Mailchimp vs Klaviyo: Features, Pricing and Reviews Compared
- Starting price
- $13/mo · free plan
- Ease of use
- 8.6
- Functionality
- 8.8
- Value for money
- 6.8
- Customer support
- 7.3
Best for
- Small businesses and nonprofits sending newsletters and promotions to a modest list
- Shopify, WooCommerce and Squarespace stores that want abandoned-cart and product-recommendation emails
- Teams without a designer who need templates and a drag-and-drop editor that just work
- Starting price
- Free · free plan
- Ease of use
- 7.2
- Functionality
- 7.8
- Value for money
- 7.0
- Customer support
- 7.2
Best for
- Ecommerce brands on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce
- Small teams starting with email and SMS marketing
- Mid-size and enterprise B2C brands consolidating their stack
Our verdict
Mailchimp comes out ahead at 80/100 versus Klaviyo at 73. Easy editor and a huge template library. Mailchimp is the better fit for small businesses that want a familiar, template-driven email tool. Klaviyo makes more sense if you need the free plan includes up to 250 profiles and 500 email sends per month with no monthly cost or you want to start cheaper (Free vs $13/mo).
On Mailchimp: Mailchimp is still the easiest way for a small business to send a good-looking newsletter and run basic automations, and the template, form and landing-page tools are polished. It is no longer the cheap option: contact-based pricing climbs quickly, the free plan is small, and the automation depth on Essentials is thin. Choose it for ease and ecommerce integrations; choose Brevo or MailerLite if price per contact is the priority.
Features comparison
The 8 email marketing capabilities we check on every product, ordered by importance to buyers.
| Feature | Importance | Mailchimp | Klaviyo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drag-drop editor | 90% | Included | Included |
| Automations | 84% | Included | Included |
| Segmentation | 78% | Included | Included |
| Signup forms | 69% | Included | Not included |
| A/B testing | 61% | Included | Included |
| Landing pages | 47% | Included | Included |
| SMS | 39% | Included | Included |
| API access | 31% | Included | Included |
What stands out in each
Email builder and templates
A drag-and-drop editor with a large template library, brand kit, and generative AI for copy and layouts. Emails render reliably across clients, and the creative assistant produces usable designs for people without a designer.
Automations and Customer Journeys
Essentials covers single-trigger automations (welcome, abandoned cart, re-engagement). Standard unlocks the Customer Journey Builder with branching logic, delays and conditions, which is where Mailchimp becomes a real marketing automation tool.
Audience management and segmentation
Tags, groups and behavioural segments; Standard adds predictive segmentation (likely-to-buy, customer lifetime value) using ecommerce data. One audience per account is the recommended model, which simplifies pricing.
Ecommerce integrations
Native connections to Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and others pull order data into the audience for product recommendations, purchase-based segments and revenue reporting per campaign.
KlaviyoUnified customer profile
Klaviyo Data Platform combines behavioral, transactional, and engagement data into one profile per customer. Every campaign, flow, and support conversation draws on the same record, so messages reflect what each customer actually did.
Composer marketing agent
Composer reviews customer data to find revenue opportunities and proposes campaigns and flows from a short prompt. The user approves each recommendation before it runs, and every result is measured.
Multichannel messaging
Email, SMS, RCS, WhatsApp, mobile push, and web events run from the same platform. Teams can see how campaigns perform across channels in one place.
Pre-built templates and flows
The platform includes 160+ email templates and 80+ flow automations with drag-and-drop editing. Teams can launch welcome, abandoned cart, and win-back sequences without writing code.
Pricing comparison
Mailchimp starts at $13/mo with a free plan; Klaviyo starts at Free with a free plan (Free trial). Plans are shown as the vendors publish them; the BSR Value subscore reflects what you get for the money.
Free
Up to 500 contacts and 1,000 sends a month with Mailchimp branding.
- 500 contacts
- 1,000 emails/month
- Basic templates
- Forms and landing pages
Essentials
Removes branding, adds scheduling, A/B testing and 24/7 email support.
- Remove Mailchimp branding
- A/B testing
- Scheduled sends
- Basic automations
Standard
Customer journeys, send-time optimisation, dynamic content and predictive segmentation.
- Customer Journey Builder
- Send-time optimisation
- Dynamic content
- Predictive segmentation
Premium
Advanced segmentation, multivariate testing, phone support and unlimited seats.
- Unlimited seats and roles
- Multivariate testing
- Advanced segmentation
- Phone and priority support
Prices scale with contact count, and unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts have historically counted toward the total. Monthly send limits apply per plan (for example 10x contacts on Essentials). Overages are billed automatically. Transactional email (Mailchimp Transactional) is a separate paid product.
Value for money: 6.8/10 · Monthly, Pay as you go credits, Cancel anytime · Vendor pricing page ↗
KlaviyoFree
Small businesses and startups with small contact lists that want to test email and SMS marketing before paying.
- Up to 250 active profiles
- 500 email sends per month
- $5 of mobile messages per month
- $5 of Composer usage per month
The free plan has no monthly cost while an account stays within 250 active profiles and 500 email sends per month. Paid plans scale based on the number of contacts and channel usage, and enterprise pricing is available for large organizations.
Value for money: 7.0/10
Integrations comparison
7 integrations in common · 9 only in Mailchimp · 73 only in Klaviyo. Logos link to our review when we cover the tool.
Both connect to
Shopify
SquarespaceOnly Klaviyo73Which one is best for my use case?
Who each product is built for, who should look elsewhere, and the jobs it gets bought for, from our editorial review and the vendor's own customer profile.
Ideal for
- Small businesses and nonprofits sending newsletters and promotions to a modest list
- Shopify, WooCommerce and Squarespace stores that want abandoned-cart and product-recommendation emails
- Teams without a designer who need templates and a drag-and-drop editor that just work
Not for
- Lists over ~20,000 contacts, where per-contact pricing gets expensive
- Businesses that need SMS, WhatsApp and transactional email on one bill (Brevo does this)
- Marketers who need multi-branch automation on the lower tiers
Common use cases
Sells to: Freelancers, Small businesses, Nonprofits, Mid-size companies. Common industries: Ecommerce, Retail, Nonprofits, Creative and media, Hospitality, Education.
KlaviyoIdeal for
- Ecommerce brands on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce
- Small teams starting with email and SMS marketing
- Mid-size and enterprise B2C brands consolidating their stack
Not for
- Businesses that need a fixed monthly price with no usage scaling
- Teams that only send occasional newsletters to a list
- Companies that do not sell direct to consumers
Common use cases
Sells to: Freelancers, Small businesses, Mid size businesses, Enterprises.
Support, training and setup
How you get help, how you learn the product, and how fast you can be running.
- Support score
- 7.3/10Leads
- Ease of use
- 8.6/10Leads
- Support channels
- Email and chat (paid plans)
- Phone (Premium)
- Help center
- Onboarding specialist (Standard+)
- Training
- Documentation
- Video tutorials
- Webinars
- Mailchimp Academy
- Deployment
- Cloud / SaaS
- iOS app
- Android app
- Typical setup
- Same day
- Languages
- English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian
Klaviyo- Support score
- 7.2/10
- Ease of use
- 7.2/10
- Support channels
- Email/Help Desk
- FAQs/Forum
- Knowledge Base
- Chat
- Training
- Live Online
- Webinars
- Documentation
- Videos
- Deployment
- Web
- Typical setup
- Not published
- Languages
- English, Japanese
Security and reliability
Certifications and controls as published by each vendor. We list them; we don't audit them.
- Security
- GDPR
- Two-factor authentication
- SOC 2 (via Intuit)
- Data encrypted in transit and at rest
- Public API
- Yes
- Mobile apps
- iOS · Android
- Company
- Atlanta, GA · 1,000+ employees · founded 2001
Klaviyo- Security
- SOC 2 Type II
- GDPR
- EU and US data residency
- CAN-SPAM compliance
- Consent management
- Access controls and permissions
- 99.95% uptime across services
- Public API
- Yes
- Mobile apps
- None published
- Company
- Boston, MA, United States · 2,000+ employees · founded 2012
Pros and cons
Our editors' pros and cons for each product. No user reviews have been published for these products yet.
Pros
- Easy editor and a huge template library
- Integrates with almost every e-commerce and CRM platform
- Free plan to get started
Cons
- Costs rise steeply as the contact list grows
- Free plan has become very limited
- Phone support only on the top tier
KlaviyoPros
- The free plan includes up to 250 profiles and 500 email sends per month with no monthly cost.
- Marketing, helpdesk, and analytics share one customer profile, so support agents see the same purchase history that marketing uses.
- Composer proposes campaigns and flows from data, and the user approves each step before anything goes live.
- The platform connects to more than 400 apps, including major ecommerce platforms and CRMs.
- The company lists SOC 2 Type II certification, GDPR compliance, and EU and US data residency.
Cons
- Paid pricing scales with contact count and channel usage, so total cost depends on list size and send volume.
- The free plan stops sending once an account passes 250 active profiles or 500 email sends in a month.
- Email support on the free plan covers only the first 60 days, after which access is limited to the Help Center, community, and Academy.
- Advanced service and AI tools such as Customer Agent and Composer usage carry their own usage allowances outside the free plan.
Full side-by-side table
Mailchimp leads in 6 of 8 rows where they differ. Green marks the leader in each row.
Klaviyo 73Leads 2 of 8 rows · Best for ecommerce and B2C brands that want email, SMS, and service run from one customer profile| Feature | Mailchimp Best for small businesses that want a familiar, template-driven email tool | Klaviyo Best for ecommerce and B2C brands that want email, SMS, and service run from one customer profile |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| BSR score | 80 | 73 |
| Ease | 8.6 | 7.2 |
| Features | 8.8 | 7.8 |
| Value | 6.8 | 7.0 |
| Support | 7.3 | 7.2 |
| Pricing | ||
| Starting price | $13/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Included | Included |
| Free trial | — | Free trial |
| Features | ||
| Features included | 8 / 8 | 7 / 8 |
| Drag-drop editor | Included | Included |
| Automations | Included | Included |
| A/B testing | Included | Included |
| Landing pages | Included | Included |
| SMS | Included | Included |
| Segmentation | Included | Included |
| Signup forms | Included | Not included |
| API access | Included | Included |
| Details | ||
| Biggest strength | Easy editor and a huge template library | The free plan includes up to 250 profiles and 500 email sends per month with no monthly cost. |
| Biggest weakness | Costs rise steeply as the contact list grows | Paid pricing scales with contact count and channel usage, so total cost depends on list size and send volume. |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web |
| Best fit | 1–50 users | Freelancers, Small businesses, Mid size businesses, Enterprises |
Not a match?
Other email marketing software we list, ranked by BSR score.
Mailchimp vs Klaviyo: FAQs
Is Mailchimp better than Klaviyo?
Mailchimp scores 80/100 against Klaviyo's 73, a 7-point lead. Easy editor and a huge template library. Klaviyo is the better pick if the free plan includes up to 250 profiles and 500 email sends per month with no monthly cost matters more to you.
Which is cheaper, Mailchimp or Klaviyo?
Klaviyo has the lowest starting price at Free and offers a free plan. Mailchimp starts at $13/mo. Per-user pricing, annual discounts and add-ons change the real total, so price out your actual seat count.
Which has more features?
Mailchimp covers 8 of the 8 email marketing features we track, including Signup forms which Klaviyo lacks.
Do Mailchimp and Klaviyo integrate with the same tools?
Both connect to Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, Canva and 2 more. Only Mailchimp lists Squarespace, Stripe, QuickBooks Online; Only Klaviyo lists Recurly, Sumo, Smile.io.
How this comparison was made
Each product was scored on the same four subscores (Ease, Features, Value, Support) from the vendor's published pricing and documentation, our editorial review, then combined into a 100-point BSR score. Hands-on tested: Mailchimp. Feature checks use one list per category; plans, integrations, support and security come from what each vendor publishes and are refreshed when listings change. Green marks the leader in a row. Sponsored placements are labeled elsewhere on the site and never touch a comparison. Full methodology →