Close CRM vs Streak CRM for Gmail
Side-by-side comparison — pricing, features, ratings, use cases. Find which CRM fits you best.
🔍 Independently researched ·
📊 Data-driven
· ⭐ Ratings from G2 (real user reviews)
74/100
$49 starting
High-velocity outbound sales teams that rely on phone, text, and email and want a single tool combining CRM, calling, me
★ Best
💰 Pricing
Starting at $49
🔧 Features
✓ Api Available✓ Free Tier✓ Mobile App✓ Gdpr Compliant✓ Sso Support✓ Integrations✓ Analytics✓ Automation✓ Team Collaboration✓ Soc2 Compliant
📋 Assessment
💪 Strengths
- The Power Dialer is Close's crown jewel. On the Growth and Scale plans, this feature automatically queues the next call after a rep finishes a conversation, eliminating the dead time between calls. It's a massive time-saver for high-volume callers, boosting call attempts by up to 3x. The dialer also handles click-to-call from any contact record, and calls are automatically logged with timestamps, making manual data entry unnecessary.
- Native communication tools: Close has built-in VoIP calling, SMS, and email sequences. SMS can be sent from contact records with templates, emails can be tracked for opens and clicks, and call notes can be taken within the platform. This integration means reps don't need to juggle multiple tools or worry about missed logs — everything is centralized in one interface.
- Automation that triggers on call behavior: Beyond typical workflow automation, Close lets you create triggers based on call outcomes, such as 'schedule a follow-up task if a call is not connected' or 'send an SMS if a call is marked as interested.' This is particularly useful for maintaining consistent follow-up, and it can be set up with a visual builder without extensive coding knowledge.
- Comprehensive call tracking and analytics: Close captures detailed call data, including duration, outcome, and recording. The analytics dashboard shows team performance metrics like calls made per day per rep, connect rate, and talk time. This granular data helps sales managers identify coaching opportunities and adjust strategies.
- Ease of use and minimal learning curve: The interface is intuitive, and most reps can start making calls within minutes. The design is clean, with a focus on actionable data. Sales teams unlikely to get bogged down in complex configuration.
⚠ Watch out for
- The Power Dialer and advanced automation are locked behind the $99/user/month Growth plan. For a small team, this can be a significant jump in cost, but without it, the platform loses its edge. This tiering might be a deal-breaker for budget-conscious companies that still have high call volume.
- Telephony usage is billed separately: While per-minute rates are competitive, they are added on top of subscription fees. SMS charges are also usage-based. Teams that don't monitor their usage can see surprise bills, as close does not have unlimited minutes on any plan.
- No free forever plan: The 14-day trial may be sufficient to test basic features, but it's short of a full evaluation cycle. Some teams need more time to assess integration with their existing stack or to run a proper sales campaign.</li>
- Limited native integrations: Close has an API and a few native integrations with popular tools like Zapier, but it lacks out-of-the-box integrations with many marketing automation platforms or helpdesk software. This can require extra setup for teams with a diverse toolstack.</li>
- Site hasn't been redesigned in years: Some users find the interface a bit dated compared to newer CRMs. While functional, the UI might not feel as modern as competitors like HubSpot or Pipedrive.</li>
🎯 Best for
High-velocity outbound sales teams that rely on phone, text, and email and want a single tool combining CRM, calling, messaging, and automation.
🚫 Who should skip
Inbound-only teams or large enterprises that need full marketing automation, complex permission hierarchies, and deep third-party integration ecosystems.
📚 Learning curve
Moderate — basic dialing and CRM functions can be learned in a few hours, but mastering automation workflows, Power Dialer settings, and custom reporting takes more time.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Close CRM is a superb choice for inside sales teams that rely on phone calls as their primary sales channel. The Power Dialer and native communication tools provide a distinct productivity advantage. However, it's not for businesses needing a general-purpose CRM or those on a tight budget. If you ma
39/100
$15 starting
Streak is best for founders, small sales teams, and operators who work primarily in Gmail and want a lightweight, custom
💰 Pricing
Starting at $15
🔧 Features
✓ Gmail Native✓ Pipeline Mgmt✓ Email Tracking✓ 7000 Companies✓ No New Tool
📋 Assessment
💪 Strengths
- Native Gmail Integration: Streak embeds pipelines, deal fields, and records directly into the Gmail interface. You never have to switch tabs to manage your CRM. Every email thread can be linked to a pipeline record, and you can see all related emails, notes, and files in one place. This tight integration reduces context-switching, saving users significant time daily.
- Customizable Pipelines: Streak doesn’t lock you into a rigid CRM schema. You can create pipelines for any workflow—sales, hiring, support, partnerships—and define your own stages and fields. For example, a recruiting pipeline might have stages like 'Sourced', 'Screen', 'Interview', and 'Offer'. This flexibility makes Streak useful across departments, not just sales.
- Built-in Email Tracking: Unlike standalone email tracking tools, Streak integrates tracking natively into Gmail. When you compose an email, you can enable open and click tracking with one click. Notifications appear right in your inbox when a prospect opens your email, and you can set reminders for follow-ups. This feature is invaluable for sales professionals who need to prioritize responses.
- Shared Pipelines and Collaboration: Streak supports sharing pipelines with teammates, allowing multiple users to view and edit records simultaneously. You can assign tasks, mention colleagues in comments, and see real-time updates. This turns a personal inbox into a team collaboration hub, which is essential for sales teams that need to coordinate on shared accounts.
- Powerful Search and Filtering: Streak enhances Gmail's search with custom filters on pipeline fields. You can search for deals above a certain value, in a specific stage, or assigned to a particular teammate. This makes it easy to manage large volumes of deals and find information quickly, a feature that even some standalone CRMs lack.
⚠ Watch out for
- Gmail Lock-in: Streak is exclusively built for Gmail and Google Workspace. There is no Outlook or Office 365 support. If your organization uses Outlook or has a mixed-email environment, Streak is essentially useless because its core features—pipeline pane, email tracking, and record linking—are all embedded in the Gmail UI. Teams planning to migrate off Gmail will lose their CRM investment.
- Dependency on the Browser Extension: Streak operates as a Chrome extension (and now also supports Edge). If the extension is disabled, fails to update, or is unsupported in your browser, you lose access to your CRM data inside Gmail. You can still view records on the Streak website, but the seamless workflow is interrupted. This dependency also means performance issues in Gmail can be exacerbated, and some users report occasional lag.
- Limited Reporting and Analytics: Streak's reporting capabilities are basic compared to dedicated CRM platforms. You can view simple funnel statistics and export data, but you won't find advanced dashboards, custom report builders, or predictive sales analytics. For companies that rely heavily on data-driven pipeline management, this is a significant gap.
- Not a Full-Featured CRM: Beyond reporting, Streak lacks marketing automation features like email drip campaigns, lead scoring, and complex workflow automation. It also doesn't support custom object modeling (e.g., creating 'products' or 'cases') that platforms like Salesforce offer. If your business requires these advanced capabilities, Streak will frustrate you.
🎯 Best for
Streak is best for founders, small sales teams, and operators who work primarily in Gmail and want a lightweight, customizable pipeline without introducing a separate CRM system.
🚫 Who should skip
Teams that need deep enterprise reporting, marketing campaign automation, offline mobile CRM use, Office 365/Outlook native support, or a highly structured standalone CRM should skip Streak.
📚 Learning curve
Minimal — if you already use Gmail, you can set up a basic pipeline in minutes, though creating advanced shared workflows and automations takes a bit more practice.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Streak is a fantastic CRM for small to mid-sized teams that live and breathe Gmail, offering powerful pipeline management and email tracking with zero context switching. However, its reliance on Gmail and the Chrome extension is a double-edged sword, making it unsuitable for Outlook-centric organiza
📊 Use Case Suitability
Higher score = better fit. Scores from editorial review.
Use CaseClose CRMStreak CRM for
High-Volume Cold Calling95—
Built-in VoIP, parallel and power dialer options, and native call recording make
Outbound Sales Email Sequences90—
Close includes email sequencing, automation, and open/reply tracking directly in
Inside Sales Pipeline Management85—
Visual pipelines, activity tracking, and custom stages let inside sales reps and
Real-Time SMS Follow-Up Campaigns82—
Native two-way SMS with automated reminders and personalized text templates is w
Sales Team Coaching and Activity Monitoring75—
Call recordings, activity dashboards, and leaderboards help managers review reps
Sales Pipeline in Gmail—96
Streak lets you manage deals, deal values, and email history directly inside a G
Recruiting and Hiring Workflows—90
Hiring teams can use Streak pipelines to move candidates through resume review,
Customer Support Triage—82
You can create a support pipeline, assign Gmail threads to teammates, and tag st
🧭 Which One Should You Pick?
Choose Close CRM if...
- You are: High-velocity outbound sales teams that rely on phone, text, and email and want a single tool combining CRM, calling, me
- 👍 Built-in VoIP calling, SMS, and email in one platform — no separate dialer or tab switching required
- 👍 Power Dialer (Growth and Scale plans) dramatically increases connect rates and is a major time-saver
- 👍 Automation features support call-based workflows, lead routing, follow-up tasks, and custom triggers
- 💰 From $49/mo
- ⚠ Trade-off: No free forever plan; the 14-day trial can be tight for evaluating long-term wor
Choose Streak CRM for Gmail if...
- You are: Streak is best for founders, small sales teams, and operators who work primarily in Gmail and want a lightweight, custom
- 👍 Native Gmail integration: Streak adds pipelines, records, and deal fields directly in Gmail, so emai
- 👍 Customizable pipelines: You can create pipelines for sales, hiring, support, partnerships, or any wo
- 👍 Built-in email tracking: Open and click tracking happen natively in the compose window, and reminder
- 💰 From $15/mo
- ⚠ Trade-off: Gmail lock-in: Streak is not designed for Outlook or Office 365 environments, so
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Does Close CRM offer a free plan?
Close does not have a permanent free plan. It offers a 14-day free trial on all paid plans, after which pricing starts at $9 per user per month for Solo (1 user only).
Are calling and SMS included in the subscription price?
No. The monthly subscription covers the software, but call minutes and SMS/MMS messages are billed separately based on telephony rates and prepaid credits you choose.
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