Close vs Ghost
Side-by-side plans, pricing, and feature gates for Close and Ghost, verified . Close is primarily crm; Ghost is primarily content marketing.
Plans side by side
Every published plan from each vendor, with the headline monthly anchor price. Some prices scale with subscriber count or seats; full detail lives on each tool's page.
Close
- Solo
Single user, 10,000 lead cap
$9/mo - Essentials
Core CRM with unlimited contacts and leads
$35/mo - Growth
Adds Chloe AI agent, workflows, and Power Dialer
$99/mo - Scale
Adds Predictive Dialer, role-based access, unlimited call recording
$139/mo - Enterprise
Custom pricing for 10+ users or complex needs
Custom
Ghost
- Starter
Personal publishing on Ghost(Pro), billed yearly
$18/mo - Publisher
Paid subscriptions, custom themes, integrations
$29/mo - Business
Higher limits, priority support, early access
$199/mo - Custom
Enterprise: unlimited members, dedicated IP, SLA
Custom
Limits at the entry paid tier
Compares Solo (Close) against Starter (Ghost). Both are the lowest-priced non-free, non-custom plan on each side.
| Limit | Close | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | · | 1,000 members |
| Emails / month | · | Unlimited |
| Team seats | 1 user (Solo plan limit) | 1 |
When Close wins
- Outbound-heavy SDR teams that live in the dialer all day
- B2B sales teams of 1 to 20 reps that want one tool for calls, email, and CRM
- Founders running their own outbound and wanting calling, email, and CRM in one place
Where Close is the wrong fit
- Marketing-heavy teams that need a broader hub (use HubSpot CRM)
- Service-business CRMs needing ticketing (use Pipedrive or Zoho)
- Enterprise sales orgs with complex territory structures (use Salesforce)
When Ghost wins
- Independent publishers who want to own their stack and keep migration optionality
- Paid-newsletter operators trying to avoid Substack's 10% revenue share at scale
- Publications that need staff seats, custom themes, and a real CMS rather than just an email tool
Where Ghost is the wrong fit
- Hobbyists who refuse to pay anything ever; Substack or Buttondown's free tiers fit better
- Podcast-first creators; Ghost is text and email native, not an audio platform
- Teams that need deep CRM, lead scoring, or marketing automation; this is a publishing tool, not a marketing-automation suite
Common questions
- Is Close cheaper than Ghost?
- At the entry tier, Close starts at $9/mo versus Ghost at $18/mo. Close is cheaper at the entry. Pricing scales differently above that, so check the full plan grid.
- Does Close or Ghost have a free plan?
- Neither has a permanent free plan. Both offer free trials.
- Are Close and Ghost in the same category?
- No. Close is primarily a crm tool; Ghost is primarily a content marketing tool. They overlap on use case but sit in different primary categories, so the comparison is between adjacent tools rather than direct competitors.
- Which has more plans, Close or Ghost?
- Close ships 5 plans; Ghost ships 4. Close's longer ladder gives more granular upgrade steps, which can mean smoother price escalation as your team scales.
- Where can I see alternatives to Close or Ghost?
- Each tool has a dedicated alternatives page on TierGauge with ranked options and verified pricing: /alternatives/close for Close and /alternatives/ghost for Ghost. Alternatives are derived from each tool's editor-flagged competitors plus same-category tools we track.
Close: https://www.close.com/pricing · Ghost: https://ghost.org/pricing/
Last verified . Pricing changes between refreshes; confirm at the vendor before purchasing.