Why Choose Expandi Over Closely ?
Getting your LinkedIn account restricted mid-campaign can kill weeks of pipeline work. It’s also the complaint that comes up most consistently in Closely’s user reviews.
If you’re evaluating both Expandi and Closely, that’s worth knowing upfront. This comparison covers where they differ on safety, features, and pricing, so you can make the right call before you start building campaigns.
TL;DR
- Closely is a good pick for easy set-up, solid LinkedIn outreach, for teams that don’t need complex workflows. But it falls short in flexibility and account safety. Once a campaign is running, you can’t pause and edit mid-sequence. Plus, there is higher chance of account restrictions based on reviews.
- Expandi is built to scale outreach. Its multichannel outreach backed by conditional logic adapts based on how leads respond. Plus, you get deeper personalization, account safety, and better team management features to manage your campaigns.
Expandi vs Closely
A Full Feature Comparison
14-days
$49 – $350
$29 – $206
Now You know why Expandi is the obvious choice
Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, a business development Newbie or a LinkedIn Boss, a fan of Recruitment on LinkedIn or a networking guru, everyone turns to Expandi to supercharge their outreach game.
Still in doubt? Expandi is more
Secure. Cloud-Based Solution with country Proxy Selection.With Warm-Up with Human-like Automation
Adaptable. We stay ahead of updates, ensuring seamless adaptability to any changes.
Convenient. Invite as many clients as you want with no extra charge. And manage all their accounts conveniently from a single account.
Flexible. Create an unlimited number of Roles & Permissions with granular access to the platform for teammates and clients.
Trackable. Track team performance on an intuitive dashboard. Save more than 6 hours weekly per account by using tags, filters, and inbox management.
Integrative. Receive all replies and your hot leads directly in Slack or any chosen tool, and distribute performance reports to other tools, all using webhooks.
Smart. Share best-performing Expandi Campaigns inside the team in a few clicks.
Scalable. Accelerate Growth with Human-Like Automation to boost conversions with personalized, condition-based flows. Engage and warm up contacts before requesting connection.
People like you use
Expandi to generate
leads and grow faster
Closely Reviews: What Real Users Are Saying
What Are the Pros of Closely?
Just like any tool in the market, Closely has its advantages. Here are some benefits of using the tool based on insights from review sites like G2 and AppSumo.
- Intuitive interface: Closely is easy to use and navigate. With its intuitive interface, you can set it up and use it without requiring special training or instructions. This makes it perfect for any user without a technical background.
- Combines LinkedIn + email: Many users report that Closely automatically integrates LinkedIn actions with email follow-ups, eliminating the need to juggle multiple tools. For example, you can create automated campaigns to reach out to leads in seconds, so you don’t have to engage in manual efforts.
- AI personalization: It tailors messages and sequences to improve engagement. Alongside its AI-generated, human-like messages, you’re more likely to receive a response from your prospects.
What are the Cons of Closely?
While it delivers in some areas, there are also turn-offs that become more noticeable as your outreach needs grow. Let’s see what reviewers from G2 and AppSumo have to say.
- Less flexibility: Although Closely offers flexibility as its core feature, the workflow flexibility feels limited. For example, one user from G2 claims they couldn’t edit their data after a CSV upload or pause campaigns after it runs. These small friction points can feel frustrating, especially when you’re managing a high-volume campaign.
- Integration issues: Closely integrates with other tools but users report manual imports, synchronization issues, and duplicate entries with CRMs and APIs. Here’s how one reviewer on AppSumo puts it: “HubSpot Integration creates duplicate entries and does not sync emails or LinkedIn messages despite that option being checked.”
- Account safety: Unlike other LinkedIn automation tools, using Closely involves certain risks. Many users from G2 and AppSumo report that their LinkedIn accounts got banned after using the tool. First, they receive a warning from LinkedIn for automated activity. Then, the platform restricts access after a few days.
- Poor customer support: Reviews describe support as slow or unresponsive, and in some cases, not knowledgeable enough to resolve issues quickly. Complaints also include billing/cancellation issues with unclear policies and unexpected charges.
Closely Pricing
Closely offers a free trial and keeps its pricing relatively flexible. However, this pricing model is structured around the number of LinkedIn accounts and credits you need.
- Starter plan: Billed annually at $29/month, it grants access to one LinkedIn account and unlimited email accounts. It’s clearly designed for individuals or small-scale outreach.
- Growth plan: For $87/month billed annually, it expands to three LinkedIn accounts and adds monthly credits for emails, phone data, or AI personalization.
- Essential plan: At $145 per month (billed annually), you get five LinkedIn accounts to supercharge your outreach efforts.
- Custom plan: It includes a white-label plan that costs around $206/month for unlimited seats.
What Makes Expandi Better than Closely?
If you want basic LinkedIn automation capabilities, Closely is an ideal choice. But if you want a tool that offers functional LinkedIn scraping, advanced sequences, and account safety, you can find it all in Expandi.
It’s built for teams that want real-time data and run campaigns without risking their LinkedIn account. Here’s how Expandi outperforms Closely.
1. LinkedIn + email in one powerful sequence
Closely leans heavily on LinkedIn, so your outreach is mostly limited to that channel. On the flip side, Expandi combines LinkedIn actions and email into a single sequence with powerful conditional logic.
Unlike Closely, Expandi can branch based on a prospect’s actions. For example, if a prospect ignores your connection request, it can automatically follow up via email instead. Besides, all these campaigns run within the same workflow. This reduces manual efforts and increases your chances of getting a response, because you’re not relying on just one touchpoint.
2. Integration that works
Closely users often run into friction when trying to connect the tool with other platforms, which slows down their workflow. Expandi focuses on making integrations actually usable.
No synchronization issues or duplicate entries. It connects seamlessly with the rest of your sales stack for easy data transfer and streamlined workflow.
3. Account safety
With Closely, you risk receiving a LinkedIn warning or having your account restricted. In contrast, Expandi prioritizes your account’s safety.
With cloud-based infrastructure, account warmup, and randomized delays to guard your activities, you can easily scale your LinkedIn outreach without losing your LinkedIn account. In short, Closely risks your account; Expandi protects it.
4. A flat rate for your team
Closely’s cheaper rate comes with limited features. And the pricey ones can be suitable for your small team or business.
Expandi keeps it simple with a flat pricing model. You can scale your outreach to up to 20 users without worrying about rising costs. As your team expands, your pricing stays predictable, making it easier to plan and manage your budget long-term.
When to Choose Expandi vs Closely
Struggling to choose between the tool? Here’s what to consider.
Choose Expandi to:
- Extract leads from all LinkedIn account types to find your ideal buyers
- Combine LinkedIn and email in one sequence so you don’t depend on a single channel.
- Build multi-step workflow with conditional logic that adapts to lead’s behaviors
- Keep your LinkedIn account safe with warmups, dedicated proxies, and activity limits.
- Transfer data easily among various platforms to streamline your workflow
- Invite up to 20 members to your workspace without scaling your bill.
Choose Closely when you want:
- A straightforward LinkedIn outreach tool to set things up and get campaigns running fast
- AI-generated messages that tailors outreach without manual research on prospects
- Built-in lead extraction feature to find leads from Sales Navigator, Recruiter, and more.
- Clear analytics that what’s working and what to improve in your campaign.
The Bottom Line: Closely Starts It. Expandi Perfects It.
Closely gives you a way to combine LinkedIn and email, which is a solid starting point for multichannel outreach. But when it comes to execution, flexibility, and performance, Expandi takes it several steps further.
With Expandi, you get:
- A truly seamless LinkedIn and email sequence that works as one continuous flow, not just separate features
- Reliable integrations that connect smoothly with your existing tools and workflows
- Advanced analytics that go beyond surface-level metrics and help you optimize in real time
- A flat pricing model that stays predictable as your team grows
- Account safety measures to protect your LinkedIn account
Start your free trial today to join teams that boost their LinkedIn lead generation efforts.
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