Klaviyo vs Mailchimp

Klaviyo is a marketing automation and customer data platform founded in Boston in 2012 by Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange since its 2023 IPO. It became the default email tool for Shopify stores by syncing order, browsing and product data in real time, so brands can send messages based on what each customer actually did. Klaviyo now describes itself as a B2C CRM covering marketing, service and analytics.

Core capabilities are email and SMS campaigns, automated flows such as abandoned cart and post-purchase, signup forms, deep segmentation, predictive analytics for lifetime value and churn risk, reviews, WhatsApp and mobile push. Customer Hub, Helpdesk and the AI Customer Agent extend it into support, and Composer is an AI agent that builds campaigns and flows from a prompt. Pricing is based on active profiles: the free plan covers 250 profiles, Email starts at $20 per month for 500 profiles and rises with list size, and SMS credits are bought on top.

Klaviyo fits Shopify and other ecommerce brands that want revenue attribution and data-driven automation. Mailchimp is simpler and cheaper for general newsletters, Brevo prices by send volume rather than contacts and suits budget-conscious stores, and Customer.io targets product-led SaaS messaging.

Buying tip: Klaviyo bills on active profiles, so suppressing unengaged contacts directly lowers your bill. SMS is available only in supported countries and is priced per credit by destination, and Composer adds $20 per month with usage-based overages.

Mailchimp is the most widely known email marketing platform, founded in 2001 in Atlanta by Ben Chestnut and Dan Kurzius and acquired by Intuit in 2021 for about 12 billion dollars. It grew by making email campaigns approachable for small businesses and now positions itself as a marketing platform with email, automation, SMS, landing pages, forms and a basic CRM.

The drag-and-drop editor and template library let non-marketers build campaigns quickly. Customer journeys automate welcome series, abandoned cart emails and post-purchase flows, and integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce and other stores feed product recommendations and revenue reporting. Higher plans add A/B and multivariate testing, send-time optimisation, predictive segments and advanced reporting, while Intuit Assist provides AI help with content and campaign creation. Pricing depends on contact count and sending limits: the free plan is now limited to 250 contacts, Essentials and Standard scale with list size, and Premium starts at 10,000 contacts with phone support.

Mailchimp fits small businesses and online stores that send a few campaigns a month and value ease of use and integrations. It has become expensive as lists grow, prices have risen several times, and unsubscribed contacts still count toward billing unless you archive them. Brevo and MailerLite offer similar features for less, Klaviyo is stronger for e-commerce segmentation, and Kit and beehiiv suit creators and newsletter publishers.