Close vs Salesforce
Which one do AI engines recommend, and how do they differ on price, fit and features?
The short answer
Salesforce is the stronger AI pick in CRM: it has a visibility score of 60 versus 7.3 for Close, and ranks ahead in 57% of the answers that name both.
Choose Close if…
- AI answers describe it more positively (52% vs 21% positive)
- You need SOC 2 Type II or GDPR or CCPA coverage
- Best for high-velocity and outbound sales teams
- Straightforward, predictable per-seat pricing
Choose Salesforce if…
- You want the brand AI engines rank higher (60 vs 7.3)
- You need ISO 27001:2022 or ISO 27017 or ISO 27018 or SOC 1 or SOC 2 or SOC 3 or HITRUST coverage
- You prefer a larger, established vendor (5,000+ employees)
- Powerful reporting, automation and customisation
AI visibility side by side
Latest weekly run · Nov 3
| Metric | Close | Salesforce |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 7.3% | 60% |
| Change vs last week | down−1% | down−0.2% |
| Rank in CRM | #10 | #2 |
| Share of voice | 2.3% | 12.6% |
| Mentions this run | 11 | 57 |
| Positive in AI answers | 52% | 21% |
The stronger value in each row is marked with a ✓.
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days
Close −0.8999999999999995pp · Salesforce −0.29999999999999716pp over 1 weekly runs.
Engine by engine
Salesforce leads on 3 of 3 engines
Head to head in AI answers
7 engine answers name both brands
| Prompt | Engine | Close | Salesforce |
|---|---|---|---|
| How long does it take to roll out a CRM? | Perplexity | #2 | #1 |
| What are the best CRM tools in 2026? | Perplexity | #9 | #1 |
| Top CRM options for B2B SaaS companies | ChatGPT | #5 | #2 |
| Top CRM options for B2B SaaS companies | AI Mode | #4 | #5 |
| Top CRM options for B2B SaaS companies | Perplexity | #4 | #2 |
| Best CRM for startups | AI Mode | #4 | #6 |
| Which CRM tools offer annual discounts? | ChatGPT | #5 | #9 |
Features, pricing & fit
| Dimension | Close | Salesforce |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per seat | — |
| Entry price | $19 per seat / mo | — |
| Free plan | No · 14-day trial | — |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS) | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Integrations | 100+ | — |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, CCPA | ISO 27001:2022, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, HITRUST |
| Support | Knowledge base, Email support | Phone, Trailblazer Community, Success Plans, Trailhead training |
| Founded | 2013 | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas, United States | San Francisco, California |
| Employees | 51–200 | 5,000+ |
| Funding | Angel | — |
| Best for | Founders, small businesses and sales teams that sell through calls, email and SMS | Businesses from small companies to large enterprises wanting sales, service, marketing and commerce on one CRM platform |
Plans side by side
Close
Salesforce
Pricing not available.
Pros and cons
Themes from the AI answers that mention each brand
Close
- Best for high-velocity and outbound sales teams
- Straightforward, predictable per-seat pricing
- All-in-one calling, SMS, and email cadences
- Strong customer satisfaction in recent reviews
- Frequently included in CRM shortlists
Salesforce
- Powerful reporting, automation and customisation
- Market leader and gold standard CRM
- Deep ecosystem and strong CRM integrations
- Built for large enterprises and scaling
- Free trial to test its features
- Requires a dedicated administrator to manage
- High enterprise pricing
- Heavy, slow implementation that suits large budgets
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 98.8%·next run
Cite as: SlateIndex, “Close vs Salesforce”, https://slateindex.ai/compare/close-vs-salesforce, data of Nov 3, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.