⚡ Quick Verdict:
- Pricing: Folk starts at $17.5/member/month. Close CRM starts at $35/seat/month.
- Best for: Folk suits contact management, partnerships and events. Close CRM suits high-volume sales teams that live on phone calls.
- Key difference: Close has built-in calling with a power dialer. Folk has no automatic tracking of meetings or phone calls.
- Our pick: Folk for most users, because it costs half as much and is far easier to set up.
The cheaper customer relationship management tool is not the weaker one here.
Folk costs half what Close CRM costs per user.
But price is the smallest gap between these two apps.
Folk is built to organize contacts and build genuine connections.
Close CRM is built to dial prospects and push more deals through a sales pipeline.
Pick the wrong one and you pay for CRM features your team never opens.
Overview
This Folk vs Close CRM comparison covers pricing, contact management, calling, and reporting.
We also break down which sales process each tool fits.
Our sources include published specs, documentation, and G2 reviews.
Our writers also spent hands-on time with each app.
Those notes sit in the “What Our Team Noticed” sections below.
What is Folk?
Folk is a lightweight CRM for people who hate heavy CRM software.
It looks and feels like a collaborative spreadsheet.
You add contacts, sort them into groups, and set reminders to follow up.
Folk is built for individuals and small teams, not large sales teams.
It handles multiple use cases: fundraising, event follow-up, partnerships, and hiring.
That makes it a multi-purpose tool rather than a pure sales app.
Watch the walkthrough below to see how the interface works.
🏆 Winner: Folk
Folk keeps contact management simple. It syncs with Gmail, enriches details with Magic Fields, and starts at half the price of Close CRM.
Folk Pricing
Folk charges per member, per month. Here is the current plan structure.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $17.5/member/month | Solo users and small teams managing contacts |
| Premium | $35/member/month | Teams that need email sequences and deeper enrichment |
| Custom | $70/member/month | Agency and partnership teams with advanced features |
Pricing verified August 2026.
Free trial: Yes. Folk offers a 14-day free trial so you can test it before you purchase.
Money-back guarantee: Folk does not publish a refund window. Cancel before renewal to avoid the next charge.
📌 Note: Folk uses a self-serve model. You can sign up and explore CRM features without booking a demo or waiting to talk to a sales rep.
⚠️ Pricing conflict flagged: Some third-party sources list Folk at $20 and $40 per user per month. Our canonical data shows $17.5, $35, and $70 per member. Check the pricing page before you buy.
Key Benefits of Folk
Here is what makes Folk worth a look:
- Easiest setup in the category: Folk is one of the easiest CRMs on the market to use. It suits people who have never touched a CRM before.
- Magic Fields: This custom field type uses AI to clean and enrich contact data. It cuts manual data entry when you import a messy list.
- Gmail and Outlook sync: Folk pulls in contacts and email history automatically. Your inbox becomes the source of truth.
- Chrome extension for LinkedIn: Add contacts from LinkedIn or any company website in one click. No copy-paste into a spreadsheet.
- Bulk email with mail merge: Send personalized outreach to a group. Teammates can collaborate on the same send.
- Kanban pipeline view: A visual board tracks deals and partnerships. You can run multiple pipelines for different use cases.
- Groups instead of clutter: Folk lets you organize contacts into groups so outreach never drowns in data.
What Our Team Noticed
Our writer signed up for Folk and used it to track partnerships and event follow-ups for several weeks. Here is what stood out:
The clip below covers the same workflow in more detail.
Folk Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Standard plan costs $17.5 per member per month
- Magic Fields clean and enrich contact data with AI
- Chrome extension adds contacts from LinkedIn in one click
- Works for fundraising, events, hiring and partnerships
- Self-serve signup with a 14-day free trial
❌ Cons
- No automatic tracking of meetings or phone calls
- Reporting views are thin compared to other CRMs
- Outreach is email only, with little support for other channels
- Some users report trouble importing emails and contact data
What is Close CRM?
Close CRM is a sales platform for small to medium-sized businesses.
It puts email, calling, and SMS into a single inbox.
Sales reps can dial straight from the browser, with no separate phone system.
The product targets high-velocity outbound sales teams.
It sits somewhere between a traditional CRM and a sales engagement tool.
That mix is unusual, and it explains the price tag.
This video walks through the main screens.
Close CRM
Close CRM combines calling, email and SMS in one place. Best for sales teams that make phone calls all day.
Close CRM Pricing
Close CRM charges per seat. Here is what each tier costs.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $35/seat/month | Small sales teams testing built-in calling |
| Growth | $99/seat/month | Teams needing automation, email sequences and a power dialer |
| Scale | $139/seat/month | Larger teams wanting call coaching and custom objects |
Pricing verified August 2026.
Free trial: Close offers a 14-day free trial. No credit card is needed to start.
Money-back guarantee: Close does not advertise a money-back window. The trial is the safest way to test the sales process fit.
📌 Note: Setup is fast. Close includes a CSV import tool for leads and contacts, plus a free one-click migration tool for people switching from other CRM options.
⚠️ Pricing conflict flagged: Older Close pricing pages grouped startup features and professional features into Startup, Professional and Enterprise plans at $49 to $139 per user. Our canonical data lists Essentials, Growth and Scale. Confirm the current tiers before you buy.
Key Benefits of Close CRM
Here is where Close CRM earns its price:
- Best-in-class calling: Users dial from the browser on desktop or from a mobile device. A power dialer and a predictive dialer let reps dial multiple numbers without clicking each one.
- One inbox for everything: Email, calls and SMS live together. Every touch lands on the contact timeline, so nobody logs the same person twice.
- Workflows and follow ups: Automated follow up reminders lift response rates without manual effort.
- Smart Views: Saved filters sort leads by criteria so reps work the hottest list first.
- Live call coaching: Managers can listen in and help reps mid-call. This is one of the professional features on higher tiers.
- Quick onboarding: Close is praised for simplicity, which drives full team engagement fast.
- Support and security: A help center, developer API documentation, and regular product updates back the platform, and Close states that user data is protected and managed responsibly.
What Our Team Noticed
Our writer ran Close CRM through a short outbound test, dialing leads and logging calls. Here is what stood out:
Close CRM Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Dial directly from the browser with no phone system
- Email, calling and SMS share one inbox
- Free one-click migration from other CRMs
- Rated 4.7 out of 5 on G2 by reviewers
❌ Cons
- Reporting functionality is considered weak by reviewers
- Entry pricing is expensive for smaller teams
- Less customizable than other CRM platforms
- Integrates with 80+ tools but misses some key ones
Feature Comparison
Here is how Folk and Close CRM compare across the features that matter most.
| Feature | Folk | Close CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $17.5/member/month | $35/seat/month |
| Free Trial | ✅ 14 days | ✅ 14 days |
| Built-in Calling | ❌ | ✅ |
| Power & Predictive Dialer | ❌ | ✅ |
| Chrome Extension | ✅ | ❌ |
| Magic Fields Enrichment | ✅ | ❌ |
| Bulk Email & Mail Merge | ✅ | ✅ |
| Advanced Reporting | ❌ | ⚠️ Limited |
| Custom Objects | ❌ | ✅ |
| Best For | Contact management, partnerships, events | Outbound sales teams on the phone |
1. Contact Management
Folk: Contact management is the core of the product. You organize contacts into groups, add custom fields, and set reminders for the next touch. The layout resembles a spreadsheet, so most people need no training.
Close CRM: Leads and contacts sit inside a sales structure with custom objects and Smart Views. Close captures all your sales activity on profile timelines, which keeps customer relationships easy to audit.
2. Sales Pipeline and Deals
Folk: A Kanban-style board gives you a visual sales pipeline you can drag deals through. It is simple, but it is enough to track partnerships, hiring or fundraising alongside sales.
Close CRM: The pipeline view is built to expose bottlenecks in the sales process. Managers can see where deals stall and reassign tasks to reps quickly.
3. Calling and Phone Calls
Folk: There is no dialer. Folk does not include automatic tracking of meetings or phone calls, so any call log is manual entry.
Close CRM: This is the clearest gap between the two apps. Reps dial from the browser, calls are recorded on the timeline, and managers can coach live.
⚠️ Warning: If your team runs on phone calls, Folk will not work. No amount of custom fields replaces a built-in dialer.
4. Email Automation and Outreach
Folk: Email automation covers personalized bulk email through collaborative mail merge. You can save email templates and create sequences, though outreach stays email only.
Close CRM: Outreach runs across email, calls and SMS from one inbox. Email sequences pause automatically when a prospect replies, which saves reps from awkward double-sends.
5. Company and Client Data
Folk: Magic Fields use AI to fill in missing company details automatically. Folk is particularly good at cleaning and enriching contact data before outreach, which cuts manual data entry.
Close CRM: Sales AI summarizes conversations and surfaces next steps for each company record. It leans on activity you already logged rather than enriching data from outside sources.
6. LinkedIn, Social Selling and Integrations
Folk: The Chrome extension pulls people straight from LinkedIn into a group. Folk also connects to Gmail or Outlook to sync contacts and email history.
Social selling works the same way across other networks and company pages.
Close CRM: Close integrates with over 80 other tools, including Zoom meetings and Gmail. Reviewers note it still misses some key integrations found in rival platforms.
7. Partnerships and Multiple Use Cases
Folk: Folk is a multi-purpose tool, not a sales-only app. Teams use it for fundraising, events, hiring and partnerships, which is why non-sales teams pick it over a traditional CRM.
Close CRM: Workflows automate follow ups and repeat tasks across sales processes. The focus stays firmly on revenue, so an agency tracking events would be paying for unused capacity.
8. Reporting and Analytics
Folk: Reporting is the weakest area. Folk lacks advanced reporting views, so teams needing detailed analytics will hit a wall fast.
Close CRM: You get quick KPI reports and custom graphs for coaching. Even so, reviewers describe the reporting functionality as weak next to bigger platforms.
9. Pipeline Management and Ease of Use
Folk: Pipeline management is deliberately plain. Reviewers call it incredibly easy to learn, which matters when you are generating outreach lists rather than forecasting revenue.
Close CRM: Close is praised for simplicity relative to enterprise CRMs, and an ROI calculator helps you model the cost per rep. Setup still takes longer because there is more to configure.
10. Pricing & Cost
Let’s put the plans side by side.
| Tier | Folk | Close CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Standard — $17.5/member/month | Essentials — $35/seat/month |
| Mid | Premium — $35/member/month | Growth — $99/seat/month |
| Top | Custom — $70/member/month | Scale — $139/seat/month |
Folk: Every tier undercuts the matching Close CRM plan. Folk’s top plan at $70 still costs less than Close’s mid plan, which matters for small businesses watching every seat.
Close CRM: You are paying for a phone system bundled into a CRM. That is fair value for a five-rep team dialing daily, and expensive for anyone else.
Different Scenarios
| If You Need… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tight budget | Folk | Half the entry price |
| High-volume phone calls | Close CRM | Power and predictive dialer |
| Contact management only | Folk | Groups, reminders, Magic Fields |
| Managing a sales team | Close CRM | Live call coaching |
| Fundraising or events | Folk | Multiple use cases, not just sales |
| First CRM ever | Folk | Shortest learning curve |
💰 Your Budget
Folk CRM costs $17.5 per member against $35 per seat for Close. Across five people that gap compounds every month.
🔌 Your Tech Stack
Close connects to 80+ apps and replaces your phone system outright. Folk plugs into Gmail, Outlook and LinkedIn and leaves the rest alone.
📞 Your Sales Process
Choose Close CRM if reps call prospects all day and need more leads worked per hour. Choose Folk if you nurture a smaller list toward real relationships.
🎓 Your Experience Level
Folk suits people who have never used a CRM before. Close assumes you already know what a pipeline stage is.
🆓 Free Trials and Demos
Both give you 14 days. For example, import 200 real contacts into each and search for a name to see which app answers faster.
🛟 Support Options
Close support is described as proactive during onboarding, with free migration help and training. Folk leans on self-serve docs instead.
Switching Guide
Already on one of these? Here is what changes.
🔄 Switching from Folk to Close CRM?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- A dialer that logs every call automatically
- SMS and calling beside email in one inbox
- Smart Views and custom objects for larger sales teams
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Magic Fields enrichment on contact data
- The LinkedIn Chrome extension
- Half your budget, at minimum
📋 How to switch:
- Export your Folk groups to CSV
- Start the Close 14-day trial
- Use the CSV import tool, then rebuild pipeline stages
🔄 Switching from Close CRM to Folk?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- A far lower bill per person
- An interface non-sales teammates will actually open
- One workspace for partnerships, events and hiring
❌ What you’ll lose:
- The power dialer and call recording
- SMS outreach and live call coaching
- KPI reports and custom graphs
📋 How to switch:
- Export leads, companies and notes from Close
- Create a Folk workspace and connect Gmail
- Import the file, then split clients into groups
What Our Review Didn’t Cover
This comparison focused on individuals and small teams. We did not test enterprise contracts, custom developer builds, or bulk licensing for 50+ seats. Our notes reflect the August 2026 versions of both apps, and features change often. If you manage a large sales floor, your priorities will differ from what we covered here.
Final Verdict
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| 💰 Pricing | Folk |
| 👥 Contact Management | Folk |
| 📞 Calling | Close CRM |
| 📧 Email Outreach | Close CRM |
| 👶 Ease of Use | Folk |
| 📊 Reporting | Close CRM |
| 🎯 Flexibility Across Use Cases | Folk |
| 🏆 Overall Winner | Folk |
🏆 WINNER: FOLK
Folk wins 4 out of 7 categories.
Best for: contact management, partnerships and events, first-time CRM users
Folk and Close CRM are not really rivals. They serve different jobs at different prices.
Folk is a contact hub that helps you build genuine connections with people, companies and clients over time.
Close CRM is a calling machine that helps reps work more deals per day.
If your revenue depends on volume dialing, Close earns its price and Folk cannot compete.
For everyone else, Folk delivers the CRM features most small teams actually use, at half the cost.
More of Folk Compared
Here is how Folk measures up against other tools buyers shortlist:
Folk vs Pipedrive
Folk wins on: lower entry price, Magic Fields enrichment, non-sales use cases like fundraising
Pipedrive wins on: deal forecasting, sales reporting depth, a mature mobile app
Folk wins on: setup time measured in minutes, flat per-member pricing, no upsell pressure
HubSpot wins on: marketing automation, a free starting tier, a much larger app marketplace
Folk wins on: AI contact enrichment, LinkedIn capture, collaborative mail merge
Capsule CRM wins on: task management, project tracking, a cheaper free plan for solo users
More of Close CRM Compared
The video below covers the main Close CRM alternatives.
Close CRM vs Salesforce
Close CRM wins on: same-week onboarding, native dialer, flat per-seat pricing
Salesforce wins on: deep customization, reporting breadth, a large network of certified partners
Close CRM wins on: predictive dialing, call coaching, tighter outbound workflows
Freshsales CRM wins on: lower starting cost, built-in chat, broader support channels
Close CRM wins on: telephony out of the box, sales-specific automation, faster rep adoption
Monday CRM wins on: visual boards, cross-team project work, cheaper seats at small headcounts
Frequently Asked Questions
What is folk CRM?
It is a lightweight customer relationship management app for individuals and small teams. You organize contacts into groups, enrich them with Magic Fields, and run email outreach from one place.
Is folk a good CRM?
Yes, for relationship-led work like partnerships, fundraising and events. It is a poor fit for large sales teams because reporting is thin and calls are not tracked.
What is a close CRM?
Close is a sales platform for small and medium businesses. It bundles calling, email and SMS into a single inbox aimed at high-velocity outbound teams.
How much is close per month?
Essentials costs $35 per seat monthly. Growth costs $99 per seat and Scale costs $139 per seat. A 14-day free trial is available first.
How is close different from other CRMs?
Most CRMs store data. Close adds a dialer, SMS and sequences on top, so it behaves more like a sales engagement tool than a record system.
English 
Spanish 
Chinese 
German 
French 
Arabic 
Russian 
Portuguese 
Japanese 
Korean 
Italian 
Turkish 
Dutch 
Polish 
Indonesian 
Thai 
Vietnamese 