Tool Comparisons

    Closely vs Growbots: Sales Engagement Platform vs Cold Email Platform Comparison

    Compare Closely (sales engagement platform) and Growbots (cold email platform) side by side. See pricing, features, and integrations to decide which one, or both, your stack needs.

    Editorial illustration for Closely vs Growbots
    August 31, 2026Updated September 5, 20266 min read
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    The short answer

    Closely is a sales engagement platform for multichannel outreach across LinkedIn and email, priced from $49 per month, while Growbots is a cold email platform built around a 180M plus prospect database, priced from free. Choose Closely to coordinate email, phone, and social touches, and Growbots to send cold email campaigns that land in the inbox.

    Key takeaways

    • Closely's entry plan, Starter, costs $49 per month and includes 1 LinkedIn account with unlimited email accounts.
    • Growbots offers a Freemium plan at no cost, giving partial access to its 180M plus prospect database and up to 20 emails per email account daily.
    • Closely lists four pricing tiers (Starter, Growth, Essential, Custom) while Growbots lists three (Freemium, Starter Outreach, Pro Outreach).
    • Growbots' Starter Outreach and Pro Outreach plans both start prospect credits from $0.13 per prospect, priced at $29 per month and $39 per month respectively.
    • Closely lists features such as a conditional sequence builder and dedicated residential IP for each LinkedIn account, while Growbots lists features such as spintax formulas and warm replies detection.

    Reviewed and updated September 5, 2026

    Closely vs Growbots: Sales Engagement Platform vs Cold Email Platform Comparison

    Sales teams building an outbound stack often weigh Closely, a sales engagement platform for multi-channel sales outreach and engagement tracking, against Growbots, a cold email platform for cold email outreach. They cover different parts of the workflow, so this comparison covers what each one does, what each one costs, and where they overlap.

    The Quick Answer

    Closely is a sales engagement platform for multi-channel sales outreach and engagement tracking; Growbots is a cold email platform for cold email outreach. By each vendor's own wording, Closely lists multichannel campaigns across linkedin and email and conditional sequence builder, and Growbots lists explore database of 180m+ prospects and email verification on import.

    Growbots offers a lower entry point at $0/mo compared to Closely at $49/mo.

    If your priority is coordinating outreach across email, phone, and social channels, Closely is the one built for it; for sending campaigns that land in the inbox and generate replies, that is Growbots. Many teams run one of each.

    Understanding the Core Difference

    Closely is Outbound platform that runs automated campaigns across LinkedIn and email from a shared sender, with a conditional sequence builder, unified inbox, contact enrichment and AI personalization agents.

    Growbots is Cold email software that finds prospects in a 180M+ contact database, warms up sending inboxes and automates outbound email campaigns. Also sells a Concierge service in which its own team runs the outbound process.

    The two platforms take different approaches to solving the same core challenge.

    Pricing Comparison

    Pricing ladder: Pricing Comparison (Closely, Growbots, Starter, Freemium)

    $49/moClosely entry plan

    Starter

    FreeGrowbots entry plan

    Freemium

    Entry pricing for Closely and Growbots, as published on each vendor's own pricing page.

    Closely Pricing (as of September 2026)

    PlanPriceContacts
    Starter$49/mo1 LinkedIn account, unlimited email accounts
    Growth$127/mo3 LinkedIn accounts, unlimited email accounts, 3,000 bonus credits/mo
    Essential$205/mo5 LinkedIn accounts, unlimited email accounts, 5,000 bonus credits/mo
    CustomContact SalesUnlimited seats, custom LinkedIn accounts and credits

    Source: Closely Pricing

    Growbots Pricing (as of September 2026)

    PlanPriceContactsEmails
    FreemiumFreeBasic Filters; partial access to the 180M+ prospect database20 email accounts; 3 sequences; up to 20 per email daily
    Starter Outreach$29/moCredits (Per Propsect) From $0.13Unlimited email accounts; unlimited sequences; up to 100 per email daily
    Pro Outreach$39/moCredits (Per Propsect) From $0.13Unlimited email accounts; unlimited sequences; up to 500 per email daily

    Source: Growbots Pricing

    Pricing Analysis

    Growbots offers the lower entry point ($0/mo vs $49/mo). Teams watching their budget will appreciate the savings, especially when starting out.

    Closely offers 4 pricing tiers compared to Growbots's 3, giving you more granularity as you scale.

    Growbots includes a free tier, which is helpful for evaluating the platform without upfront cost.

    Features Breakdown

    Closely lists
    • Multichannel campaigns across LinkedIn and email
    • Conditional sequence builder
    • Smart Inbox unifying LinkedIn and email replies
    • LinkedIn account warmup
    • Dedicated residential IP for each LinkedIn account
    • OAuth Gmail and Outlook connection plus custom SMTP
    • and 4 more listed below
    Growbots lists
    • Explore Database of 180M+ Prospects
    • Email Verification on Import
    • Gradual Automatic Warmup
    • Custom Tracking Domain
    • Spintax Formulas
    • A/B Testing
    • and 4 more listed below
    What Closely and Growbots each list on their own pages. The split is by exact wording, so a capability both offer can appear on both sides under different names.

    Closely Key Features

    • Multichannel campaigns across LinkedIn and email
    • Conditional sequence builder
    • Smart Inbox unifying LinkedIn and email replies
    • LinkedIn account warmup
    • Dedicated residential IP for each LinkedIn account
    • OAuth Gmail and Outlook connection plus custom SMTP
    • Email finder with a multi-step fallback process
    • Phone number finder
    • AI lead scoring and personalization agents
    • Export from Sales Navigator, LinkedIn posts and events

    Growbots Key Features

    • Explore Database of 180M+ Prospects
    • Email Verification on Import
    • Gradual Automatic Warmup
    • Custom Tracking Domain
    • Spintax Formulas
    • A/B Testing
    • Shared Inbox
    • Out-Of-Office Rescheduling
    • Warm Replies Detection
    • Email Templates Generator

    The two lists below are a diff of each vendor's own feature list by exact wording, so a capability both tools offer can appear on either side under a different name.

    Listed only by Closely

    • Multichannel campaigns across LinkedIn and email
    • Conditional sequence builder
    • Smart Inbox unifying LinkedIn and email replies
    • LinkedIn account warmup
    • Dedicated residential IP for each LinkedIn account
    • OAuth Gmail and Outlook connection plus custom SMTP
    • Email finder with a multi-step fallback process
    • Phone number finder
    • AI lead scoring and personalization agents
    • Export from Sales Navigator, LinkedIn posts and events

    Listed only by Growbots

    • Explore Database of 180M+ Prospects
    • Email Verification on Import
    • Gradual Automatic Warmup
    • Custom Tracking Domain
    • Spintax Formulas
    • A/B Testing
    • Shared Inbox
    • Out-Of-Office Rescheduling
    • Warm Replies Detection
    • Email Templates Generator

    Integration Ecosystem

    Integration schematic: Integration Ecosystem (Closely, Growbots, Salesforce, HubSpot)

    Closely Integrations

    Closely connects with: Salesforce, Pipedrive, HubSpot, GoHighLevel, Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, SMTP, Webhooks.

    Growbots Integrations

    Growbots connects with: Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier, Gmail, Outlook, SMTP, IMAP.

    Shared Integrations

    Both tools integrate with: Salesforce, HubSpot, Gmail, SMTP.

    Integrations listed only by Closely: Pipedrive, GoHighLevel, Microsoft Outlook, Webhooks.

    Integrations listed only by Growbots: Zapier, Outlook, IMAP.

    Use Case Recommendations

    Best Fit for Closely

    • Budget-conscious teams looking for an affordable sales engagement platform
    • Organizations with complex tech stacks needing broad integration support (8 integrations)
    • Enterprise buyers who prefer custom pricing and dedicated support

    Best Fit for Growbots

    • Budget-conscious teams looking for an affordable cold email platform
    • Teams that want to start free and scale up as needs grow
    • Sales teams running high-volume outbound email campaigns
    • Agencies managing multiple client outreach programs

    Feature Comparison Summary

    FeatureCloselyGrowbots
    Starting Price$49/moFree
    Top Tier PriceContact Sales$39/mo
    Total Features Listed1010
    Integrations87
    FoundedN/A2014

    Getting Started Checklist

    Before-and-after steps: Getting Started Checklist (Define multi-channel sales, Estimate expected sequences, List integrations, Sign up)

    1. Define your multi-channel sales outreach and engagement tracking and cold email outreach requirements and monthly budget
    2. Estimate your expected sequences and engagement actions and email sending volume to find the right tier
    3. List the integrations your team currently relies on
    4. Sign up for free trials or demos of both platforms
    5. Run a small test with each tool before making a commitment
    6. Evaluate the onboarding experience and support quality

    Final Thoughts

    Closely serves the multi-channel sales outreach and engagement tracking side of an outbound stack and Growbots the cold email outreach side. Growbots offers a more accessible entry point, while Closely starts at $49/mo. Your decision should weigh pricing against the specific features that matter most for your workflow.

    Start with a trial of each to see which platform fits your team's daily process. The best tool is the one your team actually uses consistently.

    Pricing and features verified as of September 2026. Visit Closely and Growbots for current information.

    Questions

    Frequently asked questions.

    Frequently asked questions
    What is the main difference between Closely and Growbots?
    Closely is a sales engagement platform built for multichannel outreach across LinkedIn and email with a conditional sequence builder, while Growbots is a cold email platform centered on a 180M plus prospect database and automated cold email campaigns. They serve different parts of an outbound workflow, and many teams run both together.
    Which is cheaper, Closely or Growbots?
    Growbots has the lower entry point, with a free Freemium plan compared to Closely's Starter plan at $49 per month. Growbots' paid tiers start at $29 per month for Starter Outreach and $39 per month for Pro Outreach, both with prospect credits from $0.13 per prospect.
    Does Closely support LinkedIn outreach?
    Yes, Closely supports LinkedIn outreach as part of its multichannel campaigns across LinkedIn and email. It also includes LinkedIn account warmup and a dedicated residential IP for each LinkedIn account, features listed only by Closely and not by Growbots.
    Does Growbots include a free plan?
    Yes, Growbots offers a Freemium plan at no cost, which includes basic filters and partial access to its 180M plus prospect database, along with 20 email accounts and up to 20 emails per email account daily. This lets teams evaluate the platform before paying.
    Can Closely and Growbots be used together?
    The article notes that many teams run one platform of each type, since Closely focuses on coordinating multichannel outreach across email, phone, and social channels while Growbots focuses on cold email campaigns that land in the inbox and generate replies.
    CloselyGrowbotsSales Engagement PlatformCold Email PlatformComparisonsales-engagementemail-sending
    Byline

    About the author.

    Tim Carden

    Tim Carden is CMO / CTO at RevenueFlow, which builds and operates outbound revenue engines for B2B companies. Studied at McGill University.

    Tim Carden · CMO / CTO

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