Email and automated workflows
Email is sent and tracked from Close alongside calls and texts. Growth and Scale add automated workflows, which Chloe can take part in, and bulk email sending.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 19 of 48
That is against the other CRM tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Close you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Close at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial, from $9 per user / month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Elastic Inc, since 2013
- Category
- CRM Software
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for sales teams that live on the phone
Close is a sales CRM with calling, texting and email built in and logged, plus an AI teammate called Chloe that can call and qualify leads. Solo is $9 a month but stops at one user and 10,000 leads. Teams pay $35 a user, workflows and the power dialer need Growth at $99, calls and texts are billed on top, and there's no free plan.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D | Solo is $9 a month on yearly billing, but it's one user, 10,000 leads and no workflows. A team starts on Essentials at $35, above the dearer quarter of CRMs, and workflows and the power dialer wait for Growth at $99, four times the $24 middle. Calls, texts and numbers are billed by usage on top. |
| Free plan and trial | C | No free plan. The 14-day trial needs no card, which is the ordinary arrangement here, and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee once you've paid. Still a trial and then a bill. |
| Features | B | Calling, SMS and email inside the CRM, pipelines, reports, automated workflows, power and predictive dialers, and an AI teammate that calls leads, books meetings and drafts follow-ups. That covers the sales-floor job, but call transcripts are a $50 a month add-on, and the dialers need the desktop app. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record, and this is a full sales CRM: leads, pipelines, phone numbers to buy, mailboxes to connect and credits to watch. Having the dialer, texts and email in one place does spare you wiring up a second tool. |
| Platforms and integrations | A | Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with Gmail, Microsoft 365, Zoom, Calendly, Zapier, HubSpot and WhatsApp connected and a documented API. The phone app can't run the dialers and doesn't show every report. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Close is for
- Fits if your team spends the day calling, texting and emailing leads
- Works for a solo seller with under 10,000 leads who wants calling in a $9 CRM
Who it is not for
- Pricey if you need automated workflows or the power dialer, which start on Growth at $99 a user
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there's a 14-day trial and then a paid subscription
- Not for you if you want a fixed bill, because calls, texts and numbers are charged by usage
- Tight if you're on Solo: 1 user, 10,000 leads, no workflows and no email open tracking
- Watch out: call transcripts are a $50 a month add-on, and the dialers don't run on the phone app
Good to know
Good for
- Sales teams that spend most of the day calling, texting and emailing leads
- Solo sellers who want a low-cost CRM with calling built in
- Teams that want an AI agent to call and qualify leads for them
Worth knowing
- There is no free plan; the 14-day trial is followed by a paid subscription.
- Calling, SMS and phone numbers are billed by usage on top of the per-user price.
- Workflows and the power dialer need Growth; the predictive dialer and role-based permissions need Scale.
- Solo is limited to 1 user and 10,000 leads, and does not include email open tracking.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$9
A month to start, for each person
Close is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $9 per user / month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly).
Calls, texts and numbers are billed by usage on top.
Solo
$9
per user / month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
Core CRM for a single user and up to 10,000 leads, with 500 AI credits a month. Workflows are not included.
Essentials
$35
per user / month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
Unlimited contacts and leads, team collaboration, built-in forms, email, calling and SMS, and 1,000 AI credits per user a month.
Growth
$99
per user / month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly)
Adds automated workflows, Chloe in workflows, the power dialer, custom activities and bulk email, with 1,500 AI credits per user a month.
Scale
$139
per user / month, billed annually ($149 billed monthly)
Adds role-based permissions, lead visibility rules, the predictive dialer, live call coaching and unlimited call recording retention.
Trying it first
14-day free trial, no credit card required
Read from close.com on Oct 4, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Lower per-user price with annual billing
Billed annually, Solo is $9 per user a month instead of $19, Essentials $35 instead of $49, Growth $99 instead of $109 and Scale $139 instead of $149.
Stated on close.comOther savings
Discounts for 10+ seats on a 12-month term
Close's help center says it offers discounts to customers with 10 or more seats who commit for 12 months or longer. The amount is not published; it is quoted by Close's team.
Stated on help.close.comOther savings
30-day money-back guarantee
The pricing page promises a full refund within 30 days, no questions asked, in addition to the free trial.
Stated on close.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
5
Places it runs: Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android
Sales CRM with built-in calling, SMS, email and an AI teammate. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, transcription, sales pipeline, workflow automation.
The phone app can't run the dialers and doesn't show every report.
- Built-in calling and SMS
- Calls and texts are made from the CRM and logged on the lead. Usage is billed at cost on top of the plan: most outbound calls are about $0.02 a minute and phone numbers start at about $1 a month.
- Chloe, the AI teammate
- Chloe calls and qualifies leads, books meetings and drafts follow-ups. Each plan includes monthly AI credits, from 500 on Solo to 2,000 per user on Scale, which do not roll over.
- Email and automated workflows
- Email is sent and tracked from Close alongside calls and texts. Growth and Scale add automated workflows, which Chloe can take part in, and bulk email sending.
- Power and predictive dialers
- Growth includes a power dialer and Scale a predictive dialer for working through call lists. Both need the desktop version; the mobile app cannot run them.
- Pipelines and reporting
- Opportunities are tracked through pipelines next to the calls, emails and texts behind them, with reports on leads and activity. Not every report is available in the mobile app.
- Call Assistant add-on
- Transcribes and summarizes voicemails and recorded calls longer than 30 seconds. It costs $50 a month per organization plus $0.02 per transcribed minute.
Where it runs
- Web
- macOS
- Windows
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Gmail
- Microsoft 365
- Zoom
- Calendly
- Zapier
- HubSpot
- Google Calendar
Who makes Close
Close is made by Elastic Inc, which trades as Close and grew out of ElasticSales, an outsourced sales team its founders ran after Y Combinator. It earns money from subscriptions to the CRM and describes itself as bootstrapped, profitable and customer-funded.
- Founded
- 2013close.com
- Based
- Austin, Texas, with a 100% remote teamclose.com
- Ownership
- Privately held. Privately held and run by its founders: its About page calls it profitable and customer-funded, and its job postings call it bootstrapped. Its pages name no parent company.close.com
- Funding
- Bootstrapped: its job postings say it is bootstrapped and profitable, and its About page calls it profitable and customer-funded. The same page says its founders went through Y Combinator before starting it.jobs.ashbyhq.comclose.com
- Team
- 120 employees, according to its About pageclose.com
- Founders and leaders
- Hiring
- 6 open roles, all remote and limited to the USA: 5 in engineering and 1 in datajobs.ashbyhq.com
- Partner program
- One partner program for agencies, consultants, affiliates, technology companies and investors: 30% commission on a referred customer's first-year subscription revenue, tracked by referral link. It says lifetime earnings are available.close.com
- Lately
- New Schedule Meeting skill for Voice Agents · Oct 6, 2026
- Template Creation from Email/SMS · Oct 6, 2026
- Ask Chloe a question from the command palette · Sep 22, 2026
- Improved navigation · Sep 21, 2026
Read on Oct 7, 2026 from the company’s own pages and from news reports. What is not stated there is left out.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
19/48
Other CRM tools it is graded above
Close's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 19 of the 48 other CRM tools we grade, and level with 15.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (A, above 42 of 48) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $9 a month for each person, against a middle price of $24 for the category: 3 of the 46 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 49 CRM tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Close’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 48
- CFree plan and trialAbove 4 of 48
- BFeaturesAbove 18 of 48
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 48
- APlatforms and integrationsAbove 42 of 48
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 47 CRM tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Close is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Close you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $108 a year.
What you could make
- Sales pipeline: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- Speech turned into text you can trust.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Close’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Pipedrive, HubSpot, Attio, folk and Zoho CRM
The 5 tools Close is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.2GPA
Pipedrive
Free trial · from $14/mo
Sales CRM organized around visual deal pipelines.
- Only Close lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Pipedrive also covers kanban boards.
- 3.2GPA
HubSpot
Free plan · from $20/mo
Free CRM at the center of a marketing, sales and service suite.
- HubSpot has a free plan. Close does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Close lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Only HubSpot lists a browser extension.
- 2.4GPA
Attio
Free plan · from $35/mo
CRM with a customizable data model, workflows and AI agents.
- Attio has a free plan. Close does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Close lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Only Attio lists a browser extension.
- 2.2GPA
folk
Free trial · from $24/mo
CRM that pulls contacts from LinkedIn, email and WhatsApp.
- Only folk lists a browser extension.
- Close also covers transcription.
- 2.6GPA
Zoho CRM
Free plan · from $14/mo
Sales CRM with a free edition, process automation and Zia AI.
- Zoho CRM has a free plan. Close does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Close lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Close also covers transcription.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
13
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Close free?
No, Close is a paid product, but you can try it first. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
How much does Close cost?
Close lists 4 plans. Solo: $9 per user / month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly).
What platforms does Close work on?
Close is available on Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.
Does Close offer any discounts?
Close publicly lists the following: Lower per-user price with annual billing; Discounts for 10+ seats on a 12-month term; 30-day money-back guarantee.
Does Close have a Linux app?
No Linux app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 4, 2026. Close is listed for Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.
Is Close open source?
Close is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 4, 2026.
Does Close have an API?
Yes. Close offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Close integrate with?
Close's listing names Gmail, Microsoft 365, Zoom, Calendly, Zapier, HubSpot, Google Calendar and WhatsApp.
Who makes Close?
Close is made by a company of the same name. Privately held and run by its founders: its About page calls it profitable and customer-funded, and its job postings call it bootstrapped.
What are the alternatives to Close?
The closest alternatives to Close in our directory are Pipedrive, HubSpot, Attio, folk and Zoho CRM.
How does Close compare with other CRM tools?
Close's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 19 of the 48 other CRM tools we grade, and level with 15.
Is Close good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Close D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $9 a month for each person, against a middle price of $24 for the category: 3 of the 46 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Close?
To replace Close you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Close’s own pages on Oct 4, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Close's own pages on 4 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-10-01.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Elastic Inc. Prices change, so check close.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Close, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/close
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Close: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 4, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/close
Know someone choosing between CRM tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/close/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded CRM tools after Close, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- CRM Software Insider's GuideEvery one of the 49 CRM tools we grade, compared
- HubSpot Insider's GuideFree CRM at the center of a marketing, sales and service suite3.2 GPA
- Bigin by Zoho CRM Insider's GuidePipeline-based CRM from Zoho for small businesses2.8 GPA
- Bitrix24 Insider's GuideFlat-priced CRM with tasks, chat, video calls and a site builder2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Close’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Close is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Elastic Inc. Prices and plans change: check close.com before you buy.