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Technology · head to head

Close vs Orum

Close logo

Close

Technology

The inside sales CRM of choice for startups & SMBs

From
$9/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Orum logo

Orum

Sales Enablement

Parallel dialler that connects sales reps only when a human answers

From
On request
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); Orum orum removed public pricing, so the only figures available are independent estimates around 250 US dollars per user per month at entry and several hundred above that for Ascend, and you cannot verify either without a sales call.
  • They diverge on capability: Close covers Built-in calling, Orum covers Parallel dialling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Close and Orum actually diverge.

Attributes where Close and Orum differ
AttributeCloseOrum
Starting price$9/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Chrome extension
CategoryTechnologySales Enablement
Founded2013Unknown

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 Close

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

Only in Orum

  • Parallel dialling
  • Voicemail and machine detection
  • Local presence
  • CRM activity logging
  • Call recording and transcription
  • Live listen and whisper
  • Connect rate analytics
  • Sequence integration

What people use each for

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

Close

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

Orum

  • A 20-person sales development team that needs to triple daily conversations without adding headcountnot Close
  • An outbound team whose reps spend most of the day listening to voicemail greetings and phone treesnot Close
  • A sales leader who needs live listen and whisper coaching on calls made by new startersnot Close
  • A team with a large but low-connect-rate list where reaching enough humans manually is arithmetically impossiblenot 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

Orum

  • Orum removed public pricing, so the only figures available are independent estimates around 250 US dollars per user per month at entry and several hundred above that for Ascend, and you cannot verify either without a sales call.
  • Standard packaging carries a nine-seat minimum and every plan is annual, so a team of four cannot buy the main product and a team that shrinks mid-year keeps paying for empty seats.
  • Parallel dialling burns through phone numbers and carrier reputation quickly, and once numbers get flagged as spam by carriers the connect rate advantage that justified the cost erodes.
  • Consent and call recording rules differ by jurisdiction and several use cases that are routine in the United States are restricted in parts of Europe, so multinational teams cannot deploy it uniformly.
  • The tool multiplies conversations but does nothing about list quality; pointed at bad data it simply reaches more wrong people faster, and teams without a working data source see no return on a five-figure annual commitment.

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

Orum

On request
  • Launch$undefined/year
    • Parallel dialling
    • Voicemail detection
    • Local presence
  • Ascend$undefined/year
    • Higher concurrent dial lines
    • Advanced coaching and live listen
    • Full analytics
  • Ascend Limited$undefined/year
    • Reduced-rate seats for staff who do not dial full time
    • Same platform access at lower usage
    • Sold alongside a standard Ascend commitment

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 Orum if

  • You need parallel dialling.
  • You work on Web, Chrome extension.
  • You also want voicemail and machine detection.
Orum review

Questions people ask

Is Close or Orum better?
Neither clearly leads. Close starts at $9/month and Orum at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Close or Orum?
Close starts at $9/month and Orum at On request.
Does Close or Orum run on more platforms?
Close runs on Web, iOS, Android. Orum runs on Web, Chrome extension.
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 Orum is typically brought in for.
What can Close do that Orum cannot?
Close covers Built-in calling, Email automation, SMS messaging, Pipeline management. Orum covers Parallel dialling, Voicemail and machine detection, Local presence, CRM activity logging.

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
Orum: Does Orum publish pricing?

No longer. Independent estimates put entry near 250 US dollars per user per month billed annually, but treat that as an estimate.

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
Orum: What is the minimum team size?

Orum own pricing page cites a nine-seat minimum for standard packaging, with reported three-seat availability on the entry Launch package.

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
Orum: Can I pay monthly?

No. All plans require an annual commitment.

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
Orum: Does it replace Outreach or Salesloft?

No. It handles the dialling and connects into your sequence platform, which still owns cadence and email.

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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