Choosing the right CRM can feel like picking a team for a big game, right?
You’ve got ActiveCampaign vs Close CRM, and honestly, it’s a tough call.
You need a CRM that boosts sales, but which one actually delivers in 2025?
It’s easy to get lost in features and tech talk.
Imagine picking the wrong one.
Wasted time, missed deals, and a clunky system.
Let’s break down ActiveCampaign vs Close CRM in plain English.
Overview
We’ve spent hands-on time with both ActiveCampaign and Close CRM, putting them through real-world scenarios.
Our comparison comes from direct experience, focusing on the features that truly matter for sales teams.
Unlock the power of an all-in-one marketing platform. So, check it out now!
Pricing: It has a 7-day free Trial. Paid plan starts at $15/month
Key Features:
- Email Marketing
- Marketing Automation
- CRM
Start your trial and experience the CRM that’s helped thousands of businesses boost their sales.
Pricing: It has a free trial. The premium plan starts at $35/month.
Key Features:
- Built-in calling
- Email sequences
- Advanced Reporting
What is ActiveCampaign?
ActiveCampaign? It’s a powerhouse. Think marketing automation, email, and CRM all in one spot.
Do you want to automate your sales?
This tool can help. It also lets you track customers and makes your marketing smarter.
Also, explore our favorite ActiveCampaign alternatives…
Our Take
ActiveCampaign is an excellent choice for businesses that want to leverage the true power of email marketing and automation. However, it may not be the best fit for beginners due to its complexity.
Key Benefits
- Advanced automation: Create complex workflows to nurture leads and automate tasks.
- Email marketing powerhouse: Send beautiful and effective email campaigns.
- Built-in CRM: Manage contacts and track interactions.
- Segmentation and personalization: Target specific groups of contacts with personalized messages.
Pricing
- Starter: $15/month.
- Plus: $49/month.
- Pro: $79/month.
- Enterprise: $145/month.
Pros
Cons
What is Close CRM?
Close CRM. It’s built for sales teams—especially those who call a lot.
It prioritizes communication—think calls and emails—and focuses on outreach, which helps you close more deals.
Also, explore our favorite Close CRM alternatives…
Our Take
Close the deal with Close CRM! Start your 14-day free trial and experience the CRM that’s helped thousands of businesses boost their sales.
Key Benefits
- Built-in calling: Make and receive calls directly within Close.
- Powerful email sequences: Automate your outreach and follow-up.
- Advanced reporting: Track your progress and identify areas for improvement.
- Sales automation: Streamline repetitive tasks and save time.
- Dedicated support: Get help from their expert team when you need it.
Pricing
- Essentials: $35/seat/month.
- Growth: $99/seat/month.
- Scale: $139/seat/month.
Pros
Cons
Feature Comparison
You are likely debating which platform will best empower your sales team.
This comparison of core ActiveCampaign features and Close offers helps you decide where to invest your resources.
1. Built in Calling and Sales Communication
- Close offers superior built in calling features. It allows sales reps to dial multiple numbers using the power dialer and predictive dialer. This functionality for making phone calls is central to the platform.
- ActiveCampaign requires a third party add on for advanced phone support features, focusing more on email and text messages for communication.
2. Marketing and Sales Automation
- ActiveCampaign is a leader in marketing and sales automation, offering intelligent marketing automation and an advanced automation builder. You can easily build automations for lead scoring and sophisticated email marketing.
- Close offers advanced features for sales engagement, automating follow up email tasks to help sales reps manage their leads.
3. CRM Focus and Purpose
- Close is designed from the ground up to be a sales engagement crm platform, built to help sales teams handle their prospects and close deals faster. You choose Close if your main focus is pure outbound sales.
- ActiveCampaign crm is more of a comprehensive customer experience platform, offering strong contact management with crm add ons.
4. Custom Data Structures
- ActiveCampaign features custom objects, allowing you to track unique data relevant to your business.
- Close also supports custom objects, along with custom fields, but this is typically available only on its higher tiers, which is something a more advanced user should note.
5. Email Sequences and Templates
- ActiveCampaign offers robust email marketing services with a strong emphasis on email marketing automation, using pre built templates and dynamic content.
- Close also provides powerful email sequences and email templates, but its bulk email tools are mainly for one to one sales engagement rather than large scale digital marketing campaigns.
6. Sales Pipeline Management
- Close excels in visual sales pipeline management, simplifying how sales reps manage multiple pipelines and organize their leads. The interface is clean and built for daily sales activity.
- ActiveCampaign’s sales pipeline is strong and integrated with its advanced features, but Close offers more tools dedicated solely to pipeline optimization.
7. User Experience and Accessibility
- Close is well regarded for being extremely user friendly for a sales team, allowing new users to manage leads quickly and easily from a desktop or mobile device app.
- ActiveCampaign, while powerful, is a more advanced user platform. Both platforms offer a free trial to test the experience first.
8. Reporting and Insights
- ActiveCampaign allows for advanced features like custom reports and custom graphs to analyze your marketing and sales data, often requiring the enterprise plan for full access to all features.
- Close also offers strong reporting, focusing on sales performance metrics and providing call coaching insights to help the sales team improve.
9. Scalability and Enterprise Features
- Close offers a range of professional features that scale well from a small business or startup features level, offering a dedicated account team on its higher tiers.
- ActiveCampaign is highly scalable due to its core strength in advanced automation and is a good ActiveCampaign alternative to other crms for big businesses looking for strong marketing and sales alignment.
What to Look For When Choosing CRM Software?
- Sales vs. Marketing Focus: You need to decide if you need a pure sales system (like Close) to handle follow-ups and close more leads, or a must-have platform for ActiveCampaign marketing automation (like ActiveCampaign) that adds a built-in crm.
- Team Use and Data Entry: Look for tools that reduce manual data entry. Close is excellent for full team engagement and eliminating data entry during phone calls and other sales activities, which helps small teams and improves team engagement.
- CRM Scalability and Features: Check if the crm options offer advanced features like custom objects and native integration with complex systems like Microsoft Dynamics. ActiveCampaign is a good starting point for integrating marketing and a built-in crm.
- Omnichannel Outreach: If you want to send sms messages, make sure the platform offers sms add ons or integrated tools. ActiveCampaign offers new features like its sms add-ons and its ability to manage ad campaigns.
- Email Deliverability and Content: A good ActiveCampaign alternative must offer high ActiveCampaign’s deliverability for email marketing and transactional emails. Look for a quality email builder with conditional content and a strong newsletter tool for all your contacts and clients.
- Advanced Segmentation and Personalization: True advanced segmentation is crucial. ActiveCampaign is a leader here, allowing you to segment based on purchase history and in-platform behavior for better customer relationships.
- Compliance and Security: Security is non-negotiable. Look for proof of a robust data privacy framework and compliance, such as ActiveCampaign gdpr compliant features and even HIPAA support for specialized companies. Look for single sign on as a key security feature.
- Setup, Learning, and Support: Check the platform’s knowledge base and product updates. Platforms like Close are often described as being very easy to learn, but sometimes users feel like they are busy redesigning old workflows. An honest ActiveCampaign review will help you assess the learning curve for the key features.
- Automation Depth: Ensure the platform offers true end automation capabilities and that your essential landing pages and reminders can be automated. Look for tools that can create automatic tasks and log add notes after zoom meetings.
Final Verdict
Choosing between ActiveCampaign and Close CRM depends on your needs.
If you prioritize detailed marketing automation and personalized customer journeys, ActiveCampaign is the stronger choice.
Close CRM excels if you focus on streamlined sales processes and efficient deal closing.
We’ve spent significant time testing both, and based on our experience, for businesses needing strong marketing and sales alignment.
ActiveCampaign edges ahead.
However, we encourage you to consider your specific requirements.
We’ve given you the facts, now it’s up to you to decide which CRM best fits your 2025 strategy.
More of ActiveCampaign
Here’s a comparison of ActiveCampaign with its alternatives:
- ActiveCampaign vs Pipedrive: ActiveCampaign excels in marketing automation and lead nurturing with integrated CRM. Pipedrive, however, is a sales-centric CRM that emphasizes visual pipeline management and efficient deal tracking.
- ActiveCampaign vs GoHighLevel: GoHighLevel is an all-in-one platform for marketing agency users, with strong white-labeling and unlimited accounts.
- ActiveCampaign vs Keap: ActiveCampaign offers robust marketing automation and email capabilities. Keap is tailored for small businesses, blending CRM with sales and email for an integrated approach.
- ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: ActiveCampaign is a leader in email marketing automation and customer engagement. HubSpot provides a more comprehensive, all-in-one platform covering marketing, sales, service, and content management.
- ActiveCampaign vs ClickFunnels: ActiveCampaign is ideal for email marketing automation and lead nurturing within a CRM context. ClickFunnels specializes in building sales funnels and landing pages for direct conversions.
- ActiveCampaign vs Folk: ActiveCampaign is known for sophisticated marketing automation and detailed customer segmentation. Folk offers a simpler, collaborative CRM for contact management, email campaigns, and basic sales pipelines.
- ActiveCampaign vs Instantly: ActiveCampaign delivers advanced marketing automation and a comprehensive CRM. Instantly focuses more on cold email outreach and lead finding with basic CRM features for simplified sales.
- ActiveCampaign vs ClickUp: ActiveCampaign excels in marketing-specific automation and customer relationship management. ClickUp is a versatile work management platform that can be customized for CRM and emphasizes project management.
- ActiveCampaign vs Monday CRM: ActiveCampaign provides powerful marketing automation and email campaigns with strong CRM integration. Monday CRM emphasizes visual collaboration and customizable boards for lead and deal management.
- ActiveCampaign vs Capsule: ActiveCampaign offers robust email marketing and advanced automation for sales and customer journeys. Capsule CRM provides straightforward contact management and sales pipeline features, ideal for basic CRM needs.
- ActiveCampaign vs Insightly: ActiveCampaign focuses on deep marketing and sales automation with lead scoring and tracking. Insightly combines CRM with project management, suiting teams needing both sales and project delivery.
- ActiveCampaign vs Freshsales CRM: ActiveCampaign provides comprehensive marketing automation and email with integrated CRM functionalities. Freshsales CRM focuses on sales management and streamlining sales processes with AI-powered insights.
- ActiveCampaign vs Salesforce: ActiveCampaign specializes in marketing automation and email engagement for small to medium businesses. Salesforce is an extensive, scalable CRM platform for large enterprises, covering sales, service, and marketing.
- ActiveCampaign vs Zendesk: ActiveCampaign focuses on email marketing, sales automation, and customer experience management. Zendesk primarily provides customer service and support tools, including ticketing systems and help desks.
More of Close CRM
Here’s a brief comparison of Close CRM with these software solutions:
- Close CRM vs Pipedrive: Close CRM emphasizes robust communication tools and automation for inside sales. At the same time, Pipedrive is known for its intuitive visual sales pipeline management for small to medium businesses.
- Close CRM vs Keap: Close CRM is a sales-focused CRM with built-in calling and email sequences, whereas Keap offers more comprehensive marketing automation and e-commerce integrations.
- Close CRM vs ActiveCampaign: Close CRM excels in streamlined sales processes and communication tools, while ActiveCampaign provides more extensive marketing automation, advanced segmentation, and detailed customer journey tracking.
- Close CRM vs HubSpot: Close CRM is designed for sales teams and prioritizes built-in calling and rapid deal closing, while HubSpot offers a broader suite that encompasses marketing, sales, and customer service.
- Close CRM vs Clickfunnels: Close CRM is a sales-oriented CRM for managing leads and deals; ClickFunnels is a specialized tool for building sales funnels and optimizing conversions.
- Close CRM vs Folk: Close CRM is a sales-focused CRM with robust sales automation and built-in communication, while Folk offers flexible, collaborative contact management with a focus on organization and simple outreach.
- Close CRM vs Instantly: Close CRM provides a comprehensive sales CRM with integrated calling and broader sales automation, while Instantly specializes in high-volume cold email outreach and deliverability.
- Close CRM vs Clickup: Close CRM is a dedicated sales CRM for pipeline management and communication, whereas ClickUp is a versatile work operating system with project management, task organization, and customizable CRM capabilities.
- Close CRM vs Monday CRM: Close CRM is a specialized sales CRM with advanced automation for closing deals. Monday CRM is a visual work OS offering customizable workflows for various business functions, including sales.
- Close CRM vs Capsule CRM: Close CRM offers robust sales automation and built-in communication for dedicated sales teams. Capsule CRM is a simpler, more affordable contact manager primarily for basic relationship tracking.
- Close CRM vs Insightly: Close CRM is mainly a sales-focused CRM with strong communication tools. At the same time, Insightly offers a broader CRM solution that includes robust project management and more extensive integrations.
- Close CRM vs Freshsales CRM: Close CRM emphasizes sales efficiency with built-in communication and automation. Freshsales CRM provides a comprehensive solution with advanced sales automation and in-depth reporting.
- Close CRM vs Salesforce: Close CRM is a sales engagement platform for SMBs with integrated calling and email, while Salesforce is an extensive, highly customizable enterprise-level CRM with broad sales, marketing, and service capabilities.
- Close CRM vs Zendesk: Close CRM is specifically built for sales teams and has robust calling and email features. At the same time, Zendesk is primarily a customer service platform focused on ticketing and support management.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ActiveCampaign better for marketing automation than Close CRM?
Yes, ActiveCampaign offers more comprehensive marketing automation. It excels in email campaigns, personalized workflows, and detailed customer journey tracking. Close CRM focuses more on sales-specific automation.
Which CRM is easier to integrate with other tools?
ActiveCampaign generally has a wider range of integrations. Both integrate well with common sales and marketing platforms, but ActiveCampaign’s ecosystem is more extensive.
Does Close CRM focus more on sales than customer relationship management?
While both are customer relationship management tools, Close CRM prioritizes sales efficiency. It streamlines the sales process with features like automated call logging and pipeline management, focusing on closing deals.
Can ActiveCampaign handle complex email campaigns?
Absolutely. ActiveCampaign is known for its robust email campaign capabilities. You can design, segment, and automate emails with advanced personalization, making it ideal for detailed marketing strategies.
Which CRM is better for small businesses?
It depends on the business’s focus. If a small business needs strong marketing automation, ActiveCampaign is a good fit. If the focus is on direct sales and efficient deal closing, Close CRM might be more suitable.
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