Klaviyo: what it is, how it works and how much it costs
What it offers, what it really costs and when another tool suits you better
Klaviyo is an email and SMS marketing platform designed for online stores that uses each customer’s purchase data to segment and automate sends. It is very popular among Shopify stores and is priced by the number of active contacts.
If you’re comparing options, here’s which tools let you automate emails for free and what their limits are.
If you run an ecommerce business, chances are someone has recommended it to you. In this entry you’ll see what it does, what it really costs and when another tool suits you better.
What is Klaviyo and what is it for?
Klaviyo is email marketing and SMS software created in Boston by Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen. The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since September 2023.
Its main strength is its connection to the online store. Klaviyo receives in real time what each customer does: which products they view, what they add to the cart and what they buy. With that data, it decides who to send each message to and when.
It is mainly used to:
- Recover abandoned carts.
- Send welcome, repurchase and viewed-product emails.
- Segment by purchases, spending or likelihood of buying again.
- Send SMS and push notifications from the same tool.
In 2022, Shopify invested $100 million in Klaviyo and made it its recommended email solution for Shopify Plus. According to the company itself, around 196,000 businesses use it.
What features does Klaviyo have?
| Feature | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Automated flows | Abandoned cart, welcome, repurchase or birthday |
| Segmentation | Groups by purchases, browsing, spending or location |
| Predictive analytics | Estimates each customer’s value and when they will buy again |
| SMS and push | Text messages and notifications in the mobile app |
| Forms | Pop-ups and signup forms for the store |
| Reports | Revenue attributed to each campaign and each flow |
| Integrations | Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce and others |
Its segmentation is among the most complete on the market. Predictive analytics calculates, for example, the customer lifetime value based on their orders.
Since 2024 the interface has been available in Spanish, including a version for Mexico.
How much does Klaviyo cost in 2026?
Klaviyo charges by active profiles: all the contacts you can send emails to, even if you haven’t emailed them that month. This change came into effect in February 2025 and pushed up the bill for many stores with large lists.
| Active profiles | Email + SMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 250 | Free | Free |
| 500 | $20/month | $35/month |
| 1.000 | $30/month | $45/month |
| 5.000 | $100/month | $115/month |
| 10.000 | $150/month | $165/month |
Prices in dollars, excluding taxes, according to EmailToolTester (August 2026). Additional SMS credits and some products, such as reviews or advanced analytics, are paid separately.
What does Klaviyo’s free plan include?
The free plan is useful for trying out the tool, but it falls short as soon as your list grows. It includes up to 250 active profiles, 500 emails per month and 150 SMS credits.
Email support only lasts for the first 60 days. And with 300 subscribers, you already need a paid plan.
Has your list outgrown a free plan?
With Mailrelay you can send up to 80,000 emails per month for free to 20,000 contacts.
Advantages and disadvantages of Klaviyo
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Very deep integration with Shopify | High price that goes up with every contact |
| Segmentation by purchase behavior | It also charges for contacts who don’t open |
| Predictive analytics and revenue attribution | Learning curve for small teams |
| Email, SMS and push in a single tool | Very limited free plan |
| Large library of ready-made flows | Limited support on the free account |
On Capterra Spain it has an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 from more than 500 reviews. Users value its automations and segmentation, and mainly criticize the price and extra costs.
How does Klaviyo differ from Mailrelay?
Both are used for email marketing, but they take different approaches. Klaviyo is designed for stores with a large volume of purchase data. Mailrelay aims to let any business send a lot for little.
| Klaviyo | Mailrelay | |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts on the free plan | 250 | 20.000 |
| Free emails per month | 500 | 80.000 |
| Support on the free account | Email, 60 days | Always, via ticket, with no time limit |
| How the price is calculated | By active profiles | By emails sent |
| SMS | Included in the Email + SMS plan | Yes, pay as you go |
| Store integration | Shopify and many more | WooCommerce, PrestaShop, WordPress, Make and API |
| Language and team | Interface in Spanish | Spanish company and support in Spanish |
| Servers | In the US, with no option to host data in the EU | In the European Union |
| Connection with ChatGPT and Claude (MCP) | Official MCP server | MCP server in beta, also on the free account |
An example: with 10,000 contacts, Klaviyo costs around $150 per month for email alone. With Mailrelay, that same list fits in the free account.
When to choose Klaviyo and when to choose Mailrelay?
Choose Klaviyo if you have a Shopify store with lots of orders and need flows based on each product viewed or purchased. If your average order value is high, the price pays off.
Choose Mailrelay if you want to send newsletters, promotions and automations without the bill going up with every subscriber. It’s a good fit for SMBs, WooCommerce or PrestaShop stores, training schools, associations and any business with large lists and a tight budget.
How to switch from Klaviyo to Mailrelay
- Export your contacts. Klaviyo lets you download lists and segments as CSV, with their properties.
- Import them into Mailrelay. Upload the file and match each column to a field. We explain how in import contacts.
- Recreate your key flows. Start with the welcome and abandoned cart flows.
- Authenticate your domain and send. Set up SPF and DKIM before your first send.
You’ll find the complete guide in our entry on email marketing migration.
Other alternatives to Klaviyo
Mailchimp is well known and easy to use, but it also charges per contact. Brevo charges by sends and adds SMS and WhatsApp.
MailerLite is simple and cheap for small lists. And ActiveCampaign combines advanced automations with a CRM.
If you want to compare them by number of contacts, check out our comparison of email marketing tools.
How Mailrelay helps you
If you sell online and want to do email marketing without paying for each contact, Mailrelay makes it easy:
- Free account with up to 80,000 emails per month and 20,000 contacts.
- Automations for abandoned carts in WooCommerce, welcome emails, birthdays and click-based actions.
- Segmentation by custom fields and by activity.
- SMS from the same account.
- Human support on every plan.
You’ll find more ideas in our guide to email marketing for ecommerce and in the post on how to recover abandoned carts.
Do email marketing for your store without paying for each contact
Automations, SMS and human support from the free account.
Frequently asked questions about Klaviyo
These are the most common questions about this platform.
What is Klaviyo and what is it for?
An email and SMS marketing platform for online stores. It is used to automate sends and segment customers based on what they buy and browse.
Is Klaviyo free?
It has a free plan with up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails per month. Beyond that, the email plan starts at $20 per month.
Is Klaviyo available in Spanish?
Yes. The interface has been available in Spanish since 2024.
Does Klaviyo only work with Shopify?
No. It integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce and other platforms, although its most complete integration is with Shopify.
What is the best alternative to Klaviyo?
It depends on your store. If you want to send a lot at a low price, Mailrelay offers 80,000 emails per month for free. If you need a CRM, ActiveCampaign; and if your list is small, MailerLite.