Klaviyo vs Mailchimp for Shopify Stores: Pricing and Features

Last updated October 23, 2026 · First published November 12, 2026 · By Chad Norris

For a Shopify store, the choice between Klaviyo and Mailchimp mostly comes down to how much of your store’s behavior data you want driving email, and what that costs at your list size. Both have free plans, both connect to Shopify, and both sell tiers that grow with your list. This guide compares what each vendor publishes as of October 2026 and says what we could not read. It does not pick a winner.

Disclosure: the author uses Klaviyo, on its free tier, as the email platform for Orbitloft (a Shopify app studio), and builds Shopify apps that send events to Klaviyo. We have no affiliate link to Klaviyo or Mailchimp; all links are plain. See the disclosure and the directory.

The short comparison

Sources: Klaviyo pricing, Klaviyo Shopify page, Mailchimp pricing and Mailchimp Shopify page, all read 2026-10-23.

Pricing: what is published and what is not

Klaviyo. The free-plan limits above are on the official page. The paid-tier price table did not load in the text we could read, so we cannot give you a first-hand number. Third-party summaries put 1,000 active profiles at around $30 per month and the next band, 1,001 to 1,500 profiles, at around $45, but those are secondary and prices change: read the figure off Klaviyo’s calculator for your list size before deciding.

Mailchimp. The pricing page lists a Free plan, then Essentials, Standard and Premium. At a 10,000-plus contact tier it shows Essentials at $130 per month, Standard at $200 and Premium at $350, with a 14-day free trial on Essentials and Standard. The text we read did not give the per-tier prices at smaller list sizes, nor did it make clear how long the quoted rates apply, so use the calculator with your actual list size.

What the tiers unlock on the Mailchimp side, per the same page: Essentials removes Mailchimp branding, adds scheduling and up to four steps per flow; Standard raises that to up to 200 automation flows and adds custom reports and dynamic content; Premium adds SSO and phone support. These plan details matter because abandoned-cart style flows often need more than one or two steps.

The shape of the cost difference is more useful than any single figure. Klaviyo’s free-plan page lists forms and segmentation and states no flow restriction in the text we read (confirm that in your account), and its jump comes when your active profile count passes the free limit. Mailchimp’s free plan is limited in flows, so a store that wants a multi-step cart sequence is pushed to a paid tier earlier.

Shopify connection and data

Two notes on this table. First, “page says” matters: these are vendor descriptions, and we did not install either integration for this page. Second, a feature listed on a page can still depend on your plan, so check the plan table for the exact feature before assuming it.

What the choice depends on

How complex are your flows? If you will run a single welcome email and a basic cart reminder, both can do it, and price at your list size decides. If you want branching on purchase history, product categories or review status, the vendor with the richer Shopify data model gets more of your attention; verify by building one real flow in each free account before paying.

How big will the list be in a year? Both vendors scale cost with list size, so estimate where you will be, not where you are. Include the cost of sending to people who never open.

Do you need SMS or reviews in the same tool? Klaviyo’s page lists SMS, mobile push and reviews alongside email. Mailchimp’s Shopify page mentions SMS segments. If you want one vendor for several channels, price all channels, since SMS is billed differently and the two vendors’ pricing pages do not show a like-for-like SMS rate in the text we could read.

Who maintains it? An agency or freelancer familiar with one tool will save you hours; ask which they use before deciding. For setup basics on Klaviyo, see Shopify email marketing with Klaviyo.

Mistakes to avoid when choosing

1. Comparing headline prices at different list sizes. Compare at your size and your growth estimate.
2. Importing unsubscribed contacts. Carry over consent state, not just addresses.
3. Assuming a feature on a marketing page is on your plan.
4. Building every flow before you have list volume. Start with welcome, abandoned cart and post-purchase; add more when you have data.
5. Ignoring deliverability basics. A branded sending domain and a clean list matter more than the tool.

A fair test

Pick a day, connect a development or test store to both free plans, and build the same three flows. Time how long each takes, note which required a paid plan, and read the plan table for the price at your list size. Compare the numbers rather than the interface.

What we could not verify

Klaviyo’s paid price table and SMS rates, Mailchimp’s per-tier prices below 10,000 contacts and the duration of its quoted rates, and deliverability or revenue performance of either, which we did not test. If you see a difference from the above, report it on the corrections page. For other categories of Shopify tooling see Shopify subscription apps compared.

Worked example: three flows to build in both

To make the comparison concrete, build the same sequence in each free account, then list what each plan page says you would need to pay for.

Keep notes on setup time, data fields available in the email editor, and every place the tool says an upgrade is required. That list, priced at your list size, is a better comparison than any feature table.

Related reading

The setup order for Klaviyo on a Shopify store is in our Klaviyo setup guide. If you run an app-based store, check how apps send events: an event-based tool is only as useful as the data fed in, and Shopify’s Customer data rules can affect what apps are allowed to read. For choosing outside help, see how to choose a Shopify agency.