Klaviyo vs Mailchimp: Best Email Automation for E-commerce

Introduction

Klaviyo and Mailchimp are both email marketing platforms, but they were built for different audiences and it shows in every aspect of how they work.

Klaviyo is purpose-built for e-commerce. It treats customer data as the center of everything, using real-time behavioral signals, purchase history, and predictive analytics to power highly targeted email and SMS campaigns. Over 50,000 brands have migrated from Mailchimp to Klaviyo specifically because of its e-commerce depth.

Mailchimp is a general-purpose marketing platform that works for many business types, from restaurants to nonprofits to e-commerce stores. It offers email marketing, social media management, landing pages, and basic automation in one accessible package.

For e-commerce brands, especially those on Shopify, the choice comes down to whether you need a specialized revenue engine or a versatile marketing toolkit. This comparison breaks down what matters for your marketing automation decision.

Quick Comparison

Pricing Breakdown

Mailchimp is cheaper on paper. Klaviyo users argue the ROI makes the price difference irrelevant. The truth depends on how much revenue your email marketing generates.

Klaviyo pricing:

• Free: 250 contacts, 500 emails/month, 150 SMS credits, full automation access
• Email plan: From $20/month for 500 contacts, 5,000 emails
• Email + SMS: From $20/month for 500 contacts, 5,000 emails + 150 SMS credits
• Pricing scales with contacts: ~$100/month at 5,000 contacts, ~$240/month at 10,000 contacts
• Key detail: Klaviyo counts all profiles (active + unsubscribed), not just subscribers

Mailchimp pricing:

• Free: 500 contacts, 1,000 emails/month (limited features, no automation)
• Essentials: From $13/month for 500 contacts, 5,000 emails
• Standard: From $20/month for 500 contacts, 6,000 emails (includes automation)
• Premium: From $350/month for 10,000 contacts
• Pricing scales more gradually: ~$45/month at 5,000 contacts, ~$100/month at 10,000 contacts
• Key detail: Mailchimp charges only for subscribed contacts

At 10,000 subscribers, Klaviyo costs roughly $240/month versus Mailchimp's $100/month. That is a significant difference. However, Klaviyo users consistently report higher revenue per email due to better targeting, segmentation, and personalization. If your email channel generates meaningful revenue, Klaviyo's premium typically pays for itself through improved performance.

E-commerce Integration

This is where Klaviyo separates itself from every competitor, not just Mailchimp.

Klaviyo's Shopify integration is deep and real-time. Customer profiles are automatically enriched with:

• Complete purchase history and order details
• Browse behavior and product views
• Cart activity including abandoned cart data
• Customer lifetime value (CLV) calculations
• Predicted next order date
• Churn risk scores

This data powers everything in Klaviyo. You can segment by customers who bought product A but not product B, target people whose predicted CLV exceeds a threshold, or trigger flows based on browse abandonment for specific product categories.

Mailchimp integrates with Shopify and other e-commerce platforms, but the connection is less sophisticated. Basic purchase data syncs, and you can trigger abandoned cart emails, but the behavioral depth and real-time granularity do not match Klaviyo. Mailchimp lacks the predictive analytics layer that makes Klaviyo's targeting so effective for e-commerce.

For Shopify stores in particular, Klaviyo's native integration provides a seamless experience that Mailchimp cannot replicate.

Automation and Flows

Klaviyo's automation is built for e-commerce revenue generation. Pre-built flows cover the essential e-commerce lifecycle:

• Welcome series: Onboard new subscribers with brand storytelling and first-purchase incentives
• Abandoned cart: Multi-step recovery sequences with dynamic cart content
• Browse abandonment: Trigger emails when visitors view products without purchasing
• Post-purchase: Thank you sequences, review requests, cross-sell recommendations
• Win-back: Re-engage lapsed customers based on predicted churn
• Price drop alerts: Notify interested shoppers when items go on sale

Each flow supports A/B testing of entire sequences, not just subject lines. Conditional logic uses customer data like purchase history, lifetime value, and engagement level to personalize every step.

Mailchimp offers approximately 75 pre-built automation templates. The Customer Journey Builder provides a visual way to create multi-step sequences. Mailchimp's automations work well for basic workflows like welcome emails and abandoned carts, but they lack the depth of behavioral triggers and conditional logic that Klaviyo provides.

It is worth noting that Mailchimp retired its classic automation builder in mid-2025, consolidating automated emails into paid plans only. Klaviyo's free plan includes full automation access.

Segmentation and Targeting

Klaviyo's segmentation is its core differentiator. Segments update in real time based on customer behavior, and you can combine dozens of conditions:

• Purchase behavior (products bought, order value, frequency)
• Email and SMS engagement (opens, clicks, conversions)
• Website activity (pages viewed, products browsed)
• Predictive metrics (expected CLV, churn probability, next order date)
• Custom properties synced from your store

This enables campaigns like: "Send a 15% discount to customers who spent over $200 in the last 90 days, have not purchased in 45 days, and have a high churn risk score."

Mailchimp offers segmentation by purchase behavior and engagement, using tags, groups, and basic behavioral data. It works for standard segments like "active subscribers" or "customers who bought in the last 30 days." But it cannot match the depth or real-time nature of Klaviyo's predictive targeting.

Analytics and Revenue Attribution

Klaviyo's analytics are built around one question: how much revenue did this email generate? Every campaign and flow shows attributed revenue, conversion rates, and revenue per recipient. You can track customer lifetime value trends, identify your most valuable customer segments, and see which automations drive the most revenue.

Mailchimp provides clean campaign reports showing delivery rates, opens, clicks, and basic revenue tracking. Higher-tier plans unlock more detailed analytics. The reporting is sufficient for understanding campaign performance but does not provide the revenue-centric depth that e-commerce brands need for optimization.

SMS Marketing

Klaviyo offers built-in SMS marketing available in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, and several other European countries. SMS can be combined with email in the same automation flows, allowing true multichannel sequences.

Mailchimp's SMS support is limited to the US only. For international e-commerce brands, this is a significant limitation.

Who Should Choose Klaviyo

Klaviyo is the right choice if you:

• Run an e-commerce store, especially on Shopify
• Want to maximize revenue from email and SMS marketing
• Need advanced segmentation based on purchase behavior and predictive analytics
• Are willing to invest more for higher return per email sent
• Sell internationally and need SMS in multiple countries
• Want full automation capabilities even on the free plan

Who Should Choose Mailchimp

Mailchimp is the better fit if you:

• Run a general business that is not primarily e-commerce focused
• Need a multi-purpose marketing platform covering email, social, and landing pages
• Have a tight budget and need lower costs at high contact volumes
• Want a simpler platform that covers basic automation without deep complexity
• Are just starting out and need a generous free plan to learn email marketing
• Do not require advanced predictive analytics or deep behavioral segmentation

Final Verdict

For e-commerce brands serious about email marketing as a revenue channel, Klaviyo is the clear winner. Its deep Shopify integration, predictive analytics, real-time behavioral segmentation, and revenue attribution tools are purpose-built for driving online sales. The higher price is justified when email becomes a top revenue channel for your store.

For general businesses, bloggers, restaurants, and organizations that need an accessible email marketing tool without e-commerce-specific requirements, Mailchimp remains a solid choice. Its lower pricing, broader marketing features, and gentler learning curve make it the right tool for non-e-commerce use cases.

The bottom line: if you sell products online, invest in Klaviyo. If email marketing supports your business but is not your primary revenue driver, Mailchimp will serve you well.

Explore more marketing automation platforms to find the best fit for your business.