Best cold calling software
Dialers built for outbound volume, compared on per-seat cost, what kind of dialer you actually get, and what's bundled alongside calling.
Close wins for a dedicated outbound sales team: it's the cheapest per-seat entry point with a real power dialer on its Growth tier and a predictive dialer on Scale, both built specifically for working through a list. JustCall is the better fit for a team that wants calling as part of a wider AI communication suite rather than inside a sales-focused CRM.
The short answer
- Close starts at $9/user/month (Solo, annual) with native calling and a Power Dialer on Growth ($99/user) and Predictive Dialer on Scale ($139/user), per close.com/pricing.
- JustCall's Team plan is $29/user/month with unlimited outbound minutes across Europe and unlimited inbound; its Sales Suite tier targets high-volume outreach specifically, per justcall.io/pricing.
- Mailshake bundles calling into its Sales Engagement plan at $99/month, including 5 phone numbers with unlimited North American dialer minutes alongside email sending, per mailshake.com/pricing.
Cold calling platforms compared
| Tool | Starting price | Dialer type | Bundled with | Best for | Not for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | $9/user/mo (Solo, annual) | Power Dialer (Growth+), Predictive Dialer (Scale) | A full sales CRM with pipeline and SMS | A dedicated outbound sales team | A team that only wants a phone tool, not a CRM |
| JustCall | $29/user/mo (Team, annual, min 2 seats) | Included calling; SalesPro tier built for high-volume outreach | An AI communication suite (calling, texting) | A team that wants a phone-first tool without a full CRM attached | A team that wants dialer and pipeline in the same product |
| Mailshake | $99/mo (Sales Engagement) | Dialer bundled with 5 numbers, unlimited NA minutes | Cold email sending in the same subscription | A team running email and calling together on one bill | A team that needs a dialer outside North America at this tier |
Figures checked on close.com/pricing, justcall.io/pricing and mailshake.com/pricing, September 2026. Aircall's and Apollo's own pricing pages did not render specific dollar figures at fetch time and are omitted rather than estimated.
What each one is built around
Close
A sales CRM with calling built in from the start rather than bolted on: Power Dialer and Predictive Dialer features exist specifically to call through a list fast, and an AI prospecting agent called Chloe ships on every tier. Calling is usage-priced on top of the seat cost (around $0.02/minute, roughly $1/month per number), so your bill scales with activity. Not for: a team that only wants a dialer without a full CRM.
JustCall
Structured as an AI communication suite with tiered plans from Team to Business, plus a dedicated SalesPro tier for high-volume outreach with unlimited calling. Unlimited outbound minutes across Europe and unlimited inbound are included even at the entry Team tier. Not for: a team wanting pipeline and dialer combined in one interface, since JustCall is calling-first rather than CRM-first.
Mailshake
Puts a real phone dialer inside its Sales Engagement plan rather than treating calling as a separate product, with 5 phone numbers and unlimited North American dialer minutes bundled at $99/month. That combination is the whole point: one bill for both email and calling. Not for: high-volume dialing outside North America, or a team that specifically wants a dedicated dialer product rather than one bundled with email.
When none of these is the answer
A team making a handful of calls a week does not need dedicated cold-calling software. A phone and a spreadsheet cover that volume, and the per-seat cost of any of these tools is wasted below real call volume, roughly a few dozen calls a day per rep.
Disclosure: SalesCrew is our product. It runs outbound calls through Vapi as one channel today, with the outcome logged against the contact, but it is not a dedicated dialer built for power-dialing a list the way Close or JustCall are, and its own softphone and power dialer are on the roadmap. It is not included in the ranking above for that reason.
Questions
- What's the cheapest way to start cold calling?
- Close's Solo plan starts at $9/user/month (annual billing) with native calling included, usage-priced around $0.02/minute, per close.com/pricing. That's the lowest entry price among the tools checked here, though it adds usage costs on top.
- Which tool has a real power dialer, not only click-to-call?
- Close names Power Dialer on its Growth plan and up, and a Predictive Dialer on Scale, built specifically for calling through a list at volume, per close.com/pricing. JustCall's Sales Suite tier is also built for high-volume outreach with unlimited calling.
- Is cold calling legal for my business?
- It depends on your list, the recipient's registration on a do-not-call list, and rules like TCPA in the US. None of these platforms' pricing pages substitute for checking your own compliance obligations before you dial. This is not legal advice.
- Can I get email and calling in one subscription?
- Mailshake's Sales Engagement plan at $99/month bundles 5 phone numbers with unlimited North American dialer minutes alongside its email sending, per mailshake.com/pricing, making it the one platform here that combines both channels natively.