Live Chat & Chatbots · head to head
Bold360 vs Close
Bold360
Live Chat & Chatbots
AI-powered customer engagement and service platform
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Bold360 bold360 as a standalone product is discontinued: the vendor's own domain bold360.com now 302-redirects (captured 8 January 2024) to genesys.com/capabilities/live-chat-software, and the live domain no longer resolves at all.; Close hidden costs beyond subscription: calling charges (~$0.02/minute), SMS usage fees, phone numbers ($1-5/month), AI call assistant ($50/month + $0.02/min transcription)
- They diverge on capability: Bold360 covers Live chat messaging, Close covers Built-in calling.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Bold360 and Close actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Bold360
- Live chat messaging
- AI chatbots
- Email support
- Knowledge base
- Salesforce
- IBM Watson
- API
- Webhooks
Only in Close
- Built-in calling
- Email automation
- SMS messaging
- Pipeline management
- Lead management
- Activity tracking
- Reporting
- Mobile app
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Bold360
- Customer engagementnot Close
- Lead generationnot Close
- Customer supportnot Close
- Sales automationnot Close
Close
- Inside salesnot Bold360
- Outbound salesnot Bold360
- Lead managementnot Bold360
- Sales engagementnot Bold360
- Pipeline trackingnot Bold360
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Bold360
- Bold360 as a standalone product is discontinued: the vendor's own domain bold360.com now 302-redirects (captured 8 January 2024) to genesys.com/capabilities/live-chat-software, and the live domain no longer resolves at all.
Close
- Hidden costs beyond subscription: calling charges (~$0.02/minute), SMS usage fees, phone numbers ($1-5/month), AI call assistant ($50/month + $0.02/min transcription)
- No built-in lead lists, company intelligence, or contact enrichment; must source leads separately
- Limited marketing automation compared to competitors like HubSpot; lacks lead scoring and nurturing campaigns
- Calling cost at scale can double effective monthly cost for high-volume SDR teams making 50+ calls per day
- Limited customization of data model compared to Salesforce; cannot create fully custom objects or complex relationships
Pricing, plan by plan
Bold360
On request- Starter$75/month
- Live chat
- Basic AI
- Chatbot
- Professional$150/month
- Advanced AI
- Omnichannel
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Custom solutions
- Dedicated support
Close
$9/month- Solo$9/month (annual)
- 1 user only
- 10,000 leads max
- Calling, email, SMS
- Essentials$35/month (annual)
- Unlimited contacts
- Team collaboration
- 1,000 AI credits/month
- Growth$99/month (annual)
- Automation workflows
- Power dialer
- Bulk email
- Scale$139/month (annual)
- Role-based permissions
- Predictive dialer
- Unlimited recording
Which should you pick?
Choose Bold360 if
- You need live chat messaging.
- You work on Web, Mobile app, IOS, Android.
- You also want ai chatbots.
Choose Close if
- You need built-in calling.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want email automation.
Questions people ask
- Is Bold360 or Close better?
- Neither clearly leads. Bold360 starts at On request and Close at $9/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Bold360 or Close?
- Bold360 starts at On request and Close at $9/month.
- Does Bold360 or Close run on more platforms?
- Bold360 runs on Web, Mobile app, IOS, Android. Close runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- What is Bold360 best used for?
- Bold360 is most often used for customer engagement, lead generation, customer support, sales automation. Of those, customer engagement and lead generation are not what Close is typically brought in for.
- What can Bold360 do that Close cannot?
- Bold360 covers Live chat messaging, AI chatbots, Email support, Knowledge base. Close covers Built-in calling, Email automation, SMS messaging, Pipeline management. Both handle Web support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Close: What are Close's pricing plans and what do they include?
Close offers four plans: Solo ($9-19/user/month), Essentials ($35-49), Growth ($99-109), and Scale ($139-149). All include calling, email, SMS, and Chloe AI agent access. Essentials adds unlimited contacts and team collaboration. Growth adds automation, power dialer, and custom activities. Scale adds role-based permissions and unlimited recording. Annual billing saves up to 50%.
SourceClose: What are the hidden costs in Close's pricing beyond the subscription?
Close charges usage-based fees for calling (~$0.02 per minute), SMS charges per message, and phone number rentals ($1-5/month). The AI Call Assistant add-on costs $50/month plus $0.02 per minute for transcription. Heavy outbound calling teams can see their total costs increase 30-50% beyond the base seat price.
SourceClose: What is Chloe, Close's AI sales agent, and what can it do?
Chloe is an AI sales agent built into Close that automatically calls leads, qualifies prospects through real conversations, and can book meetings while updating the CRM automatically. Chloe features AI-generated call summaries, transcripts, and action items automatically logged to contacts.
SourceClose: Does Close include lead lists, data enrichment, or contact information?
No. Close does not provide built-in lead lists, company intelligence, or contact enrichment features. Organizations must source leads separately or use third-party data providers. This differs from platforms like HubSpot which include integrated lead databases.
SourceClose: What communication features does Close include?
Close includes built-in calling with automatic call logging, email templates and bulk email capabilities, SMS messaging with tracking and automation, email syncing with Gmail, and automated follow-up workflows. All communication happens within the CRM platform.
SourceClose: Does Close have marketing automation capabilities?
Close's marketing automation features are limited compared to HubSpot. It includes basic email sequences, task reminders, and workflow automation, but lacks advanced lead scoring, nurturing campaigns, and detailed marketing analytics. Organizations requiring extensive marketing automation need separate tools.
SourceRelated pages
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- Close vs Zendesk Sunshine Conversations
- Close vs Amazon Lex
- Close vs Botpress
- Close vs Crisp
- Close vs Google Dialogflow
- Close vs Tidio
- Close vs IBM Watson Assistant
- Close vs Landbot
- Close vs ManyChat
- Close vs Gorgias
- Close vs HubSpot Live Chat
- Close vs Kore.ai
- Close vs LiveChat
- Close vs Olark
- Close vs Rasa
- Close vs Yellow.ai
- Close vs Zendesk Answer Bot
- Close vs Acquire
- Close vs Intercom
- Close vs Mixpanel
- Close vs Heap
- Close vs Canny
- Close vs Drift
- Close vs Pendo
- Close vs Userpilot

