Closely vs Botdog: Which LinkedIn Automation Tool Should You Choose in 2025?

Why We Built Botdog

Are you looking for a LinkedIn automation tool? You've probably heard of Closely. It's a multi-channel platform that combines LinkedIn outreach with email campaigns and offers features like team collaboration, white-labeling for agencies, and integrations with popular CRMs. However, all those bells and whistles come with complexity (and a steep price tag with rigid commitment requirements).

Closely is certainly an investment. Their Solo plan is $708 per year, and critically, it cannot be billed monthly. That's right – you must pay the full $708 upfront for a year-long commitment, which is a massive investment and risk, especially for small business owners and startups. 

If you're running outreach for multiple team members or client accounts and have plenty of cash to spare, it might make sense. However, Closely's workflows take time to master, and the setup isn't exactly straightforward. Some users find it more like a complicated CRM than a streamlined automation tool.

Botdog was designed with simplicity in mind - it's LinkedIn-first and user-friendly. You connect your account, import leads, and launch a campaign - that’s it. It's cloud-based, safe, and easy to use. We skipped the complex multi-channel sequences, minimized the learning curve, and focused on giving our users clear insights into what's working (and what’s not).

So, how do these two tools really stack up against each other? 

Let's break down the differences and see why Botdog might be the smarter, less cumbersome choice for your LinkedIn outreach.

TL;DR

Botdog is a LinkedIn automation tool built for solo salespeople and sales teams.

Botdog: A cloud-based LinkedIn automation solution built specifically for simplicity and affordability. Perfect for individual professionals and small sales teams who want to focus exclusively on LinkedIn outreach. Botdog automates connection requests and follow-ups with an emphasis on user-friendliness and account safety. It offers unlimited campaigns, team collaboration features, and some AI-assisted capabilities. Pricing starts at just $29.99 per user monthly (with big discounts for annual plans), making it one of the most budget-friendly LinkedIn automation tools available. A free trial lets you test all features without a credit card. Botdog is ideal for those who want effective LinkedIn outreach without complexity or budget strain.

Closely is a feature-rich platform that combines LinkedIn and email outreach in one system.

Closely: A feature-rich automation platform that combines LinkedIn and email outreach in one system. It’s aimed at growth-focused teams and agencies managing multiple campaigns and accounts, and closely supports multi-channel sequences, an integrated B2B contact database, and white-labeling options for agencies. 

While it’s a powerful platform, Closely has a steeper learning curve, significantly higher costs, and rigid payment structures. The Solo plan requires a $708 upfront payment and no monthly option. The Team plan requires a minimum of 3 seats and starts at $87/month (billed annually at $1,044) or $237/month billed monthly. 

Closely is comprehensive but requires a large budget, patience to master, and long-term financial commitment. It’s crucial to carefully read the terms and conditions before joining Closely, as many users have reported LinkedIn bans, unexpected renewals, and complicated cancellation policies. 

Botdog vs Closely Feature Comparison

To get a quick sense of how Botdog and Closely stack up, here's a side-by-side comparison of key features:

Tool Overviews

Botdog Overview

Botdog is a LinkedIn automation platform built around simplicity and cost-effectiveness. As a cloud-based tool (with nothing to install), it automates your LinkedIn outreach. It sends connection invitations, follow-up messages, and even withdraws unanswered invites automatically. 

Our core features include Automated Sequences (campaigns that send personalized invites and message follow-ups until a prospect replies) and Team Management (handling multiple LinkedIn accounts). Our design philosophy focuses on simplicity, safety, and affordability for individuals and small teams.

Botdog includes unlimited campaigns and messages even on basic plans, and we stay within LinkedIn's daily limits to protect your account. Think of Botdog as your virtual sales assistant on LinkedIn. You set up campaigns, and it handles the tedious work of sending, waiting, and following up while you focus on real conversations.

Closely Overview

Closely is a multi-channel lead generation platform that combines LinkedIn automation with email outreach. It's a more comprehensive system aimed at B2B sales teams and agencies who need to run large-scale, multi-channel campaigns.

Closely allows users to create combined sequences: for example, it can send a LinkedIn connection request, then follow up with an email, then a LinkedIn message, etc. It offers prospect filtering (by industry, title, location), a built-in B2B contact database, and comes with various integrations. Closely's interface is more complex due to its broader feature set – there's a learning curve to mastering campaign setup, configuring settings, and analyzing results across channels. 

Closely is also notably more expensive than Botdog, which requires substantial financial commitments upfront. This reflects its target market of established businesses that can invest heavily in sales technology without budget constraints. Furthermore, many users have reported LinkedIn bans, unexpected renewals, and complicated cancellation policies. 

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Let's dive deeper into specific features and how each tool handles them:

Campaign Management

Botdog: Offers straightforward campaign setup. You can create multi-step LinkedIn campaigns with a sequence of actions (e.g., send invite with note → wait 3 days → send a follow-up message if connected → wait → send another follow-up) all within a clean, simple interface.

The emphasis is on LinkedIn, so campaign steps are LinkedIn actions. We've prioritized making Botdog's UI beginner-friendly – most users set up their first campaign in minutes. Botdog also includes an activity log so you can see every action taken on your behalf.

While we don't natively schedule email steps, Botdog can trigger external actions via its API or Zapier (for example, by dropping contacts into an email tool as a parallel campaign). Overall, Botdog's campaign management is focused and easy to use for LinkedIn outreach.

Closely: Provides a more robust campaign builder that supports multiple channels. In Closely, you create "omnichannel sequences, " including LinkedIn actions, emails, and potentially other touchpoints. The campaign manager lets you set conditions (if X happens, then do Y), delays, and automated follow-ups across these channels. 

Closely shines in its complexity - you can design intricate outreach flows that coordinate LinkedIn and email touches. However, this also makes it more complex to set up and manage. Although Closely provides templates to help with campaign creation, users can expect to invest more time configuring campaigns compared to Botdog's streamlined approach.

LinkedIn Outreach

Botdog: Specializes in LinkedIn. The outreach toolkit includes automated connection requests (with the option to personalize a note), automated messaging (sequential follow-ups until the prospect replies), and features like profile viewing or post engagement.

Botdog can import lead lists directly from LinkedIn Sales Navigator searches, Recruiter projects, or even post commenters. It's essentially turning LinkedIn into a funnel – find people using LinkedIn, import them, and then Botdog sends connection invites and messages at scheduled intervals.

One handy feature is Botdog's auto-withdraw function, which removes pending invites after X days if no acceptance occurs. This keeps your LinkedIn account tidy and under the invite limit. Everything stays within LinkedIn's official limits to avoid trouble. If you only care about LinkedIn outreach and want to grow your network safely, Botdog provides all the essential tools.

Closely: Includes standard LinkedIn automations as part of its multi-channel approach. With Closely, you can automate connection invites, profile views, LinkedIn messages, and follow-ups. 

Closely includes safety features like LinkedIn "warm-up" (gradually increasing activity levels) and uses dedicated IPs to run continuously without needing your browser open. That said, some users have reported being banned from LinkedIn shortly after connecting their accounts to Closely. 

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Closely's LinkedIn features are robust but designed to complement email outreach rather than as a standalone solution. The platform operates fully in the cloud with dedicated IPs for each account, which means outreach runs continuously without needing the user's browser.

AI Capabilities

Botdog: We've recently started to introduce AI to improve efficiency and safety. One such feature is AI Lead Review, which uses AI to analyze your lead list and flag or remove contacts that likely don't fit your criteria (saving you from wasting connection requests).

This is useful if you upload a broad list of leads; the AI tries to keep only the high-quality targets. We also offer AI writing snippets to help personalize messages. Essentially, Botdog's AI is assistive, making sure you only engage with relevant people and perhaps suggesting message improvements rather than fully running the campaign.

This lighter touch aligns with our goal of being simple and safe; it leaves the human in control of content while providing helpful guidance.

Closely: The platform advertises AI more prominently in its marketing and uses it to help optimize who to contact, when to reach out, and what channel to use. For example, Closely’s AI might analyze response patterns to determine whether to send an email first or a LinkedIn message based on when prospects are most active. It can also generate personalized opening lines for messages by analyzing profiles and adjust campaign flows automatically based on prospect responses across channels. This extensive AI capability can be powerful when properly configured, but adds another layer of complexity to learn and manage.

Email Outreach

Botdog: Does not natively send emails. If your outreach strategy includes email, you would need to use an external email tool. However, Botdog can complement an email outreach strategy by focusing on LinkedIn touches.

For example, a common approach is to use a cold email tool (like Instantly, Woodpecker, etc.) in parallel with LinkedIn outreach via Botdog – Botdog handles LinkedIn actions while your email tool handles email, and you manage the coordination manually or via a CRM.

Botdog does integrate with email finders (like Apollo.io) to import contacts with emails, but once imported, Botdog's actions are on LinkedIn. In summary, if email outreach is a must-have in the same tool, Botdog might not fit the bill (as it's intentionally specialized).

Closely: Makes email outreach a core feature. All Closely plans include email campaign capabilities and a quota of emails you can send (e.g., 5,000 emails/month on the basic plan). The platform essentially can replace a dedicated cold email tool, supporting sequences of emails with templates, personalization tags, and tracking for opens, clicks, and replies. 

The primary benefit of Closely's approach is that your LinkedIn and email outreach can be coordinated in one place. The sequence might automatically switch between LinkedIn and email based on prospect engagement. This multi-channel approach can improve reach rates, as some prospects respond better to email than LinkedIn or vice versa.

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Analytics & Reporting

Botdog: Focuses on LinkedIn-centric metrics. In your Botdog dashboard, you'll see stats like how many invites were sent, acceptance rate, how many messages were sent, reply rate, etc. We provide these analytics per campaign and in aggregate.

Since Botdog doesn't do email, the metrics are purely about LinkedIn performance. We encourage our users to use these stats for A/B testing – e.g., try two different connection note messages in two campaigns and compare acceptance rates, or test different follow-up copy to see which yields more replies.

The reporting interface is straightforward and covers the essentials for optimizing LinkedIn outreach. You can export data (or use Zapier/webhooks to pipe data to external reporting tools). Botdog's analytics are usually sufficient for a small team to track outreach performance without overwhelming you with data.

Closely: Provides more extensive reporting spanning multiple channels. You'll get analytics on LinkedIn actions and email performance in one dashboard. Closely tracks metrics like connection acceptance rate, response rate, email open/click/reply rates, and overall funnel conversion. 

One distinctive feature is Closely's campaign timeline, which provides granular tracking of each outreach step (LinkedIn and email) for individual prospects. This helps teams measure engagement at a detailed level. Closely's reporting capabilities are particularly useful for agencies managing client campaigns, though some users note that the data presentation could be more intuitive. If you value detailed cross-channel analytics, Closely offers more depth, though with a steeper learning curve.

CRM & Integrations

Botdog: Designed to play well with other tools. We have an API and support Zapier so that you can integrate it into your tech stack. For example, you could have new leads from your CRM automatically pushed into a Botdog campaign, or send Botdog campaign results (like "lead replied") back to your CRM.

Our users often build integrations with HubSpot, Slack, Stripe, Attio, etc. via API and webhooks. We also allow CSV import/export, which is a simple but effective form of integration. For example, you can import a CSV of contacts to start a campaign or export your connection list to a spreadsheet.

For many small teams, Zapier is enough to connect Botdog with Google Sheets, HubSpot, etc. The bottom line is that while Botdog itself focuses on LinkedIn, we know you might use other software for email or CRM, and we give you tools to connect to those.

Closely: Offers native integrations with some popular platforms, with more in development. Out of the box, Closely directly integrates with HubSpot and provides webhooks for custom connections. The platform is working on expanding its integration ecosystem to include Salesforce, Pipedrive, and Zoho CRM. Closely also connects with email providers to send campaigns from your account or domain. 

Some users have noted that certain integrations have been "coming soon" for extended periods, which might be a consideration if you need immediate connectivity with specific systems. Both tools understand the importance of connecting to your broader sales tech stack, though Botdog may offer more flexibility through its API-first approach.

Team & Multi-Account Support

Botdog: We built Botdog with teams in mind, despite our low price. Even a single-user plan on Botdog includes the ability to invite team members and manage multiple LinkedIn profiles. For example, a sales manager could oversee five sales reps' LinkedIn outreach through one Botdog dashboard.

You can delegate accounts – Botdog lets you send invitations or messages on someone else's behalf without having to log into their LinkedIn directly. This is great for agencies or if an assistant is helping an executive with outreach.

The shared inbox means all LinkedIn messages across accounts can be viewed and replied to in one place (with labels indicating which account). Importantly, we don't charge extra for adding team members; our pricing by user basically means each LinkedIn account is a "user". If you have more than 10 users, the price per user drops with the team discount. This makes us very attractive for small teams or startups – you can scale your outreach across the team inexpensively.

Closely: Supports team collaboration but at high price tiers. On Closely, multi-account management is primarily available through the Team plan (with a minimum requirement of 3 seats at $237/month) or the Unlimited plan ($999/month). These plans include team collaboration tools, multi-user management, and a shared inbox. 

For agencies, Closely includes white-labeling options in its Unlimited plan or offers them as an add-on to Team plans for an extra $300/month, which allows users to rebrand outreach as their own. 

Unfortunately, their rigid pricing structure makes Closely prohibitively expensive for small teams or those just starting to scale their outreach efforts.

Support Experience

Botdog: As a newer tool, our team prioritizes customer support to win users. We offer support via email and chat, and user reviews indicate a positive experience (Botdog's support is rated 4.0/5 on GetApp).

As a smaller, younger company, we often provide a more personal touch - you might even talk to one of the founders when you ask for help! We also offer onboarding guidance, documentation, and a help center (FAQs and blog tutorials).

Since Botdog’s product is relatively straightforward, you might not need much hand-holding, but it's good to know help is available. Our team actively updates the product (there is a public changelog) and listens to feedback from the community (there's a Reddit r/Botdog where you can engage and ask questions). Overall, you can always expect a friendly and helpful support experience with Botdog.

Closely: Advertises 24/7 live support for all users and dedicated onboarding managers for higher-tier customers. However, user experiences with support appear mixed based on reviews. Closely maintains an active user community, particularly through a Facebook group where the team engages with feedback. 

On higher plans, users gain access to more premium support options, including success managers who can help optimize campaigns. While many users report positive experiences, particularly with the community aspect, others have mentioned support responsiveness as an area for improvement, especially around billing issues or technical problems that require immediate attention.

‍Pricing Comparison

Pricing is often the deciding factor when choosing a tool. Here's how Botdog and Closely compare in terms of cost:

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Pricing Takeaway: Botdog is clearly the more budget-friendly option. At $29.99/user/month (or less with team discounts), it costs significantly less than Closely's entry point of $708/year for a single user.

While Closely offers additional features around email integration, you must carefully evaluate whether those capabilities justify both the massive price premium and the rigid commitment structure. For most small businesses, freelancers, and growing teams focused on LinkedIn outreach, Botdog's affordable and flexible pricing represents dramatically better value.

Pros & Cons

Let's weigh the strengths and weaknesses of both platforms:

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Final Verdict

Which tool should you choose? It ultimately depends on your specific needs, budget, and how you plan to use LinkedIn automation:

Choose Botdog if you:

• Want a cost-effective, flexible LinkedIn automation solution without long-term commitments
• Need to protect your cash flow with affordable monthly payments
• Primarily focus on LinkedIn outreach (connections and messages)
• Value simplicity and a short learning curve
• Want to equip a small team without breaking the bank
• Need to add team members gradually as you grow
• Already have email tools you're happy with
• Prefer a focused tool that does one job exceptionally well
• Want responsive support from a company that values user feedback

Botdog is perfect for individual sales reps, small marketing teams, consultants, or startups who need to grow their LinkedIn network and generate leads without complexity or high costs. You'll appreciate Botdog's straightforward approach, safety features, and the fact that it delivers results (more connections and conversations) at a fraction of the price of more complex platforms like Closely. The ability to pay monthly with no long-term commitment makes it a low-risk option for businesses at any stage. If your team is small or just starting out with automation, Botdog covers the essentials of a LinkedIn lead generation strategy (finding prospects, sending invites/messages, tracking replies) in a very user-friendly way.

It's the classic 80/20 rule: Botdog offers 80% of the features you truly need to succeed on LinkedIn for 20% of the cost of bigger platforms.

Choose Closely if you:

• Have a large upfront budget and are comfortable with significant financial commitments
• Need an all-in-one outreach platform combining LinkedIn and email
• Manage a team of at least 3 LinkedIn users to justify the minimum seat requirement
• Have the budget and time to leverage a more complex system
• Require integrated contact finding and data enrichment
• Manage outreach for multiple clients as an established agency
• Want advanced analytics across multiple channels
• Need white-label capabilities and can afford the premium

Closely makes sense for more established companies with substantial budgets – for example, a well-funded B2B sales team that wants to combine LinkedIn and email outreach in one coordinated sequence, or a large agency handling lead generation for multiple clients. If you're running enterprise-level campaigns and need to manage both LinkedIn and email touchpoints from a single platform, Closely's comprehensive approach may justify its higher price point. Just be prepared to invest time in training and setup, and be comfortable with the significant upfront financial commitment.

For the vast majority of users in 2025, especially small businesses, startups, and cost-conscious teams, Botdog hits the sweet spot as a focused, affordable LinkedIn automation tool that's effective, straightforward, and doesn't require breaking the bank or locking into long-term contracts. Closely remains an option for those with substantial budgets who need multi-channel capabilities and are confident enough in their long-term needs to commit to their rigid pricing structure.

Ready to try Botdog?

Ready to take your LinkedIn outreach to the next level? Start your free 7-Day Trial and see the results for yourself. Botdog offers a no-risk trial so you can experience how automated LinkedIn campaigns can fill your pipeline with qualified leads. Don't miss out on opportunities – let smart automation work for you and focus your time on closing deals, not chasing connections.

👉 Start Your Free 7-Day Trial of Botdog

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FAQ

Q: Is using LinkedIn automation safe in 2025?

A: When used correctly, yes. Both Botdog and Closely employ measures to stay within LinkedIn's daily limits and usage policies. Botdog, in particular, mimics human-like activity (randomized send times, auto-withdraw of invites, etc.) to prioritize account safety.

The key is not to be overly aggressive with any tool – avoid spamming and keep your connection requests personalized. Thousands of professionals successfully use these tools without issue. However, always monitor your LinkedIn account and use high-quality messaging. If you stick to the recommended limits (Botdog enforces them by design), the risk is minimal.

Q: Do I need LinkedIn Sales Navigator for these tools?

A: For Botdog, no – it works perfectly well with a free LinkedIn or standard Premium account. Sales Navigator is optional, but it can enhance your experience by allowing you to import leads from Navigator searches. 

Many of Closely’s advanced features leverage Sales Navigator capabilities, so consider the additional cost of Sales Navigator (~$99/month) when calculating your total investment.

Q: Can I use these tools for multiple LinkedIn profiles?

A: Yes, both platforms support managing multiple LinkedIn accounts.

Botdog lets you manage multiple profiles under one login, with team features included by default. For example, if you're handling outreach for three different LinkedIn accounts, you just pay for three users on Botdog, and you can control them all under one dashboard. It's built for this scenario and has features to avoid overlapping contacts between accounts.

Closely also supports multiple accounts, but primarily through its Team plan ($237/month) or Unlimited plan ($999/month). If multi-account management is important and you want to keep costs low, Botdog offers a more economical solution.

Q: How do the personalization capabilities compare?

A: Both tools allow message personalization using custom fields (like {firstName}, {company}, etc.). 

Botdog enables you to easily pull in these variables and save message "snippets" to reuse common messages. You manually write your templates, but can insert personalization tags that Botdog will populate for each lead. AI assistance helps refine your messages.

Closely offers similar capabilities and extends them with AI-generated personalization, which can analyze profiles to suggest relevant opening lines. Botdog's approach gives you full control over your messaging, while Closely attempts to automate more of the personalization process through AI. Both approaches are valid depending on your preferences and comfort with AI assistance.

Q: Can I track responses and manage conversations through these platforms?

A: Yes. Botdog provides a unified inbox for LinkedIn messages, allowing you to reply directly through the platform and manage all conversations without visiting LinkedIn separately. Team members can share this inbox for collaborative selling. 

Closely offers a similar "Smart Inbox" for LinkedIn messages and includes email response tracking. Both tools can send notifications when prospects reply, and both allow you to organize conversations with tags or status markers. If you need to manage LinkedIn conversations efficiently, either platform can handle this effectively.

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