Klaviyo alternatives for online stores and small businesses, compared on price and fit

By Ranjit Bhinge, founder of Blur Studio · Updated October 24, 2026 · 7 min read

Short answer: Good Klaviyo alternatives include Omnisend for online stores, Mailchimp for simple newsletters, ActiveCampaign for automation with a sales CRM, Brevo for paying by emails sent, and Shopify Email for small Shopify stores. Klaviyo charges by active profiles, so its price rises as your list grows. Brevo starts at $9 a month for 5,000 emails, and Shopify Email gives 10,000 free emails a month.

You're looking at what Klaviyo actually costs as your list grows, and whether a cheaper tool would do the same job.

I'm Ranjit, and I run Blur Studio: 15+ years building software, 120 apps taken live, and clients who have gone on to raise $10M+. I build AI systems and processes that help businesses do a lot more with a lot less time. I also work differently from most of what else is out there, more on that further down this page. Say hello.

Why do people look for a Klaviyo alternative?

Most people who leave Klaviyo mention cost or fit. These points come from Klaviyo's own pricing and billing pages.

Price grows with your list: Klaviyo bills by active profiles. Klaviyo says any profile that can be emailed counts, whatever its consent status.
Plans move up on their own: If you go over your profile limit, Klaviyo says you "will be moved to a higher plan tier" from your next billing cycle.
The free plan is small: It covers up to 250 active profiles and 500 email sends a month.
Monthly plans: Klaviyo says all its plans renew each month and are billed in advance.
Prices take a few clicks: Klaviyo's pricing page asks you to build a plan or talk to sales to see paid prices.

Some businesses also find they use only a few of its features. A simple newsletter or a store with a small list may not need it.

What are the best Klaviyo alternatives?

Blur Studio (best value)

A ready-built, well-tested core with a different pricing model: no per-seat fees, and it covers almost all the features you'd actually need, usually working out to the best value for money. On top of that, Blur Studio builds owned customizations, meaning you can ask for it to be modified to your exact specifications, and you own those modifications outright. Learn more over a quick call with me, Ranjit.

Best for: Businesses that need software that works without barriers, no unnecessary fees and options to customize it to their needs.

Omnisend

Omnisend is built for online stores, with email, SMS and web push. As of October 2026, it lists:

Free: $0 a month for 250 contacts and 500 emails a month.
Standard: Shown at $11.20 a month when you pay 3 months up front, which Omnisend says saves 30%. It covers 500 contacts and 6,000 emails a month.
Pro: Shown at $41.30 a month on the same 3-month offer, for 2,500 contacts and unlimited emails under fair use. SMS credits cost extra, from $0.007 each at high volume in the US.

After the first 3 months, Omnisend bills monthly. Omnisend also offers free migration.

Best for: Online stores that want email and SMS in one tool at a lower entry price.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is one of the best-known email tools, used by stores and service firms alike.

Free: $0 a month for up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month.
Essentials: Shown at $13 a month for the first 12 months.
Standard: Shown at $20 a month for the first 12 months, with up to 6,000 emails a month at the starting tier.
Premium: Shown at $350 a month for the first 12 months.

Mailchimp prices by contact count, and these are starting prices for the first year. Check the price after 12 months on its contact slider before you commit. Essentials and Standard come with a 14-day free trial.

Best for: Newsletters and simple campaigns, especially for teams new to email.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is strong on automation and can add a sales CRM. Its plans are Starter, Plus, Pro and Enterprise. Each one is shown as billed yearly for 1,000 contacts, and the price depends on your contact count. Use its pricing page slider to see your exact price.

Starter: Multi-step automation, email only, with up to 5 actions in each automation.
Plus: Unlimited automation actions, landing pages and an SMS add-on.
Pro and Enterprise: Add predictive sending, deeper segments and more seats.

ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day free trial, a 30-day money-back guarantee and free migration.

Best for: Service businesses and B2B firms that want long follow-up sequences tied to a sales pipeline.

Brevo

Brevo prices by the number of emails you send each month, where most tools price by contacts. That can save money if you have a big list but email it rarely.

Free: Up to 300 emails a day.
Starter: $9 a month, with 5,000 emails a month.
Standard: $18 a month, with 5,000 emails a month and more automation.
Professional: $499 a month, with 150,000 emails a month and 10 seats.

Brevo offers 10% off for yearly billing. SMS credits are sold separately.

Best for: Businesses with large lists that send a few campaigns a month.

Shopify Email

Shopify Email is Shopify's own email app. Shopify says your first 10,000 emails each month are free. After that, pricing starts at $1 for every 1,000 emails.

Best for: Small Shopify stores that want basic campaigns and automations without another monthly bill.

How do the Klaviyo alternatives compare?

Tool	Free plan	Paid plans start at	How it prices	Best for
Klaviyo	250 active profiles, 500 sends a month	Build a plan on its site	Active profiles	Stores that want deep ecommerce flows
Omnisend	250 contacts, 500 emails a month	$11.20 a month on a 3-month offer	Contacts	Stores that want email and SMS
Mailchimp	250 contacts, 500 sends a month	$13 a month for the first 12 months	Contacts	Simple campaigns and newsletters
ActiveCampaign	14-day free trial	Shown by contact count, billed yearly	Contacts	Automation with a sales CRM
Brevo	300 emails a day	$9 a month	Emails sent	Large lists that send rarely
Shopify Email	10,000 emails a month	$1 per 1,000 emails after that	Emails sent	Small Shopify stores

How do you choose the right Klaviyo alternative?

Count your list and your sends: If you have a big list but send twice a month, a tool that prices by emails sent may cost less.
Decide if you need SMS: Check the price of each text, which can cost more than the plan.
Check your store connection: Confirm on the tool's own pages that it connects to your store platform and syncs orders.
List the flows that make you money: Abandoned cart, welcome series and win-back emails should be easy to rebuild.
Price it at your size next year: Use each pricing slider with the list size you expect in 12 months.

How do you switch from Klaviyo without losing sales?

A rushed switch can cost you sales, because your automated emails stop while you rebuild them. Plan it carefully.

Export everything: Take your profiles, consent records and suppression list. The suppression list holds people who unsubscribed or bounced, and you must not email them again.
Rebuild your best flows first: Start with the abandoned cart and welcome flows, then the rest.
Set up your sending domain: Google says bulk senders to Gmail need SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up. These are settings that prove the email really comes from you. Marketing emails also need one-click unsubscribe.
Watch your spam rate: Google asks bulk senders to keep reported spam below 0.30%.
Run both tools for a short time: Keep Klaviyo flows on until the new ones are tested.

What email rules apply in the US?

The CAN-SPAM Act applies whichever tool you use. The FTC says each marketing email must include your valid postal address and a clear way to opt out. You must honor opt-outs within 10 business days. Each email that breaks the law can cost up to $53,088 in penalties. The FTC also says you stay responsible even when another company sends the email for you.

If you send texts, my guide to text message marketing covers the consent rules.

When does building your own setup make sense?

For most stores, one of the tools above is the right answer. Building your own email sender rarely pays off. A custom build makes more sense around the email tool in a few cases.

Your customer data lives in many places: Orders, subscriptions, support tickets and in-store sales need to join up before you can target well.
You run a custom store: Your store is not on a mainstream platform, so ready-made connections don't exist.
Your list is very large: At high volume, a custom setup on a low-cost sending service can cost less than profile-based pricing.
You want AI that knows your business: For example, AI that writes product emails from your own stock and margin data.

My guide on build vs buy software helps you weigh this. For stores, see my page on an ecommerce CRM.

How Blur Studio would approach it

I would start with the numbers. How big is your list, how often do you send, and which flows bring in sales? Often the answer is to move to a cheaper tool and rebuild the flows that matter. If your data is spread across many systems, I can build a small layer that joins it up and feeds your email tool. Your store data, the code and the email accounts stay yours, and I can look after the setup as you grow. See my page on AI for ecommerce stores for more ideas.

Need something completely custom?

Everything above is a path to get it running quick and cheap. But sometimes the honest answer is that none of those quite fit, and what you actually need is something custom that you own, built uniquely for your business from the ground up, with AI thoughtfully designed into the parts of it that your processes actually benefit from. An asset that grows in value, not a generic, one-size-fits-all boilerplate that's an expense with a lock-in. This is a complete bespoke build, and it's something I do very well. Get in touch to know more.

Questions people ask

What is the best Klaviyo alternative for Shopify?

Small Shopify stores can start with Shopify Email, Shopify's own app, which gives 10,000 free emails a month as of October 2026. Stores that want email and SMS together often look at Omnisend. Check each tool's own site for its Shopify connection before you switch.

Is Mailchimp cheaper than Klaviyo?

Mailchimp shows Essentials at $13 a month for the first 12 months, while Klaviyo asks you to build a plan to see paid prices. Both price by list size, so compare them at your own contact count.

What is a good Mailchimp alternative?

Brevo is a good Mailchimp alternative if you have a large list, because it prices by emails sent. Omnisend suits online stores, and ActiveCampaign suits businesses that need deeper automation.

What is a good ActiveCampaign alternative?

Brevo and Mailchimp are simpler options with lower starting prices. If you are a store, Omnisend or Klaviyo focus more on ecommerce flows.

Why is Klaviyo so expensive?

Klaviyo bills by active profiles, meaning every contact you can email. As your list grows, Klaviyo moves you to a higher plan tier from your next billing cycle. Klaviyo says suppressed and deleted profiles stop counting, so cleaning out old contacts can lower your bill.

Do unsubscribed contacts still count toward Klaviyo's profile limit?

Often yes. Klaviyo counts any profile it is technically able to email, regardless of consent status, so a large list of old unsubscribes can still push you into a higher tier. Clean your list before you price a plan, on Klaviyo or any alternative.

Is it worth adding SMS when I switch email tools?

Only if you already have consent to text those customers and a real reason to, such as abandoned cart or shipping alerts. SMS carries a per-message cost on top of the plan fee, and a text that reads as spam does more damage to a customer relationship than a skipped email.

Roughly what does this cost?

As a broad reference, fixes and finishes start at around $1,500, and new builds start higher, always a fixed price agreed in writing before I start, never an hourly rate. My AI app cost guide explains what actually drives a quote up or down.

Is my project too small for this?

No. Most of the owners I work with have no tech team at all, that is the whole point. If the smarter move is a cheap software subscription instead of custom software, I will tell you that on the first call, even though it means I do not get paid.