We may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page. It never changes a score or a ranking. How we make money
Most buyers should pick Close.
Choose Close if you need a general-purpose sales CRM with calling, email, SMS, pipeline tools and AI, and want a lower entry price: Solo is $9 per user monthly on annual billing ($19 month-to-month). But workflows start at Growth, and AI credits, email-account caps and usage charges matter. Choose Follow Up Boss if you work in real estate and need lead routing and team follow-up; Grow is $58 per user monthly billed annually ($69 monthly), with a 7-day trial. It costs more but includes unlimited lead sources and integrations.
01Side by side
| Close | Follow Up Boss | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $9/user/month annually; $19 monthly | $58/user/month annually; $69 monthly |
| Free plan | No free plan; trial not listed | No free plan; 7-day trial |
| Best for | General sales teams needing calls, email, SMS, AI | Real estate agents managing leads and team follow-up |
| Core strength | Calling, email, SMS, pipeline, and AI tools | Real-estate lead routing, follow-up, reporting, coaching |
| Learning curve | Not stated on the vendor's site | Not stated on the vendor's site |
| Integrations and data | 3 email accounts on Solo/Essentials; 10 on Growth/Scale | Unlimited lead sources and integrations on Grow |
| Team and seat costs | $9–$139/user/month annually; $19–$149 monthly | $499/month for 10 users; $1,000 for 30 |
| Support | Support terms not listed on the vendor's site | 7-day phone/email on Grow; priority on Platform |
Close Choose Close if
- Choose Close if you need a general sales CRM beyond real estate.
- Choose Close if built-in calling, email, SMS and AI matter.
- Choose Close if lower per-user entry pricing is the priority.
Follow Up Boss Choose Follow Up Boss if
- Choose Follow Up Boss if you sell real estate.
- Choose Follow Up Boss if lead routing and team follow-up matter.
- Choose Follow Up Boss if you want a 7-day trial.
02Pricing compared
Close costs less to start: Solo is $9 per user/month with annual billing or $19 month-to-month, according to its pricing page. But Solo has one user, 500 AI credits per month, a 10,000-lead cap and no workflows. Essentials, at $35 annually or $49 monthly, removes the lead cap but still excludes workflows. Automated workflows start at Growth: $99 annually or $109 monthly per user.
Follow Up Boss Grow is $58 per user/month with annual billing or $69 monthly. It includes unlimited contacts, lead sources and integrations, plus a 7-day trial. Pro is $499 monthly for 10 users; Platform is $1,000 monthly for 30. Follow Up Boss lists two months free with annual billing. Close also charges for calling and SMS usage at cost; its page says most outbound calls are around $0.02 per minute. Compare your actual seat count and usage, not just the starting prices.
03Features and depth
Close is the broader sales toolkit. It combines calling, email, SMS, pipeline management, reporting and sales automation. Its AI features include Chloe, which can call and qualify leads, book meetings and update CRM records, plus call notes and an assistant for pipeline questions and follow-up drafts. The trade-off is tiering: workflows begin at Growth, and the plans cap connected email accounts and AI credits.
Follow Up Boss is built around real estate lead management. It organizes contacts, tasks and deals, routes leads to team members, and automates personalized follow-up by email, text and call. It also offers reporting by agent, team and lead source, an integrated dialer, coaching tools and built-in AI. Grow includes unlimited lead sources and integrations; Pro adds team inboxes and call reporting, with unlimited calling and texting for all users.
These are different fits, not feature-for-feature substitutes. Choose Close for a general sales pipeline and built-in communications. Choose Follow Up Boss when real estate lead routing and team follow-up are central.
04Ease of use and learning curve
The simpler choice depends on how your team sells. Close’s Solo plan is designed for one user, but teams that need workflows move to Growth, and users should account for its AI-credit and connected-email limits. Calling and SMS usage can add costs, too. Our review scores rate Close’s ease of use at 7 out of 10.
Follow Up Boss has a narrower real estate focus, which may make its feature set a better match for agents managing lead flow and follow-up. Grow includes phone and email support seven days a week; Pro lists personalized onboarding, and Platform lists enhanced onboarding. Its review scores rate ease of use at 8 out of 10. Both products offer migration-relevant features, but only Follow Up Boss’s published details specifically mention migration support.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, Close or Follow Up Boss?
Close has the lower entry price: $9 per user/month billed annually, versus Follow Up Boss Grow at $58 per user/month annually. Those prices do not buy the same setup. Close Solo has one user and no workflows; Follow Up Boss Grow includes unlimited contacts, lead sources and integrations.
Is Close or Follow Up Boss better for real estate agents?
Follow Up Boss is specifically designed for real estate lead management, with lead routing, follow-up automation and reporting by agent, team and lead source. Close is a general-purpose sales CRM with calling, email, SMS, pipeline tools and AI. For a real estate team, start by checking Follow Up Boss’s fit.
Does Close include sales workflows on its cheapest plan?
No. Close’s pricing page lists workflows as unavailable on Solo and Essentials. Automated workflows are included starting with Growth, which costs $99 per user/month with annual billing or $109 monthly. Check the AI-credit, email-account and calling costs as well when comparing tiers.
Are calling and texting included in both products?
Close includes calling and SMS features, but usage is passed through at cost; its pricing page says most outbound calls are around $0.02 per minute. Follow Up Boss Grow Calling is an add-on, while Pro includes unlimited calling and texting for all users. Grow Calling costs $39 per user monthly or $33 annually.