⚡ Quick Verdict:
- Pricing: Pipedrive starts at $14/user/month. Close CRM starts at $35/seat/month.
- Best for: Pipedrive suits visual pipeline management for small businesses. Close CRM suits high-volume phone teams.
- Key difference: Close CRM has built in calling and SMS. Pipedrive needs other tools for phone work.
- Our pick: Pipedrive, rated 4.3 against 3.0, wins on price, integrations, and daily ease of use.
Two sales teams can look at the same CRM and reach opposite conclusions.
One wants a clean board that shows every deal at a glance.
The other wants a dialer that keeps reps on the phone all day.
Pipedrive and Close CRM each built their system around one of those jobs.
Pick the wrong one and you fight your CRM every week.
Overview
This pipedrive vs close comparison covers pricing, features, and ease of use.
It also breaks down which sales process each CRM was designed to fit.
Our sources include published pricing pages, product documentation, and G2 reviews.
Our writers also spent hands-on time inside both systems.
Those notes appear in the “What Our Team Noticed” sections below.
What is Pipedrive?
Pipedrive is a CRM built around a visual sales pipeline.
Every deal sits on a card you drag between stages.
That layout shows the value sitting at each stage of the pipeline.
Small businesses use it to track contacts, tasks, and follow ups in one place.
Custom fields and filters let you shape the system around your own sales process.
Here is a walkthrough of how the product works day to day.
🏆 Winner: Pipedrive
The cheapest way to run a clear sales pipeline. Drag-and-drop deal tracking, 400+ integrations, and a mobile app reps actually open.
Pipedrive Pricing
Pipedrive charges per user. Four paid tiers are on offer, and there is no free plan.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | $14/user/month | Solo sellers tracking a simple pipeline |
| Growth | $24/user/month | Small teams adding automation features |
| Premium | $49/user/month | Teams needing advanced reporting and permissions |
| Ultimate | $69/user/month | Larger businesses with security and admin needs |
Pricing verified September 2026.
Free trial: 14 days, no credit card needed at signup.
Money-back guarantee: None advertised. Cancel any time and access runs to your paid date.
📌 Note: Email marketing, projects, and phone support sit on separate tiers or paid add-ons. Price the plan you actually need, not the entry one.
⚠️ Warning: Reviewers describe the pricing as a bait-and-switch, because the features they wanted sat behind an upgrade or an add-on. Check the tier feature list before you commit.
Key Benefits of Pipedrive
Here is what makes Pipedrive worth a look:
- Visual pipeline management: Drag-and-drop cards move deals between phases. You can spot a stalled order without opening a single record.
- Unlimited pipelines on higher plans: Run separate boards for new business, renewals, and partners. Each one keeps its own stages.
- 400+ marketplace integrations: Slack, Zoom, Asana, Trello, Quickbooks, Intercom, Microsoft Teams, SendPulse, and Fireflies.ai all connect. Zapier covers most other apps.
- Detailed reports: Activities performance and email performance reports show where sales performance is slipping.
- Strong mobile app: Geolocation, offline access, and call logging make field visits easier to record.
- Built-in email marketing: Campaigns and templates run from inside the CRM instead of a separate site.
- AI Sales Assistant: Surfaces next-step suggestions so reps spend less time deciding what to do next.
What Our Team Noticed
Our writer set up a real pipeline in Pipedrive and worked deals through it for several days. Here is what stood out from that hands-on time:
Pipedrive Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Entry price of $14/user/month undercuts Close CRM by $21 per seat
- Drag-and-drop pipeline is easy to navigate on day one
- Mobile app adds geolocation, offline access, and call logging
- Marketplace carries over 400 integrations
❌ Cons
- No built in calling, so phone work needs third-party integrations
- Support chatbot draws poor reviews, and live chat with a human needs a higher plan
- Features you expect often sit one upgrade away
What is Close CRM?
Close CRM is a sales focused system built for inside sales teams.
Calling, SMS, and email all live inside the CRM.
Reps work a queue of leads without switching to other apps.
Smart Views filter and group prospects so the next call is always ready.
The whole interface is arranged to cut distractions and keep reps closing.
This video shows the dialer and inbox in action.
Close CRM
The pick for teams that live on the phone. Power Dialer, call recording, SMS, and AI call summaries ship in the box.
Close CRM Pricing
Close CRM charges per seat across three tiers. There is no free plan here either.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $35/seat/month | Small teams testing built in calling |
| Growth | $99/seat/month | Outbound teams using the Power Dialer |
| Scale | $139/seat/month | Larger businesses needing predictive dialer and AI tools |
Pricing verified September 2026.
⚠️ Pricing conflict flagged: Some sources list Close CRM’s lowest tier at $99 with a three-user minimum, plus $49 per extra user. Our verified data shows Essentials at $35/seat/month. We have kept the verified figures in every table and card here. Confirm your seat count on the vendor’s site before you buy.
Free trial: 14 days with full functionality, no credit card at signup.
Money-back guarantee: None advertised. The trial is the safety net, so use it properly.
📌 Note: Calling minutes and phone numbers bill on top of the seat price. Budget for call volume, not just seats.
Key Benefits of Close CRM
Here is where Close CRM earns its higher price:
- Every touchpoint in one system: Calling, SMS messaging, and email automation ship with the product. No stitching required.
- Power Dialer: Dials several numbers at once and routes a free rep to the call when a human picks up.
- Call Assistant: Transcribes and summarises calls automatically, so reps focus on the conversation instead of notes.
- Outreach automation: Workflows assign leads to a user or group, then fire email sequences, SMS, or calls.
- Support that answers: An in-house team spread across time zones replies in under two hours on average.
- Smart Views: Saved filters group prospects by any rule you create, which keeps lists tidy.
- Reporting on movement: Tracks how leads move through the pipeline and compares one period against another.
What Our Team Noticed
Our writer ran a batch of outbound calls through Close CRM and logged the results inside the platform. Here is what stood out:
Close CRM Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Calling, SMS, and email automation come built in
- Power Dialer and AI call transcription cut dead time between calls
- In-house support answers in under two hours on average
- Three plans with no hidden fees attached
❌ Cons
- Entry seat costs $21 more than Pipedrive’s
- The interface carries a learning curve before it clicks
- Around 100 integrations against Pipedrive’s 400+
- Mobile app is weaker for field sales work
Feature Comparison
Both products manage contacts, deals, and follow ups. The difference shows up in what each one does natively versus what it asks you to bolt on.
| Feature | Pipedrive | Close CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $14/user/month | $35/seat/month |
| Free Plan | ❌ | ❌ |
| Built In Calling | ❌ | ✅ |
| Power Dialer | ❌ | ✅ |
| Call Recording | ❌ (via integrations) | ✅ |
| Visual Sales Pipeline | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email Marketing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Integrations | ✅ 400+ | ✅ 100+ |
| Mobile App | ✅ Offline access | ✅ Core tools only |
| Best For | Visual pipeline management | High-volume phone sales |
1. Lead Management
Pipedrive: Leads sit in a separate inbox until you qualify them into deals. Custom fields let you capture whatever data your business needs at intake.
Close CRM: Smart Views filter and categorise prospects into working lists. Reps open a view and start dialling instead of hunting for the next lead.
2. Pipeline Management and Deal Tracking
Pipedrive: The board shows pipeline value at every stage, so a stalled deal is obvious. Higher plans allow unlimited pipelines with their own custom stages, which fits longer sales cycles.
Close CRM: The pipeline is present but secondary to the activity queue. Notes and logged call notes are categorised, so finding a detail inside a client record takes seconds.
3. Built In Calling and Communication
Pipedrive: There is no native phone system. Calling, SMS, and call recording arrive through third-party integrations, which means another vendor and another bill.
Close CRM: Deep native call and SMS functionality is the headline difference in the CRM space. Every touchpoint with customers runs from one screen, and personalised email templates sit beside the dialer.
⚠️ Warning: Pipedrive’s Essential-tier equivalent has no integrated calling, SMS, or email automation. If your team lives on the phone, the add-on stack can erase the price gap.
4. Sales Automation
Pipedrive: Triggers fire on deals, people, activities, leads, organisations, and projects. An AI Sales Assistant suggests the next move, and follow-up sequences run automatically for leads from a chosen source.
Close CRM: Automation aims at outreach rather than admin. Workflows assign leads to a user or group, then start calls, SMS, or email sequences, with predictive dialing on higher tiers to double rep productivity.
5. Reporting and Detailed Reports
Pipedrive: Reviewers rate the analytics highly. Activities performance and email performance reports break down sales activities by rep, and advanced reporting unlocks on the Premium tier.
Close CRM: Reporting tracks how leads move through the pipeline and compares one period against another. It is narrower than Pipedrive’s set, but tuned to call and outreach volume.
6. Integrations and Other Apps
Pipedrive: The marketplace carries over 400 integrations, including SendPulse, Quickbooks, Trello, Microsoft Teams, Asana, Slack, Intercom, Zoom, and Fireflies.ai.
Close CRM: Over 100 integrations span communication, automation, finance, support, lead generation, marketing, and collaboration. Microsoft 365, HubSpot, Segment, Gong, JustCall, and Help Scout all integrate directly, and Zapier covers the rest.
7. Email Marketing and Sequences
Pipedrive: Campaigns, templates, and open tracking run inside the CRM. Email marketing is a paid add-on rather than a standard inclusion, so check your plan first.
Close CRM: A shared inbox keeps calls, texts, and replies in one thread per contact. Email sequences pause automatically when a prospect answers.
8. Extras Beyond the Core CRM
Pipedrive: Projects turn a won deal into delivery tasks without a separate app. That matters for agencies where the work starts after the signature.
Close CRM: An ROI calculator models what extra call volume is worth before you commit. It is a sales pitch, but a useful one if you are interested in payback maths.
9. Templates, Documents, and AI Help
Pipedrive: Quotes, proposals, and e-signatures are generated from templates and tracked on the deal record. Reps spend less time rebuilding the same document.
Close CRM: Call Assistant transcribes and summarises each phone conversation automatically. Reps get a written record without typing during the call.
10. Pricing & Cost
Here are the plans side by side.
| Tier | Pipedrive | Close CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ❌ | ❌ |
| Entry | Lite — $14/user/month | Essentials — $35/seat/month |
| Mid | Growth — $24/user/month | Growth — $99/seat/month |
| Upper | Premium — $49/user/month | Scale — $139/seat/month |
| Top | Ultimate — $69/user/month | ❌ |
Pipedrive: Four tiers give you room to start cheap and upgrade later. The catch is that more features usually mean a higher plan or an add-on, which is why some reviewers feel misled.
Close CRM: Pricing is transparent, with no hidden fees, and the phone system is included rather than sold separately. Even so, its top tier costs double Pipedrive’s, so the value depends on call volume.
Different Scenarios
| If You Need… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The lowest entry cost | Pipedrive | $21 cheaper per seat |
| Built in calling and SMS | Close CRM | Native phone system |
| Long, structured sales cycles | Pipedrive | Multiple custom pipeline stages |
| High-volume outbound dialling | Close CRM | Power Dialer and call routing |
| Field sales on mobile | Pipedrive | Geolocation and offline access |
| Fast human support | Close CRM | Under two-hour replies |
| The widest app connections | Pipedrive | 400+ against 100+ |
💰 Your Budget
Pipedrive is more affordable at the entry level, while Close CRM sits as the premium, all-inclusive option. Add a calling tool for ten users on Pipedrive and the gap narrows fast.
🔌 Your Tech Stack
If your team already runs Slack, Asana, and Quickbooks, Pipedrive’s marketplace covers more of them out of the box. Close CRM connects to fewer apps but hits the big ones, and both integrate through Zapier.
📞 Your Sales Process
Phone-heavy outbound work belongs in Close CRM, where the dialer and CRM are the same product. Consultative deals with long timelines fit Pipedrive’s staged board better.
🎓 Your Experience Level
Pipedrive’s user interface is easier to navigate for a first-time CRM buyer. Close CRM asks for a few days of patience before its layout feels natural.
🆓 Free Trials and Demos
Both give you 14 days without a card, so run one real week of work through each. Import 50 contacts, for example, and see which one your reps open first.
🛟 Support Options
Close CRM’s in-house team spans several time zones and its email support draws praise for speed. Pipedrive’s chatbot is available to everyone, but live chat with a person needs a higher plan.
Switching Guide
Already on one of them? Here is what changes if you move.
🔄 Switching from Pipedrive to Close CRM?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- Native calling, SMS, and call recording with no extra vendor
- Power Dialer plus AI transcription of every call
- Support replies in under two hours on average
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Roughly 300 marketplace integrations
- The mobile app’s geolocation and offline access
- A $14 entry seat and the Projects module
📋 How to switch:
- Export contacts, deals, and activity history from Pipedrive as CSV
- Start the Close CRM trial and map your fields during import
- Rebuild Smart Views, connect numbers, then run one week in parallel
🔄 Switching from Close CRM to Pipedrive?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- A cheaper seat and four tiers to grow through
- Clearer visual tracking of pipeline value by stage
- A stronger mobile app and a much larger app marketplace
❌ What you’ll lose:
- The dialer, SMS, and automatic call summaries
- Under two-hour support replies on every plan
- Smart Views and one-screen outreach
📋 How to switch:
- Export leads, opportunities, and call logs from Close CRM
- Create your pipeline stages and custom fields in Pipedrive first
- Import, then connect a calling tool before you cancel the old system
What Our Review Didn’t Cover
This comparison looked at small businesses and mid-sized sales teams. We did not test call quality at scale, custom API builds, or enterprise contracts with negotiated pricing. Both products have limitations we could not measure in a short trial, including long-term data migration and admin overhead. If you manage 50 or more reps, weigh those points yourself before you decide.
Final Verdict
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| 💰 Pricing | Pipedrive |
| 📊 Pipeline Management | Pipedrive |
| 📞 Calling and Communication | Close CRM |
| ⚙️ Sales Automation | Tie |
| 📈 Reporting | Pipedrive |
| 🔌 Integrations | Pipedrive |
| 👶 Ease of Use | Pipedrive |
| 🛟 Support | Close CRM |
| 🏆 Overall Winner | Pipedrive |
🏆 WINNER: PIPEDRIVE
Pipedrive wins 5 of 8 categories, with a 4.3 rating against 3.0.
Best for: visual pipeline management, small businesses, field sales, and teams that want a user friendly interface on day one.
These are not really the same product. Pipedrive organises a sales process visually and lets you plug in whatever else you need.
Close CRM builds the phone into the CRM and charges for that convenience. For a team making a hundred calls a day, that trade is worth it.
For everyone else, Pipedrive costs less, connects to more, and takes less time to learn. That is why it takes the win here.
More of Pipedrive Compared
Here is how Pipedrive lines up against other tools in the same bracket:
Pipedrive wins on: a $14 starting seat, a lighter setup, and a board reps understand without training
HubSpot wins on: a genuine free plan, native marketing tools, and a service desk on the same record
Pipedrive wins on: setup measured in hours, no admin headcount, and pricing you can read in one screen
Salesforce wins on: deep customisation, territory and forecasting controls, and a far larger partner network
Pipedrive wins on: sales-first reporting, email tracking on the deal, and stages designed for selling rather than tasks
Monday CRM wins on: flexible boards for non-sales work, colourful project views, and one system for the whole company
Pipedrive wins on: marketplace depth, mobile offline access, and a cleaner deal board
Freshsales CRM wins on: a free tier, a built-in phone on paid plans, and bundled chat for inbound leads
More of Close CRM Compared
And here is Close CRM against its closest rivals.
Close CRM wins on: the dialer being included, faster human support, and a queue built for calling all day
HubSpot wins on: free entry, content and marketing features, and reporting across the whole customer journey
Close CRM wins on: outbound call volume, call transcription, and a workflow builder aimed at reps
Keap wins on: invoicing and payments, appointment booking, and nurture campaigns for service businesses
Close CRM wins on: being a full CRM record, phone plus email in one thread, and pipeline reporting after the reply
Instantly wins on: inbox rotation at scale, warm-up tooling, and a lower cost per sending mailbox
Close CRM wins on: dialer depth, transcription quality, and outreach automation that starts calls, not just emails
Freshsales CRM wins on: a free starting tier, cheaper seats, and lead scoring included lower down the range
Frequently Asked Questions
What CRM is better than Pipedrive?
It depends on the job. Close CRM is better for phone-heavy outbound. HubSpot is better if you want marketing and a free tier in the same account.
What is the difference between Pipedrive and Cloze?
Pipedrive is a pipeline-first CRM you update deliberately. Cloze is a relationship assistant that builds contact history automatically from your email and calendar. Different jobs entirely.
What is Close IO used for?
Close IO is the former name of Close CRM. Inside sales teams use it to call, text, and email leads from one screen, then track the results.
Can Pipedrive be used as a CRM?
Yes. It is a full CRM, holding contacts, deals, activity history, and reports. The visual board is simply how it presents that data.
What is better, HubSpot or Pipedrive?
HubSpot suits teams wanting marketing, sales, and service on one website record. Pipedrive suits small sales teams who want a cheaper, simpler board. Check both trials.
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