Attio vs Close

Attio is a CRM from London-based Attio Ltd that is built like a database rather than a fixed sales pipeline. Objects (people, companies, deals or anything you define, such as workspaces or subscriptions), attributes and relationships are fully customizable, and every list is a filterable, sortable view over that data. Connecting Gmail, Google Calendar or Outlook lets Attio create records automatically and enrich people and companies, so the CRM fills itself as the team works.

On top of the data model sit workflows with triggers, branches and AI steps, reports for pipeline and activity, email sequences and, on Pro, call recording with AI summaries. The REST API and webhooks are first-class, which attracts startups that want product usage data to live next to customer data. Pricing is per seat: a free plan for up to three seats, then Plus, Pro and Enterprise, with SAML SSO, unlimited objects and audit logs at the top.

Attio suits startups and tech companies whose go-to-market teams like Notion- or Linear-style software and want to model their own business. It is thinner on marketing automation, support ticketing and ready-made integrations than HubSpot, and lacks the enterprise depth of Salesforce. Folk is a lighter relationship CRM for small teams, while Pipedrive remains simpler for classic deal pipelines.

Close is a sales CRM designed for inside sales teams whose day revolves around calls, emails and text messages. Originally known as Close.io and co-founded by sales author Steli Efti, the company is fully remote and largely bootstrapped. Its central idea is that reps should not need a separate dialer, sequencing tool and CRM: calling, SMS, email and meeting notes live on the lead record, and every interaction is logged automatically.

Built-in telephony covers local numbers in many countries, power and predictive dialers, call recording, voicemail drops and call coaching with listen, whisper and barge. Workflows, formerly called sequences, combine automated and manual email, call and task steps, and AI features generate call summaries and help draft emails. Smart views, custom activities and multiple pipelines organize the work, and reporting focuses on activity and funnel metrics. Plans are priced per user, with calling and email included in every tier and call minutes billed on usage.

Close suits SDR and account executive teams of roughly 3 to 50 people doing high-volume outbound or fast inbound follow-up, plus agencies and recruiters who live on the phone. It deliberately omits marketing automation, service desks and deep custom reporting, so companies wanting one customer platform usually prefer HubSpot. Pipedrive is cheaper and more visual for deal management but needs add-ons for calling; Salesforce suits complex enterprise processes; Attio appeals to teams wanting a flexible, data-model-first CRM.