Verdict: Mailchimp costs less than Klaviyo at nearly every list size above entry level, making it the right default for stores with modest automation needs. Klaviyo earns the premium for ecommerce brands that need behavioral segmentation, lifecycle automation, and SMS in one platform. Stores under 5,000 contacts will usually spend less on Mailchimp; brands running product-based flows and predictive segments tend to get more value from Klaviyo despite the higher monthly bill.
What Each Platform Is Built For
Klaviyo is purpose-built for ecommerce email and SMS, ingesting purchase history, browse behavior, and predicted lifetime value as first-class inputs. Mailchimp is a general-purpose email platform that added ecommerce features over time. Both run on contact-based pricing and connect natively to Shopify, which is why the comparison comes up constantly for growing stores.
Klaviyo builds behavioral segments and automated flows directly from store data. Segments update dynamically as customers move through the buying cycle, and revenue attribution runs at the campaign level by default. Mailchimp can approximate some of this through integrations, but the ecommerce-native depth is shallower across comparable plan tiers.
The practical question isn’t which platform looks better on a features list. It’s which tier each platform requires to unlock the capabilities that actually matter for a given store, because that tier is often different from the entry price on both sides.
Where the Pricing Gap Actually Opens
Both platforms cost $13 to $20 per month at 500 contacts. The gap opens past 10,000 contacts and compounds from there. Published comparisons including the Klaviyo compare page document the spread at each milestone.
At 10,000 contacts, Mailchimp typically runs around $110 to $150 per month depending on plan tier, while Klaviyo Email comes in at $150 to $200 per month. By 15,000 contacts, the spread is more pronounced: Klaviyo sits at approximately $350 per month versus Mailchimp at approximately $230 per month. At 25,000 contacts, Mailchimp ranges from roughly $279 to $350 per month, while Klaviyo lands between $350 and $435 per month or higher when add-ons are included.
Buyer Persona: The DTC growth marketer at a Shopify store doing $500k to $3M annually, with a list between 5,000 and 25,000 contacts. This marketer has outgrown basic newsletters and runs three to six active flows. They’re deciding between Mailchimp Standard and Klaviyo Email, and they need automations that trigger on real purchase behavior and segments that update without manual rebuilding, while watching every SaaS line on the P&L.
At 50,000 contacts, Mailchimp scales to roughly $350 to $700 per month depending on plan tier, while Klaviyo reaches approximately $720 per month or more. At 100,000 contacts, Mailchimp spans $590 to $1,200 per month across tiers, while Klaviyo Email sits at $1,300 to $1,380 per month or higher, according to the Klaviyo compare page and platform guides from Zapier and Shopify. For high-volume senders, Mailchimp is consistently the lower-cost subscription option.
Plan Structure and Features Side by Side
Mailchimp has three paid tiers. Klaviyo sells a base email plan, with SMS and analytics available as separate add-ons that raise total monthly cost at any list size.
Mailchimp Standard is the most commonly purchased plan for growing ecommerce brands because it unlocks behavioral targeting and automation flows at a mid-range price. Mailchimp Premium adds multivariate testing, advanced segmentation, and priority phone support, but carries a significant cost increase over Standard.
The Klaviyo Email base plan includes ecommerce-native flow building, predictive segments, and direct store integrations from the first paid tier. Adding SMS creates the Klaviyo Email + SMS bundle, which consolidates email and text messaging channels in one subscription. The Klaviyo Marketing Analytics add-on, purchased separately, provides deeper CLV and cross-channel attribution reporting on top of either base plan.
| Plan | Automation Depth | Ecommerce Segmentation | SMS Included | Est. Cost at 10k Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp Standard | Behavioral targeting, basic flows | Mid-level | No | ~$110-150/mo |
| Mailchimp Premium | Multivariate testing, full automation | Advanced | No | Higher than Standard |
| Klaviyo Email | Ecommerce flows, predictive segments | Ecommerce-native | No | ~$150-200/mo |
| Klaviyo Email + SMS | Full ecommerce flows plus SMS sequences | Ecommerce-native | Yes | Higher than Klaviyo Email |
Prices accurate as of September 7, 2026
What Raises Your Real Monthly Bill
Mailchimp’s primary cost escalator is tier upgrades. The most common trigger is needing a feature gated behind Mailchimp Premium, such as multivariate testing, advanced segmentation reporting, or priority support. Moving from Standard to Premium at the same contact count narrows the price gap with Klaviyo and, at large list sizes, can close it entirely. Mailchimp’s free plan accepts larger initial contact counts than Klaviyo’s, but send limits and platform branding push active sellers toward a paid tier quickly.
On Klaviyo, the main cost escalators are the SMS bundle and the analytics add-on. Klaviyo Email + SMS adds per-message costs on top of the monthly subscription. The Klaviyo Marketing Analytics add-on, which provides predictive CLV reporting and cross-channel attribution, adds further to the monthly total for brands that need that reporting depth. Neither is mandatory, but ecommerce brands running serious lifecycle programs tend to adopt both over time.
Which Platform Wins for Your Store Size
Mailchimp wins on cost for stores under 5,000 contacts with basic automation needs. Above 10,000 contacts, the choice becomes an ROI question where Klaviyo’s behavioral tools often offset the price gap.
At the smaller end, both platforms handle a welcome sequence and an abandoned cart email reliably. The feature difference between Mailchimp Standard and Klaviyo Email is narrow enough that paying more for Klaviyo is hard to justify unless the store already runs complex, product-specific flows.
Above 10,000 contacts, Klaviyo costs more at nearly every list size, but its behavioral segmentation, predictive analytics, and product-based flow triggers come with the base plan rather than gated behind add-ons. Brands at this scale often find that Klaviyo’s revenue attribution replaces separate tools they were already paying for, which partially offsets the higher subscription. Above 50,000 contacts, Mailchimp Premium and Klaviyo Email pricing begin to converge on the upper end, and the platform choice becomes primarily about operational capability.
Pro tip from Ronen Abudi, ecommerce and GEO specialist: Before switching platforms based on list price, export the revenue-per-email metric from your current ESP and use it as the baseline comparison. At lists above 10,000 contacts, the right question is not which subscription costs less but which platform returns more revenue per send, because a meaningful improvement in automation conversion rate often exceeds the monthly price difference.
Quick Takeaways
- At 500 contacts, both platforms cost roughly $13 to $20 per month, and the difference is negligible.
- By 15,000 contacts, Klaviyo Email runs approximately $350 per month versus Mailchimp’s approximately $230 per month, a gap of around $120.
- At 100,000 contacts, Klaviyo Email reaches $1,300 to $1,380 per month while Mailchimp ranges from $590 to $1,200 depending on which tier is required.
- Adding Klaviyo Email + SMS or the Klaviyo Marketing Analytics add-on raises effective monthly cost well above the base Klaviyo Email subscription.
- Mailchimp wins on subscription cost at scale; Klaviyo is the stronger choice for ecommerce brands whose revenue depends on behavioral automation and ecommerce-native segmentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Klaviyo always more expensive than Mailchimp?
- Klaviyo is more expensive than Mailchimp Standard at nearly every contact tier above 500, but the gap varies by list size and plan selection. At very large list sizes above 50,000 contacts, Mailchimp Premium pricing can approach Klaviyo base plan pricing, narrowing the monthly difference to a few hundred dollars rather than a dramatic premium. The gap is clearest in the 10,000 to 50,000 contact range.
- Which platform has a better free plan for new ecommerce stores?
- Klaviyo’s free plan caps at 250 contacts with limited sends (verify current limits on each platform’s pricing page) but includes ecommerce-specific flows and store integrations by default. Mailchimp’s free tier accepts up to 500 contacts and is more accessible for general use, though automation depth is restricted and Mailchimp branding appears on outgoing emails. Stores with any regular sending volume should move to a paid tier to access meaningful automation.
- What does Klaviyo Email + SMS cost compared to Mailchimp Premium?
- Klaviyo Email + SMS bundles email and text messaging in one platform, raising monthly spend above the base Klaviyo Email price at every list size. Mailchimp Premium adds multivariate testing and advanced segmentation but does not include SMS natively. For brands already running separate email and SMS tools, consolidating on Klaviyo Email + SMS can simplify the stack and the vendor relationship.
- Can Mailchimp Standard replace Klaviyo for a Shopify store?
- Mailchimp Standard connects to Shopify and supports behavioral targeting and basic automation, handling standard use cases like welcome flows and abandoned cart sequences at a lower monthly cost than Klaviyo Email. Stores that need advanced behavioral segmentation by purchase category, predictive lifetime value scoring, or product-specific post-purchase flows will find Mailchimp Standard limiting and often end up upgrading to Mailchimp Premium or moving to Klaviyo.
- What hidden costs should buyers watch for on each platform?
- On Mailchimp, the main hidden cost is a forced tier upgrade when a needed feature sits only in Mailchimp Premium, which changes real monthly spend significantly. On Klaviyo, the primary additions are the Klaviyo Email + SMS bundle and the Klaviyo Marketing Analytics add-on, both of which sit on top of the base email subscription and can raise total monthly spend at any list size.
- Which platform is worth paying more for at larger list sizes?
- Klaviyo is generally the stronger choice for ecommerce brands at larger list sizes because its behavioral targeting, product-based automation, and revenue attribution are built into the base plan rather than gated behind upgrades or add-ons. Mailchimp costs less at scale but serves a broader audience and requires higher tiers to match Klaviyo’s ecommerce feature depth, making it a better fit for brands with simpler email programs or tighter margins.
