Struggling to decide between Klaviyo and Mailchimp as the perfect email marketing solution for your business? Dive into our head-to-head comparison—from ease of use to customer service, we cut through the marketing speak to give you a clear, straightforward breakdown.
Klaviyo vs. Mailchimp: At a Glance
Klaviyo is a powerhouse for data-driven marketers and business owners looking for a detailed approach to customer communication. The platform offers advanced segmentation and sophisticated automation capabilities for finely tuned campaigns, and it integrates seamlessly with an extensive number of business apps and tools. It’s an ideal choice for e-commerce businesses looking to harness real-time analytics and complex data insights to drive their marketing decisions.
Mailchimp has long been a familiar name in the email marketing landscape. Known for its user-friendly interface, it’s particularly favored by beginners and small businesses due to its ease of use and cost-effectiveness. While it may not boast the same level of advanced features as Klaviyo, Mailchimp simplifies email marketing, making it a good choice for businesses seeking an effective, uncomplicated approach.
How Klaviyo and Mailchimp Stack Up
Let’s take a closer look at Klaviyo and Mailchimp and explore how these two powerful platforms measure up against each other.
Klaviyo | Mailchimp | |
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Starting Price
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Free; paid plans start at $20 per month
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Free; paid plans start at $13 per month
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Free Plan
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Yes
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Yes
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Ease of Use
|
More complex
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Simple
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Automations
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Advanced
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Basic
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Digital Channels
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Email, SMS, mobile push notifications
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Email, SMS, social media, website and landing pages, digital ads, print media (postcards)
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Integrations
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Yes
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Yes
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Analytics and Reporting
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Advanced
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Basic
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Mobile App
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No
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Android/iOS
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Customer Service
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Email, chat/virtual assistant, knowledge base
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Email, chat, phone, knowledge base
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Read Reviews
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Starting Price
Both Klaviyo and Mailchimp kick off with a free plan, perfect for testing the waters of each platform. When it’s time to scale up, Klaviyo’s paid plans begin at $20 per month—a nod to its robust features designed for data-driven, e-commerce-focused marketing. Mailchimp’s more affordable starting price of $13 per month aligns with its user-friendly approach, highlighting its appeal to those looking for a more basic, cost-effective entry into email marketing.
Free Plan
Mailchimp’s free plan includes up to 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly email sends (with a daily cap of 500)—perfect for small-scale campaigns. It also comes with 30 days of email support. Klaviyo’s free offering, while smaller in scale with up to 250 contacts and 500 monthly sends, sets itself apart by including 150 SMS credits per month and email support for the first 60 days, making it a good fit if you’re also considering SMS marketing in your strategy.
Ease of Use
Klaviyo offers its users a robust platform packed with sophisticated tools and analytics that, while powerful, can present users with a steep learning curve—so it may be better suited to experienced marketers or those who need detailed data-driven campaign strategies. Mailchimp, in contrast, is designed for ease and simplicity, ideal for those just starting out or businesses looking for basic, effective campaign tools without the complexity.
Automations
When it comes to automations, Klaviyo and Mailchimp cater to different complexity levels and user needs. Klaviyo’s automation platform offers intricate, data-driven workflows that let you create deeply personalized customer journeys based on detailed behavior tracking. Mailchimp’s automation experience is more streamlined, providing essential automated workflows such as welcome emails and abandoned cart reminders—making it a strong contender if you’re seeking a simpler automation solution.
Digital Channels
There’s a marked difference in the two platforms’ digital channel offerings. Klaviyo keeps things streamlined yet powerful with its focus on email, SMS and mobile app push notifications—a combination that resonates well with a mobile-first e-commerce audience.
Mailchimp, on the other hand, serves as a multichannel marketing hub with capabilities that span across email, SMS (available as an add-on), social media, web and landing page creation, digital ads and even postcards—a good option if you want to cast a wide net across various marketing channels.
Integrations
Integration capabilities are key to a seamless marketing experience—and both Klaviyo and Mailchimp clearly understand this, with each boasting over 300 integrations that span a wide array of categories, from e-commerce solutions and CRM platforms to social media tools and analytics services. This extensive integration network means that, whichever platform you choose, you’ll be able to create streamlined workflows that connect your email campaigns with your other business tools and data sources for optimal efficiency and effectiveness.
Analytics and Reporting
Analytics and reporting play a pivotal role in measuring the success of any email marketing campaign. Klaviyo’s analytics are rich and in-depth, giving you a granular view of customer behavior and campaign efficiency as well as specialized reports for e-commerce metrics. Mailchimp offers a more straightforward and accessible reporting interface, making it easy for you to track open rates, click-through rates and audience engagement.
Mobile App
In today’s mobile-centric world, having access to your marketing tools on the go can be a significant advantage. Mailchimp takes the lead here with its mobile app for both Android and iOS, letting you manage campaigns, view reports and send communications directly from your smartphone. Klaviyo does not currently offer a mobile app, which could be a drawback if you prefer the convenience of mobile accessibility for your marketing tasks.
Customer Service
Klaviyo provides its paid plan users with 24/7 email support, ensuring assistance is always at hand regardless of your plan tier. Free plan users also enjoy email support for their first 60 days. Additionally, 24-hour chat/virtual assistant support is available throughout the week and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
Mailchimp, on the other hand, tailors its support to your plan. Free plan users have chatbot access (plus email support for 30 days), while paid plans offer both chat and email support. And if you’re on the Premium plan, you’ll also have access to weekday phone support.
Cost of Klaviyo vs. Mailchimp
Email marketing costs can be a crucial factor for many businesses, and beyond their free plan offerings, both Klaviyo and Mailchimp provide diverse pricing tiers to accommodate various marketing budgets.
Klaviyo’s entry-level plan is priced at $20 per month for email services (up to 500 contacts), while its highest publicly advertised plan costs $2,315 per month for up to 250,000 contacts for email and SMS services. Mailchimp provides businesses with a more economical starting point at $13 per month for 500 contacts, and its highest tier is available for $815 per month for 50,000 contacts, making it more budget-friendly for small to midsized businesses.
Customer Reviews and Reputation
Klaviyo, known for its advanced segmentation and automation capabilities in e-commerce email marketing, has garnered a Trustpilot score of 3.1 out of 5 stars from 146 reviews. Common criticisms of the platform revolve around customer support and technical issues.
Mailchimp, popular for its accessible and intuitive platform, faces more challenges reputation-wise, scoring 1.4 out of 5 stars based on 712 reviews, mainly due to issues in customer service, technical glitches and billing disputes.
Top Klaviyo and Mailchimp Alternatives
If you’re also considering alternatives to Klaviyo and Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Drip and GetResponse should be on your radar: Our list of the best email marketing software of 2024 ranked Constant Contact as best for customer support options, MailerLite as the best for selling paid subscriptions and ActiveCampaign as the best option for automated email marketing.
Free Trial | SMS Marketing | Customer Support | Starting Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Constant Contact
|
Yes, 60-day free trial
|
Yes, available as add-on
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Phone, live chat
|
$12 per month (for up to 500 contacts)
|
MailerLite
|
Yes, 30-day free trial
|
No
|
Email, live chat
|
Free; $9 per month (for up to 500 contacts)
|
ActiveCampaign
|
Yes, 14-day free trial
|
Yes, available as add-on
|
Email, live chat
|
$29 per month (for one user, and up to 1,000 contacts)
|
Bottom Line
Both Klaviyo and Mailchimp offer comprehensive features, but the best choice depends on your business’s specific goals and needs.
Klaviyo is a powerhouse for e-commerce integrations and advanced analytics and segmentation, making it ideal for e-commerce businesses and marketers requiring advanced features for tailoring highly personalized campaigns. Mailchimp, with its affordable, user-friendly platform, is an excellent choice for startups or smaller businesses looking for an accessible, cost-effective email marketing tool.
Klaviyo is best for:
- E-commerce platforms seeking deep integration and targeted campaigns
- Businesses looking for sophisticated automation capabilities
- Data-centric marketers requiring comprehensive analytics and reports
Mailchimp is best for:
- Startups or small businesses with limited budgets
- Businesses that need a straightforward, easy-to-use tool for basic digital marketing
- Newer businesses or those with limited email marketing experience
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which email marketing solution is better for small businesses: Klaviyo or Mailchimp?
While your choice of an email marketing platform will depend on your business’s specific needs, Mailchimp is often considered the better choice for small businesses with limited budgets because of its user-friendly interface and affordable pricing.
Which email marketing platform lets me create SMS campaigns: Klaviyo or Mailchimp?
Both Klaviyo and Mailchimp allow for SMS marketing campaigns. Klaviyo offers SMS as part of its marketing suite of paid plans, while Mailchimp provides SMS marketing capabilities as an add-on to its paid plans.
How are free email marketing services different from paid ones?
Many email marketing platforms offer free plans as well as paid plans. Free plans typically offer very basic email marketing features suitable for small businesses or individuals just starting out, with limitations on the number of subscribers, the volume of emails you can send and the availability of advanced features such as automation and detailed analytics.