CRM · Comparison

Close vs. Zoho CRM

Last verified 27 days ago · 21 sources · Updated automatically

Close and Zoho CRM compared across Company facts, Pricing, Sales & pipeline, Automation & intelligence, Privacy & compliance and Platform & integrations — every fact sourced and re-verified from each vendor's public material.

Close logo

Close

CRM built for fast-growing inside-sales teams, with calling, SMS, and email built in.

Founded2013
HQ San Francisco, CA
Zoho CRM logo

Zoho CRM

Highly customizable CRM for sales teams, part of Zoho's broad business software suite.

Founded1996
HQ Chennai, India

Company facts

Headquarters
San Francisco, CA Remote-first company
Chennai, India Zoho Corporation headquarters
Employees
100 Approximately 100 team members (remote, worldwide)
17k Approximate employees, Zoho Corporation (2025)

Pricing

Starting Price (per user / month, USD)
$9/user/mo Solo plan, $9/user/mo billed annually ($19 month-to-month)
$14/user/mo Standard edition, billed annually ($20/user/mo billed monthly)
Offers Free Tier
No
Free edition for up to 3 users
Free Trial Length (Days)
14 days 14-day free trial, no credit card required
15 days 15-day free trial, no credit card required
Free Plan User Limit
0 users
3 users Free edition covers up to 3 users

Sales & pipeline

Custom Pipelines
Multiple/custom pipelines from the Essentials tier up
Multiple pipelines from Professional; stages editable
Email Sync & Tracking
Two-way email sync (Gmail/Outlook) plus open & click tracking
Two-way email integration + email insights/tracking from Standard
Built-In Calling
Native in-app calling; Power Dialer (Growth) and Predictive Dialer (Scale)
Built-in telephony (Zoho-provided, over Twilio) with click-to-call inside CRM
Meeting Scheduler
No
Calendar Booking (appointment scheduling) available from Free edition
Quotes & Documents
No
Native Quotes/Sales Orders/Invoices (inventory/CPQ) from Professional

Automation & intelligence

Workflow Automation
Automated workflows/sequences from the Growth tier up
Workflow rules from Free (10 rules/module, 5 active); richer on paid tiers
Lead Scoring
No
Scoring rules from Standard
Built-In AI Assistant
Chloe, Close's native AI sales agent; AI credits included on every plan
Zia AI assistant (prediction, enrichment, email/assist)
Custom Reports & Dashboards
Custom reports/dashboards; advanced 'Explorer' custom graphs on Scale
Unlimited custom reports & dashboards from Professional (standard reports on lower tiers)

Privacy & compliance

GDPR Compliant
States GDPR compliance (Data Controller & Processor obligations)
Vendor states GDPR compliance; DPA available
SOC 2 Attestation
SOC 2 Type II certified
SOC 2 Type 2 (covers all cloud services incl. CRM)
Data Residency Options
No
Choice of data center region (US, EU, IN, AU, JP, etc.) selected at signup by country

Platform & integrations

Public API
Documented public REST API (API keys + OAuth 2.0)
Documented public REST API (V8), OAuth 2.0
App Marketplace
First-party integrations directory on close.com
Zoho Marketplace (first-party app/integrations directory)
Native Mobile App
Native iOS and Android apps published by Close
Native iOS and Android apps by Zoho Corporation

The verdict

Close logo Close
Best for outbound sales teams that live on the phone

Close pairs native in-app calling (Power and Predictive Dialers) with a built-in AI assistant on every plan and a lower $9/user entry price. It is the leaner pick for high-volume calling teams that don't need quoting or lead scoring, both of which it lacks against Zoho.

Full profile
Zoho CRM logo Zoho CRM
Best for broader feature coverage and a free start

Zoho CRM offers a free edition for up to 3 users and adds meeting scheduling, native quotes/invoices, and lead scoring that Close omits. Data-residency region choice further suits teams with location requirements. Trade-off: the paid plan starts higher at $14/user.

Full profile

Sources · 21 verified references

close.com en.wikipedia.org zoho.com help.zoho.com help.close.com developer.close.com + 1 more

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