Quick answer: The strongest Close alternatives are Pipedrive, Freshsales (Freshworks) and Nutshell. Pipedrive is the closest match for most users; the others trade off on price, features or focus. All 4 are compared below on pricing, strengths and best use case.
Close is a solid sales crm tool — Inside-sales CRM with built-in calling, SMS and email, designed for high-velocity remote sales teams. But whether it's cost, a missing capability, or just due diligence. Here are the strongest alternatives worth a look, with what sets each apart.
Each option below works in the same broad space as Close; the right swap depends on which trade-off matters most to you.
Growth from ~$29/user/mo; Pro ~$49; Enterprise ~$99 (billed annually). Free trial.
B2B SMBs selling via email
The alternatives in detail
Pipedrive sales CRM
Visual, pipeline-first sales CRM built for SMB sales teams who want deals to move forward with minimal admin. Consider it if smb outbound sales teams is your priority.
The pipeline-first CRM that sales reps adopt without fighting, with AI baked into every tier.
Stands out for:
Visual drag-and-drop sales pipeline with customizable stages and unlimited custom fields (tier-dependent)
Built-in AI Sales Assistant that surfaces win-probability, flags stalled deals and recommends next best actions
Workflow automation, email sync (two-way), templates and sales-document tracking
Pricing: Essential from ~$14/user/mo; Advanced ~$34; Professional ~$49; Power ~$64; Enterprise ~$99 (billed annually). 14-day trial, no free plan. · Best for: SMB outbound sales teams, Pipeline visualization, Sales reps who hate data entry
AI-assisted sales CRM (Freddy AI) with built-in phone, email and lead scoring, part of the Freshworks suite. Worth a look for smbs wanting ai + phone in crm.
A sales CRM that ships with a phone system and Freddy AI, strong value inside the Freshworks suite.
Stands out for:
Built-in phone (telephony) and email out of the box, plus live chat
Freddy AI: lead scoring, generative email drafting, contact auto-enrichment
Visual Kanban deal pipelines and multiple pipelines (higher tiers)
Pricing: Free plan; Growth from ~$11/user/mo; Pro ~$47; Enterprise ~$71 (billed annually). · Best for: SMBs wanting AI + phone in CRM, Freshworks ecosystem users, Affordable scaling
Straightforward sales CRM with pipeline management, email sequences and reporting at a friendly price. Worth a look for smb b2b sales teams.
A straightforward, affordable sales CRM with sequences and unlimited contacts for SMB teams.
Stands out for:
Sales pipeline management with multiple pipelines (higher tiers)
Personal email sequences, drip campaigns and email/inbox sync
Built-in web chat, AI chatbot and form/landing-page builder
Pricing: Foundation from ~$13/user/mo; Growth, Pro ~$42 and Business ~$67 tiers (billed annually). 14-day trial. · Best for: SMB B2B sales teams, Simple pipeline + sequences, Affordable per-seat pricing
Intelligent CRM that auto-fills contacts, companies and activity from email, calendar and social, minimizing manual entry. Consider it if b2b smbs selling via email is your priority.
The CRM that fills itself in, minimizing manual data entry for email-led B2B teams.
Stands out for:
Automatic data entry: builds contact/company/timeline records from email, calendar, phone and public sources
Auto-logs every email, meeting and call to the right record; enriches from email signatures and LinkedIn/company sites
Automatic task suggestions and follow-up reminders
Pricing: Growth from ~$29/user/mo; Pro ~$49; Enterprise ~$99 (billed annually). Free trial. · Best for: B2B SMBs selling via email, Teams wanting zero data entry, Gmail/Outlook sales