7 Best Close CRM Alternatives in 2026 (Cheaper, With Automation)
The best Close CRM alternatives, in short: Pipedrive for automated follow-up at well under half the price ($39 per seat on Growth against Close Growth's $99, billed annually), Bigin by Zoho for the lowest cost with a built-in phone ($7 to $18 per user), and Attio Pro ($79) for a customisable CRM with sequences and call intelligence. Close is still the stronger choice for high-volume calling floors.
More on this topic: CRM comparisons and alternatives, every guide in one place.
Close is built for inside sales: calling, SMS and email in one place, with power and predictive dialers on the upper plans. People look for alternatives for three reasons — the price of the plans with automation, the lack of landing pages and funnels, or because they do not actually call much. Each reason points to a different tool.
Key takeaways
- Close today: Solo $9, Essentials $35, Growth $99, Scale $139 per user per month billed annually; workflows start on Growth; calls about $0.02 a minute extra.
- Cheaper with automation: Pipedrive Growth $39 a seat; Bigin Express $7 a user with 30 automations.
- Customisable: Attio Pro $79 a seat with sequences and call intelligence.
- Google Workspace teams: Copper from $23 a seat.
- Need marketing too: an all-in-one platform with email, funnels and the pipeline at one flat price.
- Stay on Close if your team lives on the phone and uses the dialers every day.
Why do teams look for Close alternatives?
Teams usually leave Close because workflows and the power dialer require Growth at $99 per user per month, because Close has no landing pages or funnel builder, or because they pay for calling features they rarely use. Our Close pricing guide covers the plans and usage costs in detail.
- The Growth jump. Essentials ($35) has calling but no workflows; automation means nearly tripling the seat price.
- Usage on top. Calls, numbers, SMS and the $50 Call Assistant add-on are billed separately.
- Marketing elsewhere. Landing pages and funnels need other tools.
- Not a calling team. If most deals close over email, a cheaper pipeline CRM does the job.
How we picked
Every list like this is someone's opinion. Here are the criteria behind this one, so you can discount the ones you disagree with.
- Covers what Close does for a small team: a pipeline, email and some form of automated follow-up.
- Cheaper than Close Growth for a three-person team with automation, or adds something Close lacks.
- Published pricing, checked on each vendor's page in October 2026.
- Usable without an administrator.
Disclosure: this article is published by Scalry, which appears on the list. We have tried to describe every tool as its own users would, including where they beat us — but read it knowing who wrote it, and check the claims against each vendor.
What is the best alternative to Close CRM?
For most small sales teams, Pipedrive is the best alternative to Close: it has automations, sequences and email sync from $39 a seat, and its pipeline view is easier for new reps. Teams that call all day will miss Close's dialers.
| Tool | Automation from | 3 users with automation, one year | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close (reference) | Growth, $99/user/mo | $3,564 | Calling-heavy inside sales |
| Pipedrive | Growth, $39/seat/mo | $1,404 | Pipeline and follow-up |
| Bigin by Zoho | Express, $7/user/mo | $252 | Lowest cost, built-in phone |
| Nutshell | Pro, $35/user/mo (derived) | $1,260 | Reporting |
| Copper | Professional, $59/seat/mo | $2,124 | Google Workspace |
| Attio | Pro, $79/seat/mo (sequences) | $2,844 | Custom data model |
| folk | Premium, $48/member/mo (sequences) | $1,728 | Relationship-led sales |
| Scalry | Every plan, $29–$199/mo per workspace | $290–$1,990 | Marketing and sales together |
Prices checked on each vendor's own pricing page on 25 October 2026, in US dollars, annual billing unless noted. Usage such as calling and texting is extra on most of these — check current pricing before you decide.
Cheaper with automation
1. Pipedrive
Price: $14, $39, $59 or $79/seat/mo billed annually
Best for: Small sales teams that want automated follow-up for less
Growth ($39 annually, $49 monthly) includes automations, nurturing sequences, full email sync and a meeting scheduler. Premium ($59) adds LeadBooster lead capture, scoring and contracts. Paid add-ons are listed in Pipedrive pricing explained.
The full head-to-head is in Close vs Pipedrive.
Where it wins: Automation for about 40% of Close Growth's seat price, and 500+ integrations.
Where it falls short: No equivalent of Close's built-in power and predictive dialers.
2. Bigin by Zoho
Price: Free (1 user); $7, $12 or $18/user/mo billed annually
Best for: Very small teams on a tight budget
A pipeline CRM with a built-in phone on every plan, including the free one. Express ($7) gives 30 automations and 50,000 records; Premier ($12) 100 automation rules and data enrichment; Bigin 360 ($18) 1,000 mass emails a day and 100 booking pages.
Where it wins: By far the cheapest way to get pipelines, calling and automation together.
Where it falls short: Far less depth for outbound teams: no dialer modes like Close's, and a busier interface.
Best for reporting
3. Nutshell
Price: $13 to $79/user/mo billed monthly; less annually
Best for: Managers who want sales reporting without complexity
Pro ($42 monthly, about $35 annually) adds advanced reporting and sales automation. A Marketing add-on ($49 a month) covers email campaigns, and Engagement is $16 per user a month.
Where it wins: Clearer reporting than Close at a lower price for small teams.
Where it falls short: Calling is not part of the core plan list; check before you switch a phone-led team.
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Best for Google Workspace teams
4. Copper
Price: $23, $59 or $99/seat/mo billed annually
Best for: Teams whose work happens in Gmail and Google Calendar
Basic covers 2,500 contacts with pipelines and task automation. Professional ($59) adds workflow automation, bulk email and 15,000 contacts; Business ($99) adds email series.
Where it wins: Little data entry for Google-first teams.
Where it falls short: Contact caps on the lower plans; not built for calling.
Best for a customisable CRM
5. Attio
Price: Free (3 seats); Plus $35, Pro $79/seat/mo billed annually
Best for: Teams whose process does not fit a standard pipeline
Build your own objects and records. Pro adds call intelligence and sequences, unlimited seats and 1,000,000 records. AI features use monthly credits. See Attio pricing explained.
Where it wins: Far more flexible data model than Close.
Where it falls short: Pro costs nearly as much as Close Growth, and there is no dialer.
6. folk
Price: $24, $48 or from $80/member/mo billed annually
Best for: Founders selling through a network of relationships
Strong at capturing and organising contacts, with campaigns on Standard and sequences, deals and dashboards on Premium. See folk CRM pricing.
Where it wins: Pleasant, fast contact management for relationship-led sales.
Where it falls short: Not a calling tool; deals need Premium.
Best for marketing and sales together
7. Scalry
Price: $29, $79 or $199/mo per workspace ($290, $790, $1,990 a year)
Best for: Small businesses that need outreach, funnels and a pipeline in one place
A CRM and pipeline with cold email sequences, funnels, booking pages, AI sales agents and AI voice agents, priced per workspace rather than per user. Calling needs a paid plan and a phone number on the workspace, and voice minutes draw on the plan's credits.
Where it wins: Adds the marketing tools Close lacks at a price that does not rise with headcount.
Where it falls short: No power or predictive dialer and no live call coaching; a calling floor should stay on Close.
When should you stay on Close?
Stay on Close if your reps spend most of the day on the phone and use the power or predictive dialer, call recording and coaching. None of the cheaper tools above match that, and the time a dialer saves a full-time caller is usually worth more than the seat price difference.
Frequently asked questions
What is cheaper than Close CRM?
Pipedrive Growth ($39 per seat) and Bigin by Zoho ($7 to $18 per user) both include automation for far less than Close Growth at $99 per user, all on annual billing. Close Solo at $9 is itself cheap for one person without workflows.
Is Pipedrive better than Close?
For pipeline management and automated follow-up on a budget, yes. For teams that make many calls a day, Close's built-in calling, SMS and dialers are the stronger fit.
Which Close alternative has built-in calling?
Bigin by Zoho lists a built-in phone on every plan, including the free one. Most other alternatives rely on integrations or separate tools for calling.
Does Close have marketing features?
Close focuses on sales communication — calls, SMS and email, with bulk email on Growth — and does not include landing pages or a funnel builder, which is a common reason teams look elsewhere.
How much does Close cost for three users with workflows?
Workflows start on Growth at $99 per user per month billed annually, so three users cost $3,564 a year before calling and other usage.
Is there a free alternative to Close?
Yes. Bigin's free plan (one user), Attio's free plan (up to three seats) and HubSpot's free CRM (two users; see HubSpot free CRM limits) all cost nothing within their limits.
If you are leaving Close because you need marketing tools beside the pipeline, Scalry's CRM is described on the CRM and pipeline page.
Work out how many hours a day your team is on the phone. That one number tells you whether to leave Close at all. You can rebuild one real campaign inside Scalry before moving anything else.
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