Klaviyo vs Mailchimp

Example only, calculated from published monthly list prices checked Oct 7, 2026. Email only, no SMS, no add-ons, no promotions.

How to read this:

• Compare the right plans. Mailchimp Essentials limits flows to 4 steps. Mailchimp Standard is the fairer comparison for a store running abandoned-cart, browse and post-purchase flows.
• Billing basis. Klaviyo prices active profiles only. A store carrying many unsubscribed contacts pays for them on Mailchimp, which narrows or reverses the gap. See Mailchimp billable contacts.
• Klaviyo’s pricing step. Above 10,000 profiles, Klaviyo’s price rises $25 per 500 profiles, so $150 at 10,000 becomes $350 at 15,000. Check the calculator before you cross 10,000.
• Klaviyo add-ons: Personalization: $100/mo up to 13,500 profiles. Reviews: free to 50 orders a month. Customer Hub: from $20/mo. Each is priced separately.

See our full Mailchimp pricing breakdown.

Klaviyo:

• Shopify syncs the last 90 days first, then full history, then real time.
• Events include checkout started (with a cart-rebuild link), placed order, ordered product, fulfilled, cancelled and refunded orders, shipment events and site activity.
• WooCommerce and BigCommerce sync in real time.
• These events power abandoned-checkout, browse-abandonment, post-purchase, win-back and back-in-stock flows.
• Klaviyo calls itself Shopify’s preferred email platform partner.

Mailchimp:

• The Mailchimp for Shopify app syncs customers, orders, tags and events such as product viewed, added to cart and checkout started, in near real time.
• The WooCommerce plugin supports abandoned cart, once non-opted-in customer sync is on, and those contacts become billable.
• Branching store flows need Standard.

If your store’s email revenue comes mostly from flows, Klaviyo’s event model is the stronger fit. If you mostly send newsletters with occasional product promotions, Mailchimp covers it.

• Klaviyo: Klaviyo sells SMS through a separate Mobile Messaging plan, from $15/mo. Since July 13, 2026, it’s priced per message in dollars instead of credits. We couldn’t find a published US per-message rate, so check Klaviyo’s calculator. The free plan includes $5 a month of mobile messages.
• Mailchimp: Mailchimp’s SMS is a monthly credit subscription for Essentials and up, after approval. In the US, 1 SMS uses 1 credit, and 1,000 credits cost $20/mo. Unused credits expire each cycle.

For stores where SMS is a major channel, also compare Omnisend, where SMS is now Pro-only.

BestSends hasn’t published a like-for-like placement test of these two, so this page doesn’t rank them.

• Klaviyo: any account can set up a branded sending domain, and Klaviyo requires one for bulk senders (Google’s threshold is 5,000+ emails a day). Smart Sending skips profiles emailed in the last 16 hours by default. Dedicated IPs are limited to Klaviyo-managed accounts.
• Mailchimp: Mailchimp authenticates your domain with DKIM and DMARC records and requires DMARC for senders of 5,000+ emails a day to Gmail or Yahoo.

• Export from Mailchimp: all contact files, split by status. Mailchimp has no automation export, so screenshot your flows before you leave.
• Import into Klaviyo: import subscribers, then import your Mailchimp unsubscribes as suppressed profiles. Suppressed profiles aren’t billed.
• Reconnect your store to Klaviyo. It backfills order history from the store itself, so you don’t need to move purchase data out of Mailchimp.
• Rebuild flows from Klaviyo’s templates.
• Migration help: we found no free migration offer for Mailchimp switchers.

Step by step: Migrate Mailchimp to Klaviyo.

Pick Klaviyo if:

• You run a Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce store.
• Flows and segments based on purchase and browsing behavior drive your email revenue.
• You want SMS from the same vendor.

Pick Mailchimp if:

• You’re not primarily a store, or email is a broader channel for you.
• You want the lower price at 10,000+ contacts.
• You need more seats on a fixed plan.

Also compare: Klaviyo vs Omnisend, for stores on a tighter budget, and Mailchimp alternatives. Our sister site BestStorefront covers store platforms.

There’s no single winner. Klaviyo is the pick for ecommerce-led stores whose revenue comes from flows built on store data. Mailchimp is the pick for mixed or non-store businesses and costs less at larger lists. Read the Klaviyo review and the Mailchimp review before you choose.