Close CRM Competitors: Which Alternative Is Right For You?

Close (formerly Close.io) is built for sales-driven teams that love in-app calling and sequences.

But as businesses scale, many find gaps: lack of deep lead scoring, higher per-seat pricing, or limited marketing automation.

That’s where Close CRM alternatives come in.

In this guide, we’ll compare the best options from affordable outreach-first tools to enterprise-grade CRMs.

In this blog, we will explore some of these alternatives in detail.

You’ll see quick picks, a feature table, and concise pros and cons for each option so you can decide faster.

So, let’s get started.

TL;DR – Best Close CRM alternatives

The best Close CRM alternatives are SmartReach.io (best for outreach automation), Freshsales (best for lead scoring), and Salesforce Sales Cloud (best for enterprise). Compare pricing, features, and integrations below to pick the right fit.

How we evaluated Close CRM alternatives

We assessed each platform based on:

• Pricing and value per user
• Dialer and calling functionality
• Automation and sequencing capabilities
• AI features and lead scoring
• Integration ecosystem (email, calendar, marketing tools)
• User reviews from G2 and Capterra (verified feedback)
• Compliance and data security features

Pricing and features are verified as of this date.

8 Best Close CRM alternatives

Here are some of the top Close CRM alternatives discussed in detail:

#1. SmartReach.io

• G2 Rating: 4.7
• Capterra Rating: 4.8

Features

• Syncing your complete outreach activities: This feature ensures all your interactions with potential customers (emails, calls, social media messages, etc.) are automatically logged and stored within your pre-sales CRM. This creates a comprehensive record of your outreach efforts.

• Prospect-feed: Prospect feed provides real-time updates on email recipients, indicating who opened emails, replied, and the frequency of email opens.

• Duplicate prospect management: It automatically identifies and merges duplicate profiles, ensuring that each prospect is uniquely represented and preventing redundancy in outreach efforts. This feature streamlines the process of managing contacts, saving time and ensuring accurate communication with prospects.

• Groups & tags:  You have the option to categorize your prospects according to their responses or engagement with your emails for subsequent actions within SmartReach.

• Prospect category activity: A prospect category is a label that you can assign to a prospect based on the response of the prospect to your email campaigns.

• Reply sentiments: This feature analyzes the sentiment (positive, negative, neutral) of your prospect’s replies to your outreach messages. This can be valuable for understanding their level of interest and tailoring your future communication accordingly.

• Map users from CRM to SmartReach users: This feature allows you to link your existing CRM user data (sales reps, managers, etc.) with the user data in your SmartReach platform (an outreach automation tool, perhaps). This streamlines workflows and ensures everyone is on the same page. SmartReach provides two-way sync with CRMs such as Hubspot, Zoho, Pipedrive & Salesforce.

Pros of SmartReach.io

Users appreciate the platform’s user-friendly interface, requiring minimal training to navigate effectively.

Importing prospect lists is seamless, whether from CSV uploads, bi-directional CRM data, or manual entries, ensuring flexibility in data sourcing. 

Consolidate all outreach activities within a single platform for enhanced organization and productivity. Detailed reports on team activity, deal progression, and sequence performance facilitate informed decision-making. SmartReach.io prioritizes data security and compliance, adhering to industry standards for managing sensitive information securely. 

Internal notes on prospects aid in seamless team collaboration and handoff. Integration with third-party tools through Zapier automates workflows, streamlining processes further. With 24/6 customer support, users receive prompt and knowledgeable assistance, ensuring effective problem-solving.

Cons of SmartReach.io

At present, SmartReach.io is actively developing new CRM features. Given the extensive range of features available, users may need to allocate some time to fully grasp and utilize the platform effectively.

Pricing of SmartReach.io

SmartReach.io’s CRM plans starts at $29 per month which comes with their email outreach, sales engagement, and agency package.

 Users can contact up to 500,000 prospects per month at a minimal amount of $499 per month. Those who are looking for calling-related solutions can get unlimited calling seats at just $599 per month.

Check out different pricing plans offered by SmartReach.

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#2. Salesmate 

• G2 rating: 4.6 
• Capterra rating : 4.7 

Features 

• Sales Pipeline Management: Salesmate provides clear visualization and management of sales pipelines with customizable stages and automation, making it easier to track deals and boost conversion rates. 
• Communication Management: Facilitates organized and efficient tracking of customer interactions across multiple channels—phone, text, email, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram—ensuring strong and consistent relationships. 
• Automation: Simplifies repetitive business workflows and playbooks, saving time and increasing operational efficiency across the board. 
• Marketing Campaigns: Recently added tools for managing and tracking marketing efforts, allowing businesses to effectively nurture leads and engage with their audience. 
• Support Features: With the addition of ticket management and SLA tracking, Salesmate now also supports customer service operations, ensuring timely, effective support. 
• Sandy AI: Introduced in 2024, Sandy AI is a conversational AI tool designed to enhance customer support and automate a variety of tasks using Generic AI. It enables businesses to provide real-time, AI-driven support while streamlining operations. 
• Mobile Access and Integrations: Salesmate offers mobile apps and integrates with a wide range of popular business tools, enhancing both accessibility and functionality. 

Pros of Salesmate

• User-friendly Interface: Easy to navigate, making it accessible for users with varying levels of technical expertise. 
• Customizability: Highly customizable to fit different sales processes and business needs. 
• Comprehensive Features: Offers a wide range of features, from automation to communication tools, in a single platform. 
• Excellent Customer Support: Provides prompt and helpful support through live chat, email, and phone. 
• Mobile App: Access and manage your sales activities on the go with a robust mobile application. 

Cons of Salesmate

Salesmate CRM does not offer a free forever plan, only providing a 15-day free trial for potential users to explore the platform. 

Due to its in-built automation capabilities, Salesmate CRM has fewer third-party integrations compared to other CRMs, which may limit its flexibility for some businesses. 

Pricing of Salesmate

Salesmate CRM offers a straightforward pricing model: 

• Basic Plan: $23 per user/month (billed annually)  
• Pro Plan: $39 per user/month (billed annually) 
• Business Plan: $63 per user/month (billed annually) 
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for larger teams with advanced needs 

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#3. Freshsales (by Freshworks)

• G2: 4.5 
• Capterra: 4.5

Features

• Context: This feature revolutionizes how sales teams interact with customers by offering a comprehensive view of their entire journey. 

It consolidates crucial information such as contact details, interaction history, engagement preferences, and deal/order history into one accessible platform. 

This empowers sales teams to personalize their selling approach, enhance collaboration among team members, expedite deal cycles, and ultimately, improve the overall customer experience. 

With Freshsales’ Customer 360, sales teams can anticipate customer needs more effectively, leading to increased sales success and greater customer satisfaction.

• Channels: Freshworks offers a variety of channels to connect with your prospects, such as, email, chats, messenger, SMS integration, Zoom. Enhance customer connections by meeting them where they are. With this CRM, engage seamlessly on prospects’ preferred channel, ensuring every interaction is personalized and relevant. 

• Automation: Workflows streamline sales processes by automating tasks through customizable triggers. Sales Sequences facilitate dynamic outreach campaigns, allowing for tailored follow-up management. Territory Management empowers you to segment and prioritize prospects effectively based on predefined criteria. 

Utilize auto-profile Enrichment to gain valuable insights into prospects with automatically filled data from social and public sources. Finally, with IntelliAssign, ensure seamless conversation routing to the right expert or team based on various factors, optimizing customer service and workflow efficiency.

Deal management: Optimize your sales process with our versatile features. Customize pipelines, track deal progress with weighted assessments, and streamline invoicing with CPQ. Set and monitor activity goals, manage product inventory, integrate with Slack and different tools like employee time off tracker for seamless collaboration. for seamless collaboration.

Sales intelligence: Enhance your sales strategy with advanced AI-driven features. Prioritize leads with Contact Scoring, anticipate deal outcomes with Deal Insights, and optimize workflow with Next Best Action suggestions. Forecast sales performance, monitor key metrics, and identify areas for improvement using Reports and Dashboards. Keep track of team performance and sales cycle metrics with detailed Sales Reports.

Besides, freshworks has features like customization, governance, mobile, and integration making it a formidable competitor in this segment. 

Pros of Freshsales

Freshsales’ mobile app keeps your sales team connected on the go, providing access to crucial information such as sales data, lead management, and contact details, along with features for voice notes, calls, emails, and document scanning. 

Agents can download data for offline use and check in to locations for streamlined activity monitoring. Meanwhile, Freshdesk offers customizable portals for customers and agents, allowing you to reflect your brand’s identity accurately. 

Define permissions, create custom reports, and track performance metrics effortlessly to ensure optimal efficiency and effectiveness across your team

Cons of Freshsales

Freshworks offers support through various channels, but users have expressed dissatisfaction with the effectiveness, citing automatic and pre-populated responses. However, they do provide tutorials and videos for system implementation and issue resolution. 

In terms of integrations, Freshworks has limitations; for instance, data flow from Freshdesk to Freshsales is possible, but not vice versa. Additionally, the platform offers fewer third-party app integrations compared to competitors.

Pricing of Freshsales

The CRM of freshworks pricing comes at 3 packages –

1. Freshsales starting at Rs 749 /user/month, billed annually
2. Freshsales suite starting at Rs 749 /user/month with 500 marketing contacts, billed annually
3. Freshmarketers plan starts at Rs 1,249 for enterprise /month, with 500 marketing contacts, billed annually

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#4. Salesforce Sales Cloud

• G2 rating: 4.8
• Capterra rating: 4.4

Features

The features are segregated into ‘efficiency’, ‘intelligence’ (analytics and AI), and ‘automation’.

• Efficiency: Efficiency in sales means engaging prospects and completing processes virtually, with every interaction logged in the CRM for comprehensive insights. 

Core SFA manages leads and opportunities from initial contact to purchase, while channel sales facilitates lead sharing with partner networks. Sales bots expedite customer queries and route them effectively, CPQ aids in creating accurate quotes for complex products, and billing automates invoicing and collections seamlessly.

• Intelligence: Sales data visualization offers insights that might otherwise be overlooked, aiding sales managers in decision-making. 

Forecasting predicts future sales and identifies areas needing attention, while pipeline inspection provides detailed insights into deal progress. Revenue Intelligence dashboards allow flexible data analysis, and Salesforce Einstein AI technology enhances various aspects of sales, from lead scoring to relationship insights. 

Salesforce Inbox integrates email with customer data, while Activity 360 detects sentiments and prompts action, and Recommended Connections fosters collaboration within the sales team.

• Automation: Automated processes streamline sales operations by reducing manual tasks and optimizing productivity. 

Sales Engagement facilitates efficient outreach management, allowing for automated cadences triggered by various events like lead assignment or opportunity stage changes. 

Salesforce Inbox integrates email with customer data for smarter selling, while Seller Enablement provides outcome-based coaching within Salesforce workflows. 

Sales Planning offers a comprehensive command center for territory management, quota allocation, and data analysis. 

Territory planning tools optimize sales territories, and Salesforce Maps offers location intelligence for field sales teams. 

Subscription management enables customers to manage their products/services independently, and Slack collaboration enhances team communication and real-time collaboration on Salesforce data through the Sales Cloud for Slack App, Slack Huddles, and Slack Canvases.

Pros of Salesforce

Salesforce continues to excel as a preferred CRM application for business growth, primarily due to its exceptional features and extensive integration options with third-party tools and add-ons. Its ability to keep businesses updated with a modern and innovative system is invaluable. 

The user-friendly interface and flexibility to add new functionalities tailored to business needs are remarkable aspects of Salesforce. 

The software’s ease of use is truly impressive. The capacity to manage vast amounts of information with Salesforce is unparalleled, making it an indispensable tool. 

Cons of Salesforce

Salesforce presents significant challenges with its non-intuitive interface and poor user experience, making it difficult and cumbersome to navigate. 

Its high cost adds to the frustration, coupled with complexities in usability and management. Automation glitches occasionally result in inaccurate data, necessitating frequent troubleshooting to rectify errors. 

Moreover, the platform lacks automatic data saving functionality, posing a risk of losing valuable work. Additionally, the built-in email message creation feature is unreliable, often sending unformatted and embarrassing messages randomly. If you’re dealing with these issues, you may want to explore Salesforce alternatives that offer more intuitive interfaces, better reliability, and lower costs to streamline your operations effectively.

Pricing of Salesforce

The Salesforce pricing plan starts at $25 for the Starter Suite for a single user. 

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#5. HubSpot Sales Hub

• G2 rating: 4.4
• Capterra rating: 4.5

Features

Sales Hub Professional offers a comprehensive array of features tailored to streamline sales processes and enhance productivity. 

From simple automation to advanced functionalities like sequences for automated follow-up emails and task creation, the platform empowers users to engage prospects effectively. 

With features such as eSignature for quick and digital document signing and workflow extensions to trigger actions automatically, sales teams can operate efficiently and seamlessly. 

Additionally, Professional enables integration with third-party applications like Salesforce and Slack, ensuring smooth collaboration and data synchronization. 

Custom reporting, 1:1 video creation, and calculated properties further augment sales strategies, providing valuable insights and enhancing customization. 

With access to live chat, conversational bots, and conversation routing, Professional equips users with the tools needed to engage with prospects efficiently and deliver exceptional sales experiences.

Pros of Hubspot

HubSpot stands out as a comprehensive solution, encompassing marketing, sales, and customer support functionalities all within one platform. 

With its free CRM software and robust features for inbound marketing automation, email marketing, social media management, and customer service tools, HubSpot offers an all-encompassing solution for businesses. 

Its user-friendly interface and versatility extend to serving as a CMS for content marketing and website building. 

Moreover, HubSpot’s marketing automation tools streamline tasks like email campaigns and social media marketing, providing businesses with automated insights to drive revenue-generating campaigns. 

The integrated CMS eliminates the need for separate content management tools, allowing businesses to easily attract customers with diverse templates and personalized content. 

Additionally, the scalability of HubSpot’s software ensures that businesses can adapt and grow without constraints, seamlessly expanding their customer base and revenue while maintaining agility and flexibility.

Cons of Hubspot

HubSpot’s pricing can quickly become a significant concern for businesses, especially those on tighter budgets. 

While the initial offerings may seem affordable, such as the free CRM and the Starter plan at $50 per month, the limitations become apparent as your business grows. 

The free version offers only basic features, and upgrading to accommodate more contacts can lead to substantial cost increases. For example, the Professional plan, necessary for adding another 1,000 contacts, jumps to $800 per month. 

Scaling further to the Enterprise plan at $3,200 per month may still only provide a maximum of 10,000 contacts, necessitating additional expenses as your contact list expands. 

This pricing model, characterized by significant jumps in cost with each upgrade, may not be sustainable for many businesses. While HubSpot offers comprehensive features, its pricing structure can pose challenges, prompting dissatisfaction among users seeking more practical and affordable solutions.

Pricing of Hubspot

HubSpot offers its pricing under 2 major categories: 

1. Business & enterprises starting at $800 per month for three seats
2. Individuals & small teams have a free plan, and their paid plan starts at $15 per month per seat

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#6. Zoho CRM

• G2 rating: 4.1
• Capterra rating : 4.3

Features

• Salesforce automation: Automate repetitive tasks across sales, marketing, and support functions to free up valuable time for focusing on customer interactions. 

Streamline your processes with optimized workflows to minimize manual data entry, reduce redundancies, and accelerate overall efficiency. 

Efficiently capture leads, automate lead scoring, and identify high-converting prospects, equipped with detailed contact information for timely follow-ups. 

Maximize deal closure rates by tracking deal stages and capitalizing on opportunities at the opportune moment. 

Gain real-time insights into customer behavior, engage with them seamlessly across various channels, and foster robust relationships. Simplify routine tasks like lead follow-ups and data updates by leveraging efficient workflows for enhanced productivity.

• Process management: Incorporate your offline sales workflows seamlessly into your CRM system to ensure consistency and adherence by all sales representatives throughout the process. Establish guidelines within your CRM that align with your actual sales procedures. 

Automatically assign leads to the appropriate sales representative, validate sales data, and authorize discounts based on predetermined criteria. Maintain data integrity within your CRM by implementing a systematic approach for reviewing incoming information, enabling team members to approve or reject entries with relevant comments based on their quality.

• Journey orchestration: Utilize CommandCenter to craft tailored customer journeys tailored to individual preferences. Gain real-time visibility into customer journeys through intuitive maps, allowing for informed orchestration of interactions. 

UtilizeLeverage customer insights to enhance the coherence and effectiveness of these journeys. Seamlessly coordinate efforts across departments and third-party applications to deliver a unified brand experience. 

Monitor the progression of each prospect or customer journey to stay informed about their path. Utilize comprehensive reports to pinpoint bottlenecks or inefficiencies across various stages and enact enhancements accordingly.

Besides, Zoho CRM comes with a series of various other features such as omnichannel, analytics, sales enablement, performance management, predictive sales and intelligence to offer its customers. 

Pros of Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM stands out for several reasons. Firstly, it offers a free plan that, while somewhat limited, still provides considerable value. 

All plans, including the free one, offer features like contact list creation, lead generation with drag-and-drop forms, customization, workflow automation, and email marketing. Additionally, its interface is user-friendly and easy to navigate, ensuring a smooth learning curve for new users. 

Integration with other Zoho apps is available even on the free plan, with paid plans unlocking access to a wide range of additional apps. 

The mobile app enhances accessibility, allowing users to manage contacts, leads, notes, and deals on the go, as well as facilitating direct calls to leads and clients from the app. 

Zoho’s AI tool, Zia, provides more than just predictive analysis, offering features like dictation, data retrieval, and anomaly detection based on sales trends, albeit limited to top-tier plans. 

The AI predictions are particularly useful for determining the best times to contact clients and prospects and automatically capturing information from emails. 

Additionally, Zoho CRM offers a generous refund policy, allowing users 30 days to request a full refund for monthly services (45 days for annual subscribers) and a five-day buffer period after the renewal date for cancellations.

Cons of Zoho CRM

Some aspects of Zoho CRM may be perceived as less favorable, particularly for users on lower-tier plans. For instance, the free plan imposes restrictions on the number of users allowed, limiting it to just three users.

Additionally, certain advanced features, such as AI tools, are only accessible with higher-priced plans. Users on lower plans may also encounter limitations in terms of available integrations with other apps. 

Furthermore, the free plan lacks features like sales forecasting, calendar booking, and extensive customization options, such as the ability to create custom list views beyond a certain limit. 

While Zoho CRM generally receives positive feedback for its user-friendly interface, there are occasional criticisms regarding customer support and the ease of setting up integrations with third-party apps.

Pricing of Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM has 4 plans starting with Rs 800 /user/month billed annually which can go till Rs 2,600 /user/month billed annually.

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#7. Pipedrive

• G2 rating: 4.2
• Capterra rating : 4.5

Features

Pipedrive comes with a bundle of features some of these are discussed below:

You can enhance your efficiency and streamline operations with Pipedrive CRM’s arsenal of automation tools, including task automation, one-click contact data collection, webhooks, an open API, and an AI-powered sales assistant. 

Pipedrive empowers you to refine your workflows, boost sales productivity, and facilitate business scalability. Tailor pipelines to align with your unique business requirements, ensuring your team stays focused and productive. 

Utilize intelligent features to centralize communication efforts, engage with your target audience effectively, and propel leads through the sales pipeline. 

Gain valuable insights, forecast revenue, and optimize workflows through customizable sales reports. Seamlessly integrate Pipedrive with your preferred tools across various categories, such as video calls, lead generation, phone solutions, and customer support. 

Maximize every opportunity with specialized features for lead generation, qualification, and prioritization. Craft and implement your ideal sales pipeline process utilizing CRM functionalities like goal setting, activity tracking, and insightful analytics.

Lead management involves capturing data from diverse sources, assigning quality scores to leads, and ensuring appropriate allocation to the relevant sales representatives.

Pipeline management enables the mapping of the sales pipeline through a CRM system, facilitating a deeper understanding of customer progression along the buying journey and enhancing conversion rates.

Workflow and marketing automation streamline repetitive tasks such as prospecting, lead qualification, and customer communications, simplifying processes and delivering personalized experiences to potential customers.

Reporting and forecasting utilize dashboards, CRM analysis, and reporting tools to uncover customer trends and evaluate sales performance effectively.

Pros of Pipedrive

Pipedrive distinguishes itself as an incredibly user-friendly CRM, boasting an intuitive interface that simplifies both setup and operation. Despite its extensive feature set, its design prioritizes simplicity, rendering it particularly appealing to newcomers in the field. 

Yet, as businesses acclimate to the platform, they discover a wealth of advanced functionalities, positioning Pipedrive as an ideal solution for those seeking scalability and long-term growth in their CRM strategy.

Cons of Pipedrive

While Pipedrive is widely considered to be a good choice for beginners, be prepared for a learning curve. Also be aware that it’s not the most affordable CRM so it may not be the best choice for those on a tight budget. 

Unlike many of the other leading CRM solutions in the market, Pipedrive does not offer a free forever plan. Instead, it has a fairly short 14-day free trial and reasonably-priced plans starting at $12 per user per month.

On top of that, its entry-level plans have a pretty limited feature set. For example, it does not offer workflow automations, email sync, email tracking, use of its meeting scheduler or custom field options. For this reason, businesses that need more than a basic contact and lead management tool will likely find that they need to upgrade to the Advanced plan which costs $24 per user per month.

Pricing of Pipedrive

Their pricing starting at $12 /seat/month billed annually which can reach up to $79 /seat/month billed annually.

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#8. Keap

• G2 rating: 4.2
• Capterra rating: 4.1

Features

Following are the features that make Keap popular among its users:

Automation: Keap offers advanced automation capabilities designed to streamline repetitive tasks efficiently. Through its user-friendly interface, users can create automation sequences based on conditional triggers, known as “when-then scenarios.” 

For instance, upon submission of a public form, Keap can promptly notify users while sending confirmation emails to new contacts. With a wide range of automation possibilities, users can customize workflows to suit their specific needs. Additionally, Keap provides a variety of pre-designed templates for various purposes such as landing page leads, invoice reminders, and deal offers.

Lead scoring: Lead-scoring functionality is unlocked with the Max plan, offering a comprehensive assessment of each prospect’s engagement level. 

This feature considers various factors such as web form submissions, email interactions, link clicks, and applied tags to gauge their interest. 

Users have the flexibility to customize the scoring system by assigning weights to different variables and deducting points based on specific criteria. 

For instance, points may be subtracted if a contact fails to engage with a new email campaign. When integrated with a sales strategy tailored to the team’s expertise, lead scoring becomes a powerful tool for enhancing efficiency and boosting revenue.

Integrations: Keap boasts integration with over 2,500 platforms and tools, offering an extensive range of connections to streamline business operations. Its marketplace features partner-level, certified, and third-party integrations spanning email, lead generation, specialty apps, pre-built campaigns, and beyond. However, it’s worth noting that compared to other CRM providers, Keap’s integrations tend to be pricier.

Pros of Keap

The platform’s interface maintains a clean and user-friendly design. Initially, the re-brand from InfusionSoft appeared to be a positive step towards simplification. Users express satisfaction with the product, especially those with advanced marketing expertise and sizable email lists, as it offers powerful capabilities for action-based segmentation. 

Many users appreciate the assistance provided during setup and find the email automation system straightforward and intuitive, encouraging them to explore and implement automation more extensively.

Cons of Keap

When left idle, the system fails to gracefully time out, resulting in the loss of any unsaved information. While this may be attributed to individual workflow preferences, it remains an inconvenience. 

Users express frustration with paying for a service that fails to meet their functional needs, complicating management tasks, especially when dealing with multiple types of tags.

Pricing of Keap

They have 3 different pricing plans starting with $159 that can be upgraded to $229 depending on your business needs.

How to choose the right Close CRM alternative (checklist)

While looking for the right alternative, ask yourself the following questions –

1. Sales Communication Needs

• Do you need a power dialer, SMS, and WhatsApp for high-volume outreach?
• Or is email-first engagement more important for your workflow?

2. Automation & AI Capabilities

• Are you looking for AI-driven lead scoring and routing to save time?
• Do you need multi-channel automation (email + LinkedIn + calls), or just simple sequences?

3. Budget & Scalability

• What’s your budget per user per month?
• Will the tool remain affordable as your team size and leads grow?

4. Marketing & Sales Alignment

• Do you need tight integration with marketing tools like HubSpot or Freshworks?
• Or will a sales-only CRM (like Pipedrive or SmartReach.io) be enough?

5. Customization & Flexibility

• Do you require a fully customizable CRM (like Salesforce or Zoho)?
• Or is a plug-and-play CRM with minimal setup better for your team?

6. Team Size & Use Case

• Solo founders and startups → prefer lightweight CRMs with simple pipelines.
• Growing sales teams → need multi-channel engagement + automation.
• Large enterprises → require advanced analytics, customization, and integrations.

7. Ease of Use & Training

• How much time can your team invest in learning a new tool?
• Would you benefit from a simple drag-and-drop pipeline (like Pipedrive), or do you have resources for enterprise training (like Salesforce)?

Conclusion

Selecting the right CRM involves a comprehensive evaluation of various factors to meet the specific needs of your business. 

Understanding the fundamental functions and considering industry-specific requirements are crucial initial steps. 

Whether opting for an end-to-end solution or a personalized sales stack, defining key priorities with your team ensures alignment with business goals. 

Creating a list of must-have and nice-to-have features helps prioritize functionalities. Identifying necessary integrations streamlines workflow efficiency, while demoing multiple tools facilitates effective comparison. 

Moreover, considering aspects such as support, onboarding, and data migration options ensures a smooth transition. 

Prioritizing user-friendliness enhances adoption rates among teams. Finally, assessing price transparency and security and compliance features ensures a well-rounded CRM solution that meets both operational and regulatory needs.

F.A.Qs

Q. What is the best alternative to Close CRM?

SmartReach.io, HubSpot Sales Hub, and Zoho CRM are strong Close CRM alternatives. Each offers more automation, scalability, and integrations depending on business needs.

Q. Which CRM is most affordable compared to Close CRM?

Zoho CRM and Pipedrive are the most affordable Close CRM alternatives. They provide budget-friendly plans with reliable pipeline management and automation for small to mid-sized businesses.

Q. Does SmartReach.io work as a Close CRM replacement?

Yes. SmartReach.io is a great Close CRM replacement for outbound sales teams. It includes multi-channel engagement, reply sentiment tagging, and advanced email deliverability tools.

Q. Which Close CRM competitor is best for enterprises?

Salesforce Sales Cloud is the best enterprise-level Close CRM alternative. It offers advanced customization, AI-powered forecasting, and integrations for managing complex global sales operations.

Q. Is HubSpot a better choice than Close CRM?

HubSpot Sales Hub is better if you need CRM plus inbound marketing tools. It combines deal pipelines, automation, and seamless integration with HubSpot’s marketing and service platforms.

Q. Which Close CRM alternatives support calling features?

Salesmate, Freshworks (Freshsales), and SmartReach.io provide built-in calling tools with tracking, recording, and automation making them ideal for phone-heavy sales teams.

Q. What is the easiest CRM to use instead of Close?

Pipedrive is the easiest-to-use Close CRM alternative. Its simple drag-and-drop pipelines and clean interface are perfect for small teams wanting a lightweight CRM.

Q. Which Close CRM competitor offers marketing automation?

Keap and HubSpot Sales Hub both provide marketing automation. They support email sequences, SMS campaigns, and workflow triggers alongside CRM and pipeline management.

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