---
title: "Close.io Power Dialer: CRM Alternatives 2026"
description: "Close's native Power Dialer earns a 4.7/5 G2 rating, but Pipedrive, HubSpot Sales Hub, and Salesloft offer different trade-offs. Compare pricing and features."
answer_summary: "Close's native Power Dialer earns a 4.7/5 G2 rating, but Pipedrive, HubSpot Sales Hub, and Salesloft offer different trade-offs. Compare pricing and features."
canonical: "https://nqz.ai/blog/alternative-close-day2-21"
published_at: "2026-07-03T16:50:02.086Z"
updated_at: "2026-08-22T03:15:25.000Z"
author: "Ada O'Brien"
category: "Comparison"
tags: ["alternative","comparison","close"]
image: "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1510915361894-db8b60106cb1?w=1200&h=630&fit=crop"
---

# Close.io Power Dialer: CRM Alternatives 2026

# Close CRM Alternatives 2026: How Pipedrive, HubSpot Sales Hub, and Salesloft Actually Compare

Close has built its reputation on one thing: a CRM where calling, email, and SMS live natively inside the record instead of being bolted on through a third-party integration. [G2 reviewers consistently describe it as having "the best built-in dialer in any CRM"](https://www.g2.com/products/close/reviews), and in 2026 Close added Chloe, a built-in AI voice agent that reportedly handles qualification calls and books meetings autonomously.

That focus makes Close a strong fit for a specific buyer — a small, phone-heavy outbound sales team — but it isn't the only sales-first tool in this price range, and its per-seat pricing climbs quickly once you need automation. This comparison looks at three genuine alternatives with different trade-offs: **Pipedrive** (pipeline-visualization CRM), **HubSpot Sales Hub** (CRM-plus-suite with a free tier), and **Salesloft** (a dedicated sales engagement layer that typically sits on top of Salesforce or HubSpot rather than replacing your CRM).

## Product Overview

**Direct answer:** **Close** is a standalone CRM purpose-built for outbound teams. Every plan includes native calling, email sync, and SMS; the Growth and Scale tiers add a Power Dialer and Predictive Dialer that auto-dial through call lists, plus call coaching (listen/whisper/barge). [Close's own pricing page](https://close.com/pricing/) lists four tiers — Solo, Essentials, Growth, and Scale — with calling billed separately at roughly $0.02/minute plus about $1/month per phone number.

**Pipedrive** is built around a visual, drag-and-drop deal pipeline rather than communication tooling. In 2025 it restructured its five legacy plans (Essential/Advanced/Professional/Power/Enterprise) down to four: Lite, Growth, Premium, and Ultimate. [Pipedrive ranked #6 on G2's Best Sales Software Products 2026 list](https://www.pipedrive.com/en/newsroom/pipedrive-ranks-6-in-g2-best-sales-software-products-2026-list), and reviewers most often cite the deal-board UX and fast setup as its strength, with reporting depth and support responsiveness as the recurring complaints.

**HubSpot Sales Hub** is the sales module of HubSpot's broader CRM suite, and it's the only one of the four with a permanent free tier (2 seats, 1 pipeline, 500 calling minutes). [HubSpot's official pricing page](https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/sales) shows a steep jump from Starter ($7-$20/seat/month) to Professional ($90-$100/seat/month, plus a mandatory $1,500 onboarding fee) — Professional is where workflow automation, multiple pipelines, and lead scoring actually unlock.

**Salesloft**, now operating as "Clari + Salesloft" following its December 2025 merger with the revenue-forecasting company Clari, isn't a CRM at all — it's a sales engagement platform (cadences, conversation intelligence, forecasting) that most customers run alongside Salesforce or HubSpot. It doesn't publish list pricing; it's quote-based per seat with an annual contract.

## Quick Answer

- If you're a small, phone-heavy outbound sales team → choose Close, because every plan includes native calling, SMS, and email sync in one record, plus the highest G2 rating of the group at 4.7/5.
- If you're cash-strapped or just starting out and need a genuinely free CRM → choose HubSpot Sales Hub, because it's the only one of the four with a permanent free tier (2 seats, 500 calling minutes).
- If visual pipeline management matters more than built-in calling → choose Pipedrive, because its deal-board UX is described as its core, best-in-class differentiator, and it ranked #6 on G2's Best Sales Software Products 2026 list.
- If you already run Salesforce or HubSpot and just need sales engagement/cadences on top → choose Salesloft, because it's explicitly built to layer on an existing CRM rather than replace it.
- If you need automation without HubSpot's $1,500 onboarding fee → choose Close or Pipedrive over HubSpot Professional, because HubSpot only unlocks workflow automation, multiple pipelines, and lead scoring at the $90-100/seat Professional tier plus that upfront cost.

## Feature Comparison Matrix

| Feature | Close | Pipedrive | HubSpot Sales Hub | Salesloft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standalone CRM (no other CRM needed) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No — layers on top of Salesforce/HubSpot |
| Native built-in calling | Yes, all plans | No (integrations/add-ons) | Yes, minutes included by tier | Dialer is a paid add-on |
| Power/Predictive Dialer | Yes (Growth & Scale) | No | No | Add-on, priced separately |
| Built-in AI voice/calling agent | Chloe (2026) | No | AI features via Breeze | No (AI is workflow/forecast-focused) |
| Free plan | No | No | Yes (2 seats) | No |
| Deal pipeline visualization | Yes | Best-in-class, core differentiator | Yes | N/A (engagement layer) |
| Workflow automation | Growth tier and up | Growth tier and up | Professional tier and up | Included (Rhythm) |
| Minimum seats | 1 | 1 | 1 (free) / no stated minimum on paid | Typically 10-15 |

## Pricing Comparison

**Direct answer:** All prices below are per user/month, annual billing unless noted, per each vendor's own pricing page or G2's pricing data as of August 2026.

| Plan tier | Close | Pipedrive | HubSpot Sales Hub | Salesloft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry | Solo: $9 (annual) / $19 (monthly) | Lite: $14 (annual) / $24 (monthly) | Free: $0 (2 seats) | — |
| Low/Mid | Essentials: $35 / $49 | Growth: $39 / $49 | Starter: $7 / $20 | — |
| Mid/High | Growth: $99 / $109 | Premium: $49 / $79 | Professional: $90 / $100 + $1,500 onboarding | Advanced: est. ~$100-140 (quote-based) |
| Top | Scale: $139 / $149 | Ultimate: $79 / $99 | Enterprise: $150 + $3,500 onboarding | Elite: est. ~$140-185 (quote-based) |
| G2 rating | [4.7/5](https://www.g2.com/products/close/reviews) | [4.3/5, 3,172 reviews](https://www.g2.com/products/pipedrive/reviews) | [4.4/5, ~12,000 reviews](https://www.g2.com/products/hubspot-sales-hub/reviews) | [4.5/5](https://www.g2.com/products/salesloft/reviews) |

Two things worth flagging. First, Close's power and predictive dialer — its headline feature — is locked behind the Growth tier ($99+/user/month annual), so the entry-level Solo and Essentials plans don't actually include what most buyers come to Close for, per [Close's pricing page](https://close.com/pricing/). Second, Salesloft doesn't publish pricing at all; the ranges above are third-party buyer estimates from [Vendr's pricing marketplace data](https://www.vendr.com/marketplace/salesloft), not vendor-quoted figures, and typically require a 10-15 seat minimum and annual contract — a materially different buying motion than the other three, which are self-serve.

## Who Should Choose What

**Direct answer:** **Choose Close** if you're a small, phone-first outbound team (SDRs/founders making dozens of calls a day) and you want calling, email, and SMS in one interface without stitching together a dialer integration. Budget for the Growth tier if the dialer is the reason you're buying — the cheaper plans don't include it.

**Choose Pipedrive** if your team's core workflow is visual pipeline management and you don't need heavy native calling — it's the cheapest entry point here ($14/user/month annual) and reviewers consistently cite it as the fastest to set up, though you'll likely outgrow its reporting on Lite/Growth plans.

**Choose HubSpot Sales Hub** if you're already using (or plan to use) HubSpot's marketing or service hubs, want a genuinely free starting tier, and can absorb the steep cost jump to Professional once you need automation and multiple pipelines.

**Choose Salesloft** if you already have a CRM (typically Salesforce) and need a dedicated, enterprise-grade engagement layer — multi-channel cadences, conversation intelligence, and now Clari's forecasting — rather than another CRM. It's the most expensive and least self-serve option, built for mid-market and enterprise revenue teams rather than solo reps or small startups.

## Related comparison: leaving Pipedrive

**Direct answer:** This comparison starts from a Close CRM replacement decision. If Pipedrive is the product you are replacing, use [the Pipedrive alternatives comparison](/blog/alternative-pipedrive-day2-20) instead.

## Sources

[Close.com — official pricing page](https://close.com/pricing/)

- [Close.com — official pricing page](https://close.com/pricing/)
- [Close — G2 reviews and rating](https://www.g2.com/products/close/reviews)
- [Pipedrive — G2 pricing data](https://www.g2.com/products/pipedrive/pricing)
- [Pipedrive — G2 reviews and rating](https://www.g2.com/products/pipedrive/reviews)
- [Pipedrive — "Ranks #6 in G2 Best Sales Software Products 2026 List" (newsroom)](https://www.pipedrive.com/en/newsroom/pipedrive-ranks-6-in-g2-best-sales-software-products-2026-list)
- [Forbes Advisor — Pipedrive Pricing (2026 Guide)](https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/pipedrive-pricing/)
- [HubSpot — official Sales Hub pricing page](https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/sales)
- [HubSpot Sales Hub — G2 reviews and rating](https://www.g2.com/products/hubspot-sales-hub/reviews)
- [Salesloft — G2 reviews and rating](https://www.g2.com/products/salesloft/reviews)
- [Vendr — Salesloft pricing marketplace data](https://www.vendr.com/marketplace/salesloft)