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Technology · head to head

Close vs Keap

Close logo

Close

Technology

The inside sales CRM of choice for startups & SMBs

From
$9/month
Rated
-
Keap logo

Keap

CRM

CRM and marketing automation for small business

From
$29/month
Rated
-

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); Keap the entry price is $299 a month and includes only 2 user licences, with each additional user at $39 a month
  • They diverge on capability: Close covers Built-in calling, Keap covers Contact management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Close and Keap actually diverge.

Attributes where Close and Keap differ
AttributeCloseKeap
Starting price$9/month$29/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
CategoryTechnologyCRM
Founded20132000

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Close

  • Built-in calling
  • Email automation
  • SMS messaging
  • Lead management
  • Activity tracking
  • Mobile app
  • Segment
  • Google Workspace

Only in Keap

  • Contact management
  • Email marketing
  • Marketing automation
  • Sales automation
  • Google Ads
  • Facebook Ads
  • Ios support
  • Android support

Both cover

  • Pipeline management
  • Reporting
  • Zapier
  • Slack
  • Stripe
  • GDPR
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Close

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

Keap

  • Contact management and CRMnot Close
  • Marketing automationnot Close
  • Sales pipeline managementnot 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

Keap

  • The entry price is $299 a month and includes only 2 user licences, with each additional user at $39 a month
  • Price varies with contact count, and the bands are only visible by entering a number into a calculator on the page
  • Implementation services are described as required rather than optional
  • Text marketing beyond the included 500 messages is a separate add on running from $24 to $279 a month

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

Keap

$29/month
  • Lite$29/month
    • Contact management
    • Email marketing
  • Standard$59/month
    • Everything in Lite
    • Sales automation
    • Pipeline management
  • Professional$149/month
    • Everything in Standard
    • Advanced automation
    • AI features

Which should you pick?

Choose Close if

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

Choose Keap if

  • You need contact management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want email marketing.

Questions people ask

Is Close or Keap better?
Neither clearly leads. Close starts at $9/month and Keap at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Close or Keap?
Close starts at $9/month and Keap at $29/month.
Does Close or Keap run on more platforms?
Close runs on Web, iOS, Android. Keap 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 Keap is typically brought in for.
What can Close do that Keap cannot?
Close covers Built-in calling, Email automation, SMS messaging, Lead management. Keap covers Contact management, Email marketing, Marketing automation, Sales automation. Both handle Pipeline management, Reporting, Zapier, Slack.

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
Keap: How much does Keap cost?

Keap costs $299/month billed at $2,988/year for the main plan, which includes 2 user licenses. Additional users cost $39/month each.

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
Keap: What text messaging fees does Keap charge?

Text marketing tiers range from $24 to $279/month with included message allotments. Overages are $0.015 per message and $0.01 per minute for voice.

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
Keap: Is implementation included in Keap pricing?

Implementation services are required at additional cost. Package pricing is available through Keap sales.

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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