email marketing tools · Tool Face-Off

Mailchimp vs Klaviyo

Quick answer

Klaviyo dominates for e-commerce brands that want deep data-driven automation, while Mailchimp remains the friendliest starting point for small businesses and non-profits dipping their toes into email marketing.

Mailchimp

The friendly giant that taught the world to send newsletters

3.4★

Our pick

Klaviyo

The revenue-obsessed email engine built for online stores

4.1★

Free Plan

Up to 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/mo

Up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/mo

Paid Pricing (1k contacts)

~$13/mo (Essentials)

~$20/mo

Paid Pricing (10k contacts)

~$110/mo (Standard)

~$150/mo

Pre-built Automation Flows

Classic journeys, limited branching

100+ revenue-focused flows

E-commerce Data Sync

Basic order data via integrations

Real-time deep sync (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.)

Predictive Analytics

Not available

CLV, churn risk, next purchase date

SMS Marketing

Add-on, limited countries

Built-in, tightly integrated with email

A/B Testing

Up to 3 variants (paid plans)

Unlimited variants, automated winner

Segmentation Depth

Basic tags and groups

Behavioral, predictive, and RFM segments

Template Editor

Polished drag-and-drop, huge library

Functional but less beginner-friendly

Customer Support

Email/chat (paid), phone (Premium)

Email/chat on free; priority on paid

Native CRM Features

Basic audience management

Rich customer profiles with purchase history

Mailchimp

Pricing★★★½☆

Reporting★★★☆☆

Automation★★★☆☆

Ease of Use★★★★½

Integrations★★★★☆

Segmentation★★★☆☆

E-commerce Features★★½☆☆

Klaviyo

Pricing★★★☆☆

Reporting★★★★½

Automation★★★★½

Ease of Use★★★☆☆

Integrations★★★★☆

Segmentation★★★★★

E-commerce Features★★★★★

Worth knowing

Mailchimp was founded in 2001 and has over 12 million active users worldwide.
Klaviyo went public (NYSE: KVYO) in 2023, valued at roughly $9 billion at IPO.
Klaviyo users report average e-commerce ROI of 67x on the platform — they really lean into that stat.
Mailchimp was acquired by Intuit in 2021 for $12 billion, which is wild for an email tool.
Klaviyo powers over 130,000 paying e-commerce brands, many migrated from Mailchimp.

Mailchimp's famous 'Did you mean Mailchimp?' podcast ad campaign spawned fake brands like 'MailShrimp' and 'KaleLimp' — it won a Grammy. An email tool won a Grammy.

If you want

You're a small business, blogger, or non-profit just getting started

Mailchimp's free plan is more generous and the editor requires zero learning curve.

→ Pick Mailchimp

If you want

You run a Shopify or WooCommerce store and want email to drive real revenue

Klaviyo's real-time store data, predictive segments, and pre-built flows make it a genuine profit center.

→ Pick Klaviyo

If you want

You need SMS and email tightly unified under one roof

Klaviyo's SMS is deeply integrated with its email logic — triggers, segments, and reporting all talk to each other.

→ Pick Klaviyo