Comparison
Klaviyo vs. Mailchimp.
Klaviyo is built for ecommerce and bills by active profiles. Mailchimp is general-purpose email marketing that bills by every contact on your audience, subscribed or not. Both sell texting as an add-on.
Updated · 3 min read
The short answer
- What counts: Klaviyo counts profiles it can email; suppressed, unsubscribed and deleted ones don’t count. Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts; cleaned and archived ones don’t.
- How you’re billed: Klaviyo bills by tier and moves you up at your next billing cycle. Mailchimp bills on your peak contact count, and going over adds a charge.
- Texting: both are add-ons. Klaviyo’s is a monthly spend commitment. Mailchimp’s is monthly credits that expire, on Essentials and up.
- Automations: Klaviyo has a full flow builder. Mailchimp limits automations on its lower plans.
Side by side
| Klaviyo | Mailchimp | Amy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billed on | Active profiles, in tiers | Contacts, including unsubscribed, on your peak count | Messages sent; contacts never billed |
| Email sends | 10 times your profile tier | A multiple of your contact limit, rising by plan | 2,000 included, then $0.90 per 1,000 |
| Texting | Add-on, monthly spend commitment | Add-on credits that expire, Essentials and up | $0.009 per segment, pay as you go |
| Automations | A full flow builder | Limited on lower plans | 12 written for your store |
| A/B testing | Campaigns and flow emails | Essentials and up | Run by Amy on subject lines and popups |
| Shopify | Integrates with Shopify | An official Shopify app syncs customers, orders and on-site behavior | A Shopify app, with BigCommerce coming |
| Free plan | 250 profiles and 500 emails a month | Yes, with limits | No; $10 a month |
How the pricing differs
Klaviyo publishes a price ladder by active profiles, from $20 a month at 500 to $1,955 at 150,000, read from klaviyo.com/pricing on August 30, 2026. Suppressed and unsubscribed profiles aren’t billed. Every Klaviyo tier.
Mailchimp has Free, Essentials, Standard and Premium plans priced by contact count. Subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts all count toward the limit, and only cleaned and archived contacts don’t (Mailchimp: pricing tiers). You’re billed on the highest count you reach in the billing period, and going over adds a charge rather than stopping sends (Mailchimp: additional charges). We don’t quote Mailchimp’s prices because the figures we found disagreed with each other. Check mailchimp.com/pricing at your own contact count.
The one difference that matters most for a store with a long unsubscribe list: Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts unless you archive them, and Klaviyo doesn’t.
For a Shopify store
Klaviyo connects to Shopify and is built around store data: orders, products and browsing feed its flows and segments. Mailchimp connects through an official Shopify app from Intuit Mailchimp that syncs customers, orders and on-site behavior (Mailchimp: connect Shopify). On Mailchimp’s lower plans, automations are limited: a single automation on Free, and short flows on Essentials (Mailchimp: customer journeys).
Which should you pick?
- Klaviyo, if your marketing is store-first and you want a full flow builder and segments, and someone to run them.
- Mailchimp, if your needs are simple, such as newsletters and a few automations, and you’re careful to archive unsubscribed contacts.
- Amy, if you want the store-first email and SMS without running either tool. Amy writes your campaigns and 12 automations, tests them, bills per message sent, and you approve what goes out. All the Klaviyo alternatives.
Sources: klaviyo.com/pricing (read August 30, 2026), Klaviyo’s help center on active profiles and free and paid plans, and Mailchimp’s help center on pricing tiers, additional charges, SMS, A/B tests and customer journeys, read October 2026.
Questions
Is Klaviyo better than Mailchimp for Shopify?
They’re built differently. Klaviyo is built for ecommerce, with a full flow builder and segments fed by your store data. Mailchimp connects to Shopify through its official app and limits automations on its lower plans. If you want the work done for you instead, Amy writes and tests your email and SMS and you approve it.
Does Mailchimp charge for unsubscribed contacts?
Yes. Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts toward your plan, and only cleaned and archived contacts don’t count. Klaviyo doesn’t bill unsubscribed or suppressed profiles.
Which is cheaper, Klaviyo or Mailchimp?
It depends on your list. Klaviyo’s published plans start at $20 a month for 500 active profiles. Mailchimp also prices by contact count and counts unsubscribed contacts, so compare both at your own numbers. Amy bills per message sent instead, and contacts are never billed.
Do Klaviyo and Mailchimp include SMS?
Both sell it as an add-on. Klaviyo texting is a monthly spend commitment. Mailchimp texting is monthly credits that expire, on Essentials and above, and US sending needs an approved application.