Klaviyo
Klaviyo is an email and SMS marketing platform for ecommerce brands, with a native Shopify integration.
Updated Nov 3, 2026Prices checked May 25, 2026
Klaviyo is an email and SMS platform for ecommerce brands. Shopify invested in the company in 2022 and named it the recommended email solution for Shopify Plus. In 2026 Klaviyo describes itself as "the autonomous B2C CRM" and has added AI tools for campaigns and customer service on top of the email and SMS flows. In February 2025 it changed how billing is calculated, which raises the cost for stores that don't clean their list regularly.
What Klaviyo does
The core product is email and SMS marketing connected to your Shopify store data, with a segmentation builder and prebuilt automated flows. On top of that, Klaviyo now offers AI tools that draft campaigns and handle some customer service work. Most stores still choose Klaviyo for the email and SMS side and try the AI tools later.
Main features
Channels and Shopify integration
Klaviyo covers email, SMS, WhatsApp, mobile push, RCS for Business and social marketing. In 2025 it acquired Gatsby, a customer engagement and social marketing company. It lists 350+ integrations, and the Shopify one is native: order, browsing and product data come into Klaviyo, so you can build segments on things like viewed products, abandoned carts and lifetime value.
Segmentation
Segments are built from events, profile attributes and predictive metrics. A segment such as "viewed a product in the last 14 days, hasn't purchased, lifetime spend over $100" can be set up directly in the builder. Reviews on Tekpon often mention segmentation and personalization as a strength, and also mention that advanced flows take time to learn.
Prebuilt flows and AI tools
Welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase, browse abandonment and price-drop flows are available as templates. Composer, which is in beta, generates campaigns from a prompt. Marketing Agent runs campaigns on its own, Customer Agent automates customer service, and Remix handles AI personalization.
Predictive analytics
Klaviyo calculates predicted customer lifetime value, churn risk and expected next order date for each profile, and you can use these values in segments. The predictions depend on order history, so stores with little purchase data get less out of them.
Who Klaviyo fits
Our suggestion: Klaviyo fits Shopify stores doing roughly $30K/month or more in revenue with an email list that's still growing. The product is built around DTC use cases, and most of its value comes through the Shopify integration.
For very small stores, the free tiers of MailerLite or Mailchimp cost less and cover the basics. Klaviyo is also a weaker fit for B2B-heavy businesses, since its features are built around consumer purchases rather than account-level properties.
The 2025 active-profile billing change
In February 2025 Klaviyo started billing on "active profiles" instead of only the profiles you email. Its help center defines an active profile as any profile that can be emailed, regardless of consent status, so customers who left an email at checkout without opting in count too. Suppressed profiles, which include email unsubscribes, don't count, and Klaviyo moves you up a plan at the end of a billing cycle but doesn't move you back down on its own. Omnisend's pricing article links this change to many complaints about bills going up, because list cleanup now affects what you pay. Suppressing profiles you no longer email, once a month, keeps the count in check.
Pricing
Klaviyo charges by the number of active profiles. The email-only prices below match Klaviyo's pricing builder on November 3, 2026; the email + SMS totals are from Omnisend's published summary of Klaviyo pricing.
Email only: 500 profiles $20, 2,500 $60, 5,000 $100, 10,000 $150, 25,000 $400, 50,000 $720, 100,000 $1,380.
Email + SMS: 500 $35, 2,500 $75, 5,000 $115, 10,000 $165, 25,000 $415.
Free tier: 250 active profiles, 500 emails/month and $5 of mobile messages a month. Email support is included for the first 60 days only. SMS add-on packs start at $15/mo for 1,250 credits.
Alternatives
Three products often come up next to Klaviyo: MailerLite, Omnisend and Postscript.
MailerLite is the lower-cost option. It works for stores just starting a list but has less Shopify-specific segmentation. We'd suggest it for stores under about $10K/month in revenue.
Omnisend also focuses on Shopify stores and often appears in price comparisons with Klaviyo. For stores that mostly run standard flows and don't build many custom segments, it's worth comparing.
Postscript is SMS-first and built around two-way SMS marketing in the US. Stores that treat SMS as their main channel use it alongside Klaviyo or instead of it.
Which one to pick depends on stage. Under roughly $30K/month in revenue, MailerLite or Omnisend usually costs less. Above that, with email bringing in a growing share of revenue, Klaviyo's segmentation and Shopify integration are more likely to justify the higher tier.
Where to start
The free tier (250 active profiles) is enough to check whether email brings in revenue for your store. Once email revenue covers the cost, which we'd put at around 1,500 to 3,000 active profiles or $5K/month in attributed email revenue, Email 5K at $100/mo is a reasonable next step. We'd add the SMS bundle after your email flows are producing revenue.
Plans and prices
- 250 active profiles
- 500 emails/mo
- $5 of mobile messages/mo
- Email support first 60 days only
- 500 active profiles
- Unlimited sends within limits
- 5,000 active profiles
- 10,000 active profiles
- 500 profiles
- SMS add-on from $15
Prices checked on May 25, 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on the official pricing page before you buy.
Common questions
Did Klaviyo change its billing in 2025?
Yes. Since February 2025 Klaviyo bills on active profiles, not only on the profiles you contact. Klaviyo's help center counts any profile that can be emailed, regardless of consent status, including people who left an email at checkout without opting in. Suppressed profiles, which include email unsubscribes, don't count. Omnisend's Klaviyo pricing article names this change as the source of many complaints about bills going up.
Is Klaviyo a good fit for Shopify stores in 2026?
For mid-size Shopify stores it usually is. The native Shopify integration and the segmentation tools are the parts reviewers mention most. The practical question is whether your store needs that much segmentation at its current stage.
When does Klaviyo get expensive?
The email-only plan is $150/mo at 10,000 active profiles and $400/mo at 25,000. Customers who never subscribed still count unless you suppress them, so you can reach the next tier sooner than your subscriber count would suggest. The plan doesn't move back down on its own when the count falls.
Where to start
The free tier covers 250 active profiles and 500 emails/month, enough to move your list over and test a flow. For an active DTC store, Email 5K at $100/mo is a reasonable next step.
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Comparisons that cover Klaviyo
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