SaaS · head to head
Canny vs Close
The short version
- Only Canny has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Canny tracked user pricing model causes costs to balloon as product grows and engagement increases, creating perverse incentive where more successful feedback gathering means higher costs; 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: Canny covers Feedback boards, Close covers Built-in calling.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Canny and Close actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (SaaS).
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 Canny
- Feedback boards
- Voting system
- Roadmap planning
- Changelog
- User segmentation
- Status updates
- Admin moderation
- Analytics
Only in Close
- Built-in calling
- Email automation
- SMS messaging
- Pipeline management
- Lead management
- Activity tracking
- Reporting
- Mobile app
Both cover
- Slack
- Zapier
- SOC2
- GDPR
- 2FA
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Canny
- Feature request managementnot Close
- Product roadmappingnot Close
- Customer feedback collectionnot Close
- Changelog communicationnot Close
- User engagementnot Close
Close
- Inside salesnot Canny
- Outbound salesnot Canny
- Lead managementnot Canny
- Sales engagementnot Canny
- Pipeline trackingnot Canny
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Canny
- Tracked user pricing model causes costs to balloon as product grows and engagement increases, creating perverse incentive where more successful feedback gathering means higher costs
- Limited integrations on Core plan; must upgrade to Pro to connect with Jira and Linear
- Lacks built-in analytics for identifying themes and patterns across hundreds of feedback requests without manual tagging
- Customizations limited for public-facing interfaces regarding branding and information presentation
- Autopilot AI cannot be linked to product knowledge bases to better understand products and improve function
- Slow response times reported by users, affecting feedback management efficiency
- Limited custom user fields and manual data updates require API access
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
Canny
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 100 tracked users
- Unlimited feedback
- 1 board
- Starter$400/month
- 1,000 tracked users
- Unlimited boards
- Private boards
- Growth$900/month
- 5,000 tracked users
- API access
- SSO
- Business$undefined/month
- Unlimited tracked users
- White label
- SLA
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 Canny if
- You need feedback boards.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Claude AI (MCP).
- You also want voting system.
Choose Close if
- You need built-in calling.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want email automation.
Questions people ask
- Is Canny or Close better?
- Neither clearly leads. Canny starts at Free and Close at $9/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Canny or Close?
- Canny has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Canny and $9/month for Close.
- Does Canny or Close run on more platforms?
- Canny runs on Web, Claude AI (MCP). Close runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Canny for free?
- Yes. Canny has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Close starts at $9/month.
- What is Canny best used for?
- Canny is most often used for feature request management, product roadmapping, customer feedback collection, changelog communication. Of those, feature request management and product roadmapping are not what Close is typically brought in for.
- What can Canny do that Close cannot?
- Canny covers Feedback boards, Voting system, Roadmap planning, Changelog. Close covers Built-in calling, Email automation, SMS messaging, Pipeline management. Both handle Slack, Zapier, SOC2, GDPR.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Canny: Does Canny offer a free plan?
Yes. Canny offers a free plan that allows collecting up to 100 feedback ideas. Free users get basic features without roadmap, changelog, or integrations.
SourceClose: 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%.
SourceCanny: How is Canny priced?
Canny pricing scales based on tracked users. Core starts at $19/month (100 users, annual), Pro starts at $79/month (100 users, annual). Prices increase as tracked users grow.
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.
SourceCanny: What is a tracked user in Canny?
A tracked user is anyone who posts, votes, or comments on your Canny board or embedded widget. Each unique end user counts once and the count accumulates.
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.
SourceCanny: What is Canny Autopilot?
Canny Autopilot is an AI feature that automatically captures feature requests from communication tools like Gong, Intercom, Slack, and Zendesk. It prioritizes requests by revenue impact.
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.
SourceCanny: Does Canny have a public roadmap feature?
Yes. Canny provides a public roadmap where customers can see what is planned, building, and shipped. Customers can vote on features and watch their feedback progress.
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.
Source