Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support
Close vs lemlist vs Retell AI
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Small sales teams and solo sellers who call and email a lot of leads and want it all in one tool.
Pick it if: Founders, agencies and sales reps who reach prospects on email and LinkedIn and want each message to feel personal.
Pick it if: Service businesses and agencies that want an AI receptionist or phone agent without hiring developers.
Overview
| Attribute | Close | lemlist | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Sales CRM with calling, texting and email built in, plus an AI agent that calls leads. | Personalised cold outreach by email, LinkedIn, calls and WhatsApp in one sequence. | AI phone agents that answer calls, book appointments and make outbound calls. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | $9/user/mo | From $69/mo | About $0.07–$0.31/min |
| Free plan | No | No | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Close | lemlist | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.1 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Close | lemlist | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | No | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | No | – |
| Desktop app | Yes | – | – |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | – |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | No | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | – | Yes |
| Understands images | – | – | – |
| Makes images | No | – | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | – |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | – | – |
| Works in many languages | No | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 7/ 17 | 7/ 17 | 7/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Close | lemlist | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Solo $9/user/mo billed yearly, or $19 monthly One person selling on their own. | From $69/mo, or $55/mo billed yearly Teams doing email-only outreach. | Pay as you goOur pick About $0.07–$0.31/min Most small businesses and agencies. |
Essentials $35/user/mo billed yearly, or $49 monthly Small teams sharing leads. | MultichannelOur pick $109/user/mo, or $87/user/mo billed yearly Reps who reach prospects on LinkedIn and by phone too. | Enterprise Custom High call volumes and compliance needs. | |
GrowthOur pick $99/user/mo billed yearly, or $109 monthly Teams that want follow-ups and AI on autopilot. | Enterprise Custom Larger teams with security and compliance needs. | ||
Scale $139/user/mo billed yearly, or $149 monthly High-volume calling teams. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Take the 14-day trial, which needs no card. Solo is a bargain if you sell alone and follow up by hand. Growth is where Close earns its price, because that's where automated follow-ups, the power dialer and Chloe in workflows start. Budget a little extra each month for call minutes. | If you only send email, the Email plan is fine, but compare it with Instantly first. Pick Multichannel if LinkedIn or calls are part of how you sell, since that's what lemlist does best. Add the data add-on ($16 a month billed yearly for 2,000 credits) if you need to find emails and phone numbers. The 14-day trial includes Multichannel features and 200 credits. | Start on pay as you go with the free credits, build one agent for your most common call and test it on your own phone. Talk to sales only once you run thousands of minutes a month. |
Key features
| Attribute | Close | lemlist | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Close | lemlist | Retell AI |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Close | lemlist | Retell AI |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Close, lemlist or Retell AI?
They tie on our overall rating (Close 4.1/5, lemlist 3.7/5 and Retell AI 4.1/5). Close is best for calling and texting leads straight from the CRM and following up leads automatically by email and text. lemlist is best for sequences that mix email, LinkedIn and calls and personalised cold email with custom images and first lines. Retell AI is best for AI receptionist for a small business and booking appointments by phone.
Which is cheaper, Close, lemlist or Retell AI?
Close: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $9/user/mo. lemlist: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at From $69/mo. Retell AI: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at About $0.07–$0.31/min.
Which is easier to use, Close, lemlist or Retell AI?
Close rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small sales teams and solo sellers who call and email a lot of leads and want it all in one tool.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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