Comparing Close and ActiveCampaign

About Close

Close is a CRM built specifically for sales teams that need to make calls and send emails at scale. It combines the usual pipeline tracking with built-in phone and email tools, so reps can dial prospects and run automated email sequences without switching between different apps. The software focuses on outbound sales activities like cold calling and follow-up sequences rather than trying to be an all-in-one marketing platform. It's designed for small to medium-sized businesses that want their sales teams to move fast without getting bogged down in complex workflows.

About ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform that includes a basic CRM in all plans, with additional sales features available through add-ons rather than built-in functionality. It uses contact-based pricing starting around $15 monthly for smaller contact lists, scaling up through enterprise tiers. The platform focuses on email marketing, automation workflows, and customer segmentation, with what appears to be a substantial integration marketplace. Companies that lead with marketing campaigns and email nurturing tend to use it, while those needing built-in calling or sales-first workflows often look elsewhere.

What do users say?

We've used AI to analyze a number of reviews from third-party sites like G2, Reddit, and Capterra, and here's what the AI found:

Based on reviews, Close is praised for its easy-to-use interface and consolidated communication tools, with users highlighting the clean UI, built-in auto dialer, and seamless integration of email and calling functions that help save time by keeping all sales records in one platform. Users appreciate the intuitive sales pipeline management, quick learning curve, and the ability to consolidate multiple tools into one CRM system, along with excellent customer support. However, some users note limitations including workflow issues that can be unintuitive, and the platform's primary focus on sales teams rather than broader customer lifecycle management or marketing scenarios.

Based on reviews, ActiveCampaign appears to be praised for its powerful automation capabilities, with users highlighting its automation builder as one of the best available, along with high email deliverability rates and flexible integration options. Users appreciate its budget-friendly pricing compared to similar platforms and find the interface user-friendly for email marketing with effective segmentation features. However, some users report challenges with a steep learning curve for beginners, reliability issues including downtime, and concerns about customer support accessibility and pricing changes over time.

Comparison

Close

Based on reviews, Close is praised for its intuitive interface, powerful built-in calling tools including auto-dialer and call logging, and strong email automation capabilities that enable teams to onboard quickly. However, users note that per-seat pricing can become expensive for larger teams and the platform lacks built-in marketing automation features due to its sales-focused design.

ActiveCampaign

Based on reviews, ActiveCampaign is recognized for its powerful automation builder and effective email marketing capabilities, with users appreciating its budget-friendly pricing and flexible integration options. However, users report challenges with a steep learning curve for beginners, reliability issues including platform downtime, and customer support accessibility concerns.

Built-in Calling

Close includes native calling capabilities with power and predictive dialers, call recording, and voicemail drop features built directly into the platform. This eliminates the need for separate phone systems and keeps all communication history centralized within the CRM.

ActiveCampaign does not offer built-in calling functionality and focuses primarily on email-based communication and marketing automation. Users needing calling capabilities would require third-party integrations or separate tools.

Email Automation

Close provides email sequences and automation workflows designed specifically for sales follow-up and outbound prospecting. The email automation integrates seamlessly with calling activities to create comprehensive sales cadences.

ActiveCampaign offers sophisticated email automation with advanced workflow builders, trigger-based campaigns, and detailed segmentation capabilities. The platform excels at complex, multi-step email marketing campaigns and lifecycle automation.

Marketing Automation

Close is designed specifically for sales teams and does not include marketing automation features like lead scoring, website tracking, or broad marketing campaign management. The platform focuses exclusively on sales-related workflows and communications.

ActiveCampaign provides comprehensive marketing automation with advanced workflow builders, behavioral triggers, and customer journey mapping. The platform supports complex marketing campaigns, lead nurturing, and customer lifecycle management across multiple touchpoints.

CRM Functionality

Close offers full CRM capabilities with multi-pipeline deal tracking, Smart Views for data organization, and role-based permissions. The CRM is designed specifically for sales teams with features like activity tracking and performance dashboards.

ActiveCampaign includes CRM functionality in all plans, though advanced sales features like Pipeline Management require add-on purchases. The CRM integrates with marketing automation but may lack some sales-specific features found in dedicated sales platforms.

SMS Messaging

Close includes built-in SMS messaging capabilities that integrate with calling and email features, allowing sales teams to create multi-channel outreach sequences. SMS history is tracked alongside other communication activities in the unified inbox.

ActiveCampaign offers SMS messaging as part of its communication toolkit, with the ability to include SMS in automated marketing workflows and campaigns. The SMS functionality supports segmentation and personalization similar to email campaigns.

Pipeline Management

Close provides multi-pipeline deal tracking with customizable stages, Smart Views for filtering opportunities, and detailed sales reporting dashboards. The pipeline management is designed specifically for sales teams with features like activity reminders and deal progression tracking.

ActiveCampaign offers pipeline management functionality, though advanced features may require add-on purchases. The pipeline capabilities integrate with marketing automation to track leads from initial contact through conversion.

Integration Marketplace

Close offers over 100 integrations through native connections, Zapier, and API access, covering essential business tools and workflows. While comprehensive for sales-focused needs, the integration ecosystem is more limited compared to marketing-first platforms.

ActiveCampaign boasts over 950 integrations, providing extensive connectivity with e-commerce platforms, marketing tools, and business applications. The broad integration marketplace makes it suitable for complex marketing technology stacks.

Per-User Pricing

Close uses per-user pricing starting at $9 per month for solo users, scaling to $139 for the Scale tier with advanced features. This model provides predictable costs based on team size but can become expensive for larger sales organizations.

ActiveCampaign uses contact-based pricing starting at $15 monthly for up to 1,000 contacts, which can be more cost-effective for teams managing large contact databases. However, costs can increase significantly as contact lists grow.

Conclusion

Close is ideally suited for sales-focused teams that prioritize outbound calling, particularly SMB sales organizations, SaaS companies, and inside sales teams that need to make high volumes of calls while managing email follow-up sequences. The platform's strength lies in its unified approach to sales communication and its ability to get teams operational quickly without complex setup or training requirements.

ActiveCampaign serves marketing-led organizations that need sophisticated email automation and customer lifecycle management, with CRM capabilities as a secondary consideration. Companies that lead with marketing campaigns, content nurturing, and complex customer journeys will find ActiveCampaign's automation builder and extensive integration ecosystem more aligned with their needs, though they'll need to source calling capabilities separately or through add-ons.

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