Our Top Picks
If your team likes its CRM but hates making calls in it, start by comparing dialers that work with that CRM. Moving your contacts, automations, pipeline, and reports is a much bigger decision than changing how reps work a call list.
If you are choosing a CRM from scratch, the shortlist looks different. Close combines an outbound CRM with power and predictive dialing. HighLevel puts calling alongside agency workflows. HubSpot and Salesforce connect calls to their sales workspaces. Freshsales and Zoho offer calling within their wider product suites.
This guide compares those six CRM choices and a seventh option: keeping a supported CRM and adding Trellus. The right choice depends on where the team wants to work, which dialing mode it needs, and what happens after a prospect answers.
Trellus publishes this guide and sells one of the options below. Product details were checked against vendor documentation on September 10, 2026. The demo worksheet is a method you can use with each vendor; it is not a claim that we tested every product in a paid account.
What is a CRM dialer?
A CRM dialer is calling software connected to a customer relationship management system. It lets reps start calls from CRM lists, tasks, or contact records and then keeps some combination of call activity, notes, outcomes, and callbacks with the customer record.
Some CRMs include their own dialer. Others work with a separate dialer that adds power or parallel calling while the CRM remains the source of contacts and follow-up work. When you compare the two approaches, ask the vendor to show the complete loop: where the rep opens the list, how the call begins, what appears when someone answers, and where the next step is saved.
Start with the decision that changes your shortlist
| Your situation | Start here | What to settle first |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing a CRM for a new outbound team | Close, HighLevel, HubSpot, Salesforce, Freshsales, or Zoho | Which product fits your pipeline, reporting, and day-to-day work? |
| Happy with the CRM; need a different calling experience | Your CRM's own calling features and Trellus on a supported platform | Can reps use the lists and tasks they already have? |
| Already using a CRM's phone features | Compare its current setup with a connected dialer | What additional calling or coaching capability would justify the switch? |
| Calling only a handful of carefully researched accounts | Your current click-to-call setup | Is dialing speed actually the bottleneck? |
A rep who researches every account before calling may get more value from easy access to account context than from starting several calls at once. A team working a large list may care more about power or parallel dialing. A manager running a remote call block also needs to see who is on a call and where coaching would help.
Choose the work you want to improve before comparing packages.
Seven CRM and dialer options
1. Close: outbound calling inside the CRM
Close deserves a look when you want the CRM and dialing workflow in the same product. Its Power Dialer starts from a saved Smart View, so a rep can work through a filtered lead list, take notes, and continue to the next lead. Close also offers predictive dialing.
- Calling starts from: a Smart View containing the leads you want to call.
- Good fit: an outbound team choosing Close as its main CRM.
- Try in the demo: pause a session, resume it, and see how changes to the Smart View affect the queue. Confirm which plan includes the dialing mode you want.
If you already use Close, compare its own calling with Trellus for Close before assuming a CRM move is necessary.
2. HighLevel: calling alongside agency workflows
HighLevel is a practical option when contacts and follow-up already live in its client locations. Its web dialer documentation describes a power-dialing workflow in Conversations → Manual Actions: a workflow assigns call actions, and the rep moves through them one by one.
- Calling starts from: Manual Actions created by a workflow, or an individual contact in the web dialer.
- Good fit: agencies and location-based teams that want calling close to their existing HighLevel work.
- Try in the demo: complete a call action and see what happens to the contact and next workflow step.
If reps want to call directly from Contacts Smart Lists or use parallel dialing, compare Trellus for GoHighLevel. Trellus can also work from an Opportunity view configured during setup.
3. HubSpot Sales Hub: task-led prospecting
HubSpot makes sense when reps organize the day around CRM tasks and sales activities. Its prospecting queue can automatically open HubSpot Calling when a rep selects a call task. That is useful task navigation; demonstrate the complete calling sequence to decide whether it matches the pace of your call block.
- Calling starts from: a call task in the prospecting queue or another supported browser-calling surface.
- Good fit: teams that want prospecting and follow-up close to HubSpot records.
- Try in the demo: call from a task, record the result, and create the follow-up the next rep will see. Confirm the required Sales seat, number setup, and calling allowance.
For power or parallel dialing from HubSpot tasks and supported contact views, see Trellus for HubSpot.
4. Salesforce Voice with Sales Engagement: calls in a Salesforce sales process
Salesforce is worth evaluating when your team depends on its records, reporting, and cadences. Its phone-integration documentation describes Salesforce Voice with Sales Engagement, including click-to-dial from Work Queue and My List, task logging, and cadence behavior.
- Calling starts from: the supported call steps and records in the configured Salesforce workflow.
- Good fit: an organization that wants its Salesforce team to administer sales activity and telephony together.
- Try in the demo: complete a cadence call and inspect both the activity and the next cadence step. Ask for the full Voice, Sales Engagement, and telephony quote.
Salesforce says the older Sales Dialer is scheduled for retirement and recommends Voice. For a separate power or parallel dialer that starts from reports, list views, or due tasks, see Trellus for Salesforce.
5. Freshsales Suite: sequential calling in the Freshworks environment
Freshworks documents a Power Dialer that calls selected contacts or an imported list one after another. It is a relevant option for teams already considering the Freshsales and Freshcaller products.
- Calling starts from: selected contacts or an imported phone list.
- Good fit: a team that wants a sequential calling workflow in the Freshworks suite.
- Try in the demo: select the list, make a call, and find the saved result in the CRM record your manager uses.
The help page says Freshsales Suite availability is limited to customers who signed up after July 12, 2023. Ask Freshworks to confirm availability in your account before choosing a package around this feature.
6. Zoho CRM with Zoho Voice: calling for a Zoho-based team
Zoho offers built-in telephony in CRM and a separate Zoho Voice product. Voice includes Power Dialer campaigns, call dispositions, and notes. Ask the vendor to demonstrate the product combination you would actually buy; a feature shown in Voice should not be assumed to appear identically inside CRM.
- Calling starts from: CRM records or a Voice campaign, depending on the setup.
- Good fit: a team that already wants to run its customer workflow in Zoho.
- Try in the demo: make a campaign call, save a note and outcome, and locate them in Zoho CRM.
Confirm the CRM and Voice licenses, number availability, and which interface reps will use during a call block.
7. Trellus with your existing CRM: power and parallel dialing, Salesfloor, and coaching
Trellus is a dialer you add to a supported CRM or sales platform. Reps start from the platform's calling work, use power or parallel dialing, and get live AI coaching. Managers can bring the team together in Salesfloor for shared call blocks and live listening.
For example, a GoHighLevel team can start from a Contacts Smart List, call through it with Trellus, and save notes, tags, and callback tasks to HighLevel. An Attio team can start from its supported task or People-list workflow. The integration directory shows the starting screens for each platform.
- Calling starts from: the supported list, report, view, or task workflow in your platform.
- Good fit: a team keeping its CRM that wants embedded dialing, a live team room, and coaching in one product.
- Try in the demo: use the same list you use today, work a call, save the next step, and have a manager join the team room.
Choose a CRM product instead if you also need a new contact database, opportunity pipeline, and CRM administration. Trellus supplies the calling experience; your CRM stays the place for customer records and pipeline.
Use this worksheet in every demo
Pick three records in a sandbox or use colleagues' agreed test numbers: one new contact, one contact with recent activity, and one callback. Give each vendor the same scenario. For each row below, write shown, needs setup, or unavailable, followed by what you observed.
| Demo step | What you want to see |
|---|---|
| Open the day's work | The saved list or tasks the rep expects, with the right owner and order. |
| Start the chosen dialing mode | The actual power, parallel, predictive, or click-to-call flow you plan to buy. |
| Answer a call | Contact and company context, recent notes, and a clear next action. |
| Finish the conversation | A useful note, the right outcome, and a follow-up on the intended record. |
| Join as a manager | The listening, coaching, and team visibility you need during the block. |
| Review afterward | The call and next task visible in the reports your team uses. |
Treat must-haves as requirements before scoring nice-to-haves. If tomorrow's callback cannot be assigned the way your team works, a long feature list will not make that unimportant.
Then let a rep run the same short exercise without the vendor driving. The parts that require explanation are useful training notes for your eventual launch.
Compare the full cost of the setup
Ask each vendor for the same written scenario: number of calling reps, manager access, expected usage, calling countries, and the dialing mode you want. Separate recurring fees from one-time work.
- CRM licenses and any sales-workspace add-ons.
- Dialer, Voice, or phone-system subscriptions.
- Calling minutes, phone numbers, and other usage charges.
- Manager, recording, transcription, or coaching features your team needs.
- Setup, migration, training, and contract commitments.
Keep two totals: what it costs to start and what it costs to run each month. A CRM replacement may make sense, but the cost of moving existing workflows belongs in that decision.
Common questions about CRMs with dialers
Do I need to replace my CRM to get parallel dialing?
You can add a parallel dialer when a provider supports the CRM and calling workflow you use. Check the exact platform and starting screen first. Trellus's platform pages explain its supported workflows, including Attio and GoHighLevel.
Is opening the next call task the same as power dialing?
Task navigation and automated dialing are separate parts of the experience. Watch a rep finish one call and begin the next. The CRM power-dialer guide explains the one-line sequence in more detail.
Should a small team buy a dialer immediately?
Start with the work. If reps make a few researched calls and the current setup is comfortable, keep it. A separate dialer becomes more useful when working a call list, handling follow-up, or coaching the team is taking effort that the product can remove.
What comes after choosing the product?
Plan a small first call block, agree on outcomes and callbacks, and have one manager review the result. The guide to adding an auto dialer to your CRM walks through that setup.
See Trellus in the CRM you already use
Bring the list your reps call today. We can show where Trellus appears, how the team dials, and how Salesfloor and live coaching fit into the same call block.
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Power and parallel dialing in your CRM.
