Close is the best CRM for outbound sales teams because calling, email and SMS are built in and a power dialer arrives on its Growth tier. Apollo is the pick when you also need prospect data, Pipedrive suits small teams that add a sequencing tool, and HubSpot Sales Hub fits when outbound must align with marketing.
This page is about the outbound motion: dialing, sequences, data and deliverability. If you need a general pipeline-management roundup instead, see our best CRM for sales teams. This is official-source desk research, not hands-on testing.
Pricing checked October 16, 2026
At a glance
Compare the top picks
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| Rank | Logo | Product | WireRank | Best for | Starting price | Standout | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 |  | CloseTop pick | 9.4 / 10 | SDR and AE teams that run calls, email and SMS from one CRM | $35/user/month billed annually (Essentials)Last verified October 16, 2026 | Best overall for phone-first outbound | View plans |
| #2 | Apollo | 9.1 / 10 | Teams that need contact data, a dialer and outreach without stitching tools together | $49/seat/month billed annually (Basic)Last verified October 16, 2026 | Best for data plus outreach in one tool | View plans | |
| #3 |  | Pipedrive | 8.8 / 10 | Small outbound teams that want a clean pipeline and add a sequencing tool | $39/seat/month billed annually (Growth)Last verified October 16, 2026 | Best SMB pipeline for outbound with a sequencing tool | View plans |
| #4 | HubSpot Sales Hub | 8.5 / 10 | Outbound teams that share records and reporting with a HubSpot marketing team | $90/seat/month billed annually (Professional)Last verified October 16, 2026 | Best when marketing alignment matters | View plans | |
| #5 |  | Freshsales | 8.2 / 10 | Budget-conscious teams that want phone in the CRM and sequences on a mid tier | $9/user/month billed annually (Growth)Last verified October 16, 2026 | Best budget pick with built-in calling | View plans |
| #6 |  | Salesforce | 7.9 / 10 | Teams that expect to standardize on Salesforce and add an engagement layer | From $25/user/month (Starter Suite)Last verified October 16, 2026 | Best for teams scaling toward enterprise | View plans |
Best overall for phone-first outbound
Close
- Best for
- SDR and AE teams that run calls, email and SMS from one CRM
- Starting price
- $35/user/month billed annually (Essentials)Last verified October 16, 2026
- Our rating
- 9.4/10WireRanked score
Best for data plus outreach in one tool
Apollo
- Best for
- Teams that need contact data, a dialer and outreach without stitching tools together
- Starting price
- $49/seat/month billed annually (Basic)Last verified October 16, 2026
- Our rating
- 9.1/10WireRanked score
Best SMB pipeline for outbound with a sequencing tool
Pipedrive
- Best for
- Small outbound teams that want a clean pipeline and add a sequencing tool
- Starting price
- $39/seat/month billed annually (Growth)Last verified October 16, 2026
- Our rating
- 8.8/10WireRanked score
Best when marketing alignment matters
HubSpot Sales Hub
- Best for
- Outbound teams that share records and reporting with a HubSpot marketing team
- Starting price
- $90/seat/month billed annually (Professional)Last verified October 16, 2026
- Our rating
- 8.5/10WireRanked score
Best budget pick with built-in calling
Freshsales
- Best for
- Budget-conscious teams that want phone in the CRM and sequences on a mid tier
- Starting price
- $9/user/month billed annually (Growth)Last verified October 16, 2026
- Our rating
- 8.2/10WireRanked score
Best for teams scaling toward enterprise
Salesforce
- Best for
- Teams that expect to standardize on Salesforce and add an engagement layer
- Starting price
- From $25/user/month (Starter Suite)Last verified October 16, 2026
- Our rating
- 7.9/10WireRanked score
Best overall for phone-first outbound
Close
Native calling and SMS on Essentials, a power dialer on Growth and a predictive dialer on Scale.
1. Close — best overall for phone-first outbound
Close ranks first because it puts the outbound basics inside the CRM instead of in add-ons. Essentials, at $35 per user per month billed annually ($49 monthly), includes built-in forms, email, calling and SMS. Growth, at $99 ($109 monthly), adds a power dialer and bulk email, and Scale, at $139 ($149), adds a predictive dialer.
Close passes calling and SMS usage through at cost and says most outbound calls run around $0.02 per minute, with numbers from about $1 per month. That keeps dialing costs predictable for a calling floor. For prospect data, pair Close with a data tool. Skip it if your motion is email-only and you never dial.
Key tradeoff: The best native dialer here, but it starts on the $99 tier
- Plans (annual)
- Solo $9, Essentials $35, Growth $99, Scale $139 per user/month · SourceChecked October 16, 2026
- Dialers
- Power dialer and bulk email on Growth; predictive dialer on Scale · SourceChecked October 16, 2026
- Usage
- Most outbound calls ~ $0.02/minute; numbers from ~ $1/month · SourceChecked October 16, 2026
Best for data plus outreach in one tool
Apollo
A free tier with 900 credits, paid tiers from $49 billed annually, and a US dialer that uses credits.
2. Apollo — best for data plus outreach in one tool
Apollo is the pick when finding contacts is as much of the job as working them. It has a free tier with 900 credits and paid tiers listed at $49, $79 and $119 billed annually. Apollo says credits give access to emails, phone numbers and enriched data, and its US dialer draws on credits too.
Is Apollo a real CRM? Its pricing page lists 2 sequences on Free and unlimited sequences plus lead and deal management on paid plans. Many teams run Apollo for data and outreach beside a CRM such as Close or Pipedrive. Our Apollo review covers it in depth.
Key tradeoff: Data and outreach together, but credits govern how far you get
Best SMB pipeline for outbound with a sequencing tool
Pipedrive
A focused pipeline with bulk email and email sync on Growth; pair it with a sequencing tool.
3. Pipedrive — best SMB pipeline for outbound with a sequencing tool
Pipedrive is the SMB pick when you want reps to see every deal clearly and are happy to add a separate sequencing tool. Growth, at $39 per seat per month billed annually ($49 monthly), adds full Gmail and Outlook sync, bulk emails and open and click tracking; Pipedrive’s help center confirms email sync is on Growth and higher. The LeadBooster add-on starts from $32.50.
If your reps dial, price a calling or engagement tool alongside it. Compare it with Close in our upcoming Close vs Pipedrive comparison, or see our Pipedrive vs HubSpot page and Pipedrive vs GoHighLevel.
Key tradeoff: Clean pipeline, but outbound needs extra tools
Best when marketing alignment matters
HubSpot Sales Hub
Professional is $90 per seat billed annually plus a required $1,500 onboarding fee.
4. HubSpot Sales Hub — best when marketing alignment matters
HubSpot Sales Hub belongs here when outbound reps must share records, lists and reporting with a marketing team already on HubSpot. Professional lists at $90 per seat per month on annual billing, or $100 monthly, and requires a one-time $1,500 onboarding fee. Enterprise is $150 per seat with $3,500 onboarding.
Sequences start on Professional, with up to 500 email sends per user per day, and calling is listed at 500 minutes on Starter, 3,000 on Professional and 12,000 on Enterprise. Skip it if marketing alignment is not your bottleneck, because the per-seat cost is the highest on this list.
Key tradeoff: Best alignment with marketing, at the highest per-seat cost here
Best budget pick with built-in calling
Freshsales
Phone on Growth at $9, and sales sequences on Pro at $39, billed annually.
5. Freshsales — best budget pick with built-in calling
Freshsales is the budget route to calling plus sequences in one CRM. Growth is $9 per user per month billed annually ($11 monthly) and includes chat, email and phone. Pro, at $39 ($47 monthly), adds sales sequences, which is the tier an outbound team should price. The trial runs 21 days; Freshworks’ plan-comparison page also lists a $0 Free tier for up to three users, but its sign-up button leads to the same trial.
Calling costs are not listed on the plan page, so confirm them before you load a dialing team. Salesmate is another budget CRM that lists a power dialer on its pricing page.
Key tradeoff: Lowest cost for calling plus sequences, with fewer outbound extras
Best for teams scaling toward enterprise
Salesforce
Starter Suite lists a $25 starting price; Pro Suite is $100 on an annual contract.
6. Salesforce — best for teams scaling toward enterprise
Salesforce is the option for teams that expect to grow to a large sales floor and want to start on the platform they will keep. Starter Suite lists a $25 starting price, billed monthly or annually with transaction fees, and includes dynamic email nurture campaigns and lead scoring. Pro Suite lists $100, billed annually with a contract.
For a true outbound motion, most teams add a sales engagement layer on top. Larger Sales Cloud editions list Core at $195, Advanced at $395 and Max at $550 per user per month, billed annually. Skip it if you have fewer than a handful of reps and no plan to scale soon.
Key tradeoff: Room to scale, but you assemble outbound tooling around it
- Suites
- Starter from 25 (monthly or annual); Pro Suite 100 (annual contract) · SourceChecked October 16, 2026
Choose This CRM If...Pick by outbound motion
Native calling and SMS, with power and predictive dialers on higher tiers.
View plansCredits cover emails, phone numbers and enriched data.
View plansBulk email and email sync on Growth.
View plansSame platform as Marketing Hub.
View plansHow we chose the best CRM for outbound sales
We reviewed official vendor pricing and product pages on October 16, 2026. We weighted built-in dialing, sequences, prospect data access, activity reporting, deliverability controls, per-seat pricing at the tier an outbound team would buy, and usage costs such as calling and credits.
This is desk research from vendor pages only; we did not run hands-on tests. Payout did not influence rank. Where a vendor page did not state a figure or feature, we say so rather than estimate it.
Related guides: best HubSpot alternatives, best Pipedrive alternatives and best free CRM with email marketing.
Related research
Continue your CRM research
Go deeper on outbound tooling and the CRMs ranked here.
Final recommendation
Final recommendation
Choose Close for phone-first outbound with a native dialer. Choose Apollo when data and outreach should live together, Pipedrive for a small team that adds a sequencing tool, HubSpot Sales Hub when marketing alignment matters, Freshsales for calling and sequences on a budget, and Salesforce when you are building toward a large sales floor.
Top pick: Close for sdr and ae teams that run calls, email and sms from one crm.
Price the tier that includes the dialer and sequences you need, add usage and data credits, and confirm deliverability setup before loading a full team.
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