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Software · head to head

Close vs Gladly

Close logo

Close

Software

The inside sales CRM of choice for startups & SMBs

From
$9/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Gladly logo

Gladly

Software

Radically personal customer service

From
$180/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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); Gladly no pricing is published at any level, and the pricing page states no per agent cost, per conversation rate, minimum commitment or feature tiers
  • They diverge on capability: Close covers Built-in calling, Gladly covers Lifelong conversation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Close and Gladly actually diverge.

Attributes where Close and Gladly differ
AttributeCloseGladly
Starting price$9/month$180/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Founded20132014

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Close

  • Built-in calling
  • Email automation
  • SMS messaging
  • Pipeline management
  • Lead management
  • Activity tracking
  • Reporting
  • Mobile app

Only in Gladly

  • Lifelong conversation
  • Omnichannel support
  • Customer timeline
  • Task management
  • Knowledge base
  • IVR
  • Shopify
  • Salesforce

Both cover

  • Stripe
  • SOC2
  • GDPR
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Close

  • Inside salesnot Gladly
  • Outbound salesnot Gladly
  • Lead managementnot Gladly
  • Sales engagementnot Gladly
  • Pipeline trackingnot Gladly

Gladly

  • Customer service built around a single customer record rather than ticketsnot Close
  • Handling support conversations across voice, messaging and emailnot Close

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

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

Gladly

  • No pricing is published at any level, and the pricing page states no per agent cost, per conversation rate, minimum commitment or feature tiers
  • The pricing page presents outcome statistics in place of any cost information
  • Every route to a figure goes through a demo or sales conversation

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Gladly

$180/month
  • Hero$180/month
    • All channels
    • Customer timeline
    • Knowledge base
  • Superhero$210/month
    • Everything in Hero
    • Custom reporting
    • Advanced rules

Which should you pick?

Choose Close if

  • You need built-in calling.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want email automation.
Close review

Choose Gladly if

  • You need lifelong conversation.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want omnichannel support.
Gladly review

Questions people ask

Is Close or Gladly better?
Neither clearly leads. Close starts at $9/month and Gladly at $180/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Close or Gladly?
Close starts at $9/month and Gladly at $180/month.
Does Close or Gladly run on more platforms?
Close runs on Web, iOS, Android. Gladly runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is Close best used for?
Close is most often used for inside sales, outbound sales, lead management, sales engagement. Of those, inside sales and outbound sales are not what Gladly is typically brought in for.
What can Close do that Gladly cannot?
Close covers Built-in calling, Email automation, SMS messaging, Pipeline management. Gladly covers Lifelong conversation, Omnichannel support, Customer timeline, Task management. Both handle Stripe, SOC2, GDPR, 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%.

Source
Close: 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.

Source
Close: 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.

Source
Close: 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.

Source
Close: 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.

Source
Close: 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
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