Klaviyo vs Mailchimp for Online Stores (2026): Price, Automations, Shopify

Klaviyo and Mailchimp compared for e-commerce: cost at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts, store automations, Shopify integration, support – plus a cheaper option.

By Vincent · Published October 22, 2026 · Prices checked against official sources November 9, 2026 · How we review

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On this page

Price at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts
E-commerce automations
Shopify integration
Support
Verdict
Key takeaways
Frequently asked questions

Short answer: For an online store that wants automated email (welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase), Klaviyo is the better tool: deep Shopify data, full flows on every plan and segmentation built for e-commerce. Mailchimp is the better fit if you mostly send newsletters and want a familiar, general tool. If price is the main concern, Omnisend offers e-commerce flows for less than either.

We haven’t used either tool on a live store; this comparison is based on each vendor’s pricing pages, help docs and Shopify App Store listings, checked October 22, 2026.

Price at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts

Contacts	Klaviyo Email	Mailchimp Essentials	Mailchimp Standard	Omnisend Standard
Free plan	250 profiles, 500 sends/month	250 contacts, 500 sends/month	–	250 contacts, 500 emails/month
1,000	$30	$26.50 (501–1,500 tier)	$45 (501–1,500 tier)	$20
5,000	$100	$75	$100	$81
10,000	$150	$110	$135	$132

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Monthly prices in USD. Klaviyo: the $20 entry price (251–500 profiles) is confirmed on Klaviyo’s pricing page and Shopify listing on October 22, 2026; the 1,000/5,000/10,000 figures are from Email Tool Tester’s Klaviyo pricing breakdown (updated August 5, 2026). Mailchimp: starting prices ($13 Essentials, $20 Standard, $350 Premium) are confirmed on Mailchimp’s pricing page; its calculator loads tier prices dynamically, so the tier figures come from independent pricing trackers (Dreamlit, validated September 2026, matching MK CEO’s June 2026 table). Omnisend: from its own calculator, checked October 20, 2026 (see Omnisend pricing). Confirm your exact number in each vendor’s calculator before you buy.

Mailchimp’s Premium plan starts at $350/month and includes 10,000 contacts. Mailchimp also advertises 15% off the first 12 months for lists of 10,000+ contacts.

What you’re billed on matters

Klaviyo bills on active profiles – people you can actually reach. Unsubscribed and suppressed profiles don’t count.
Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts. Archived, cleaned and deleted contacts don’t count. If you go over your tier, Mailchimp keeps sending and adds an overage charge; on the free plan, sending pauses.

So a Mailchimp list with lots of old unsubscribes can cost more than the headline table suggests unless you archive them regularly.

E-commerce automations

	Klaviyo	Mailchimp
Flows on free plan	Yes	No
Entry paid plan	Full flow builder	Essentials: flows up to 4 steps
Multi-step flows	Every plan	Standard and Premium (up to 200 flows)
Monthly email sends	Scales with your profile tier	10× contacts (Essentials), 12× (Standard), 15× (Premium)
SMS	Built in (Email and SMS plan)	Paid add-on in select countries; application required

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For a store, the emails that sell are automated: welcome, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase and win-back. Klaviyo includes its flow builder on every plan and triggers flows from real-time Shopify events. Mailchimp can send abandoned cart and back-in-stock emails through its Shopify app, but branching, multi-step journeys need Standard. If you’re setting these up for the first time, see our abandoned cart email setup guide.

Shopify integration

	Klaviyo	Mailchimp
App developer	Klaviyo	Intuit Mailchimp
Shopify App Store rating (Oct 22, 2026)	4.7 (3,405 reviews)	4.8 (1,524 reviews)
What syncs	Shopify events in real time; app permissions cover customers, products, orders and discounts	Customers, orders and company data in near real time; discount codes every few hours
Store events for triggers	Yes	product_viewed, product_added_to_cart, checkout_started, checkout_completed and more
Stores per audience	–	One store connects to one audience

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Both apps install from the Shopify App Store and bill separately from your Shopify invoice. Klaviyo also lists 350+ app integrations; Mailchimp’s listing names Shopify Flow, judge.me, Smile.io, Yotpo and QuickBooks Online among the apps it works with. More detail on Mailchimp’s app: Mailchimp for Shopify.

Support

Plan	Klaviyo	Mailchimp
Free	Email support for the first 60 days	Email support for the first 30 days
Paid	Email and chat (Email and Email and SMS plans)	24/7 email and chat (Essentials, Standard)
Top tier	Priority support (Enterprise)	Phone and priority support (Premium)

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Verdict

Choose Klaviyo if automated flows drive a meaningful share of your revenue, you want to segment on Shopify behavior (browsing, purchase history, predicted spend), and you can budget roughly $30–$150/month for 1,000–10,000 subscribers. See Klaviyo pricing for the full tier breakdown.

Choose Mailchimp if you mainly send newsletters and promotions, you already know the tool, or you run a non-store business alongside your shop. At 10,000 contacts, Standard is $15/month less than Klaviyo – as long as you keep unsubscribes archived.

Consider Omnisend if you want store automations at a lower price. It includes flows on every plan, SMS and web push in the same tool, and 24/7 support, and costs $20 at 1,000 contacts vs $30 for Klaviyo. Full comparisons: Omnisend vs Klaviyo and Omnisend vs Mailchimp.

Omnisend

Lower-cost e-commerce alternative

Best for: Stores that want Klaviyo-style flows without Klaviyo's price

Pros

Flows on every plan, even free
$20/month at 1,000 contacts
24/7 chat and email support

Cons

Standard caps sends at 12× your list; unlimited needs Pro
Branding on the free plan

Visit Omnisend

Compare Omnisend's current pricing

Key takeaways

At 1,000 contacts, Klaviyo Email costs $30/month, while Mailchimp bills that list in its 501–1,500 tier: $26.50 on Essentials or $45 on Standard.
At 10,000 contacts, Mailchimp Standard ($135) is cheaper than Klaviyo Email ($150), but Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts toward your plan and Klaviyo doesn't.
Mailchimp's free plan has no automation flows and Essentials caps flows at 4 steps; Klaviyo includes its full flow builder on every plan.
Klaviyo is the stronger pick for stores that rely on automated flows; Mailchimp suits businesses that mostly send newsletters.
Omnisend costs less than both at the sizes compared: $20 at 1,000 contacts, $81 at 5,000 and $132 at 10,000.

Frequently asked questions

Is Klaviyo better than Mailchimp for Shopify?

For most Shopify stores, yes. Klaviyo syncs Shopify events in real time and offers its full flow builder on every plan, while Mailchimp needs the Standard plan for multi-step automations. Mailchimp is fine if you mainly send newsletters.

Is Klaviyo more expensive than Mailchimp?

It depends on list size and plan. Klaviyo is $30 at 1,000 contacts vs $45 for Mailchimp Standard, about the same at 5,000 ($100 each), and $150 vs $135 at 10,000.

Does Mailchimp still work with Shopify?

Yes. Intuit Mailchimp publishes a Mailchimp for Shopify app on the Shopify App Store that syncs customers, orders and store events, and supports abandoned cart and back-in-stock emails.

What's cheaper than both Klaviyo and Mailchimp for an online store?

Omnisend Standard costs $20/month at 1,000 contacts, $81 at 5,000 and $132 at 10,000, and includes e-commerce flows on every plan, including free.

Sources