| Functionality | 8 <p>Close offers most of the functionality that SMB sales team will need. Besides allowing you to manage contacts, leads and your sales pipeline, Close also allows you to create automated sales sequences (email, calls, SMS), and best-in-class call functionality.</p><p>However, it lacks some advanced features such as automated lead scoring, and being able to directly add contacts from LinkedIn.</p> | 9 <p>HubSpot offers all functionality that most companies will need, besides functionality required by the largest/ most sophisticated companies. For example, HubSpot's reporting functionality and ability to build highly customised workflows aren't on par with Salesforce's.</p> |
| Ease of Use | 7 <p>Close is designed for power users, so you need to know what you're doing. Setting up filters to target the right leads can feel overwhelming due to the extensive options, and there are no templates for automation workflows. Once familiar, Close becomes user-friendly with standout features like smart views, which keep targeted lists accessible via one-click. You can easily create workflows, edit deal cards without extra clicks, and get AI summaries of all contact activity, which will all save a lot of time for sales reps.</p> | 3 <p>HubSpot is so packed with features and customisation options that it will take an average SMB employee at least a week to learn how to navigate the platform. Even if you're only using HubSpot CRM, you'll see irrelevant modules and fields form other products in its suites everywhere, which can get quite confusing. But once you're past the initial learning curve, most key processes can get quite intuitive.</p> |
| Look and feel | 6 <p>We find Close visually acceptable, though the lack of colour-coding and labelling of icons can make it a bit plain at times. Page loads are acceptable (~2 seconds per page).</p> | 4 <p>We find HubSpot's interface to be tired and overwhelming compared to the newer CRMs on the market. There is often an overwhelming amount of actions you can take on a single screen, which makes it difficult to locate key information at times.</p> |
| Customisability | 8 <p>Close offers significant customization for fields, workflows, and pipeline stages. You can create custom data objects to track items beyond people and companies, such as partnerships. It also supports extremely granular custom filters to target contacts and leads. However, Close is squarely a CRM for sales teams, and we don't think you can adapt Close to other use cases.</p> | 9 <p>HubSpot offers the highest degree of customisability out of all CRMs besides Salesforce. You can create complex workflows via code, and fully customise fully customize the design of client-facing assets, such as emails and webpages.</p> |
| Ease of Setup | 6 <p>Close offers a free trial without need to speak to sales. Completing basic setup is simple, taking around 10 minutes to import contacts and set up pipelines. However, fully setting up the platform and upskilling your reps can take up to a week, given Close's powerful and rich outbound functionality.</p> | 3 <p>HubSpot's free trial is available without having to speak to sales. Basic setup - importing contacts and creating pipelines - takes about 10 minutes. However, its extensive features and complex settings mean full customization can take weeks, especially for advanced settings like custom objects, chatbots, and automation. Many users we've talked to ended up hiring a HubSpot consultant for implementation. HubSpot's pricing structure adds another layer of complexity, with multiple plans and bundles to navigate during upgrades.</p> |
| Customer Support | 7 <p>You can only contact Close's support team via email, however the team is often helpful and replies within 15 minutes. Close also offers a lot of helpful onboarding guidance and high quality self-help resources.</p> | 6 <p><span style="color: rgb(9, 9, 11);">HubSpot's support team responds via live chat/ email in less than 3 minutes, 24/7. </span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(9, 9, 11);">That said, you don't get access to their phone/ video support, unless you pay for Professional/ Enterprise, and now if you're signed up to their discounted startup plan. We also find their support sometimes frustratingly bureaucratic - you can only speak with the assigned rep in your territory.</span></p> |
| Integratability | 5 <p>Close's library of pre-built integrations lacks a few key integrations. For example, Close has no pre-built integrations with Zendesk and Intercom for Customer Support, or Mailchimp for Email Marketing.</p> | 10 <p>HubSpot offers native integrations with the overwhelming majority of 3rd part products a company will want to connect their CRM with, plus an ever-growing marketplace of more than 350 free and paid-for apps. The chances are that if you need a particularly integration and HubSpot don't have it, it will unlikely be provided by a competitive product.</p> |
| Ease of Migration | 8 <p>Close allows users to export key data via self-serve. Export of most other data is also available via API or on request.</p> | 8 <p>HubSpot allows users to export key data data via self-serve. Export of most other data are also available via API or on request.</p> |
