Klaviyo and Mailchimp both send campaigns and automated emails, but they grew up doing different jobs. Klaviyo was built for online stores and uses order and browsing data to decide who gets what. Mailchimp is a general email tool used by shops, services and newsletters alike. We compared them on price, free plans, flows, data, SMS and support, using each official pricing page in October 2026.
Klaviyo is better for an online store where email drives sales: it uses order and browsing data for detailed flows and segments, with paid plans from $20 a month for 500 profiles. Mailchimp is better for newsletters, service businesses and smaller shops that want a simpler tool, with paid plans from $13 a month on its first-year offer.
Who this is for: Online store owners, plus coaches and service businesses, choosing between Klaviyo and Mailchimp for email.
Choose Klaviyo if you run an online store, email and text messages bring in a real share of your sales, and you want flows and segments built on what people bought and browsed. Choose Mailchimp if you send newsletters and promotions, run a service business or a small shop, and want an easier tool with more seats on its entry plans.
For a store doing steady sales on Shopify or a similar platform, Klaviyo is usually the stronger tool, because abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase and win-back flows are what it was built for. For a coach, consultant or service business, Mailchimp (or a creator tool such as Kit) usually fits better, because Klaviyo's strengths lean on product and order data you may not have.
If your current set-up already earns its keep, read the section on who should not switch before you move anything.
Independent comparison, last reviewed 29 October 2026. Product names are trademarks of their owners. Unbury is not affiliated with, sponsored by or paid by any company compared here. Features and prices change, so check each vendor before you decide.
Both tools charge more as your list grows, and both count people differently, so compare them at your real list size. We checked Klaviyo's official pricing page and Mailchimp's official pricing page at the time of writing (October 2026). All prices are in US dollars.
Klaviyo prices by active profiles, meaning the people you can actually email or text. Its Free plan covers up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month, with $5 of mobile messages and $5 of its AI assistant each month, sign-up forms, basic segmentation, reports and email support for the first 60 days.
The Email plan is $20 a month for 500 profiles, with 5,000 emails a month, A/B testing, advanced templates, 400+ integrations and the Klaviyo logo removed. When we checked, Klaviyo was offering $19 off the first month of that plan. The Marketing plan is $90 a month at the same size and adds mobile push and in-app messages, predictive analytics, product recommendations, loyalty rewards and order tracking. Prices rise as your profile count grows, so use the calculator on the pricing page at your own size.
Mailchimp's Free plan covers 250 contacts, with a maximum of 500 emails a month or 250 a day, 1 user, no marketing automation flows and email support for the first 30 days only.
Its paid plans were on an introductory offer when we checked: Essentials $13 a month, Standard $20 a month and Premium $350 a month, each for 12 months and labelled 50% off. After that you pay the full price for your contact tier, so check current pricing before you budget a year ahead. Essentials allows sends of 10 times your contacts and up to 4 flow steps. Standard allows 12 times your contacts and up to 200 flows, and adds dynamic content and predictive segments. Premium allows 15 times your contacts, unlimited seats and phone support.
At 500 contacts, Klaviyo Email and Mailchimp Standard look similar on paper, at around $20 a month. The gap opens as you grow and as you add SMS, so price both at the list size you expect in a year, not the one you have today.
Klaviyo pulls in orders, products viewed and items added to cart from your store, so you can build flows such as "viewed this collection twice but did not buy" or "bought a refill 50 days ago and has not reordered". Abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase and win-back flows are its core job. Our guide to the essential ecommerce email flows shows which ones to build first.
Segments in Klaviyo can use purchase history, order value and product details. That lets a store send a restock email only to people who bought that product, or a VIP offer only to repeat buyers, instead of emailing the whole list.
Every Klaviyo plan includes some mobile messaging, starting with $5 a month on Free, and the same flow can send an email and then a text. For stores where texts recover carts, that keeps everything in one place.
The Marketing plan adds product recommendations, loyalty rewards, order tracking and predictive analytics. Mailchimp's Standard and Premium plans have predictive segments too, but Klaviyo goes further on store-specific data. Klaviyo also lists 400+ integrations, and its Shopify connection is the one most stores use it for.
If you sell coaching, services or events, you do not have order and product data for Klaviyo to work with, and Mailchimp's simpler set-up is often enough. Its Standard plan handles a welcome series, nurture emails and promotions with up to 200 flows. Coaches who sell from their list should also look at Kit vs Mailchimp.
Mailchimp Essentials includes 3 seats and 3 audiences, Standard 5 of each, and Premium unlimited. If a team or an assistant needs their own logins, Mailchimp is generous on its entry plans.
Every paid Mailchimp plan has 24/7 email and chat support. Standard includes a personalised onboarding session, Premium includes 4 and adds phone support. Klaviyo's Free plan has email support for the first 60 days, and its paid plans add enhanced support, so check what your plan includes before you rely on it.
Mailchimp is easier to pick up for someone who mainly sends a newsletter and the odd promotion. Klaviyo rewards the time you put into flows and segments, but if you will not use them, you pay for depth you do not need. If neither fits, our list of Mailchimp alternatives covers cheaper and simpler options, including Brevo, which we compare in Brevo vs Mailchimp.
This table uses each vendor's own pricing page at the time of writing (October 2026). Prices are monthly, in US dollars, at the smallest paid tier.
| What you need | Klaviyo | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free, then $20 a month (Email plan) | Free, then $13 a month for 12 months (Essentials, 50% off), then full price |
| Free plan | 250 active profiles, 500 emails a month | 250 contacts, 500 emails a month or 250 a day |
| Contacts on the cheapest paid plan | 500 profiles, 5,000 emails a month | 500 contacts, sends of 10 times your contacts |
| Automation | Flows built on store data; predictive analytics on Marketing plan | None on Free, 4 flow steps on Essentials, up to 200 flows from Standard |
| Landing pages and forms | Sign-up forms on every plan | Popup forms on every plan |
| SMS and push | $5 of mobile messages a month on Free; push and in-app on Marketing plan | SMS as a paid add-on in some countries |
| Deliverability help | Sender reputation security features from the Email plan | Not listed on the pricing page |
| Users | Check current plan details | 1 on Free, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Standard, unlimited on Premium |
| Support | Email support for 60 days on Free, enhanced support on paid plans | 24/7 email and chat on paid plans, phone on Premium |
| Best for | Online stores where email and text drive sales | Newsletters, service businesses and smaller shops |
Do not move to Klaviyo just because bigger stores use it. If you send one newsletter a month and have no flows running, Klaviyo will cost you more without earning more. And if your Mailchimp flows already recover carts and bring back old customers, the work of rebuilding them can outweigh what you gain. Never switch in the run-up to a big sale.
Neither tool decides where your emails land. Inbox placement depends on your domain records, how clean your list is and whether people open what you send. A well-built flow still sits in Promotions or spam if your SPF, DKIM or DMARC records are wrong. If that is your problem, read why Mailchimp emails go to spam or why emails go to Promotions, and test your set-up with our free email deliverability checker.
Neither tool will fix a weak offer, slow shipping or product pages that do not convert. If people are not buying the first time, a cart email will only recover a small part of that.
A quick way to check: look at how many people visit your store, how many add to cart, how many reach checkout and how many buy. If the biggest drop happens before anyone gives you an email address, a new email tool will not change it. If people open your emails but rarely click, the words and offers need work, not the platform.
1. Do you sell physical or digital products through an online store? If yes, and you have steady orders, start with Klaviyo. If you sell services, coaching or events, start with Mailchimp or a creator tool.
2. Will you run flows based on what people buy? Abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase and win-back flows tuned to products: Klaviyo. A welcome series and regular promotions: Mailchimp Standard does the job.
3. Do you want text messages too? If texts are part of your plan, Klaviyo keeps email and text in one flow. If not, compare both on email alone at your list size in a year's time.
A done-for-you studio fits when you know email should be bringing in more sales but you do not have the time to build the flows, write the emails and check the numbers each week. That is what we do at Unbury: we find where your marketing loses people, build the fix on the tool that suits you, Klaviyo or Mailchimp, and run it week to week. You can start with a free marketing audit.
For an online store where email and text drive sales, usually yes, because Klaviyo builds flows and segments from order and browsing data. For newsletters, coaches and service businesses, Mailchimp is often the simpler and better fit. The right answer depends on whether you have store data to use.
At the smallest paid tier they are close: Klaviyo Email is $20 a month for 500 profiles, and Mailchimp Standard shows $20 a month for 12 months on its 50% offer. Mailchimp Essentials is cheaper at $13 a month on the same offer. Price both at the list size you expect in a year, because costs rise as you grow.
Yes. It covers up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month, with $5 of mobile messages each month and email support for the first 60 days. Upgrading removes the Klaviyo logo and lifts the limits.
No. Klaviyo lists 400+ integrations, including other store platforms. Shopify is the connection most stores use it for, and it is where Klaviyo's store data features are best known.
Yes. You can export your Mailchimp audience and import it into Klaviyo, then connect your store so order history comes across. Flows and templates need to be rebuilt, so run both side by side for a short time and test every sign-up form.
Send us your setup and we will tell you honestly where it is leaking customers and what to fix first. Free, no pitch.