Softwr

SaaS · head to head

Close vs SmartKarrot

Close logo

Close

SaaS

The inside sales CRM of choice for startups & SMBs

From
$9/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SmartKarrot logo

SmartKarrot

Customer Success

Intelligent Customer Success Platform

From
$499/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); SmartKarrot the entry Basic plan starts at $15,000 per year and includes only 5 users
  • They diverge on capability: Close covers Built-in calling, SmartKarrot covers Customer 360.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Close and SmartKarrot actually diverge.

Attributes where Close and SmartKarrot differ
AttributeCloseSmartKarrot
Starting price$9/month$499/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategorySaaSCustomer Success
Founded20132018

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 SmartKarrot

  • Customer 360
  • Health monitoring
  • Playbook automation
  • Success planning
  • Touchpoints tracking
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Intercom

Both cover

  • Slack
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Close

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

SmartKarrot

  • Tracking customer onboarding phases and account health for a SaaS businessnot Close
  • Segmenting accounts and users to target customer success playsnot Close
  • Reporting on customer success outcomes with embedded BI dashboardsnot 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

SmartKarrot

  • The entry Basic plan starts at $15,000 per year and includes only 5 users
  • All plans are billed annually with no monthly option
  • Basic includes only 2 third party integrations, Growth 3 and Pro 4
  • Usage tracking is limited to 1 SaaS product on Growth and 3 on Pro
  • Growth, Pro and Enterprise plans are all Contact Sales with no published price
  • Basic support is email-based only, with a dedicated CSM starting at Growth
  • SmartKonversation call intelligence is a paid add-on rather than an included feature on Basic, Growth or Pro
  • SmartOps advanced AI trends is an add-on available only on the Enterprise plan
  • Additional Lite users are billed at $10 per user per month on top of the plan fee

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

SmartKarrot

$499/month
  • Professional$499/month
    • Health scores
    • Playbooks
    • Customer 360
  • Enterprise$1299/month
    • AI insights
    • Custom workflows
    • Advanced analytics

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 SmartKarrot if

  • You need customer 360.
  • You also want health monitoring.
SmartKarrot review

Questions people ask

Is Close or SmartKarrot better?
Neither clearly leads. Close starts at $9/month and SmartKarrot at $499/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Close or SmartKarrot?
Close starts at $9/month and SmartKarrot at $499/month.
Does Close or SmartKarrot run on more platforms?
Close runs on Web, iOS, Android. SmartKarrot runs on Web.
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 SmartKarrot is typically brought in for.
What can Close do that SmartKarrot cannot?
Close covers Built-in calling, Email automation, SMS messaging, Pipeline management. SmartKarrot covers Customer 360, Health monitoring, Playbook automation, Success planning. Both handle Slack, 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
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Close

More on SmartKarrot

Keep looking

Other head to heads