Close vs EspoCRM: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Close and EspoCRM to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Close
6.3/10
Sales CRM with built-in calling, email, SMS and AI notes, made for small and growing inside sales teams that do a lot of outreach.
EspoCRM
6.9/10
Open-source CRM for small and mid-sized businesses that can be self-hosted free or bought as a per-user cloud subscription.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.3/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Scalability | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Cost | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Customization | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 8/10 | 5/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $19/user/mo Solo | €13/user/mo Basic |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $490/mo Essentials | Free Open Source (self-hosted) |
| Features | ||
| Built-in Calling | ||
| Collaboration | ||
| Contact Management | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Lead Management | ||
| Opportunity Management | ||
| Reporting & Analytics | ||
| Sales Automation | ||
| Customer Support Management | Not listed | |
| Marketing Automation | Not listed | |
| Mobile Access | Not listed | |
Close vs EspoCRM cost by team size
| Team size | Close | EspoCRM |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $19/moSolo | FreeOpen Source (self-hosted) |
| 5 users | $245/moEssentials | FreeOpen Source (self-hosted) |
| 10 users | $490/moEssentials | FreeOpen Source (self-hosted) |
| 25 users | $1,225/moEssentials | FreeOpen Source (self-hosted) |
| 50 users | $2,450/moEssentials | FreeOpen Source (self-hosted) |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Close
- Higher Support score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for freelancers (6/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for sales teams (9/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose EspoCRM
- Has a free plan (Close does not)
- Higher Cost score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for customer support teams (6/10 vs 2/10)
Pros & Cons
Close
Pros
- Calling, email and SMS run inside the CRM, so reps do not need a separate dialer and every conversation is logged on the lead.
- G2 and Capterra reviewers often praise the support team and how quickly reps get comfortable with the interface.
- The Scale tier includes a predictive dialer and live call coaching, which suits high-volume outbound teams.
- The 14-day trial needs no credit card and includes 5 dollars in calling and enrichment credits, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Cons
- Workflows and the power dialer only start at the Growth tier, which costs 99 dollars per user per month on annual billing.
- Total cost runs well above the seat price once you add carrier calling fees, phone numbers and the Call Assistant add-on.
- Reviewers report limited reporting and customization, which pushes some teams to third-party tools.
- The data model files everything under Leads, which takes new users time to learn, and high-volume teams complain about inbox management.
- There is no free plan, unlike HubSpot.
EspoCRM
Pros
- The Entity Manager lets administrators add custom entities, fields and relationships without writing code.
- Every cloud plan includes all official extensions at no extra cost, among them the Sales Pack, VoIP, Google, Outlook and Mailchimp.
- The free, self-hostable open-source core keeps costs very low for small teams.
- You own your database and files and can request copies, which limits lock-in.
- Hosting in Germany is available for teams that need GDPR-friendly data residency.
Cons
- Reviewers say the initial setup of entities, roles and automations takes time and some technical skill.
- G2 reviewers point to a steep learning curve and limited documentation.
- A few reviewers reported slower performance with large datasets.
- Cloud support runs only 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, and the vendor team is very small.
- Self-hosted users must pay for reporting and BPM through the Advanced Pack.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
EspoCRM scores higher on our CRM criteria: 6.9/10 against 6.3/10 for Close. The largest gap is in Cost: 5/10 for Close and 9/10 for EspoCRM.
EspoCRM has a free plan; Close does not list one.
EspoCRM is the better fit for customer support teams: we rate it 6/10 for them, against 2/10 for Close.
