Klaviyo alternatives for a small online store
Four platforms read from their own pricing, plan and help pages: how each counts contacts, limits sends and handles Shopify and WooCommerce events.
This guide is for a small shop on Shopify or WooCommerce with a list of roughly 500 to 10,000 contacts that is weighing alternatives to Klaviyo. We read each platform's own pricing, plan and help pages on 29 October 2026 and recorded what they state. We did not test the platforms, and we make no claim about the effect of any of them on sales, conversion or repeat purchases.
Why shops look beyond Klaviyo
Klaviyo prices email by active profiles, so the monthly price steps up as the list grows: its pricing page lists $30 a month at 1,000 profiles and $150 at 10,000. That is a pricing model, not a flaw, and the alternatives price differently rather than simply cheaper: Omnisend and Mailchimp price by contacts, Brevo by emails sent, and ActiveCampaign by contacts billed yearly. Which is cheaper therefore depends on your list size, how often you send and what each platform counts.
Three kinds of platform
- Store-focused email and SMS platforms: Klaviyo and Omnisend are built around online-store data and sell email and SMS.
- General email platforms with store integrations: Mailchimp and Brevo started as email tools and connect to Shopify and WooCommerce; Brevo also sells SMS and WhatsApp.
- Automation-led platforms: ActiveCampaign centres on multi-step automation with CRM add-ons, and lists abandoned cart and store integrations on its paid plans. The pricing units differ as well: active profiles, contacts, emails sent, contacts.
What a small shop should check
- What counts as a contact. Unsubscribed people are excluded at some platforms and counted at others.
- The send allowance. Some platforms tie emails to the list size; others price by emails.
- Which store events start a flow. An abandoned-cart flow needs the store to report the cart or checkout event.
- Which plan includes the automation you need. Do not assume a feature is on the cheapest plan.
- Promotion versus list price. Introductory offers end; the second period is the real price.
- Exit terms. Downgrades, cancellation and refunds are worded differently.
Editorial opinion
The platforms at a glance
Free plans and limits as each platform states them (read on 29 October 2026). Prices are in the table below.
- Klaviyo
- No data — not verified for this product
- Omnisend
- No data — not verified for this product
- Mailchimp
- No data — not verified for this product
- Brevo
- No data — not verified for this product
- ActiveCampaign
- No data — not verified for this product
- Omnisend
- 250— verified; opens the source in a new tab
- Brevo
- No data — not verified for this product
- ActiveCampaign
- No data — not verified for this product
| Platform | Priced by | Free plan | What counts toward the price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Klaviyo | Active profiles (reachable by email) | Yes: up to 250 profiles and 500 emails a month | Unsubscribed and suppressed profiles do not count |
| Omnisend | Contacts: subscribers plus non-subscribers | Yes: 250 contacts and 500 emails a month | Unsubscribed contacts are not billed |
| Mailchimp | Contacts | Yes: up to 250 contacts, 500 sends a month and 250 a day | Unsubscribed contacts count; archived, cleaned, deleted and pending contacts do not |
| Brevo | Emails sent a month; the tier also caps stored contacts | Yes: 300 emails a day, storage for up to 100,000 contacts | The sends tier sets how many contacts you can store |
| ActiveCampaign | Contacts, shown billed yearly | No free plan on the pricing page we read | Contact tier; email sends are a multiple of the contact limit |
The five platforms
Klaviyo
Email and SMS marketing platform for e-commerce with flows, segmentation and store integrations.
The starting point: priced by active profiles, with store events feeding flows. The monthly price steps up with list size.
$30 /mo, billed monthly
Source changed · re-check pending · verified — The official page changed after the last check. The value stays visible while it is checked again.
Omnisend
Email and SMS marketing automation built for e-commerce stores.
Built for online stores and priced by contacts. Standard ties emails to the contact count and Pro lists unlimited emails. A first-purchase offer applies once.
$20 /mo, billed monthly
Verified — An editor checked this value against the official source on the date shown.
Mailchimp
Email marketing and automation platform with audience management, templates and e-commerce integrations.
A general email platform with Shopify and WooCommerce integrations. Unsubscribed contacts count toward the price, and the introductory offer ends after the first year.
$45 /mo, billed monthly
Source changed · re-check pending · verified — The official page changed after the last check. The value stays visible while it is checked again.
Brevo
Multichannel marketing platform for email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns, automation and transactional messaging.
Priced by emails sent rather than contacts, which can suit a large list that is emailed rarely. The sends tier also caps how many contacts you can store.
$17 /mo, billed monthly
Verified — An editor checked this value against the official source on the date shown.
ActiveCampaign
Email marketing and marketing automation platform with segmentation, CRM integrations and conditional content.
An automation-first platform that lists abandoned cart and store integrations on every paid plan. Priced by contacts and shown billed yearly; it has no free plan.
$15 /mo, billed annually (12-month commitment)
Verified — An editor checked this value against the official source on the date shown.
Which one for which shop
A shop that wants the most detailed store events and accepts pricing that follows the list. Klaviyo documents its Shopify and WooCommerce events in detail, and that is the benchmark here.
A shop comparing monthly cost at similar list sizes. Omnisend is the closest store-focused alternative; compare its Standard plan and its send allowance with Klaviyo at your own list size.
A shop that already uses a general email tool. Mailchimp and Brevo connect to the store; mind how unsubscribed contacts and the introductory period change the price.
A shop that mails a large list rarely. Brevo prices by emails sent, so a big list with few sends can cost less than contact-based pricing.
A shop that needs CRM-style automation. ActiveCampaign is built around multi-step automation, billed yearly.
This is our reading of what the platforms state, not a test result.
Editorial opinion
Our take
There is no single replacement for Klaviyo. The useful comparison is what each platform counts, how emails are limited and what the second billing period costs. Choose the unit that matches how your list and your sending actually behave, and check the store events your flows depend on before you migrate.
Editorial opinion
Sources
- Klaviyo pricing (US, USD)
- Klaviyo: how pricing works (active profiles, send capacity)
- Klaviyo help: how billing works
- Omnisend pricing
- Omnisend help: pricing plans 2026
- Mailchimp help: about pricing plans
- Mailchimp help: about your contacts (billing counts)
- Mailchimp: Shopify integration
- Brevo pricing data (public JSON used by the pricing page)
- Brevo help: about pricing plans
- Brevo: Shopify integration
- ActiveCampaign Pricing
- Mailchimp pricing page
Sources
Nikita Latyshev is the founder of LATYNEX Labs, an independent publication about business software and infrastructure. LATYNEX Labs is published by Latynex Trade OÜ, Estonia. How the site checks facts, handles sponsorship and earns money is described on its methodology, editorial policy and affiliate disclosure pages.