Close vs Freshsales

Close and Freshsales both include a phone and email in their sales CRM. The differences show up in how you text leads, automate follow-up, and connect sales with marketing or support.

Close brings calling, texting, and email into the lead's record. Freshsales, from Freshworks, combines a visual pipeline with its Freddy AI assistant. To text from Freshsales, you connect your own SMS provider.

Updated Oct 21, 2026

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Choose Close if…

Your team calls, texts, and emails leads throughout the day, from one record.
You want every call recorded, transcribed, and summarized on the lead, and a power dialer for working a list.
You want AI agents that call and qualify leads, available on every plan.
You want reps selling in their first week, with free human support on every plan.

Freshsales may suit you if…

You want sales and marketing tools together in Freshsales Suite.
Your support team already uses Freshdesk.
You want Freddy AI to score contacts and flag deals that need attention on a visual pipeline.

On this page7 sections

The main difference#

We built Close around conversations. Calls are saved automatically on the lead alongside texts and emails, so your team can pick up where the last conversation left off. Higher plans add workflows across those channels.

Freshsales combines one-click calling with a drag-and-drop pipeline. On higher plans, Freddy AI scores contacts and flags deals that may need attention. Freshsales Suite adds marketing tools.

Close and Freshsales side by side#

Both include a phone and email. Use the table to compare texting, follow-up, dialing, AI, marketing, and the plan each feature requires.

Capability	Close	Freshsales
Calling	Built in on every plan, with automatic logging	Built in from Growth; calls and numbers use prepaid credits
Texting	Built in, with registration required for US business texting	Requires a connected SMS provider
Follow-up	Workflows on Growth and Scale combine email, text, and call steps	Sales sequences start on Pro; Growth has basic workflows
Power dialer	Growth and Scale	Freshsales lists this for Freshsales Suite accounts opened after July 12, 2023; confirm your account's eligibility
Predictive dialer	Scale	Not listed on Freshsales’ plans
AI agents	Can call, qualify, and book; use AI credits	Freddy AI Agent is a paid chatbot add-on
Marketing	Available through integrations	Freshsales Suite adds journeys, landing pages, and attribution
Mobile	Calls and texts in the app	Calling through Freshcaller or the phone's dialer
Trial	14 days, no credit card; calling and enrichment credits	Freshsales lists 21 days with no credit card

Check account eligibility and expected usage for the features your team needs.

After a call goes unanswered#

You call a new lead, but they don't pick up. You want to leave a voicemail and follow up with a text.

In Close

Call from your browser, drop a pre-recorded voicemail with one click, and send a text from the lead's record. The call is saved automatically with its recording, transcript, and summary alongside your emails and texts.

In Freshsales

Call with one click and add the outcome to the contact's timeline. Calls use prepaid phone credits; Freshworks says calls stop when credits are low or depleted.

To text, connect an SMS provider account, such as Twilio or ClickSend. Sales sequences that can include texts start on Pro.

Try it yourself: In each trial, send a test text to your own phone and reply. See how easily you can find the call, reply, and next task.

Follow one lead from first contact to meeting

Step	Close	Freshsales and an SMS provider
Step 1First call	Call from the browser; the recording, transcript, and summary are saved on the lead	Call from the CRM using phone credits; add the log and recording to the contact timeline
Step 2No answer	Drop a pre-recorded voicemail	Add the outcome to the call log
Step 3Text	Send from the lead’s record; US business texting requires registration	Send through a connected SMS provider and enable receiving replies
Step 4Email	Send from the record; Gmail sync shows email activity	Connect an inbox to send and track email
Step 5Follow-up	Workflows on higher plans can combine email, text, and call steps	Sales sequences with these channels start on Pro
Step 6Meeting	A rep or AI agent can qualify and book	A rep can book and log the appointment

Test the full sequence with your own provider and check what registration your numbers need.

Following up across calls, texts, and email#

Set up the follow-up

Close workflows are available on Growth and Scale. They combine email, text, and call steps. Those plans also add a power dialer; our entry plans include calling, texting, and email but not workflows.

Freshsales Pro includes sales sequences with email, call, and text steps. Freshsales lists 10 sequences per user, with up to 25 steps each and 1,000 sequence emails per user per day. Freshsales Growth includes basic workflows but no sales sequences, with a zero daily limit for workflow emails to leads.

See what's happened

Close offers activity reports, an opportunity funnel, and workflow performance reporting. Freshsales offers standard and custom reports. Freshsales Suite adds attribution reports.

If you want an AI agent to qualify leads

Close AI agents can call leads, check them against your criteria, book meetings, and log the call. They're available on every plan and use AI credits. We include 500 to 2,000 credits per user/month depending on your plan; unused credits don't roll over, and you can purchase more.

Freshsales' Freddy AI Agent is a website chatbot add-on sold by session.

What does the full setup cost?#

Both charge per user and bill calling separately. Close Growth ($99 per user per month billed annually, $109 monthly) includes workflows, a power dialer, texting, call transcripts and summaries, and monthly AI credits. Freshsales Pro ($39 annually, $47 monthly) includes sequences; texting needs a connected SMS provider, and calls use prepaid credits that can stop when they run low.

98% of Close users say it saves them at least three hours a week of admin and manual work, which is more than 150 hours a year per seller.

What to check	Close	Freshsales
Texting	Built in on every plan	Needs a connected SMS provider
Calling	Built in; billed by usage	Prepaid credits; calls can stop when credits run low
Automated follow-up	Workflows on Growth combine email, text, and call steps	Sequences start on Pro
AI agents	Call, qualify, and book meetings	Freddy AI Agent is a paid chatbot add-on

Price it yourself: the setups side by side

Both charge for phone usage. Freshsales also requires a connected SMS provider for texting, and that provider's price isn't included in the table.

For this work	Close	Freshsales + SMS provider
Calling, texting, email, and automated follow-up	Close Growth$99 billed annually$109 billed monthly	Freshsales Pro$39 billed annually$47 billed monthly
Calling, texting, and email without automated sequences	Close Essentials$35 billed annually$49 billed monthly	Freshsales Growth$9 billed annually$11 billed monthly

Freshsales Growth is its entry plan, while Close Growth is a different plan. We checked these list prices on October 21, 2026. Both charge for calls and phone numbers: Close charges for calling usage and numbers by type, while Freshsales uses prepaid phone credits (including for recordings) and calls can stop when credits are low. The SMS provider isn't priced in this comparison.

List prices are a starting point. What you pay depends on your billing term, team size, calling, texting, and AI usage beyond included credits, add-ons, onboarding fees, and the terms you agree with each vendor. Prices and plans change, so confirm current pricing before you buy.

Buying for five or more sellers? Talk to our sales team about team pricing and onboarding.

If your team doesn't text or need sequences, Freshsales Growth's phone and email may cover your process at a lower seat price. If you already pay for an SMS provider, add that cost when comparing.

Try Close before you switch#

Start a free 14-day trial and run a day of calls, texts, and follow-up in Close. The trial includes calling and enrichment credits. Keep Freshsales running while you decide, and complete required US business-texting registration before texting US numbers.

For supported newer Freshsales Suite accounts, a Close admin can start an Import2 sample import. Legacy Classic accounts aren't supported. Our team also moves simple data for free with a five-to-seven-business-day turnaround; confirm your scope and timing with us first.

Before moving, see if the self-serve import supports your account, export the data you need, and review the sample. List the sequences and workflows to rebuild. Check phone-number ownership and transfer eligibility before canceling, and complete required US business-texting registration. See the Switching from Freshsales guide for details.

Frequently asked questions#

Is Close or Freshsales better for a sales team?

Close is the better fit if your team works call lists and follows up by phone, text, and email, and wants the dialer, call summaries, and AI agents in the CRM rather than assembled from add-ons. Freshsales fits better if you want Freddy AI scoring on a visual pipeline, your support team runs on Freshdesk, or you want marketing in Freshsales Suite. Test your actual calling and follow-up process in both.

Does Freshsales have a built-in phone?

Freshsales lists phone starting on Freshsales Growth. Numbers, calls, and recordings use prepaid credits, so check the current rates and your credit balance.

Can Freshsales send texts?

Freshsales offers texting through a connected SMS provider, with replies enabled in the provider setup. Factor in your provider's registration and cost when comparing.

Are sequences included on Freshsales Growth?

Freshsales lists basic workflows on Growth, but no sales sequences. Sales sequences start on Pro.

Can I move my data to Close?

A Close admin can start a sample import for supported newer Freshsales Suite accounts. Legacy Classic accounts aren't supported by the self-serve import. Our team also moves simple data for free; confirm your account's scope with us before planning the move.

Try your next call in Close

Make a call, send a follow-up, and see how it feels to work from the lead's record.

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How we made this comparison

Close makes one of the CRMs on this page. We used vendor pricing, product, and help pages checked Oct 21, 2026, without a hands-on Freshsales trial. Confirm current pricing and product details before buying.

Sources include Close pricing, Freshsales pricing, and the Close import guide. The full list is under Sources.

Sources (32)

Pricing notes. Per user per month at list price. Calls and phone numbers are billed by usage on both products, on top of the seat price. The SMS provider's cost isn't on Freshsales's pages, so it isn't included.