Klaviyo vs. Mailchimp: Comparison Guide for 2025

Key takeaways

• Klaviyo is built for e-commerce brands that want powerful automation, advanced segmentation, and tight integrations with platforms like Shopify. It’s ideal for driving sales through personalized email and SMS, but has a steeper learning curve and higher cost.
• Mailchimp is more versatile and beginner-friendly, making it great for traditional businesses, creators, and nonprofits. It’s easier to use, more affordable, and supports a wider range of industries with solid automation and CRM features.
• Choose based on business type and complexity: Go with Klaviyo if you’re selling products online and want data-driven marketing; pick Mailchimp if you need a flexible, all-purpose tool that’s easy to get started with.

Klaviyo and Mailchimp are both digital marketing platforms that specialize in email marketing. Both of these email marketing platforms are Email Service Providers (ESPs) that help businesses create, manage, and monitor their respective email campaigns. Klaviyo and Mailchimp share many of the same features, but they cater to different business needs. To select the best product for your business, you need to understand the type of businesses each marketing solution excels in.

Klaviyo vs Mailchimp comparison chart

Now, let’s summarize some key points in a chart that you can glance at to get a notion of which marketing platform works best for different business types.

The features of each marketing platform extend well beyond the five listed features. Although the platforms may have some of the same features, they are used differently to support the businesses each caters to.

Mailchimp supports a wide range of businesses, including traditional industries such as small and mid-sized businesses, content creators, retail stores, government agencies, financial institutions, and accounting firms. However, Mailchimp can support and integrate e-commerce platforms. Mailchimp can integrate e-commerce applications like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento.

It offers a broader range of marketing features and integrations, enabling it to serve various businesses. While Klaviyo is certainly more specialized for e-commerce needs and requirements, Mailchimp’s wide range of features and integration options can support many types of traditional companies.

Klaviyo focuses on e-commerce solutions, including online marketplaces, web stores, and virtual storefronts. It will utilize emails, SMS marketing, and mobile push notifications to promote and drive customer engagement, ultimately leading to a purchase. When a purchase is made, it’s a conversion for the business. After a purchase is completed, the company must focus on fulfillment and delivery, customer support and engagement, and marketing and loyalty programs.

It utilizes its CRM resource, which excels in email and SMS marketing messaging automation, customer data segmentation, and personalized communication. Klaviyo CRM-like resources can perform audience segmentation, customer profiling, and track engagements despite not being a full-fledged CRM system.

Klaviyo: Best for e-commerce businesses

Klaviyo is better suited for Direct-to-Consumer brands and e-commerce businesses. Subscription businesses excel with the Klaviyo platform, leveraging its onboarding sequences, automatic renewal reminders, and upsell offers to enhance customer retention. Klaviyo is primarily designed for companies that sell products online, although it can also be used by service-based businesses that operate online.

Klaviyo can integrate with popular e-commerce platforms, such as WooCommerce and Shopify, to help business users track customer behavior and automatically create campaigns based on that behavior. Klaviyo has recently integrated CRM tools into its platform, enabling the creation of customer profiles, automated workflows, and customer segments that target a specific customer base while keeping all information in one location.

Klaviyo CRM features are not as robust as those of traditional CRM systems. Therefore, any decision-maker purchasing Klaviyo should consider integrating it into a CRM platform or buying a dedicated CRM system.

Klaviyo pricing

Free for less than 250 profiles

• 500 monthly emails
• 150 monthly SMS/MMS credits
• Built-in report dashboards
• Email support for the first 60 days
• Generative AI – N/A
• Multi-channel segmentation – N/A
• Multi-channel A/B testing – N/A

Email: $45/month, 15,000 each month with SMS/MMS credits

• Customer profiles with all-time data
• 350+ built-in integrations
• Built-in report dashboards
• Email support
• Generative AI to create content fast
• Multi-channel segmentation – N/A
• Multi-channel A/B testing – N/A

Email + SMS: $60/month, 15K emails and 1.25K SMS/MMS credits

• Customer profiles with all-time data
• 350+ built-in integrations
• Built-in report dashboards
• Email support
• Generative AI to create content fast
• Multi-channel segmentation
• Multi-channel A/B testing

Mailchimp: Best for traditional businesses

Mailchimp is known for supporting traditional businesses. However, it can also support freelancers, content creators, bloggers, and agencies that specialize in niche markets. Mailchimp supports a broader range of business types than Klaviyo. Mailchimp can support Small and Medium-Sized businesses (SMBs), service-based businesses, and nonprofit organizations, including e-commerce and retail businesses.

Mailchimp’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system enables businesses of all types to organize, aggregate, and manage customer data from a single location. Mailchimp CRM features include marketing automation, audience segmentation, and lead capture that is user-friendly and easily integrates into other platforms and websites to share data and identify a targeted audience through segmentation. Mailchimp allows you to embed signup forms on your website that can automatically synchronize with your Mailchimp customer base.

Mailchimp enables businesses to gain a deeper understanding of their customer base, streamline workflows and data management, and create personalized marketing campaigns that enhance the overall effectiveness of their marketing efforts.

Mailchimp pricing

Free ($0.00) – 500 contact limitation

• Customer Support – Email support for the first 30 days
• Reporting & Analytics – Limited
• Monthly email sends – Max of 1,000 per month or 500 a day
• Users – 1 Seat
• Audiences – 1
• Popup Forms – 1

Essential: $13/month for 500 contacts

• Customer Support – 24/7 Email & Chat Support
• Report & Analytics – Limited
• Marketing Automation Flows – Up to 4 Flows
• Generative AI Features – N/A
• Custom-code Templates – N/A
• Customer Success Management – 30K contacts
• Monthly Email Sends – 10X contacts

Standard: $20 for 500 contacts

• Customer Support – 24/7 Email & Chat Support
• Report & Analytics – Yes
• Marketing Automation Flows – Up to 200 flow steps
• Generative AI Features – No additional costs for add-ons
• Customer-code Templates – Yes
• Customer Success Management – 30K contacts
• Monthly Email Sends – 12X contacts

Premium: $350 for 10,000 contacts

• Customer Support – Phone & Priority Support
• Report & Analytics – Yes
• Marketing Automation Flows – Up to 200 flow steps
• Generative AI Features – No additional costs for add-ons
• Customer-code Templates – Yes
• Customer Success Management – Yes
• Monthly Email Sends – 15X

Klaviyo email editor features vs Mailchimp email builder

The email builder tools from these competing products may have different names, but they aim to achieve the same goal. Both email tools empower novice users to create aesthetically pleasing and effective email campaigns that appeal to recipients. The goal of each email builder is to create a professional-looking email without requiring HTML or a developer’s expertise.

Klaviyo email editor

While the Klaviyo email editor is slightly more powerful, it also has a steeper learning curve for beginners and experienced staff. It comes with advanced customization and automation features that can be overwhelming for beginners and have a longer learning curve for staff members who are new to the email editor.

Mailchimp email builder

The email builder was designed to be user-friendly. Mailchimp’s email builder provides drag-and-drop options with pre-designed templates. Mailchimp’s intuitive interface is considered easier to use, especially for beginners.

Verdict

The edge goes to Mailchimp email builder due to its intuitive interface and shorter learning curve. If a company is looking for robust customization options and advanced features to implement a campaign email, it will have to endure a longer learning curve.

Klaviyo	Mailchimp
Has a steeper learning curve	More user friendly

Read more: MailerLite vs Mailchimp: Which One Should You Use?

Klaviyo vs Mailchimp integration features

Mailchimp and Klaviyo have excellent integration features in their marketing automation platforms. Mailchimp’s integration strengths and limitations differ significantly from those of Klaviyo. The Mailchimp integration feature is designed for businesses that can integrate with traditional software solutions. Mailchimp can integrate with traditional applications, whereas Klaviyo focuses on integrating with e-commerce businesses, utilizing its advanced automation and segmentation features.

Klaviyo integration feature

Klaviyo’s advanced analytics and advanced features contribute to its steep learning curve. Klaviyo’s advanced e-commerce features enable seamless integration with popular e-commerce applications like Shopify. The Klaviyo integration feature can be tailored to address an e-commerce platform’s requirements better than Mailchimp. Klaviyo also supports multiple languages in its email marketing platform.

Mailchimp integration feature

Similar to Mailchimp’s email builder, the Mailchimp integration is also user-friendly, affordable, and versatile enough to integrate with many types of traditional applications. However, despite its ability to integrate with e-commerce platforms, Mailchimp’s integration features are not as robust as those of Klaviyo. Mailchimp lacks the advanced segmentation and automation options that Klaviyo offers.

Verdict

Despite the steeper learning curve, Klaviyo offers more options for companies that routinely conduct business transactions with e-commerce platforms. Additionally, Klaviyo can support multiple languages. Mailchimp, on the other hand, is easier to use, more affordable, and better suited for traditional businesses.

Mailchimp	Klaviyo
Mailchimp integration is also user-friendly, affordable, and versatile enough to be integrated with many types of traditional applications	The Klaviyo integration feature can be specifically tailored to address an e-commerce platform’s requirements better than Mailchimp.

Alternatives

If you have been searching for a good email marketing platform, you know plenty of email marketing solutions are on the market. Here are some alternatives besides the two you have reviewed in this article.

Brevo

Brevo is a strong contender to Mailchimp and Klaviyo due to its email drag-and-drop editor and its integration options, which are rated as highly as those of the two products reviewed in this article. Brevo offers a free plan and a 14-day free trial period. Brevo’s security features are superior to Klaviyo’s and nearly as robust as Mailchimp’s.

ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is more expensive than Mailchimp or Klaviyo, but it offers an email editor and integration options comparable to those of Mailchimp and Klaviyo. You can also test ClickFunnels for 14 days to compare it with the email marketing solutions reviewed in this article. Mailchimp has a free plan, but it has several limitations and does not offer a free trial period. Klaviyo offers a free plan with limitations but does not include a free trial.

Suppose you are indecisive about the Mailchimp and Klaviyo email marketing platforms. In that case, you can explore other email marketing vendors that provide 14-day trial periods to expand your experience with this type of software. The exploration period can lead to you making the best decision for your business.

What to look for in an email marketing platform

If you’re new to email marketing platforms, don’t limit yourself to testing two or three email marketing solutions.

Expand your knowledge, but before you start on the quest to find the best solution for your business, create a list of what you want an email marketing platform to do.

An email marketing platform’s must-have features are the following:

• Pre-built campaignsIntegration options
• Website tracking features
• Email automation
• Segmentation features
• A/B testing
• AI-powered features
• Customization features
• Analytics and Reporting
• Reliable Customer Support

Keep in mind that some vendors may use a different name for a feature, so you may need to request a specific demonstration to ensure the name accurately describes what you expect the feature to do.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How do I choose an email marketing platform?

Define your business goals, target and segment your customer base, and list the goals you want your marketing platform to help you accomplish.

What does automation do in an email marketing platform?

Email marketing platforms automatically send emails based on customer behavior or use a specific trigger a business sets up. Pre-defined rules or triggers can automatically send targeted emails to specific subscribers. Automation helps improve low engagement rates, track performance, analyze campaign results, and segment your customer base into smaller groups based on specific criteria.

What is the most crucial metric in an email marketing platform?

The click-through rate (CTR) measures the percentage of potential customers who click on a link in your email. A high CTR number indicates that your email content is relevant and engaging, encouraging users to continue by using the Call-to-Action (CTA) button or text that leads to a user subscribing to a product or service, making a purchase, or requesting a demonstration.