Twenty
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Comparison · CRM
Close CRM vs Espocrm
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Close CRM and Espocrm — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Close CRM vs Espocrm: at a glance
What is Close CRM?
Close takes Chloe Chat out of beta for every customer, a month after OIDC SSO.
Close is shipping on three tracks. Its assistant Chloe is now generally available as Chloe Chat, answering pipeline questions, preparing a rep's day, analyzing data and taking actions from any page. Voice agents run on the rebuilt telephony layer with skills like Schedule Meeting, and the October 13 release added a central Security page with OIDC single sign-on alongside update-only Workflow triggers.
What is Espocrm?
EspoCRM leans on content marketing while 9.x releases ship quietly.
The EspoCRM feed is dominated by blog content — building customer portals, no-code CRM customization, European data-control thought leadership, HubSpot comparisons — alongside terse 9.2 and 9.3 release notes. Visible product directional change is limited; the channel reads more like marketing than engineering shipping.
Close CRM vs Espocrm: editorial side-by-side
Close CRM
5.0CRM
Close takes Chloe Chat out of beta for every customer, a month after OIDC SSO.
◆ Current state
Close is shipping on three tracks. Its assistant Chloe is now generally available as Chloe Chat, answering pipeline questions, preparing a rep's day, analyzing data and taking actions from any page. Voice agents run on the rebuilt telephony layer with skills like Schedule Meeting, and the October 13 release added a central Security page with OIDC single sign-on alongside update-only Workflow triggers.
◆ Where it's heading
Chloe has moved from a beta chat to the default way into the app: a command-palette fallback in September, notification threads, and now GA for all accounts. Paired with voice agents that act on phone numbers and Workflows that react to record updates, Close is building a CRM where assistants and automation do more of the work, with SSO and a security page arriving as the governance layer that buyers ask for.
◆ Prediction
Expect Chloe to gain more write actions and to connect with Workflows or voice-agent skills now that it is GA; the truncated entry doesn't list which actions it can take today.
Espocrm
2.5CRM
EspoCRM leans on content marketing while 9.x releases ship quietly.
◆ Current state
The EspoCRM feed is dominated by blog content — building customer portals, no-code CRM customization, European data-control thought leadership, HubSpot comparisons — alongside terse 9.2 and 9.3 release notes. Visible product directional change is limited; the channel reads more like marketing than engineering shipping.
◆ Where it's heading
The clearest pattern is a positioning push around EspoCRM as a self-hosted, customization-first CRM aimed at European and privacy-conscious buyers, rather than a feature reinvention. Release notes when they appear are minimal (9.2, 9.3 with PHP 8.5 support), suggesting steady-state maintenance more than directional change.
◆ Prediction
The combined emphasis on data control, no-code customization, and HubSpot-alternative messaging suggests continued investment in EU-friendly self-hosted CRM positioning over capability expansion, but the published feed does not give enough signal to predict specific feature moves with confidence.
Alternatives to Close CRM and Espocrm
Other CRM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Close CRM or Espocrm.
Twenty
Twenty 2.53 lets apps lock field permission actions, a day after role-aware relation pickers.
IntegCRM
IntegCRM keeps building out invoicing, bookings, forms and email for service businesses.
Folk
folk ships a French interface weeks after moving its data storage to Europe.
GroupOffice
GroupOffice patches its current 26.0 line and the older 25.0 line on the same afternoon.
Corteza
Corteza 2026.9.0 goes final after a week of single-fix candidates.
See all Close CRM alternatives → · See all Espocrm alternatives →
Recent activity from Close CRM and Espocrm
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 9d agoClose CRMChloe Chat is out of beta for all Close customers
- 16d agoClose CRMClose adds a central Security page and OIDC single sign-on
- 17d agoClose CRMTrigger Workflows on updated events
- 23d agoClose CRMVoice agents get a single Schedule Meeting skill
- 23d agoClose CRMTemplate Creation from Email/SMS
- 1mo agoClose CRMAsk Chloe a question from the command palette
- 5mo agoEspocrmBuilding a custom customer portal in EspoCRM without writing a line of code
- 6mo agoEspocrmHow to Build a Custom CRM System From Scratch With EspoCRM
- 6mo agoEspocrmWhy data control matters more than ever for European businesses
- 6mo agoEspocrmHow many work days in a year? (2026) Updated
- 6mo agoEspocrmIs EspoCRM a good HubSpot alternative for your business?
- 6mo agoEspocrmMeet the new Stripe Integration for EspoCRM!
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Close CRM and Espocrm?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Close CRM is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Close CRM better than Espocrm?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Close CRM is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other CRM products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Close CRM?
Top Close CRM alternatives in CRM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Close CRM alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/close-crm for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Espocrm?
Top Espocrm alternatives in CRM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Espocrm alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/espocrm for the full list with editorial commentary on each.