Key facts
- Klaviyo's free plan: up to 250 active profiles and 500 email sends a month, according to Klaviyo's pricing page
- Mailchimp's free plan: 250 contacts and a maximum of 500 sends a month or 250 a day, with no automation flows, according to Mailchimp's UK pricing page
- Mailchimp Essentials allows flows of up to 4 steps; Standard allows up to 200 flows
- Klaviyo prices paid plans on active profiles, the contacts who can receive marketing
- Klaviyo's free plan includes email support for the first 60 days only
- dijitul email marketing from £95 a month + VAT; automation set-up from £195 + VAT one-off
The short version
Choose Klaviyo if you run an online shop that lives on repeat purchases and you want flows driven by what people browse and buy. Choose Mailchimp if you mainly send a newsletter, run a service business, or want something simple and familiar. Both are capable; the right one depends on your data and your team.
| Klaviyo | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Ecommerce, especially Shopify | Newsletters, service businesses, small shops |
| Free plan | 250 active profiles, 500 sends a month | 250 contacts, 500 sends a month (250 a day) |
| Automation on free plan | Yes | No flows on Free; Essentials up to 4 steps |
| Ecommerce data | Product, browse and order events, predicted lifetime value and next order date | Store integrations with purchase data; less depth |
| SMS | Built in, with a small monthly SMS allowance on free | Offered on paid plans in some countries; check UK availability |
| Learning curve | Steeper; powerful segmentation | Gentler; templates and simple editor |
Free plan details are from each company's own pricing page, checked in October 2026. Both change plans regularly, so check before you commit.
Why ecommerce brands pick Klaviyo
Klaviyo's strength is data. On Shopify, BigCommerce or WooCommerce it receives every product view, add to cart, checkout started and order, and lets you segment on any of it: bought twice in 90 days, viewed a category three times, high predicted lifetime value. That makes the core ecommerce flows easy to build and personalise:
- Welcome series with the signup offer
- Abandoned cart and abandoned checkout
- Browse abandonment
- Post-purchase, cross-sell and review request
- Win-back for lapsed customers
- Back in stock and price drop
The trade-off is cost as the list grows, because paid plans are priced on active profiles, and a steeper learning curve. Clean out unengaged profiles regularly so you are not paying for people who never open.
Why many businesses stay with Mailchimp
Mailchimp is often the first email tool a business uses, and for many it remains the right one. The editor is simple, templates are good, and a monthly newsletter, event invitations and a short welcome sequence are easy to set up. For service businesses, charities, accountants and B2B firms whose emails are mostly content, Klaviyo's ecommerce depth adds cost without much benefit.
Watch the plan limits. Mailchimp's UK pricing page shows no automation flows on the Free plan, flows of up to 4 steps on Essentials and up to 200 flows on Standard. If you need branching journeys, Standard is usually the realistic starting point.
Deliverability and compliance are the same on both
Whichever platform you use, the rules are yours. If you send more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail or Yahoo addresses, both providers require SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your sending domain, one-click unsubscribe on promotional mail and a spam complaint rate below 0.3%. Under PECR you need consent for marketing email to individuals unless the soft opt-in applies to existing customers. We set up domain authentication, sign-up forms and consent wording on either platform. See email deliverability for more.
Switching platforms
Moving from Mailchimp to Klaviyo, or the other way, means exporting contacts with their consent status, rebuilding segments and flows, re-authenticating the sending domain and warming up sending gradually. We handle migrations as part of automation set-up (from £195 + VAT one-off) and keep the old account live until the new flows are proven.
Do not migrate just because a competitor uses the other platform. If your current flows are earning, the gain from switching has to outweigh the disruption: new templates, rebuilt segments, a few weeks of lower sending volume while the new domain setup warms up, and staff learning a new tool. We will tell you honestly if staying put is the better option, and often the bigger win is turning on flows you already have access to but never set up.
Frequently asked questions
Is Klaviyo better than Mailchimp?
For ecommerce, usually yes, because of its product and order data and segmentation. For newsletters and service businesses, Mailchimp is often simpler and cheaper. The better platform is the one that fits what your emails need to do.
Which has the better free plan?
Both are capped at 250 contacts and about 500 sends a month according to their pricing pages. Klaviyo's free plan includes flows; Mailchimp's Free plan does not include automation flows. Both are fine for testing, not for a growing list.
Does Klaviyo work with WooCommerce?
Yes. Klaviyo integrates with WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento and others. Its Shopify integration is the most established, but WooCommerce stores can use the same core flows, including abandoned cart and post-purchase.
Can you move our list from Mailchimp to Klaviyo?
Yes. We export contacts with consent status, rebuild segments and flows, authenticate your domain and warm up sending. Automation set-up, including migration, is from £195 + VAT one-off. We keep the old account running until the new one is proven.
Do you manage Brevo too?
Yes. Brevo is a good option for businesses that want email and SMS at lower cost with simpler automation. Email marketing management is from £95 a month + VAT on Klaviyo, Mailchimp or Brevo.
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