Close
The best dialer-CRM for call-heavy SMB teams now ships a real AI layer — Chloe plus an official MCP server punch above the category — but the sticker price is not the real price.
| Solo | $9/mo | per user annual ($19 monthly); 1 user, 500 AI credits/month |
| Essentials | $35/mo | per user annual ($49 monthly); 1,000 AI credits/month |
| Growth | $99/mo | per user annual ($109 monthly); Power Dialer, workflows, Chloe in Workflows, 1,500 AI credits |
| Scale | $139/mo | per user annual ($149 monthly); Predictive Dialer, coaching, 2,000 AI credits |
Advertised seat prices exclude usage: calling minutes, AI credits beyond the included base, AI Call Assistant ($50/mo + $0.02/min), premium phone numbers ($19/mo per line). Independent analysis puts a calling-heavy team's effective cost near $175/user/month on the $99 Growth plan.
checked 2026-07-31 · vendor pricing page
Element scores
Strengths
The native calling stack is still the best in the CRM category — Power Dialer, Predictive Dialer, Listen/Whisper/Barge coaching, voicemail drop, all without third-party telephony. Chloe is built into the CRM rather than bolted on, ships on every plan, and made 818,787 calls in beta with mandatory AI disclosure on every one. The official hosted MCP server with scoped permissions and API v3's real-time webhooks make Close unusually agent-ready for an SMB tool. Bootstrapped, profitable vendor since 2013 — no VC-driven pivot risk.
Honest dings
The $35-to-$99 jump to unlock workflows and the Power Dialer is a 183% cliff, and real costs stack on top: calling minutes, AI credits, $50/month + $0.02/min for call transcription. Independent testing puts calling-heavy teams near $175/user/month against a $99 sticker. Chloe Voice launched US-only and reviewers still call it beta-grade. No AI lead scoring, shallow reporting, ~100 integrations, and an Android app rated 2.3/5.
Sources
Every audit lists the research it rests on — transparency and traceability are the product. Tools evolve: each audit is a snapshot of its audit date, and re-audits supersede older versions (kept below for reference).
- close.com/pricing — Official pricing: 4 tiers, included AI credits per plan, Chloe on every plan, add-on costs (AI Call Assistant, premium numbers) (accessed 2026-07-31)
- close.com/chloe — Official Chloe capabilities: voice calling, qualification, booking, enrichment, Chloe Chat, notetaker; mandatory non-overridable AI disclosure (accessed 2026-07-31)
- close.com/blog/introducing-chloe — Chloe GA to all US Close customers; beta stats: 306 businesses, 818,787 calls, 111,915 prospects reached, 6,424 conversation hours (accessed 2026-07-31)
- help.close.com/docs/mcp-server — Official MCP server documentation: hosted at mcp.close.com, OAuth 2.0 + API key auth, three permission scopes (accessed 2026-07-31)
- developer.close.com — Developer platform: API, webhooks, MCP server positioning for Claude/ChatGPT/Cursor access (accessed 2026-07-31)
- close.com/about — Company facts: founded 2013, Steli Efti CEO, bootstrapped, profitable, 100% remote, ~100 team members (accessed 2026-07-31)
- close.com — Official user count: 11,500+ sales teams; G2 4.7 rating (accessed 2026-07-31)
- techverifiers.com/review/close-crm — Independent review 18/04/2026: real-cost analysis (~$175/user/month effective on Growth for calling-heavy teams), calling suite assessment (accessed 2026-07-31)
- saasprobe.com/reviews/close-crm-review-2026 — Independent review 30/03/2026: pricing cliff analysis, Android app 2.3/5, no AI lead scoring, ARR $40–50M from founder interviews (accessed 2026-07-31)
- stackswap.ai/recommends/close — Independent 08/05/2026: TCO vs stitched HubSpot+Aircall+Gong stacks, MCP server as agent-workflow wedge, Chloe bundling across tiers (accessed 2026-07-31)
- aeroleads.com/blog/close-crm-year-review-what-chang… — Independent 30/03/2026: API v3 with real-time webhooks (mid-2026), workflow engine rebuild with conditional branching, two-way SMS threading (accessed 2026-07-31)